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maddiementions's reviews
75 reviews
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?! 2020 HAS BEEN SAVED BY THE ALMIGHTY, THE GODDESS, THE QUEEN OF FAERIE HERSELF, HOLLY BLACK.
Coming Home to Bellingham by Katie Stewart Stone
3.0
*Thank you to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
3.5 out of 5 stars
I almost gave this book four stars and I really wanted to. The truth is, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, its characters, and its swoon-worthy romance. However, I have two reasons as to why I did not rate it higher.
1. The plot moved way too quickly, in my opinion. At the beginning of the book, Annabelle is deeply mourning the sudden loss of her parents and it felt that rather too quickly, she was whisked away to Bellingham and the mood changed drastically. Don't get me wrong, I wanted happiness for Annabelle and I love that she found a community she could call "home", but I just felt that it all happened too fast. Getting settled into a new home and meeting new people takes time. I feel that this was a little rushed. It felt odd that she made such deep connections with people so quickly. At the same time, there was a part of me that enjoyed the lightheartedness of this story.
2. The people of Bellingham seemed a little too perfect. The Alexander's, our love interest's family, are like the dream in-laws every woman fantasizes about (Except Nathan Alexander, I want to throat punch him). The mother, Lady Bellingham, immediately falls in love with Annabelle without hardly even knowing her. The brothers also took a liking to her very quickly. While I liked this, it seemed rather unrealistic. The family was so optimistic and friendly at times, that I was wondering when the catch would come where we find out they're hiding a dark secret or something. No catch, this family is just extremely amiable.
I didn't have any issues with the love interest, Peter. I thought he was a great character, with a good (kind of tragic) backstory. The romance between him and Annabelle was very romantic to me and I actually liked that Peter's past didn't affect their relationship too much. I really liked that this story was clean and the romance was authentic. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
3.5 out of 5 stars
I almost gave this book four stars and I really wanted to. The truth is, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, its characters, and its swoon-worthy romance. However, I have two reasons as to why I did not rate it higher.
1. The plot moved way too quickly, in my opinion. At the beginning of the book, Annabelle is deeply mourning the sudden loss of her parents and it felt that rather too quickly, she was whisked away to Bellingham and the mood changed drastically. Don't get me wrong, I wanted happiness for Annabelle and I love that she found a community she could call "home", but I just felt that it all happened too fast. Getting settled into a new home and meeting new people takes time. I feel that this was a little rushed. It felt odd that she made such deep connections with people so quickly. At the same time, there was a part of me that enjoyed the lightheartedness of this story.
2. The people of Bellingham seemed a little too perfect. The Alexander's, our love interest's family, are like the dream in-laws every woman fantasizes about (Except Nathan Alexander, I want to throat punch him). The mother, Lady Bellingham, immediately falls in love with Annabelle without hardly even knowing her. The brothers also took a liking to her very quickly. While I liked this, it seemed rather unrealistic. The family was so optimistic and friendly at times, that I was wondering when the catch would come where we find out they're hiding a dark secret or something. No catch, this family is just extremely amiable.
I didn't have any issues with the love interest, Peter. I thought he was a great character, with a good (kind of tragic) backstory. The romance between him and Annabelle was very romantic to me and I actually liked that Peter's past didn't affect their relationship too much. I really liked that this story was clean and the romance was authentic. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
3.0
*3.5 out of 5 stars*
sigh...I have such a love/hate relationship with this series. There's a part of me that likes it and another part of me that gets so frustrated with the characters and the storyline.
Most of the time, I thought that the plot was intriguing and I can't say that I ever felt bored or uninterested. However, I just really don't like these characters. Mare feels really bland to me and is the typical "I'm not like the other girls" female protagonist. I mean the first line in the blurb for this book literally says "If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different."
Oh, please.
Anyway, she just feels like any other mainstream YA female protagonist that has a special ability or power. I don't hate her guts or anything, but I wish her character had more depth. For Cal, I tried really hard to like him, but I just can't. I'm not a huge fan of his soldier/jock personality. Plus... my theory is that he's going to betray Mare at some point...
The main reason I have stuck with the series thus far is because Maven holds a special place in my heart. I loved him a lot in the first book before...you know. And there's a part of me that wishes and hopes that he will come to his senses even after everything he's done. I also wonder if he is truly in love with Mare because he shows some signs of it. Yes, it's true, I am a Maven/Mare shipper even though Maven has done some horrible things. Even at this point, I still really like him. I can just feel in my gut that his character might be redemptive. Overall, I didn't hate this book and I know I will read the next one because I'm too invested at this point and I need to know what happens lol.
sigh...I have such a love/hate relationship with this series. There's a part of me that likes it and another part of me that gets so frustrated with the characters and the storyline.
