manola's reviews
50 reviews

The Hedgewitch of Foxhall by Anna Bright

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

This story deserves much more recognition. It quickly became one of my favorite comfort reads of this year.
It's definitely not perfect, and going through reviews I understand claims about characters not feeling as solid as they could be, but for me, (even though having better built characters would've made the experience all the better) the story being YA and overall a bit more juvenile allowed for it. The characters had enough depth to make their drive in the story compelling for me, and to make them likeable and fun to read about.
The writing is probably one of the things I enjoyed the most. It was lovely; subtly flowery, avoiding becoming overpowering. The folklore was really interesting to read about, and all the songs sprinkled throughout beautiful to read, and they added a particular mystical feel to the story I fell in love with.
The ending was probably too fairy tale-y, and I'd understand if other readers are against it, but for me the narrative cultivated this fairy tale vibe from the start that made the ending (though not my favorite) cohesive enough with the rest of the book (but yes, I admit, some parts of it were a bit eye roll-worthy).
If the book would've had a more mature and maybe darker tone to it, it probably would've brushed five stars for me. It was addictively enjoyable, from the romance to the plot and the characters. Tiktok should get its teeth on this and label it a new cozy fantasy. I think it would play the part.

(And as for the romantic triangle, I did get mad at it when I came across it, but it dissolved quickly enough that it didn't become annoying. I would've preferred to keep the jealousy platonic, but it was tolerable and gave me tea to sip on for a while. )

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

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adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

This book is definitely enjoyable to read; it's fast-paced, the plot is compelling enough and the romance is pretty cute. However, I've come to realize this book would've benefited from keeping more distance from the fantasy genre. I feel like narrowing it down to some sort of magical realism would've made this a much more solid read for me. The narrative weaved some fantasy aspects that clashed with the story so much that it took me out of it. I enjoyed the subtler aspects; letters that travel magically to their correspondent, houses that leave you coffee at midnight in the kitchen, etc. They were fun magical quirks that matched the tone of the story, but suddenly there were magical bird-dragons flying in the air and giant hounds that came out at night, and I suddenly felt the story disjointed.
The romance had its sweet moments and it made the book easy to read. The characters were alright; I would probably have more to say about them if I'd written this closer to finishing the book, but overall, all of the aspects of the story managed to keep it afloat. It didn't become a favorite or reach the expectations other reviews had placed for me, but it was fun to go through and did feel like a pretty good comfort read.

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This book sadly fell short for me. It had an interesting potential but it focused on few things that developed in ways that weirdly didn't feel compelling.
The story centers on both protagonists, Laura and Carmilla, and how their relationship develops and twists over time. Both girls were fine; I liked Laura and it was fun to witness the first interactions she had with Carmilla, who remained cold and a bit 'bitchy' at first, but their POVs were hard to differentiate. The author did explain in an interview that she was avoiding their narrations clashing too much and disturbing the cohesion of the story, but for me that ended up muddling their voices together in a way that made it difficult for me to find what made each their own character.
I understand that part of the idea for the story (if you want to completely avoid spoilers, I suppose you should skip this part) is watching Laura kind of turn into Carmilla, to start resembling her in some ways, and making the reader sit uncomfortably in that process and wonder if it truly is what's 'best' for her or not. But that transformation wasn't that enticing to me for some reason. I couldn't make myself connect with the characters or feel much compassion for them either. I thought the story could've benefited from weaving in more subplots and character's stories; there are a few secondary characters I found interesting and left wondering about them when the novel tied off.

I just feel like it would've been interesting to have had more things happening in this book. What it concentrated on I ended up not feeling compelled by in the end. It's an interesting concept, and if you enjoy vampire novels it might strike your fancy, but it didn't really do it for me.
(I'm also writing this after some days of having read this, and the story got pretty scrambled in my head so it was hard to put my feelings into words).

Content Warnings

Beach Read by Emily Henry

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emotional funny reflective fast-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

5.0

Such an enjoyable story. Emily Henry never fails to give her characters solid, compelling backgrounds, allowing both protagonists to process their trauma in ways that feel more mature (hence refreshing) compared to other romance books I've read. Granted, there are moments where the need for miscommunication in creating conflict takes over the plot and makes characters act like idiots and it might feel like too much, but in this book I found those moments frustrating enough to build up the tension that was needed to carry on, and both protagonists managed to talk rationally through their emotions afterwards (which eased off any previous frustration for me).
Both Gus and January are excellent characters, and their banter is absolutely addictive to read. Yes, there are a few cliché-ish moments but again, they manage to be just cheesy enough to be enjoyable. The slow and sweet evolution of their relationship and each of their own personal growth is truly captivating. This was hard to put down.

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

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emotional funny hopeful tense 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

4.25

Really enjoyable read. From the synopsis, I was afraid the story might become long-winded in the waiting of both protagonists getting together (especially since they weren't seeing each other or ever meeting in person), but thankfully the story unfolded and became so much more than what I expected it to be.
Tiffy is incredible as a protagonist. She does have an air of this stereotypical movie-quirkiness recurrent in romance stories (mismatched clothing, being 'awkward' in social situations, etc.), but she manages to come across as such a lovely human being you're just glad to listen her talk about her life. Sometimes I did find the work-related shenanigans a bit slower to get through, but the author usually managed to pull something in at the last minute to turn the situation around and throw more conflict into the story.
Leon I also really liked. At first, his POV chapters felt odd and choppy because of his writing style (pretty robot-like, almost), becoming a bit annoying at times. But I eventually warmed up to him and it's interesting to see his writing style evolve as he changes as a character as well.
The rest of the cast was also enjoyable. Tiffy's best friends are a solid presence in the story and don't feel like background stuffing to give more depth to her personal life. Some characters did feel a bit too cartoonish (thinking of Martin here, specifically), and others slipped out of the plot without much reason to (a sort of fling Tiffy has that felt like a device for her development, and an old man-JW-who's suddenly out of the picture at the half-way point without explanation).

But overall, the characters do reel you into the story and push you into becoming invested. Both protagonists have their own personal drama to manage throughout, and some heavier themes are discussed (check trigger warnings here). The story manages to balance a sweet slow-burn romance with issues that carry a darker tinge. The characters feel real because they deal with shitty things that are uncomfortable to think about and more uncomfortable to read about, and they deal with them with a messiness that simply feels... human.
Truly recommend :)

Content Warnings

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

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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

3.0

The story was entertaining enough, but I've enjoyed much more other works from Sally Thorne.
The characters were likeable but didn't lack moments were they felt too immature, and it was easy for me to get suddenly confused or lost in the middle of scenes, with characters saying things out of the blue that took me out of the story. I've felt this way before in other novels from this author, where there are actions which, even though lacking in importance plot-wise, situate the reader in the scene. Often characters go from one place to another in a room in a single sentence with no quick description of how they got there, other times they go from one topic in conversation to another (unrelated one) with no pause in the middle. It feels choppy and sloppily narrated, which was the overall feel of the novel for me as well. I felt there were things missing to make the story compelling. The romance had its cute moments but felt pretty insta-love-y; the male love interest seemed to have caught feelings just because he found someone who contrasted his own problems and also showed little interest in him in the first place, which appeared made him go after her because of this 'hard to get' factor.
Again, it had its cute moments, but I feel like the story could have been better crafted. The premise sounded fun and pretty original, but the final result felt underwhelming throughout.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced