kierasreadingjournal's reviews
28 reviews

Skin Deep: And Other Troubled Thoughts by TM Lunn

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

Unbridled Damsel by Stella Donato

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

While overall there was simply too much about these poems that I wasn’t comfortable with to rate it properly, I will definitely say that Donato knows how to weave stories into poems! The inclusion of their Mexican heritage and culture, as well as their depictions of the challenges that come within the culture of being a first-generation immigrant, left me feeling like I better understood the experience, and even though I’ve never personally experienced that myself, it helped garner a new level of sympathy that I’d never previously experienced in this topic.

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Bride of the Fae Prince by Anastasis Blythe

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.5

When I first applied to ARC read Bride of the Fae Prince by Anastasis Blythe, I will fully admit I didn't expect to get accepted. There were a limited number of seats to be filled, and I had been a couple days late to the notification. So, when the email entered my inbox, telling me I'd been accepted as an ARC reader, the overwhelming emotions were surprise and shock. But these quickly faded away to utter joy as I delved into the rich, intricate world of Faerieland and all the shenanigans that came with it.

Summary:
Isabelle Louise has always known she is to be married off to whomever will form the strongest alliance for her father's kingdom. It is her fate, her duty, and their kingdom's best defense against the fae attempting to obliviate their borders. All her sisters have done it before her, and she accepts it now without a whisper of complaint.

No matter how cruel or disgusting her future husband may be.

However, all her thoughts on living a quiet, subdued life of fading into the shadows are blanched when her latest suitor Trenian Ashrift Solavirth, the Prince of the Fae himself, arrives from Faerieland in search of a wife.

A human wife.

As Isabelle Louise is swept into a world of danger and politics, will she learn to love her fae husband? Or is she truly just another pawn in his immortal game?

"For a world of people who supposedly cannot lie, I feel as though I swim blind and deaf through a sea of falsehoods and half-truths."

My Review:
From the very first chapter, I knew I was going to absolutely adore this book. Isabelle Louise was so relatable to me. Her quiet, self-sacrificial demeanor and nervous anxiety grabbed my heart in a way that only a kindred belief could. The way she fully expected to be the wife of a cruel, self-serving man--had resigned herself to a life of limitation and unhappiness.
Yet still hadn't fully smothered the flame buried within her soul….

(Full Review on My Blog!)
https://kierasreadingjournal.blogspot.com/2024/05/bride-of-fae-prince-book-review.html?m=1

Content Warnings

When We Run by Mille Shepherd

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

Manacled by SenLinYu

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.

Content Warnings

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? No

5.0

✨5 STARS!!!✨

“You are chaos.”

Okay, most of you probably know that I DON’T hand out 5 star reviews easily! 4 stars? Yes, all the time. But 5 stars are reserved for the books that really hit me. That struck a chord in me. That mean something to me!

And I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t actually expecting to pick up another 5 star read this year! I’ve already read one, and I thought that was going to be the end.

I WAS WRONG!!!

Obviously, or we wouldn’t have a huge 5 STARS!!! at the beginning of this. 😆

But Ms. Maehrer’s writing is GENIUS!!!

It’s SOOO QUIRKY!!!! And I absolutely adored the style! The plot twists struck me out of NOWHERE!!! Like, I could not have guessed them from a mile away! And yet, at the same time, I was hitting myself (figuratively) for not figuring it out sooner!

The characters!! Ugh. The CHARACTERS!!! 😍😍😍 I love them all SO MUCH!!! Evie and Trystan and Becky and Blade and Tatianna and EVERYBODY!!!

Not to mention the CHEMISTRY between characters!! The TENSION!! I was rocking giggles and butterflies and even stamping my feet a couple of times. It was just TOO GOOD!!!!

It’s family now! This book has become family to me. 🥹💖 And I cannot WAIT for book two!! 🎉🥳

Content Warnings

The Starlit Prince by C.F.E. Black

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.25

“Stars, Talia, what would you do, if you saw a monster?”
I could only stare at him. “Say it again.”
“The curse?”
”My name.”

