lanagio's reviews
505 reviews

A Heart of Shame by Kristen Banet

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I really enjoyed this plot line.  The second half was better for me than the first, but I didn't mind the first half either.  It wasn't difficult to stick with it.  The second half is where Sawyer gets her first chance to work a case with the team.

There wasn't a super surprising solution to their case but it felt logical and realistic and a lot of the emotions expressed during this book felt authentic.  The men dealing with the aftermath of Sawyer revealing her previous identity at the end of book 1, Sawyer continuing to live with and try to work through (work around?) her trauma from her previous life.

There are also parts where it felt like there was unnecessary tension added to rather mundane conversations.  Also, too much use of whisper, groan & chuckle.  It's driving me crazy!  

I dig Vincent, he has some solid depth to his character.  I like Elijah & Quinn as well.  I find Zander & Jasper to be sort of afterthoughts even though they are her childhood friends.  I think that's all I have to say, okay bye!

A Life of Shadows by Kristen Banet

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Racial slurs

Havoc at Prescott High by C.M. Stunich
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.

I wanted to like this but couldn’t get past 21%.  The number of times the words “inked” and “tattooed” were said is astounding.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape

Nocticadia by Keri Lake

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I think this is a 3.5, but I can't bring myself to round up. I did enjoy this story but I will admit it wasn't as worldchanging as I thought it might be. If I'm honest, it felt a little crowded with storylines and villains and mysteries and plots. Most of them cleared themselves up in a not very surprising way at the end but some of the solutions seemed like a bit of a cop out, and some of them didn't really make much sense.

Some people who were really shitty the whole book, were like not so bad at the end? And then other people who were pretty okay turned out be total assholes, which I guess is a plot twist but it also just didn't feel like a believable twist.

I like Lilia's character alright, she's a good egg, but pretty boring truthfully. It is referenced heavily and often that she is from Covington, a rough city in Mass. She lives in a so-so apartment above a theater, which seems kind of cool but is mostly irrelevant, and I think she's supposed to be like, tough? But she really isn't? She is actually quite meek, except when she's not, and there doesn't seem to be too much rhyme or reason to the switches. She is bright and that stays consistent throughout the book, along with her interest in the Noctisoma parasites.

I'm down with Devryck Bramwell, to me he is basically a non-vampire Lance Orion (Zodiac Academy, READ THEM they are so fun). He is broody and sexy and all that jazz.

I didn't find most of the circumstances that brought him & Lilia together to be terribly clever. But I did like their chemistry once they got there.

So overall, it's an entertaining read, but I think could have been just as entertaining and maybe more sensible if like 2 or 3 side stories/evil plots were cut out. But I did enjoy it enough to try at least one more Keri Lake book, so do with that what you will!

Rain of Shadows and Endings by Melissa K. Roehrich
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.

DNFed at 30%.  I absolutely could not stand Tessa.  Theon wasn’t the best either but reading Tessa was making my brain want to leak out of my ears.  I also found that there were a few pieces of this world that felt too similar to stuff from Zodiac Academy.  Also, I was bored.

Saved by My Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose, Angel Lawson

dark slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No

1.5

Captured by My Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose, Angel Lawson

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

2.0

Hunted by My Stepbrothers by A.K. Rose, Angel Lawson

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

Bad Alpha by Kathryn Moon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.

I didn’t like the relationships.  I don’t like Eve and I also don’t like that she is the reason most of the men chose to become a pack rather than bc of Adam who seems lovely

Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0