Scan barcode
katvou's reviews
284 reviews
When Shadows Seek Light by Sarah C. Davies
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
“You poor little dove, locked up here in this putrid cage. Wings bound and heart broken - how will you escape?”
“I am finding it very, very difficult to stay away from you.”
Overall, it's a well-written, fast-paced, and cozy enemies-to-lovers fantasy story.
The world and the three realms seem really interesting, and I would have loved to learn more about them, including why there was a threat of war, especially The Grey, aka the land of the living, which stayed a bit of a mystery to me.
I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers dynamic and the relationship development between Adalia and Matthias. Matthias, as the male main character (MMC), seemed like an interesting character with a difficult and dark backstory.
I would have liked to learn more about the female main character (FMC), Adalia. Getting more information about her past and how she became who she was would have helped bring more depth to her character.
If you enjoy cozy, easy-to-read fantasy books with tropes like enemies to lovers and found family, you will probably enjoy reading this book.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
“I am finding it very, very difficult to stay away from you.”
Overall, it's a well-written, fast-paced, and cozy enemies-to-lovers fantasy story.
The world and the three realms seem really interesting, and I would have loved to learn more about them, including why there was a threat of war, especially The Grey, aka the land of the living, which stayed a bit of a mystery to me.
I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers dynamic and the relationship development between Adalia and Matthias. Matthias, as the male main character (MMC), seemed like an interesting character with a difficult and dark backstory.
I would have liked to learn more about the female main character (FMC), Adalia. Getting more information about her past and how she became who she was would have helped bring more depth to her character.
If you enjoy cozy, easy-to-read fantasy books with tropes like enemies to lovers and found family, you will probably enjoy reading this book.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Dark Hearts: a dark erotic taboo novella by Emily Klepp
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
DNF after 90 pages.
Collection of 15 dark & taboo novellas with different tropes and themes. These were supposed to be dark, dirty, and forbidden without much world-building, etc., but the stories I read were full of unnecessary plot points and honestly not spicy enough.
For example, the first two stories had a few spicy scenes that were kind of basic; nothing really spicy or dark.
Personally, I didn’t like the writing style and felt that a lot of the character interactions were kind of weird and awkward.
The Wild Man by Alex Grayson
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
The Wild Man is a Tarzan retelling with tropes like savage & uncivilized alpha male, dub/con, forced nudity & forced pleasure. Please check the trigger warnings before reading!
The idea of the book sounded really interesting, the FMC Everlee, who is a journalist is trying to write her next story about savage Wild Man who behaves more like an animal than human living on his own in the wilderness.
The beginning of the book is dark and there was a point where I wasn’t sure whether I will continue reading the book, but I’m glad I did, because the book just got better and better towards the end.
The beginning of the relationship between Everlee and Wild Man was unconventional to say the least. I liked how their relationship and captor - captive dynamic evolved throughout the book. I liked how Everlee acknowledged the negative aspects of their relationship and dynamic instead of trying to ignore or dismiss them.
I would have loved to see a bit more build up of why Everlee was so interested in finding the Wild Man at the beginning of the book, now it jumped straight to action and Everlee getting into the wilderness to find him.
The pacing of the book was mostly good, only the ending felt a bit rushed. The book overall was well written and the storyline was interesting.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
The Wild Man is a Tarzan retelling with tropes like savage & uncivilized alpha male, dub/con, forced nudity & forced pleasure. Please check the trigger warnings before reading!
The idea of the book sounded really interesting, the FMC Everlee, who is a journalist is trying to write her next story about savage Wild Man who behaves more like an animal than human living on his own in the wilderness.
The beginning of the book is dark and there was a point where I wasn’t sure whether I will continue reading the book, but I’m glad I did, because the book just got better and better towards the end.
The beginning of the relationship between Everlee and Wild Man was unconventional to say the least. I liked how their relationship and captor - captive dynamic evolved throughout the book. I liked how Everlee acknowledged the negative aspects of their relationship and dynamic instead of trying to ignore or dismiss them.
I would have loved to see a bit more build up of why Everlee was so interested in finding the Wild Man at the beginning of the book, now it jumped straight to action and Everlee getting into the wilderness to find him.
The pacing of the book was mostly good, only the ending felt a bit rushed. The book overall was well written and the storyline was interesting.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Medical content
Minor: Death, Animal death, Death of parent, and Murder
Keeper of Scarlet Petals by A.N. Skye
fast-paced
3.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️,5
”Just because I respect your ability with a sword does not mean I respect you.”