Most of the time, I thought that the plot was intriguing and I can't say that I ever felt bored or uninterested. However, I just really don't like these characters. Mare feels really bland to me and is the typical "I'm not like the other girls" female protagonist. I mean the first line in the blurb for this book literally says "If there’s one thing Mare Barrow knows, it’s that she’s different."
Oh, please.
Anyway, she just feels like any other mainstream YA female protagonist that has a special ability or power. I don't hate her guts or anything, but I wish her character had more depth. For Cal, I tried really hard to like him, but I just can't. I'm not a huge fan of his soldier/jock personality. Plus... my theory is that he's going to betray Mare at some point...
The main reason I have stuck with the series thus far is because Maven holds a special place in my heart. I loved him a lot in the first book before...you know. And there's a part of me that wishes and hopes that he will come to his senses even after everything he's done. I also wonder if he is truly in love with Mare because he shows some signs of it. Yes, it's true, I am a Maven/Mare shipper even though Maven has done some horrible things. Even at this point, I still really like him. I can just feel in my gut that his character might be redemptive. Overall, I didn't hate this book and I know I will read the next one because I'm too invested at this point and I need to know what happens lol.
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte
3.0
*3.5 out of 5 stars*
WELL THAT WAS A ROLLERCOASTER. What a plot twist!! This book is murder mystery meets fantasy as we follow Keralie on her quest to escape her manipulative, criminal employer and save the queens of Quadara from a secretive assassination attempt (extreme summary).
Okay, first things first. I was expecting (and hoping) that the love interest would be Mackiel, AKA Keralie's criminal employer. And that's because, in the first few chapters, his personality reminded me subtly of Kaz Brekker. It also seemed that Keralie low key had feelings for him. However, Mackiel ended up turning into an absolutely wicked human being whom I despised. I mean, Astrid Scholte did an incredible job of making this dude so dang hateable. He's so manipulative and so cunning that some parts will have you yelling at this book and wanting to punch this kid across all seven continents.
That being said, here comes Varin, the real love interest. I didn't like him at first. He's unemotional, kinda annoying (just my opinion), and I just couldn't really get into it. However, I will admit that towards the end, I began to soften up to him. But, I didn't love the romance. As usual with me. I just love slow burn and whatnot, and this book didn't really have it. I think it had a hint of enemies-to-lovers but not a lot.
This book switched between POV's quite often. One chapter would be about Keralie, and then another would be about one of the queens. Honestly, I didn't really care about the queens that much so I often would find myself skimming those chapters just to get back to Keralie.
OH, BUT THE PLOT TWIST. I won't say much for fear of spoilers but just WOW. The ending was phenomenal. I did not expect any of the twists and I even found myself yelling "WHAT?!" aloud in bed when they were uncovered. The ending had my emotions reeling and it was so good that I almost gave this book four stars.
Overall, this book was enjoyable and fun to read. I gave it three stars mainly because I didn't care for all the extra stuff about the queens and the romance was just okay. However, I definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of murder mysteries! (Or fantasy!)
WELL THAT WAS A ROLLERCOASTER. What a plot twist!! This book is murder mystery meets fantasy as we follow Keralie on her quest to escape her manipulative, criminal employer and save the queens of Quadara from a secretive assassination attempt (extreme summary).
Okay, first things first. I was expecting (and hoping) that the love interest would be Mackiel, AKA Keralie's criminal employer. And that's because, in the first few chapters, his personality reminded me subtly of Kaz Brekker. It also seemed that Keralie low key had feelings for him. However, Mackiel ended up turning into an absolutely wicked human being whom I despised. I mean, Astrid Scholte did an incredible job of making this dude so dang hateable. He's so manipulative and so cunning that some parts will have you yelling at this book and wanting to punch this kid across all seven continents.
That being said, here comes Varin, the real love interest. I didn't like him at first. He's unemotional, kinda annoying (just my opinion), and I just couldn't really get into it. However, I will admit that towards the end, I began to soften up to him. But, I didn't love the romance. As usual with me. I just love slow burn and whatnot, and this book didn't really have it. I think it had a hint of enemies-to-lovers but not a lot.
This book switched between POV's quite often. One chapter would be about Keralie, and then another would be about one of the queens. Honestly, I didn't really care about the queens that much so I often would find myself skimming those chapters just to get back to Keralie.
OH, BUT THE PLOT TWIST. I won't say much for fear of spoilers but just WOW. The ending was phenomenal. I did not expect any of the twists and I even found myself yelling "WHAT?!" aloud in bed when they were uncovered. The ending had my emotions reeling and it was so good that I almost gave this book four stars.
