jaedee09's reviews
148 reviews

Court of Blood and Bindings by Lisette Marshall

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Started it with a readalong with the author's discord channel, and immediately surpassed the 2-chapter-a-day pace. Couldn't stop listening. Love the headstrong FMC who curses just as much as I do (not every other word, but enough for emphasis). My only complaint would be that we spend a lot of time in her head. I find myself often jumping to dialogue to find out what's going to happen next vs reading through her coming to realizations. Get there, girl!! Otherwise, the story is different enough to be interesting, but rooted in that familiar fantasy goodness.

The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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 LOVED this book! So refreshing to have a FMC that isn’t a Chosen One, 19-yo, secret princess (that we know of so far). The slow burn was STEAMING and I loved the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers

-to-enemies

development. The bad guy is BAD bad, and my heart was pounding the whole time. 

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I recently told a friend I tended to enjoy the first books in duologies or series more than the second. This book put that to rest. I loved the adventure, the love stories, the character development, and, yes, the humor. The nightmare quickly became one of my favorite characters with his quick wit. A few plot points were predictable, much like the first book, but there were others I didn’t see coming. It was so well written, and I’m sad it’s over!

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved the worldbuilding, the pace, and the story. Some things were more obvious than others, but the story still held quite a bit of intrigue and surprises. Enjoyed the love story and tension as well. Immediately started the next book! 

Listened to the book while reading along, and the narrator wasn't my favorite. Made the main character sound very whiney, and the "male" voices all sound like teenage boys. I couldn't do it, though!

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.75

A wonderful completion (?) to Crescent City! I’m going to have to sit with it for a bit to decide how I feel and will add more. 

Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman

emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was emotional, gutting, bittersweet. I found it much easier to listen along to, as it's written in more of a "string of consciousness" style than other books I've read. It's very introspective and romantic. I found the second half much more intriguing than the first, and finished it so quickly. Very glad to have read it.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

Will likely come back, just not the right time.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

Will likely come back, just not the right time.

The Hollow Plane by Allison Carr Waechter

adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-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

4.0

I LOVED ACW Immortal Orders trilogy, and was so excited to expand the world here. At times this book felt choppy and the love story felt forced, but I attributed this to it being told from the perspective of two people with amnesia. Allison is also known for her neurodivergent MCs, and I wonder if this had something to do with the feel of it as well. Overall I enjoyed the story and the mystery --  it was not as predictable as I anticipated.

The twist at the end was a welcome shift from the typical love story ending, but still hoping for a HEA in the second book.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Blood

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

Wasn’t the right time for this book - the narrator became more and more irredeemable, and I just wasn’t ready for that yet. Will likely come back to it