“You’re mine.”
“You have the intelligence of a steamed rat.”
The storyline was interesting from start to finish. There were a few moments in the middle of the book where the pacing was slower, but for most of the book, the pacing was quite fast, and there was a lot happening.
The characters were well-developed and interesting. I liked the banter between the FMC and MMC. Besides the main characters, the side characters were also well-introduced and played a significant part in the story.
In my opinion, the relationship between the FMC and MMC needed a bit more buildup. They were hating each other, and then all of a sudden, they were liking each other.
The magic system seemed unique and interesting, but it left me a bit confused at times. I would have preferred to learn a bit more about it.
It wasn’t easy to guess who the “bad guy” was, and there were multiple plot twists I didn’t see coming.
Overall, an interesting read. Can’t wait to read what happens next.
Thank you The Nerd Fam & Aethon Books for the gifted ARC. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
A Moonrise in the Fire by Tessia Ives
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️,5 / 🌶️🌶️
This book was a great mixture of fantasy, romance, adventure, and mystery. The book was easy to read, the plot was captivating, and the world or worlds seemed really interesting.
I liked Talvi as the main character. She was well-introduced, and I think she grew as a character throughout the story. Her motivations and actions seemed believable, even though as a reader, I sometimes thought she made some wrong decisions. I loved seeing her embrace her powers.
I didn’t enjoy the love triangle, but other than that, I liked the romantic elements and the relationships between the characters.
The world-building was well-written, and the whole portal magic aspect was really interesting. I would have loved to learn more about the different worlds.
Overall, a well-written and really interesting story. Can’t wait to read more!
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
This book was a great mixture of fantasy, romance, adventure, and mystery. The book was easy to read, the plot was captivating, and the world or worlds seemed really interesting.
I liked Talvi as the main character. She was well-introduced, and I think she grew as a character throughout the story. Her motivations and actions seemed believable, even though as a reader, I sometimes thought she made some wrong decisions. I loved seeing her embrace her powers.
I didn’t enjoy the love triangle, but other than that, I liked the romantic elements and the relationships between the characters.
The world-building was well-written, and the whole portal magic aspect was really interesting. I would have loved to learn more about the different worlds.
Overall, a well-written and really interesting story. Can’t wait to read more!
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
The Worst Pucking Deal by B. Lybaek
3.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️,5 / 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Overall I liked the concept and idea of the book. The story was a nice mixture of mafia romance and hockey romance.
I liked the relationship between Sawyer and Lucia. They weren’t exactly enemies at the beginning, but they weren't friends either. I liked how their relationship developed and evolved throughout the book. I enjoyed the touch her and die vibes.
The plot was good for most of the book, but unfortunately fell apart towards the end. The big showdown between Remus and Fabian was disappointing, the ending felt rushed, and the mafia elements at the end felt really unrealistic. Also I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Overall I liked the concept and idea of the book. The story was a nice mixture of mafia romance and hockey romance.
I liked the relationship between Sawyer and Lucia. They weren’t exactly enemies at the beginning, but they weren't friends either. I liked how their relationship developed and evolved throughout the book. I enjoyed the touch her and die vibes.
The plot was good for most of the book, but unfortunately fell apart towards the end. The big showdown between Remus and Fabian was disappointing, the ending felt rushed, and the mafia elements at the end felt really unrealistic. Also I’m not a fan of the miscommunication trope.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy
A Sword of Gilded Embers by B.C. FaJohn
3.0
A Sword of Gilded Embers is the second book in the A Throne of Ice series. While the first book in the series was more focused on the romance between the FMC and MMC, this second book was more focused on the plot and action.
I liked the MMC more in this book. I also found the relationship between the FMC and MMC to be better than in the first book. Unfortunately, I still didn’t like the FMC and found her to be quite annoying at times.
There was more history and world-building in this book compared to the first one, which was great. However, there were still some things that could have been explained a bit better, especially the magic system.
There was a lot happening and multiple plot twists I didn’t see coming.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
A Crown of Ash and Silver by B.C. FaJohn
2.0
⭐️⭐️ / 🌶️🌶️
“Little witchling.”
“In a world full of stars, Aurelie, I’d always find my way back to you.”
“You’re charming when you get protective.”
“You are my life. My reason to keep fighting.”
