jessi_readss's Reviews (585)

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I am still loving this so far. I just wish we got more of Fuyutsuki, like actual personality. I love everybody else though immensely and this is so cute and fluffy, it was a nice reprieve after catching up on JJK ๐Ÿ˜…
adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

I honestly did not like Corrupt much, the fmc was annoying and whiny and the mmc was so bland and boring. But I love Pen so much and the majority of her books, I just had to try the second book before making my mind up on this series and omg, this book, this one right here, redeemed the series so far for me. 

This one follows Kai mainly and starts off a year after the events of the first book. Kai is ๐Ÿฅต and Banks, the female lead, is also ๐Ÿฅต. Seriously, I love women, Banks has solidified that even further, I would do anything for that woman, ANYTHING. ๐Ÿ˜

Anyways, this book was amazing, and on top of everything I love about this book, I also understand Damon so much more and I actually feel for him now. I cannot wait to read his story and I really hope that man can get some peace finally. 

So basically, this book is so much better than the first, the characters are much better (I even liked Michael and Rika in this book), the plot was insane and I loved every second of it, and the love story was soooooooo good ๐Ÿซ . I get the hype now and I will be starting Killswitch soon.

Happy reading babes ๐Ÿซถ
lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is such a sweet and wholesome manga. I am loving it so far. And all of the spirits are so cute. I loved the new characters, the friendships, and the romance blooming between a few people. And the carnival chapter? Ahhhh my heart. ๐Ÿ˜
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4.25/5โญ

I came for the viral Cello scene. ๐Ÿฅต
I stayed ... well ... because of the cello scene. ๐Ÿ˜‚

Julie Soto does not miss when it comes to writing broody book boyfriends. Xander is broody asf, and a perfectionist, and good with his hands apparently. . . I'm talking about the Cello, omg, you're nasty. 




Psst - I was also talking about the other thing. ๐Ÿซ 

Okay, being serious now. I adored this book. I loved Gwen and how important the found family trope is in this book. I get she went back and forth on decisions a lot, and was kind of stagnant due to other people's influences, but I understood why once we learned her back story. 

Xander was beyond complicated, but again, all due to outside influences and people's manipulations on him. 

This book was beautiful, well written, and deep. And I loved Gwen and Xander's dynamic, they were so intense with each other and they both deserve what they found. โค๏ธ

Read this book if you love the found family trope, obsess over broody men, like well written characters with complicated back stories, and a love story that you will fall head over heels for. 

Happy reading babes ๐Ÿซถ
funny lighthearted fast-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

I just wanted a cute little romance so I could continue riding the high A Sign of Affection gave me and this definitely delivered. It is adorable. I do wish we knew more about the main characters back stories though but this was only the first volume so hopefully soon? Iโ€™m definitely continuing this manga. 
dark emotional mysterious 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

SHANTEL coming in hot with this one. omg ๐Ÿคญ

โ€œ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜Ž๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ด๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต. ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ด ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜บ.โ€
- ๐Ÿฅต

Tyson is still my favorite though. But this book, these men, a very close second. This book is Saint's story and Ashtyn's. And we also learn more about Haidyn, Kashton, and Adam, all of the men of Carnage. A secret society within a secret society. This one is DARK, read trigger warnings! I loved every second of this book, the plot was plottin, the men were drool worthy, the fmc was a tad bit unhinged herself and I love that for her, and the ending was jaw dropping as per usual. Definitely do not sleep on this series if you love dark romance. I cannot wait for Madness to come out in a few days, I am about to go absolutely FERAL for Haidyn ๐Ÿ˜

โ€œ๐˜โ€™๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜โ€™๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ช๐˜ต, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ต. ๐˜•๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ, ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜จ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ด ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ.โ€

Main points: 
โ›“๏ธ1st person pov
โ›“๏ธdual pov (Saint and Ashtyn)
โ›“๏ธdark revenge romance
โ›“๏ธsecret society
โ›“๏ธpossessive mmc

โ€œ๐˜š๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ท๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ. ๐˜‰๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ต ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜“๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ญ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต. ๐˜โ€™๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ."

Happy reading babes ๐Ÿซถ
funny relaxing medium-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

If you told me a year ago that I would read and love a manga about a girl who sweats a lot and a guy who loves to sniff her. I would have laughed and laughed and laughed. 

But here we areโ€ฆ 
adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

The artwork is ๐Ÿ˜
But I was bored the majority of this volume. 
dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

2.5 โญ๏ธ - Well, it was a book, with words. ๐Ÿ˜…

Maybe I am just getting drained from subpar books and putting them off as โ€œvibe readsโ€. Idk, maybe I need a break from dark romantasies because lately they all seem the same to me. 

This was 100% just a vibe read, the world building and lore was practically non existent. And there were a few times where the โ€œloreโ€ changed just a tad bit, but enough that it was noticeable if you were paying attention. The spice was mid, the romance was non existent. It was mainly lust. Which I read dark romance and LOVE it and can deal with just lust. But the writing for those scenes was so juvenile. 

But it was entertaining to a point and I did like the FMC and that she didnโ€™t just fall to her knees for our boring mmc. And omg he was so boring, wood has more character than that man. 

Okay Iโ€™m gonna stop now ๐Ÿ˜‚

If you like this book, do not take offense to my review, these are just my OPINIONS and my feelings. It is a fun and quick read and if you loved this book, Iโ€™m happy for you. I really wanted to like it especially because I had the special edition preordered and itโ€™s so pretty. ๐Ÿ˜ญ but I have cancelled that now lol and I wonโ€™t be bothering with the second book. 

Happy reading babes. ๐Ÿซถ๐Ÿป
adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

I liked it, it was definitely enjoyable, but I think I expected more because of all the hype? Idk. 

So it started slow, then it got really good, then it slowed down again, and then it got predictable. It is not a bad book though, the pacing was just weird. But it does have a unique magic system based on when this book was written. And the characters were intriguing enough. The premise of the book was also good and well thought out, but again it did get predictable. I called the ending 50% of the way in. 

But I did love the characters and their stories and the rebellion was epic. So I will be continuing on to read book 2 as I do want to give the series a fair shot. A lot of the times the first book does drag due to world building and lore and plot build up. So I have high hopes that the second book will be even better. 

Happy reading babes ๐Ÿซถ๐Ÿป