Scan barcode
marik0n's reviews
513 reviews
Big Nick Energy by Morgan Elizabeth
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I am so satisfied, I really liked this one. I love it and I would most probably recommend.
Tropes:
Single mom x single dad
He falls first and he falls harder
Thanksgiving & Christmas themed
I picked up this book right after reading "Tis the Season for Revenge" and although it is a completely different vibe, I really liked it!
This book’s main character is Shae, a single mother, who is trying to put her life together and raise her two daughters after divorcing an abusive husband. She eventually meets Nick, the dad of her friend Conor and there are instant sparkles in the air. Shae could ignore that with some effort, but Nick accidently informs her daughters of the Elf in the shelf tradition in a Thanksgiving dinner, causing the girls to get excited. The thing is that Shae doesn’t really have the time nor the energy to set up the Elf each day, so he receives responsibility and try to do it for her.
Shae is a strongly relatable single mom and Nick… well he is top tier fictional man. He definitely sets a high standard. I mean he was so willing to jump for at cookie and man did he do it with pleasure.
The relationship the two engage in is so surreal but at the same time, as a child of a single mother and an adult woman, I wish was the standard. I loved how there was no third act break up because they are adults and communicate efficiently with each other (the shock). I personally hate the miscommunication trope, especially when we are talking about grown adults, let alone when kids are involved.
This book is so sweet it could easily be made by cotton candy covered dreams. So, I warn you, if you are not in the mood for that, you may find it too cheesy or cringe. That wasn’t the case for me because I absolutely needed a feel-good book. It is a warm hug in this own rights. The fact that it is also set around Christmas time is simply a bonus.
Tropes:
Single mom x single dad
He falls first and he falls harder
Thanksgiving & Christmas themed
I picked up this book right after reading "Tis the Season for Revenge" and although it is a completely different vibe, I really liked it!
This book’s main character is Shae, a single mother, who is trying to put her life together and raise her two daughters after divorcing an abusive husband. She eventually meets Nick, the dad of her friend Conor and there are instant sparkles in the air. Shae could ignore that with some effort, but Nick accidently informs her daughters of the Elf in the shelf tradition in a Thanksgiving dinner, causing the girls to get excited. The thing is that Shae doesn’t really have the time nor the energy to set up the Elf each day, so he receives responsibility and try to do it for her.
Shae is a strongly relatable single mom and Nick… well he is top tier fictional man. He definitely sets a high standard. I mean he was so willing to jump for at cookie and man did he do it with pleasure.
The relationship the two engage in is so surreal but at the same time, as a child of a single mother and an adult woman, I wish was the standard. I loved how there was no third act break up because they are adults and communicate efficiently with each other (the shock). I personally hate the miscommunication trope, especially when we are talking about grown adults, let alone when kids are involved.
This book is so sweet it could easily be made by cotton candy covered dreams. So, I warn you, if you are not in the mood for that, you may find it too cheesy or cringe. That wasn’t the case for me because I absolutely needed a feel-good book. It is a warm hug in this own rights. The fact that it is also set around Christmas time is simply a bonus.
The Family Game by Catherine Steadman
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
⭐⭐⭐⭐: I am so satisfied, I really liked this one. It probably didn't change my life, but I love it and I would most probably recommend
Harriet is an orphan and a writer on her way to marry Edward, a sweet guy from an insanely rich family. Of course, extremely rich families come with a variety of secrets, mysteries and complicated relationships.
I really liked the concept of this book and I absolutely love rich family thrillers. It should be noted that it was very intriguing from the start and it definitely pulled me in.
In the end, everything got wrapped up so quickly and I don't know how I feel about this. Maybe I wanted more details on what the other family members knew about *this* person of interest. There was so much more potential in this book that wasn't explored, but I'm kind of okay with that. It's not that it ruined it for me.
Ps. I found extremely weird the way she was obsessing over her father in law. Like, girl, get yourself together.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who want a nice domestic, holidays with a dark twist type of thriller.
Harriet is an orphan and a writer on her way to marry Edward, a sweet guy from an insanely rich family. Of course, extremely rich families come with a variety of secrets, mysteries and complicated relationships.
I really liked the concept of this book and I absolutely love rich family thrillers. It should be noted that it was very intriguing from the start and it definitely pulled me in.
In the end, everything got wrapped up so quickly and I don't know how I feel about this. Maybe I wanted more details on what the other family members knew about *this* person of interest. There was so much more potential in this book that wasn't explored, but I'm kind of okay with that. It's not that it ruined it for me.
Ps. I found extremely weird the way she was obsessing over her father in law. Like, girl, get yourself together.
I would definitely recommend this book to those who want a nice domestic, holidays with a dark twist type of thriller.
Tis the Season for Revenge by Morgan Elizabeth
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 stars, I absolutely loved this book. I even think that it may be the best romance of the year for me, I am not sure yet.