I really wanted to like this book. The cover looks great, the character art was beautiful, and the blurb sounds interesting, but unfortunately, I had a hard time reading it and almost DNF'd.
Enemies-to-lovers is my favorite trope, and even though this book was marketed as enemies-to-lovers & bodyguard romance, there wasn’t enough of either. The FMC & MMC didn’t really feel like enemies at the beginning and got past being “enemies” way too quickly. I would have loved to see a slower burn and them actually being enemies at the beginning.
I would have liked to see more world and character building and development. Also the magic system was quite confusing. I loved having some information about it at the beginning of the book, but I was still confused by it.
The writing could have needed a bit more work. It was sometimes hard to understand what was going on. Also, there were some inconsistencies, weird word choices, and overall things that would have needed to be explained a bit better.
In my opinion, there were a bit too many similarities to ACOTAR (for example, the court names, the beginning of the book etc). I’m okay with books being inspired by other books, but this felt like straight-up copying at times.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
“Little witchling.”
“In a world full of stars, Aurelie, I’d always find my way back to you.”
“You’re charming when you get protective.”
“You are my life. My reason to keep fighting.”
I really wanted to like this book. The cover looks great, the character art was beautiful, and the blurb sounds interesting, but unfortunately, I had a hard time reading it and almost DNF'd.
Enemies-to-lovers is my favorite trope, and even though this book was marketed as enemies-to-lovers & bodyguard romance, there wasn’t enough of either. The FMC & MMC didn’t really feel like enemies at the beginning and got past being “enemies” way too quickly. I would have loved to see a slower burn and them actually being enemies at the beginning.
I would have liked to see more world and character building and development. Also the magic system was quite confusing. I loved having some information about it at the beginning of the book, but I was still confused by it.
The writing could have needed a bit more work. It was sometimes hard to understand what was going on. Also, there were some inconsistencies, weird word choices, and overall things that would have needed to be explained a bit better.
In my opinion, there were a bit too many similarities to ACOTAR (for example, the court names, the beginning of the book etc). I’m okay with books being inspired by other books, but this felt like straight-up copying at times.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Bound by Secrets by Mia Sian
challenging
dark
emotional
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Please check the trigger warnings before reading!
This book truly was an emotional rollercoaster. There were a lot of really heavy and dark moments but also some funny and lighthearted ones.
I loved the bond that the FMC had with the twins and how they always took care of each other no matter what happened and how difficult things were. Also really enjoyed the found family aspect with their new friends.
The chemistry between FMC and the MMCs was so good. I loved how their relationship developed and how gentle and understanding the MMCs were towards her.
The pacing of the book was good and stayed consistent throughout the story. Even though there was a lot happening, the story never felt rushed.
Overall a well written, emotional and engaging book.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
This book truly was an emotional rollercoaster. There were a lot of really heavy and dark moments but also some funny and lighthearted ones.
I loved the bond that the FMC had with the twins and how they always took care of each other no matter what happened and how difficult things were. Also really enjoyed the found family aspect with their new friends.
The chemistry between FMC and the MMCs was so good. I loved how their relationship developed and how gentle and understanding the MMCs were towards her.
The pacing of the book was good and stayed consistent throughout the story. Even though there was a lot happening, the story never felt rushed.
Overall a well written, emotional and engaging book.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Rape, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death, Torture, Vomit, and Alcohol
Of Song and Darkness by Jessica Spruill
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
“Your concern is touching. It almost seems like you care.”
“And here I believed you were just a heartless pirate.”
“Touch her again, and you won’t have to worry about your hand because I will cleave you to the brisket, savvy?”
I really enjoyed this book, it was easy to read and kept me engaged from start to finish.
The FMC Rhea is the siren princess of Aquarius, and she’s willing to do anything to save her world. I liked her character development and how she gained much more confidence throughout the story.
The MMC is a notorious pirate captain, Blackheart Kai. I enjoyed the banter and tension between him and Rhea. There were some things revealed about his history and how/why he ended up being a pirate captain. He seemed like a really interesting character and I would love to learn more about him and his past.
The storyline itself was easy to follow and interesting. There were some plot twists towards the end that took me by surprise, and I didn’t see those coming. There were a few times where the plot felt maybe a bit too easy and convenient for the main characters but overall I really enjoyed the story.
I received an ARC of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review. Receiving ARC didn’t affect my opinion of the book.