madison_mls's reviews
122 reviews

Happy Place by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.0

This book has me desperately wanting to go back to Maine 😮‍💨! Plus I think I really like a second chance romance trope?? Idk I found this one super cute and easy to read. I had a great time with the story and characters!

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I put this off so long partially bc I wanted to save it and also bc I was a little nervous. I loved this world so much in the Shades of Magic trilogy I didn’t want it to go wrong in any way and BOY was I wrong for doubting this. Schwab continued to hit with this one! Coming back into the world with this book was like wrapping a cozy blanket around my shoulders. I loved the addition of the two new characters and was pleasantly surprised by the continuation of some old ones that I love! 
I totally get the criticisms on the pacing and flashbacks in this book, but as I haven’t read the original series in quite a while I found it really helpful! This definitely is a sequel series and should be treated as such. Jumping into this one without reading the previous three will be doing this book a major disservice! Overall absolutely loved this and we are SO BACK BABYYY!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Gore

Minor: Child abuse

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor

challenging funny reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

The first 60% of this really had me but after that it started to kind of drag and it started to feel like a chore to read. But then the ending felt too abrupt! Overall I thought the shapeshifting concept was super unique, and that it was a powerful method to use to submerse the reader in Paul’s experiences and feelings with gender.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Hate crime, Homophobia

Minor: Death, Pandemic/Epidemic

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous reflective tense slow-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

3.5

The last 100 pages of this book definitely brought up this rating. This book was a little too long in my opinion, but I will say those last chapters really gripped me. Besides the drawn out meditating and work out montages (not necessarily sword training just flat out working out) I did enjoy this book. Had it just been shorter it would’ve been better than the second. I really liked watching Nesta’s journey and PoV. I also enjoyed the sisterhood element that was put into play with the friendships she made along the way. Overall a fine read that just dragged a lil

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This would’ve probably hit home more if I had a sister, but this book still did paint the picture of sisterhood in a clear enough light where I could begin to understand what it’s like. This story was a heartwarming yet heartbreaking depiction of what it means to grieve. What I liked most was how real the characters seemed, and how realistic their conversations/arguments were. Genuinely felt like the characters could hop off the page! Overall recommend this book, and I feel like this was a good introduction to this author!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Grief

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

Everybody loves a Christmas special 
Yeah nothing happened in this book to really progress the series along, but I did really dig the vibes!

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was dark! The way it was written really made it feel like a Brothers Grimm fairytale. I really liked a lot of elements to this story; the twist was well done, the building tension within the story was impactful, and the main character’s voice was intriguing to read from. Idk why but it just didn’t give me the five star feel but it was still a strong read and one that was worthwhile! Definitely delivers on the grocery list of trigger warnings that I’ve seen for it so approach with caution.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

Leigh Bardugo hit it out of the park with her writing style in this one. I kind of liked how the book was narrated, it helped give the story the air of a Shakespearean tragedy in a way. This omnipotent narrator clueing us in on what each character is thinking with the way the first scene was set was unique. Also the ✨yearning✨! Bardugo sure knows how to write a touch starved man in the most beautiful way lmao. Overall a great read that was well paced and had fun characters to read!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death

Moderate: Death of parent

Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This was a pretty entertaining read! I liked that it was a standalone and the magic system was unique. Not my fave book of the year but I still had a good time. 

Funny Story by Emily Henry

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

4.25

I really really liked this one! I heard someone once YouTube once say that Emily Henry is great at writing dialogue that would never happen in real life but somehow works in her stories and that is so true! I won’t be able to get that out of my head now. I loved the banter between the main leads and there were some parts that were genuinely funny! I really enjoyed the premise and I’m kind a sucker for the friends to romance trope. The only reason this wasn’t five stars for me was that the conflict at the last portion of the story was a little goofy. It wasn’t giving like I think it should have and I felt like there could’ve been a different situation used that would’ve been more compelling.