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icedpinecones's reviews
191 reviews
A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
After a crushing DNF of a much anticipated fantasy book, I had to go back to something I could trust! A broken blade had an interesting premise, and while I didn't expect much, it certainly deliverered!
Warning: this book contains themes of abuse, sexual assault, self harm and alcoholism! Please check trigger warnings before reading.
The protagonist, Keera, is a flawed but great character to follow. She struggles with an alcohol dependency & memories of the past that haunt her. She's the kings assassin, unwillingly but without the motivation to do anything about it. She's tasked to find 'the shadow', a vigilante making a mockery of the king and driving Keera to her wits end but as their worlds collide it becomes clear that an alliance might just save them all.
The world building was rich and entrancing with various fantasy races with equally as different powers to note. However, they don't impede your read & I didn't get confused by any of it! The prose is great to follow along with and I didn't get bored at any point, I found myself flying through chapters which is unusual with me and physical books!
At first I found it quite basic in it's tropes, but I didn't expect to see the world expand and develop as it did. The side characters like Nikolai are equally as interesting and loveable as the main cast of characters & the plot points (while a little on the more predictable side as a seasoned fantasy reader) I found worked really well with characters not being as cookie cutter as standard books!
The romance was also GENUINELY a slow burn, not in the sense that they only hold hands by the end but in the sense that they've only really come around to eachother by the end of the book romantically and that relationship could very easily crumble with distrust.
I think the only thing I'd of wanted to improve was the plot points and twists being a bit predictable, but I've been reliably informed that the second book cracks the narrative right open (think throne of glass to heir of fire) so I'm really excited to continue the series later!
IG : @Icedpinecones ✨
Warning: this book contains themes of abuse, sexual assault, self harm and alcoholism! Please check trigger warnings before reading.
The protagonist, Keera, is a flawed but great character to follow. She struggles with an alcohol dependency & memories of the past that haunt her. She's the kings assassin, unwillingly but without the motivation to do anything about it. She's tasked to find 'the shadow', a vigilante making a mockery of the king and driving Keera to her wits end but as their worlds collide it becomes clear that an alliance might just save them all.
The world building was rich and entrancing with various fantasy races with equally as different powers to note. However, they don't impede your read & I didn't get confused by any of it! The prose is great to follow along with and I didn't get bored at any point, I found myself flying through chapters which is unusual with me and physical books!
At first I found it quite basic in it's tropes, but I didn't expect to see the world expand and develop as it did. The side characters like Nikolai are equally as interesting and loveable as the main cast of characters & the plot points (while a little on the more predictable side as a seasoned fantasy reader) I found worked really well with characters not being as cookie cutter as standard books!
The romance was also GENUINELY a slow burn, not in the sense that they only hold hands by the end but in the sense that they've only really come around to eachother by the end of the book romantically and that relationship could very easily crumble with distrust.
I think the only thing I'd of wanted to improve was the plot points and twists being a bit predictable, but I've been reliably informed that the second book cracks the narrative right open (think throne of glass to heir of fire) so I'm really excited to continue the series later!
IG : @Icedpinecones ✨
The Summer Hikaru Died, Vol. 1 by Mokumokuren
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is only Volume one so maybe it picks up but so far it's been a very slow read and not what I was expecting. It seems almost jumpy at times with going back and forth but not explaining what time we're in.
Rouge by Mona Awad
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
Just not for me/Not the right time. I need to get stuck into the horror and this was a really slow opener for me
Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How am I supposed to explain this book without myself sounding unhinged? This book is not a light read, it deals with some very heavy topics pertaining mostly to child abuse and child sexual abuse and then cannibalism in the latter half.
Murata is a sensational author who I adore, and she tackles the rules of society we've implemented and this book is no different. Similarly to convince store woman we're looking into the expectations of women and men on getting married, having kids and it's referred to as the 'factory' in this book. So the main themes is societal expectations, how trauma affects your mental state and what not but the book goes about it in a very unhinged fashion.
Our main character believes she is an alien, is in an incestuous relationship with her cousin Yuu & the first 80 pages of the book covers this depraved childhood of abuse and trauma. It's a very tough read, but also heartbreaking to see some of my own experiences reflected in her psyche.
The latter 160 pages of the book is her adulthood in her estranged marriage & reuniting with Yuu and exploring societal standards again. It's a very odd read.
I loved it, I love Sayakas work, but again this book is insane.
Murata is a sensational author who I adore, and she tackles the rules of society we've implemented and this book is no different. Similarly to convince store woman we're looking into the expectations of women and men on getting married, having kids and it's referred to as the 'factory' in this book. So the main themes is societal expectations, how trauma affects your mental state and what not but the book goes about it in a very unhinged fashion.
Our main character believes she is an alien, is in an incestuous relationship with her cousin Yuu & the first 80 pages of the book covers this depraved childhood of abuse and trauma. It's a very tough read, but also heartbreaking to see some of my own experiences reflected in her psyche.
The latter 160 pages of the book is her adulthood in her estranged marriage & reuniting with Yuu and exploring societal standards again. It's a very odd read.
I loved it, I love Sayakas work, but again this book is insane.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Rape
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book is complex to rate as it has many high points and many lows. The good is seen in the story of James and Oliver, the prose being a mix of screenplay and standard book writing and the complexities of other characters such as Meredith. Where there's ups there's also downs, the main twist/motive for the villain is poorly executed and really makes the whole thing fall short. Characters such as Alexander and Wren are poorly explored, with things just stated then ignored. I enjoyed it for the most part, but the characters that fall more lackluster make the book fall short and lag behind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug use, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Violence, Blood, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I adored this book! It's very handmaid's tale thematically, and the plot I'd say is very neon evangelion / darling in the franxx (the author even mentions in their acknowledgements it's DITF inspired due to it having a shit ending lol)
Zeitan is an amazingly flawed character in all the ways I'd like to root for (I support women's rights but I also support their wrongs) and the poly solution to what would've been an unbearable love triangle read solved all my problems with romance!
The writing definitely has room to improve from here, but it isn't bad by a landslide! It's great, I can just see a bit more description and less choppy-ness as we move from scene to scene. It reads very much like a fanfic with the cliffhanger endings, chapter lengths etc but I'm again not saying that's a bad thing! Just very excited for future installments because I ate this shit up!
Zeitan is an amazingly flawed character in all the ways I'd like to root for (I support women's rights but I also support their wrongs) and the poly solution to what would've been an unbearable love triangle read solved all my problems with romance!
The writing definitely has room to improve from here, but it isn't bad by a landslide! It's great, I can just see a bit more description and less choppy-ness as we move from scene to scene. It reads very much like a fanfic with the cliffhanger endings, chapter lengths etc but I'm again not saying that's a bad thing! Just very excited for future installments because I ate this shit up!
Wildfire by Hannah Grace
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
God, I did not enjoy this book. It is way too character-driven, any tense plot moments are solved within pages.
Bow Before the Elf Queen by J.M. Kearl
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Ehhhh this book was fine, it was a mash of every single other YA fantasy book in existence & unfortunately seeing reviews of where the plot goes in books 2/3 I won't be reading anymore.