kari_marie's reviews
482 reviews

Shadows by Robin McKinley

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Hooked by Emily McIntire
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

Maybe as an actual book I would be ok, but I just disliked the MMC in audiobook. I do not think this is the narrator's fault but something about hearing the characters POV seems more real and icky then if I were to read. 

Sister of Starlit Seas by Terry Brooks

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ah the end of the trilogy. Serapio is the ruler of Tova. Xiala is back on her home island of Teek. And Naranpa is on a journey to save her beloved Tova from the Carrion King. These three entwined lives are all fighting to do what they honestly believe is best. In the background one other is doing what he can to become a god himself.

I will be honest, this book took me like 20% in to remember all the details and characters. I am not one to reread books and know all the details and am more of jumping in and enjoying the ride. This series is hard to do that with as it came out, but if you are reading them all in a row, I think this will be fantastic. 

The end of trilogy where not everybody survives, there is not a perfect picture happy ever after, and some realize they became the bad guy. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I liked how it was not a picture-perfect ending but I was not left with a ton of questions. 

I am giving this book five stars because overall the trilogy was interesting and so good and I believe this book did good to wrap up the ending. This book on its own, is a four but that’s because it took so long to sort out in my own head. If I had read these closer together, I think I would have loved it. I absolutely recommend these books.  Thank you to NetGalley, Saga Press, and Rebecca Roanhorse for this free ARC. This was an honest review. 

The Black Swan by Mercedes Lackey
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

I stopped when the main character raped somebody. 

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Did not finish book. Stopped at 32%.

The world building, specifically the fantasy (mythology) parts was barely there. I just struggled to pick up the book.  

Under the Bridge by Anne Bishop

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton

challenging dark informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

Overall it was easy read and I appreciated the simplification of science. I liked that the author recognized when she couldn't explain it because she didn't understand it herself. The hardest part of this book for me was the weird descriptive tangents that didn't add to the story but felt like way to hit a word count. Example a sentence about flying in on delta. Not necessary. That actually took me out of the flow.

The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I went from skipping sleep on the last book to struggling with this book. I am glad I finished it but this one just felt like it dragged. Maura's romance is really not needed and takes from the story. The science was replaced with mythicism.