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looseleafellie's reviews
251 reviews
Song of the Crimson Flower by Julie C. Dao
5.0
Song of the Crimson Flower is a companion novel to Julie C. Dao’s Rise of the Empress duology — which I haven’t read, so I was concerned I wouldn’t understand a lot of stuff. Luckily, it turns out the main characters are completely new, and any relevant backstory is clearly explained. Lan is such an interesting protagonist for me — she sees herself as a good person, but she sometimes does mean things because she’s kind of an inexperienced and sheltered rich kid. It was so great to see her character develop over the story. And I totally adored Bao, who is the sweetest cinnamon roll ever and is basically just a good boy trying his best. Their romance is super cute, and I got so many warm fuzzy feelings from it!
The lush setting totally captivated my attention, and I loved the moral dilemmas in the plot. The main one is that there’s this drug called black spice that’s highly addictive, but may have medicinal properties, and it was really interesting to see the characters’ different perspectives on how to deal with the problem. I found the villain to be a great, complex character who truly believes she’s doing the right thing, which I’m a total sucker for.
In the end, I loved the world of Feng Lu so much that I’ll be diving into my copy of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Julie C. Dao’s debut novel) at the first opportunity!
The lush setting totally captivated my attention, and I loved the moral dilemmas in the plot. The main one is that there’s this drug called black spice that’s highly addictive, but may have medicinal properties, and it was really interesting to see the characters’ different perspectives on how to deal with the problem. I found the villain to be a great, complex character who truly believes she’s doing the right thing, which I’m a total sucker for.
In the end, I loved the world of Feng Lu so much that I’ll be diving into my copy of Forest of a Thousand Lanterns (Julie C. Dao’s debut novel) at the first opportunity!
One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus
5.0
I devoured One of Us is Lying last year, so when I discovered that it was getting a sequel, I couldn’t wait to dive back into the world of Bayview High! My expectations were up in the stratosphere, and luckily I was not disappointed.
While the original Bayview Four get a fair amount of page time in this story, the actual POV characters are new voices — Bronwyn’s sister Maeve, outgoing and lovable Phoebe, and Knox, who is just a good boy trying his best and I love him to pieces. As with the first book, the plot constantly kept me on my toes. You know from snippets at the start that someone gets murdered, but you don’t find out who until halfway through the book. The twisty mystery of who’s responsible for orchestrating the murder ends in a way that I didn’t expect at all!
Overall, I found this a really strong sequel, and it’s a must-read if you enjoyed the first book.
While the original Bayview Four get a fair amount of page time in this story, the actual POV characters are new voices — Bronwyn’s sister Maeve, outgoing and lovable Phoebe, and Knox, who is just a good boy trying his best and I love him to pieces. As with the first book, the plot constantly kept me on my toes. You know from snippets at the start that someone gets murdered, but you don’t find out who until halfway through the book. The twisty mystery of who’s responsible for orchestrating the murder ends in a way that I didn’t expect at all!
Overall, I found this a really strong sequel, and it’s a must-read if you enjoyed the first book.
The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5
The Vanishing Deep has a lot in common with Scholte’s debut novel, Four Dead Queens, in that it’s also a kind of sci-fi story disguised as a fantasy (which I’m SO DOWN for because sci-fi deserves more attention). There’s a lot of cool futuristic technology, and in fact the plot revolves around a very specific piece of tech — the ability to bring a dead person back to life for 24 hours.
We find out more information about how this revival technology works as the story goes on — a decision that, for me, had pros and cons. On the one hand, each reveal made me keep turning pages like lightning; on the other, the workings of the technology didn’t make much sense without the extra information revealed later on, so I found it hard to suspend my disbelief for a large portion of the story. The worldbuilding in general, for me, wasn’t as immersive as it was in Four Dead Queens, which was kind of disappointing because I really wanted to become wrapped up in this waterlogged world.
The crowning jewel of this story is the moral dilemmas that appear, especially in the latter half of the book. I’m a HUGE sucker for books that push characters into extremely difficult decisions, and The Vanishing Deep totally delivered on that. I can’t say too much because of spoilers, but one character ended up with a fate that I completely didn’t expect, and I applaud the author for having the guts to pull off something like that in a way that felt right for the story.
In the end, I felt the worldbuilding and the flow of the writing itself could have been better, but the moral dilemmas totally suckered me in like a tentacled sea monster. Also: THERE IS AROACE REP. Of a major character who doesn't die and has a great arc. So that's always something great to see.
The Vanishing Deep has a lot in common with Scholte’s debut novel, Four Dead Queens, in that it’s also a kind of sci-fi story disguised as a fantasy (which I’m SO DOWN for because sci-fi deserves more attention). There’s a lot of cool futuristic technology, and in fact the plot revolves around a very specific piece of tech — the ability to bring a dead person back to life for 24 hours.
