killerpancake's reviews
695 reviews

Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli

lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

This was a mess of a plot compared to book 1. It made no sense why either of these characters could be trusted by anyone and how they got out of every close scrape. I’m bummed because I loved the first one but this was just hectic and messy.

The Raven Spell by Luanne G. Smith

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I read this while on a trip and needed something short and compelling. The plot kept me hooked the whole way because I wanted to get answers. The setting is also my jam (soot covered England + magic). For a free book from Amazon it was way better than I expected it to be. 

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.75

Euphoria meets A Secret History and Ninth House, An Academy for Liars focuses on all the wrong things. Instead of this rad world of presuasion magic, we have to sit through a main character who needs a therapist to work through her issues with dating her teachers. This story can also be seen as a cult narrative where Lennon disappears from her family's life to reappear in a house where she can't talk about what's going on and

starts another misguided relationship with her teacher

. 

I would rather have focused on her journey to become the best at the kind of magic she practices instead of the drama between her and literally every other human being she has any regular contact with. At one point she says "we're adults!" and I immediately said out loud, "are you?". The lead character is supposed to be in her twenties but reads as a naive 16 year old.

Our Favorite Songs by Anita Kelly

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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

My fav of the three in the series, probably because of their dynamic throughout the entire buildup to the HEA. I want more in the series honestly...

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

the queen stays queen. she is able to nail adorable but complex characters coming together under unique circumstances and I love it, EVERY TIME.

A Case of Possession by KJ Charles

dark mysterious fast-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

4.0

yes yes we read these for the smut parts but honestly there's a lot of interesting mystery and character development that legit kept me going through the story. The rat subplot and figuring out what the heck was really going on was super interesting and I legit was scared at the end, even though we know it will be HEA. Until the next one...

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.75

This was a little long with a lot of waiting around for the fun to start. Then once it does start it's kinda one and done then over. For as long as the book is... we deserve more.

Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

The structure of this book is amazing and kept me hooked the whole time. this story was devastating, hopeful, and beautiful.

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

dark fast-paced

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

4.0

I love the second book in this series a lot more. For some reason the actions of our elderly lady here felt out of proportion to the threats she faced. I found myself overwhelmed at times.

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

This book is at its best when the characters are working together in a non-plot centered scene. The side missions are when we get to see what they are capable of and how they work together and against each other. It's when the author wants to get into the political minutia or backstories for characters that it gets a little overworked. This book is just trying to do everything in a single story. The MANY povs and all the set us that each requires, the mission, the group dynamics... it's just a little too much for me in the first book of a series. The romantic felt pretty forced and I can't believe that I'm saying this but... this book didn't really need the extra romantic plots? Why did every character have to get paired up...? I enjoy romance and romantacy but this was just another extra thing in an already very busy book. There's other ways to get these folks to care about each other.

Things I did like, the Korea influences were great, especially the food shout outs. I also loved the scene where they get

jumped by the gang and then work together to enact revenge

. I would read more from this author but probably not this series...