keddy4306's reviews
179 reviews

The Husky & His White Cat Shizun: Erha He Ta De Bai Mao Shizun (Novel) Vol. 4 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou

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dark emotional funny sad tense 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

5.0

He murmured, "Three thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine."
He had counted as he walked. That was the number of steps up to the main gate, the number of steps that Chu Wanning had climbed that day, carrying him on his back. He was certain that for as long as he lived, he would never forget Chu Wanning's hands, cold as ice, chafed raw and bloody.
(page 19)
Mo Ran 2.0 in full redemption era is peak character development.


In his last life, he had loved someone dearly. Later, that person had given up his life, and Mo Ran had fallen into hell.
In this life, there was someone who loved and protected him. Later, that person had given up his life, and brought Mo Ran back to the world of the living.
(page 21)
When the realization sets in. 

His first day out of seclusion, and Mo Ran hadn't made it back in time. Every single disciple of Sisheng Peak was here, including those whose names he didn't know and those he'd never even met. It was only him who was missing. But without him present, the banquet was incomplete. And all the stewed crab meatballs, sweet osmanthus lotus root, and fragrant pear blossom white wine in the world wouldn't make it complete. Chu Wanning closed his eyes.
(page 93)
I live for Chu Wanning's inner thoughts. He just wants to love and be loved. 

Everyone, down to the youngest disciples, the men and the women, those standing alone and those in groups, all of them were looking up at the glittering, resplendent night sky and reading aloud:
Disciple Mo Ran welcomes Shizun back from seclusion.
(page 95)
A welcome worthy of Hua Cheng. Mo Ran rizz.

Looking at the bleeding gash he'd inflicted, he asked once more, "Why didn't you dodge when I struck you earlier?"
Mo Ran fell still for a second, then dropped his thick curtain of lashes with a smile, answering once more: "You said that dreams that were too good to be true probably weren't." He paused, before continuing at a murmur: "I wanted to see if it would hurt. If it hurts, then it's not a dream. "
(page 108)
The way that they first reunite
at a hot spring
is perfect. 

"Shizun, I..."
He what? Before Mo Ran could say any more, Chu Wanning turned on his heel and took off running. Mo Ran was flabbergasted -- he was literally running. He'd never seen Chu Wanning fleeing like this, running away like whatever was behind him was gonna eat him alive and chew up his soul.
(page 109)
This is one of my favourite romance tropes haha

I didn't grab any quotes from
domestic farm
arc because I'm in love with all of it.

Ranwan also had a
cute sparring match, ate together and did other things together in an inn with only a thin wall separating them.


Mo Ran was determined to stop others from calling his shizun "ill-mannered" ever again. Thus he vowed to act even more egregiously than Chu Wanning did, even more over-the-top. It was a dumb plan, but it was the only one he could conceive of to protect his shizun.
(page 377)
Disrespecting Nangong Liu as he should. The way he didn't even notice that he was the only one sitting and not showing any courtesy was perfect.


In that moment, Mo Ran decided: no, Nangong Si was not going to marry Song Qiutong.
(page 389)
Mo Ran: MY SHIP WILL SET SAIL. phenomenal. I love how invested he is in
Nangong Si x Ye Wangxi
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous 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

3.5

Edit: This review really didn't age well after reading the second book. This series is horrible.

Bryce is definitely the best fmc SJM has written yet.  I really don't need to insult Feyre and Nesta like that
Bryce has exactly the complexity that I love in a POV character. How she deals with her grief as well as place in society is the strongest part of the book. The mystery surrounding Danika's death and Micah being the mustache-twirling villain was really goofy. The part in the library where she baited him into confessing everything was... something. I thought this book was a lot like a soap opera which made me laugh. Hunt could've had a bit more depth, particularly around his involvement with Justinian and Viktoria. Naturally, I hate retroactive storytelling and just have to accept it everytime SJM gets to a part of the story where she can't seem to write a believable and enjoyable solution ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ she wanted a "betrayal" so she fumbled her way into getting to that scene and then moving along as if it never really mattered anyway
. Do I think it's written well enough to truly deserve this rating? No, probably not. But I had a good time. I'm looking forward to book 2.
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

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

2.5

I've never been so tempted to dnf the last book in a series. I can honestly say SJM did a pretty bad job of keeping her story interesting and her characters compelling. Chaol and Dorian are the only reasons I got through this book
Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff

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Did not finish book.
Male fantasy authors are so cringe! "But it's my moonstime, Gabriel.  My blood is on me. We should wait." In reference to her period.
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional sad 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

5.0

I'm gonna review this book with everything I love about Chaol since this is his book. 

I love Chaol's growth as a character throughout the series. He does make mistakes, but never breaks character to rapidly become something else (like Rowan and Aelin both do). I honestly think the mistakes he does make are super minor and outside of his control, yet every character in the series immediately turns on him (except Dorian) and acts like he's scum for it. No one else gets that level of hatred for their MUCH BIGGER mistakes. 

Everything surrounding Chaol's thoughts on
Nehemia's death
in CoM made complete sense to me.
I genuinely expected that Aelin would struggle with "forgiving him" (although imo he didn't do anything to be forgiven for) through her grief and that would be the end of it, but she holds this grudge for the entire series and never really stops being shitty to him about it
.

Chaol would do anything for anyone,
including being the only character besides a literal child who cares about the dog - my man risks his life twice to ensure Fleetfoot's safety and doesn't ever get a thank you for that.


He has internal struggles that I can relate to surrounding mental health and self-worth, and I thought how SJM wrote his
inner struggles with his disability to be such a good character arc - better than any other character gets.


I also really enjoyed Chaol's thoughts surrounding his
relationship with Nesryn and how he regrets how he treated her. Its very human, and normal, and *makes sense*. It gives him a lot of depth and makes him feel *real*


And personally, it was also *very* charming how much Chaol adores Dorian. I found it equally funny and endearing. I meme about it, but a good gay "bromance" brings up a series a lot for me. They're seriously soulmates and
Yrene and Manon
are lovely side pieces. 
The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
I have no problem with the story of this book, I just find it immensely boring to read and don't love how the characters are described. Norse mythology is also not my jam. 
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

MVP's of this book are Lorcan, Elide, Lysandra and Abraxos. I wouldn't have enjoyed it otherwise.
There's nothing I hate more then retroactive storytelling, which SJM is constantly doing to explain what Aelin has been up to. Manon and Dorian's relationship is pretty unsatisfying, they had a lot of chemistry initially, but they were never given any time to build on their relationship. And all of the sex scenes felt really shallow. Why is there so much sex in a YA series anyway?
A Fire in the Flesh by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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? No

5.0

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark emotional 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? No

4.5

Manon and the 13 were a really interesting element to add to the series
The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is one of those books that I did not enjoy reading, but I enjoyed having all the knowledge from. I think all the information could've been delivered in a better way where we weren't stuck with only teen Celaena for a POV.
Even knowing Sam was going to die, I do think his death scene was well done. I wish he would've had more personality throughout the book though