We find out more information about how this revival technology works as the story goes on — a decision that, for me, had pros and cons. On the one hand, each reveal made me keep turning pages like lightning; on the other, the workings of the technology didn’t make much sense without the extra information revealed later on, so I found it hard to suspend my disbelief for a large portion of the story. The worldbuilding in general, for me, wasn’t as immersive as it was in Four Dead Queens, which was kind of disappointing because I really wanted to become wrapped up in this waterlogged world.
The crowning jewel of this story is the moral dilemmas that appear, especially in the latter half of the book. I’m a HUGE sucker for books that push characters into extremely difficult decisions, and The Vanishing Deep totally delivered on that. I can’t say too much because of spoilers, but one character ended up with a fate that I completely didn’t expect, and I applaud the author for having the guts to pull off something like that in a way that felt right for the story.
In the end, I felt the worldbuilding and the flow of the writing itself could have been better, but the moral dilemmas totally suckered me in like a tentacled sea monster. Also: THERE IS AROACE REP. Of a major character who doesn't die and has a great arc. So that's always something great to see.
The Wrong Costar by Alexandra Moody
4.0
I read and liked [b:The Wrong Bachelor|40771019|The Wrong Bachelor|Alexandra Moody|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531184468l/40771019._SY75_.jpg|63458418] last year, so when I found out there was going to be another installment, I slammed the preorder button faster than you can say "Beauty and the Beast." When The Wrong Costar finally showed up on my Kindle yesterday, I tore through it in a matter of hours!
Like its predecessor, The Wrong Costar is a quick, enjoyable read that's perfect for some light fluffy escapism. It features characters from The Wrong Bachelor -- including the female protagonist, Teagan, who was a side character in the first book -- but I think it works as a standalone as well as a sequel.
I liked the lead characters in this story even better than in the first. Teagan has clear goals and motivation right from the get-go, and her initial conflict with Liam is very believable given what she stands to lose if her play goes wrong. Liam himself is easy to sympathize with, and I found him a more likable love interest than Cole in the first book (who was kind of a douche for most of the story). As for the side characters, I was delighted to see that Evan got a lot of page time, and I also appreciated the reappearance of the egotistical student body president, Angus.
These kinds of stories can often be predictable, but the twists later on in the book had me genuinely wondering how everything was going to turn out happily ever after (luckily, of course, it did). Overall, this series has become my go-to for relaxing between heavier reads, and I look forward to the next book!
Like its predecessor, The Wrong Costar is a quick, enjoyable read that's perfect for some light fluffy escapism. It features characters from The Wrong Bachelor -- including the female protagonist, Teagan, who was a side character in the first book -- but I think it works as a standalone as well as a sequel.
I liked the lead characters in this story even better than in the first. Teagan has clear goals and motivation right from the get-go, and her initial conflict with Liam is very believable given what she stands to lose if her play goes wrong. Liam himself is easy to sympathize with, and I found him a more likable love interest than Cole in the first book (who was kind of a douche for most of the story). As for the side characters, I was delighted to see that Evan got a lot of page time, and I also appreciated the reappearance of the egotistical student body president, Angus.
These kinds of stories can often be predictable, but the twists later on in the book had me genuinely wondering how everything was going to turn out happily ever after (luckily, of course, it did). Overall, this series has become my go-to for relaxing between heavier reads, and I look forward to the next book!
The Wrong Prom Date by Alexandra Moody
4.0
This made such a cute finale to the Wrong Match series! I really enjoyed [b:The Wrong Bachelor|40771019|The Wrong Bachelor|Alexandra Moody|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531184468l/40771019._SY75_.jpg|63458418] and [b:The Wrong Costar|52429505|The Wrong Costar (The Wrong Match Book 2)|Alexandra Moody|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1566779633l/52429505._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73067781], and I'm pleased to say this one did not disappoint.
I loved finally getting Hayley's point of view -- she's such a bubbly and fun character! Ethan hadn't shown up in any previous installments, but I loved him immediately. He's a lovely dorky nerd, and he's probably my favorite out of the three love interests in this series.
I was a little skeptical at first about how interesting this book's concept would be compared to the first two. After a Bachelor-style contest and a move star rivalry, asking a guy to prom seemed to be a little anticlimactic. However, I think it's the characters that make this one shine, and I truly enjoyed it just as much as its predecessors!
I loved finally getting Hayley's point of view -- she's such a bubbly and fun character! Ethan hadn't shown up in any previous installments, but I loved him immediately. He's a lovely dorky nerd, and he's probably my favorite out of the three love interests in this series.
I was a little skeptical at first about how interesting this book's concept would be compared to the first two. After a Bachelor-style contest and a move star rivalry, asking a guy to prom seemed to be a little anticlimactic. However, I think it's the characters that make this one shine, and I truly enjoyed it just as much as its predecessors!