Overall, this book was enjoyable and fun to read. I gave it three stars mainly because I didn't care for all the extra stuff about the queens and the romance was just okay. However, I definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of murder mysteries! (Or fantasy!)
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
3.0
3.5 out of 5 stars
First off, I would like to say that I love Leigh Bardugo's writing style. As soon as I jumped into this book, I immediately recognized her style from Six of Crows. Her writing definitely has gotten better over the years but the way she writes really pulls me into her books. I am not easily drawn into stories where I feel like I can't stop reading, but Leigh's writing really does this for me.
So, I didn't dislike this book as much as I thought I would. And, let's be honest, I only read this for two reasons: 1. Six of Crows is one of my all-time favorites and 2. I wanted to be able to say "Yeah, I read the book" before the Shadow and Bone Netflix series comes out. The plot and idea of the Grisha was really intriguing to me and I think with this world that Leigh wrote, there are endless possibilities for more books (please, maybe another with the Six of Crows characters??). Leigh has created this whole world, along with different languages, people, and magical powers. I hope she decides to continue in this universe!
As for the characters:
Alina. I actually liked her for the most part. Her "Sun Summoner" power is... decent. Harnessing light isn't the dopest magical power to me but I think it fits her well. I liked her personality quite a bit. I wouldn't describe her as a "fierce female protagonist", not yet anyway (maybe later in the series?). She's more sweet and down to earth and I liked that. I did NOT like her obsession with Mal. Girlfriend is whipped for this kid and it was kind of annoying. She's obsessed with him throughout this entire book while it seems like Mal does not care at all. Then, he comes back into Alina's life halfway through the book and was like "I've loved you all this time". I found how sudden all of the romance was in this book kind of odd and I felt that it didn't really fit.
Mal. He felt very underdeveloped. Like I said above, He's sort of portrayed as a player throughout a lot of the book, and then he very suddenly confesses his love to Alina. I wish he had a back story and more development. All we really know is that he grew up with Alina and they're both orphans. Now, he is a major character I think for the next two books so I am really hoping we find out more about him.
The Darkling. I actually really liked the Darkling... of course until you know... we find out he's the bad guy lol. I have a thing for broody mysterious guys so maybe that's why I felt more attracted to him. His character had way more development/backstory than Mal, and I really was expecting him to be the love interest. One thing I really want to know is... does the Darkling actually have a thing for Alina or is he using attraction to manipulate her?
Overall, this book was thrilling, fast-paced, and action-packed. I definitely liked it more than I thought I would. I am intrigued to see how Netflix portrays this series. It could either turn out well or Netflix could completely butcher it. Guess we will have to wait and see!
First off, I would like to say that I love Leigh Bardugo's writing style. As soon as I jumped into this book, I immediately recognized her style from Six of Crows. Her writing definitely has gotten better over the years but the way she writes really pulls me into her books. I am not easily drawn into stories where I feel like I can't stop reading, but Leigh's writing really does this for me.
So, I didn't dislike this book as much as I thought I would. And, let's be honest, I only read this for two reasons: 1. Six of Crows is one of my all-time favorites and 2. I wanted to be able to say "Yeah, I read the book" before the Shadow and Bone Netflix series comes out. The plot and idea of the Grisha was really intriguing to me and I think with this world that Leigh wrote, there are endless possibilities for more books (please, maybe another with the Six of Crows characters??). Leigh has created this whole world, along with different languages, people, and magical powers. I hope she decides to continue in this universe!
As for the characters:
Alina. I actually liked her for the most part. Her "Sun Summoner" power is... decent. Harnessing light isn't the dopest magical power to me but I think it fits her well. I liked her personality quite a bit. I wouldn't describe her as a "fierce female protagonist", not yet anyway (maybe later in the series?). She's more sweet and down to earth and I liked that. I did NOT like her obsession with Mal. Girlfriend is whipped for this kid and it was kind of annoying. She's obsessed with him throughout this entire book while it seems like Mal does not care at all. Then, he comes back into Alina's life halfway through the book and was like "I've loved you all this time". I found how sudden all of the romance was in this book kind of odd and I felt that it didn't really fit.
Mal. He felt very underdeveloped. Like I said above, He's sort of portrayed as a player throughout a lot of the book, and then he very suddenly confesses his love to Alina. I wish he had a back story and more development. All we really know is that he grew up with Alina and they're both orphans. Now, he is a major character I think for the next two books so I am really hoping we find out more about him.
The Darkling. I actually really liked the Darkling... of course until you know...
Overall, this book was thrilling, fast-paced, and action-packed. I definitely liked it more than I thought I would. I am intrigued to see how Netflix portrays this series. It could either turn out well or Netflix could completely butcher it. Guess we will have to wait and see!