madieanne's reviews
320 reviews

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

stories like we hunt the flame are the reason i love fantasy !! 

i mean it when i say this is one of the best ya fantasy books i’ve read. the storytelling was fantastic. it’s truly unmatched.

i loved zafira and nasir, they were amazing main characters, and they each had distinctive voices. books with dual perspectives are usually a hit or miss for me. sometimes i struggle to connect with one of the characters, and then i find myself bored for half the book, but that wasn’t the case with we hunt the flame. i loved getting glimpses of both zafira and nasir, and not one aspect of this book bored me. i was entertained and engaged the entire time. 

reading about the struggles of zafira and nasir and following along as they worked through their issues was gut-wrenching at times. the character development was well-fleshed out and some of the best i’ve read. 

i thought the dash of romance was perfect! i appreciated that the romance didn’t overshadow the rest of the story. nasir was such a sucker for zafira, and i adored every little interaction. 

i need everyone to read this !!

Ember of Night by Molly E. Lee

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

listen, i’m a sucker for cheesy paranormal romances, but this was BAD. was it entertaining? yes, for the most part. was i cringing every two pages? also yes. 

the characters were insufferable, and the dialogue was so embarrassing. i could not believe the shit harley and draven were saying to each other. it was so unnatural. 

i also want to point out that ember of night feels like a complete rip-off of the dark elements trilogy by jennifer l armentrout. there were a ton of similarities, and i don’t think it’s a coincidence. 

Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

ahh illusionary was an incredible sequel! 

the plot was action-packed, tense, and filled with little twists and turns. i loved ren and cas’s character development, and i just adored the romance between them. i loved the way they loved each other.

illusionary broke my heart and put it back together again. i had so many emotions coursing through me while reading. i haven’t felt so strongly about a fantasy book in a long while. 

this duology is going to stick with me for a long, long time.

Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

incendiary was a mind-boggling read! 

incendiary had a perfect blend of magic, intrigue, and heartbreak. ren was a complex main character, and i really felt connected to her and the struggles she faced. 

the plot was so twisty i honestly had no idea who to trust, and the betrayal that unfolded left me heartbroken and bruised. i had a lot of theories while reading, and while a few of them were somewhat correct, none of my theories covered the full extent of what actually occurred. 

the last 150 pages of this book shocked me to my core, and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover. i can’t wait to see what unfolds in the sequel. 

A Queen in Hiding by Sarah Kozloff

adventurous challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

2.5

i’m sad to say this was a bit of a letdown. 

for starters, the synopsis says that an orphaned princess must master her powers and become a ruthless warrior to save her country, but none of that occurs in this book. and the orphaned princess in question only appears in a few chapters. 

there were so many different character points of view, and it wasn’t executed well. i had a hard time keeping track of who was who and what was going on.

i know a queen in hiding is the setup for the series, but it just felt boring and pointless. i might continue the series later on, but for now, i’m moving on to something different. 

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

adventurous fast-paced

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

2.0

the stupid horse was the best thing about this book. 

the writing was enchanting at first, but as the story went on it got very annoying. it felt like the author was more concerned with cramming in metaphors than with writing decent characters and an engaging plot.

the otherworld could have been an amazing concept if we had gotten an ounce of worldbuilding, and there’s not much to say about the plot because nothing interesting happened. it moved too fast, and too slow, and there wasn’t enough detail about more important things like the magic system or the horoscopes??  

the romance was very instalove and cringy, which is not my thing. at all. 

all in all, the star-touched queen had so much potential, but it missed the mark. 

For the Throne by Hannah Whitten

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

4.0

“saving someone else was a wall you

couldn't scale unless they threw you a rope.”

there’s not much to say other than i adored this. for the throne was a heart wrenching sequel with a satisfying conclusion, and i can’t recommend this duology enough. 

i’m gonna miss these characters :(

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

“because the monsters are real. and even the wolf needs help sometimes.”

what a whirlwind of a page-turner. i had a strong, underlying sense of doom while reading this, and man, it was stressful! hannah whitten did an incredible job of creating a tense, terrifying, worrisome atmosphere. 

i loved red. i loved eammon. i loved them together. they made me emotional. the wolves deserve all the goodness in the world. 

i am 100% for the wolf. 

The Reign Below by Sierrah M. Strange
Did not finish book. Stopped at 49%.

a copy cat of every other popular fantasy romance 

The Prince of Snow by L.B. Divine

adventurous funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

3.0

the prince of snow was a decent read. 

the story started strong, but the entire middle section felt boring and pointless. there was very little going on. things did pick up in the last 40 pages, and i must admit, the ending left me heartbroken, shocked, and wanting more. 

i did like the characters individually, and i loved the sibling dynamic between james and charmaine, but i wasn’t a big fan of the romance or any of the other relationships.

i think l.b. divine has a ton of potential, and i’m excited to see where she goes from here.