kateslovedreads's reviews
483 reviews

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The development of dreams and thoughts really come to life in Starling House. Opal suppresses her dreams and wants, thats just the way it has to be in order for her to focus on the things she needs. Which is 1) to survive and 2) to get Jasper out of Eden under any circumstances. Opal character makes you feel sympathy for her but shes also the ultimate survivor of this little town called Eden. As far as Arthur, I wasn’t sure what to make of him. He went from creepy to misunderstood to admired. He’s also in survival mode but by choice. I think my favorite thing about these characters is their resilience. They’ve both been dealt some bad hands but they make the most out of the situations they’ve been giving and still strive to be the reason of other’s betterment. Starling House is , more than your typical, haunted house. Its orgin stories are jumbled into false truths with the actual truth closer than you know. Such an amazing well written story that I’m going to gush and tell to anybody who will listen.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75

3.75🌟

*Warning: This review does contain spoilers and I’m just dumping my thoughts below*

I guess the best way I can describe my experience reading Nettle & Bone is that I loved the start of it, felt meh about the ending, and just didn’t understand some characters. I think even though I complained about the long first couple of chapters those were the best chapters I read (up until the goblin market). This was my first read where the female MC isn’t really this powerhouse heroine. In some aspects she is definitely strong (I don’t want to take that away from her) but towards the ending I felt like she just stood there and played the princess part she so desperately doesn’t want to live while everyone else completes her quest to save her sister. Not only that,but the godmothers curse, they free the old godmother from her tie to the royal family and she barely has two seconds to explain anything before she’s turned to dust. I would’ve wanted more from her and who actually freed her if not the dust wife. Then we get to romantic subplot which wasn’t bad but I also didn’t see the “need” of Fenris like the moth suggested. I get it he dealt the blow to the king but besides that and being the big scary guy of the group, why was he there. On that note, I think I’ve dumped enough of my thoughts and  just want to say I love Bone-dog❤️

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

emotional funny hopeful tense fast-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

Blossom by Helen Hardt

3.75

*I received an ARC copy however all opinions are my own*

Rating: 3.75 (didn’t want to give this just 3 stars bc I did enjoy the story)

First thing, I absolutely loved Ronan and Mary’s characters. I enjoyed their quick romance and their overall story. The only reason I gave it this rating was because of the ghost scene and the constant mentions of voodoo throughout the book. Idk if it’s because I live in Louisiana but I wasn’t feeling the glorification/ eagerness to learn it. Everytime it was mentioned I felt like I was pulled out of the story which impacted my reading experience through the rest of the book. I understand this is all personal preference and that’s why I wanted to lead with the things I did like about Blossom. I still loved the characters, the writing and their story minus a couple scenes which bugged me. Thank you again for the opportunity to read Blossom :)

Alien Shield by Ursa Dax

3.75

A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Promise Me Never by Nichole Greene

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

*ARC review however all opinions are my own*

Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟.8/ out of 5 stars (only because I’m butt hurt over that ending)

Promise me never….to go into another book without seeing it’s a duet. 

I was going through this book so fast until the last 10% of this book. I didn’t see that ending coming but nevertheless here’s my review. This story was such a quick read, I’m writing this review the same day I started the book. Eli and Luke’s relationship was so sweet, attractive and just everything. Seeing how quickly he went from grumpy to willing was interesting, but in a good way. I loved their moments alone but I also enjoyed the moments with their friend group. Colt and Sam were hilarious and can’t wait to see if they get their own stories. I feel like I can live in this book forever.  You have the cozy element from her grandparents, the sexy element (obviously from Luke) and the social element of their friendships. However, im also not over that ending and I need a resolution so I can move on and sleep peacefully.

King of Greed by Ana Huang

challenging funny hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

adventurous challenging hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

What The River Knows…

apparently a whole lot more than I do. I fell for every plot twist just as Inez did. I put trust and distrust into the wrong characters and this book took for everything I thought I knew and flipped it.  The amount of history and detail in this book made me feel like I was learning something new on every page. Along with the in between illustrations, which really made the text come to life. Inez and Whit intrigued me from the start, so much that I had convinced myself this wasn’t a love story. But then again I think I just didn’t know who to trust. While I enjoyed the budding romance, the excavation and discovery moments were my favorite. I felt like I was physically there in every moment. This book went beyond setting the scene, it set up a whole experience.

Alien Victor by Ursa Dax

fast-paced

5.0