kari_marie's reviews
483 reviews

Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh

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

3.75

 Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh is the 14th book in the Guild Hunter series. The friendship that had fractured is being repaired and growing into something new. We finally get an Aodhan and Illium story. 

 

I enjoyed this book. Sometimes friendships are strained and repairing them and letting them grow is scary. Singh was able to bring that through in this story. I mean not all friendships need to grow as Illium and Aodhan's did but it is still an important part of life. 

 

3.75 Stars because I remember the romance nothing about the plot.  

 

Thank you to NetGalley, Nalini Singh and Berkley Publishing Group for the free copy. This was an honest review. 

Tesla Note, Vol. 1 by Kōta Sannomiya

adventurous funny fast-paced

3.75

I am not much for manga, but I did enjoy this. This is story line right up my alley. I love stories that talk about Telsa's secret projects. Yes you need to suspend belief but that is almost always true for any Sci-fi/Fantasy story line. I enjoyed the artwork which is usually the hardest part of manga that is the hardest for me to get into. 
 
 3.75 stars because I would be willing to pick up Vol 2 and I really am not a big manga fan. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha Comics, Masafumi Nishida, Tadayoshi Kubo and Sannomiya for the free copy. This was an honest review. 

Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrorized Los Angeles by Julia Bricklin

challenging dark informative slow-paced

2.75

 

Blonde Rattlesnake by Julia Bricklin delves into the corruption of Los Angeles, the news media influence, and the crimes of Burma Adams and Tom White. 

 

I had not heard of this true crime and the spree this couple went on. It was fun to read about a true crime story I had heard nothing of. I felt like Bricklin really tried to be subjective to the couple and bring a more modern focus on this crime. Bringing up how battered woman syndrome can contribute as well as head injuries can affect people's personalities. That being said there was a lot of filler in this book. There was a whole paragraph about somebody named Elsie Moody. She ended up having nothing to do with the story. There are so many names and weird backgrounds about people and adding somebody who had nothing to do with story just made it harder to follow. There was a lot of jumping around timeline wise. Soon as a new person was introduced, like a lawyer we went into their future corruption. Then we are back in time to talk about Tom's history to present court case, and then history of cop to the future of corruption. It was hard to track. 

 

I will give this 2.75 stars because while I did think the topic was interesting, and I am sure the sensational stories made it hard to research. Its barely scraping three stars because there needed to be cut to irrelevant information, and clearer timeline and focus. 

 

Thank you to NetGalley, Lyons Press and Julia Bricklin for the free copy. This was an honest review. v

Guild Boss by Jayne Castle

adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

 Guild Boss by Jayne Castle is the 14th book in the Ghost Hunters series. Lucy has got some bad luck. Kidnapped from her ex and friend's wedding, drugged, lost and saved like a damsel in distress. Oh and to top it off, nobody believes she was drugged and kidnapped just that she went crazy from the grief.  Her rescuer, Gabriel, disappeared and told nobody what he found. Now he is back and he needs her help. While wary to help him, Lucy decided it would be best to work together since he at least believes her sort of. 

 

I love this world. Mostly the dust bunnies stole my heart. So automatically this book is three stars. I am biased and admit it. Overall I enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and fun. The world is creative and put together. The characters while similar to others in the series, work well together and still have their own personalities. I think you should be able to read this as a standalone but I would recommend reading the other books to truly get the amazing world of dust bunnies. 

 

Four Stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and Jayne Castle for the free copy. This was an honest review. 

Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

 Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire is the 7th book in the Wayward Children series. In this book we follow Cora as she decides that Elanor West's home is not the right place for her and she needs to go to the Whitehorn Institute. Will Cora be able to become normal there by denying that she went through a door? 

 

I enjoyed this book. Cora's insecurities and growth are relatable for anybody who is on the bigger side and knows that its not always easy to lose weight. While Cora is not particularly a favorite of mine I did enjoy following her journey. I love this world where everything is tweaked and nothing make sense or everything make sense. These children's journeys and how they come together despite their differences is always interesting to read. The world building is so interesting because each door leads to a different world. McGuire's imagination is phenomenal with the different types of world and how they are good and bad. 

 

Four stars for being a great addition to the world. The book was slightly less than memorable, I read this a month ago and it took me a bit to remember the plot. Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Seanan McGuire for the free copy. This was an honest review. 

Dragon's Guardian by Ava Richardson

adventurous

3.0

 Dragon's Guardian by Ave Richardson is book 1 of Reign of Chaos series in the Alveria Dragon's Akademy. This book follows Mari, who cannot bond to a dragon, and Prince Kai, who is stuck in dragon form. While these two work on their bond, monsters start terrorizing the kingdom. 

 

I enjoyed the book but it is not distinct. I have read a variety of Ava Richardson books and this is not a stand out. If you have read Richardson before you know what you are getting. I think where the monsters came from was interesting and I enjoy diving into Richardson's world. 

 

Three stars for an enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley, Ava Richardson, and Relay Publishing. This was an honest review. 

Temptation's Darling by Johanna Lindsey

3.0

 Temptation's Darling is about a young woman named Vanessa who was raised by her father who was in hiding in the Highlands. Growing up with her father she was allowed freedom to explore unladylike interest. Now Vanessa must return to society and marry. Lord Montgomery Townsend is the Prince Regent's fixer. Hiding from the scandal he watches as Vanessa's mother works on setting up a disastrous marriage between Vanessa and a rogue from a powerful family.  He soon realizes he wants Vanessa for himself. 

 

I read this sometime in 2021 and here I am review it in 2022. I will be honest and say I cannot recall a lot about this book. I remember a couple chuckles. I had to read the official synopsis to recall bits and pieces. I will say this is not Lindsey's best work but at the time it was enjoyable. 

 

I will give three stars for a memory of being enjoyable. Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books and Johanna Lindsey for the free copy this was an honest review. 

Wrath of the Tooth Fairy by Sarina Dorie

funny mysterious fast-paced

3.25

 Wrath of a Tooth Fairy by Sarina Dorie follows the misadventures of Mira, a former Fairy Godmother. Mira managed to fall from grace in the most disgusting way possible. And from there she becomes a Tooth Fairy where she is trying to work her way back to becoming a Godmother. 

 

While reading this I kept comparing it to Helen Harper's How to Be the Best Damn Faery Godmother in the World (or Die Trying). There was similarities in the world where Godmothers are high ranking and fairies fight to get the coveted roll.  I found the story fun and fast paced. I found the main character a little bland but she did grow. I read this book 3+ months ago so I am trying to recall opinions and really I remember wanting to read the next book because it was fun. The world structure stuck out and the ending of who was the bad guy was satisfying. The love interest was intriguing as plot device but overall I find the characters all forgettable. I have no real characteristics to describe them. 

 

Three stars for being enjoyable, and I do want to read the next book. The characters need some work to be more definitive. I really can only describe their jobs/ what creature they are and that was for the main character and the big bad this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Sarina Dorie and REUTS Publications for the free copy. This is an honest review.  

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

That ending was perfection for me. I cannot wait to read the next book. 

The Living God by Kaytalin Platt

1.0

 The Living God by Kaytalin Platt is a book about beautiful princess who is a mage actively working to rebel against her father the King. 

 

I tried to read this twice and DNF. The writing never pulled me in and the main character was so cliché that she was boring. I really struggled trying to read this book. 

 

One star because I could not read this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Kaytalin Platt for the free copy. This was an honest review.