Okay, okay, okay. So, this book. This book! THIS BOOK!!!

This was my second read through because I felt I devoured it too quickly the first time to truly appreciate it… and I was right! There were so many aspects of the story that I completely missed on my first read through! (And some things I’m still sitting on, trying to absorb.)

Themes of redemption and selfless love permeate these pages. The Spanish worldbuilding is exquisite! (And very refreshing compared to most books I’ve read!) The desire of the star-crossed lovers, doomed to fail yet desperate to succeed, is tantalizing. And honestly, I absolutely adored this book!

The chemistry Rafael and Talia had was amazing! It honestly felt like they just clicked, right from the moment Talia discovered the elaborate stables on his property. And I was so impressed by Talia’s devotion to her marriage, regardless of how bumpy the relationship started out. Her determination to make the relationship work simultaneously humbled and inspired me, making me wonder how I would’ve reacted in a similar situation. Probably not as well as she did, I’ll tell you that!

The morals! The romance! So many quotes moved me—too many for me to list. But along with the above, here’s another one for good measure!

“In a thousand years, what will her life be to you?” I swallowed. “If in a thousand years I’m a free man, her life will have meant everything to me.”

Content Warnings

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

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challenging emotional medium-paced

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

3.75

“She destroyed his dreams, and he made her wind chimes.”

I’m going to be completely honest here; I have no idea what to think of this book. I always claim I learn something with every book I read… I look between the lines and see the personal lessons that apply to me as a reader. And while I definitely did learn things with this book, I can’t help but think it could have been so much better executed.

I finished this book in six days. It’s almost 500 pages long.

And while this sounds like it would be a positive, I think the majority of that time was spent searching for and trying to understand the deeper meaning that the author obviously intended.

This story is inspired by the story of Hosea – a story where a God-fearing prophet is told to marry a prostitute who continuously attempts to return to her old ways. It’s designed as an allegory of the relationship between God and His people. (I actually binge-read the whole story last night in an attempt to find any similarities I missed). As such, Hosea is intended to be a representation of God and His love in the story as, I initially assumed, Michal Hosea was to be in Redeeming Love.

And while many people, according to reviews, were able to see God’s love shining out through Michael’s character, I couldn’t see much more than a walking red flag until almost halfway through the book.

And while that may have just been my own fault – my own expectations crumbling around me – that caused that section of the book to be unrelatable and frustrating (and not a few times to think that if I wasn’t already a Christian reading this book, I would want nothing to do with Christianity altogether if it was represented as it was in this story), it still stands to reason that others, knowing the inspiration behind this story, would have gone in with those same expectations.

Surprisingly, even after all that’s said and done, this was the book I was needing at the time.

It came at a perfect season in my life, and while yes, it is full of some less-than-agreeable content and ideology, it still made a positive impact on me and my personal journey.

If only for the quote above and the first time she said his name…

“Michael.”

Content Warnings

Here Dreaming Though Wide Awake by Shawna Woodland

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Where can I even begin? This book is love and light. It took my darkest fears and wove ribbons of stardust into them. Showed me dreams; showed me hopes. Showed me wishes I never dared to believe in.

Things I never believed I deserved.

This book is cozy tea and warm blankets, with just the right amount of stormy nights.

I was crying, laughing, and dreaming along with the characters. And there may or may not have been a few too many tissues involved. But, what book doesn’t have just a little bit of darkness in it in order to showcase the light?

This book has changed me for the better – wholly, incandescently, and irrevocably. It has been a kick in my healing journey. Has helped me discover things about myself that I never knew existed. Has helped craft the mould for a more authentic me.

And, all I can say is “thank you.”

Thank you to the author for bringing this book into my life!

The book that I so desperately needed to help me overcome my own shadows. ❤️

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

This is one of my ultimate ✨comfort books!✨

And I wouldn’t have it ✨ANY✨ other way!

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kierasreadingjournal's reviews 28 reviews

kierasreadingjournal's reviews
28 reviews