As December rolled by and I had been extremely busy, I realised that I had no reading list for the holidays. So, of course I headed over to my favorite recommendation place; tiktok. And boy, am I happy for this choice. The truth to be told, this book was not recommended all that often, but it caught my eye and I loved the concept.
This book is a December- May love story, we got spice, we got the Elle Woods vibes, we got a rich, kind guy and most of all, we got an experience most women can relate too; shrinking yourself and convincing yourself that a mediocre man is the one, so you put up with a huge load of BS.
I started reading this book with high expectations since it could play out in many different ways, but thankfully it ended up offering me a great time!
It is an absolutely page turner, with realistic dialogues between women (how refreshing!), constituting a testament of what women are willing to settle for if they believe you are the one for them. It portraits that rude awakening we go through in the most realistic and heartwarming way.
As I was reading it I kept thinking, "Why can't men try and be charming and attractive irl? Damien demonstrates exactly how easy it is. You just have to view women as peopl-...oh never mind, I get it". Also, let's take a moment to hate on Richard. Oh my God, what a scumbag. I loved how Damien's pov confirmed it right away in the most subtle, but clear way.
On a kind of unrelated note, after I finished reading this book, I felt like this was what Carrie for SATC was expecting out of Big and I know I feel even worst for her.
Overall it was great, I loved a lot of the little details and as with many other romance books I think that every girl should read it, take it in and think about her happiness, her standards and her relationship with men.
I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. I would absolutely recommend this book (after all, that's what I have been doing non stop to every woman I talked to in the last week).
As December rolled by and I had been extremely busy, I realised that I had no reading list for the holidays. So, of course I headed over to my favorite recommendation place; tiktok. And boy, am I happy for this choice. The truth to be told, this book was not recommended all that often, but it caught my eye and I loved the concept.
This book is a December- May love story, we got spice, we got the Elle Woods vibes, we got a rich, kind guy and most of all, we got an experience most women can relate too; shrinking yourself and convincing yourself that a mediocre man is the one, so you put up with a huge load of BS.
I started reading this book with high expectations since it could play out in many different ways, but thankfully it ended up offering me a great time!
It is an absolutely page turner, with realistic dialogues between women (how refreshing!), constituting a testament of what women are willing to settle for if they believe you are the one for them. It portraits that rude awakening we go through in the most realistic and heartwarming way.
As I was reading it I kept thinking, "Why can't men try and be charming and attractive irl? Damien demonstrates exactly how easy it is. You just have to view women as peopl-...oh never mind, I get it". Also, let's take a moment to hate on Richard. Oh my God, what a scumbag. I loved how Damien's pov confirmed it right away in the most subtle, but clear way.
On a kind of unrelated note, after I finished reading this book, I felt like this was what Carrie for SATC was expecting out of Big and I know I feel even worst for her.
Overall it was great, I loved a lot of the little details and as with many other romance books I think that every girl should read it, take it in and think about her happiness, her standards and her relationship with men.
I am looking forward to reading more books by this author. I would absolutely recommend this book (after all, that's what I have been doing non stop to every woman I talked to in the last week).
Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney
0.0
⭐️: I hate this book, this is probably a zero and if I could unread it, I would.
I didn’t believe that there would be a day when I wouldn’t enjoy an Alice Feeney book but here we are. This book was so bad that the only reason I pressured myself into finishing it was that Feeney wrote it but it didn’t do me any good.
First of all, there was supposedly so character building happening, but the characters ended up feeling so flat and ultimately you could not relate or care about them. I didn’t really care what happened, why and how. So here goes the main thing keeping you on reading. Moreover, this is supposed to be a character driven book, so there is minimal plot, it’s mostly characters thoughts and (not so useful) memories.
Secondly, I hate Edith with a burning passion. No further comment.
Lastly, there were some major plot holes that were never addressed, something I am not use to by Feeney. While the book was dragging up until 75%, in the end everything comes together very fast and easily and then it’s done.
Overall, the book whole boils down to unlikeable and boring characters, a confusing plot and loads of unanswered questions.
I didn’t believe that there would be a day when I wouldn’t enjoy an Alice Feeney book but here we are. This book was so bad that the only reason I pressured myself into finishing it was that Feeney wrote it but it didn’t do me any good.
First of all, there was supposedly so character building happening, but the characters ended up feeling so flat and ultimately you could not relate or care about them. I didn’t really care what happened, why and how. So here goes the main thing keeping you on reading. Moreover, this is supposed to be a character driven book, so there is minimal plot, it’s mostly characters thoughts and (not so useful) memories.
Secondly, I hate Edith with a burning passion. No further comment.
Lastly, there were some major plot holes that were never addressed, something I am not use to by Feeney. While the book was dragging up until 75%, in the end everything comes together very fast and easily and then it’s done.
Overall, the book whole boils down to unlikeable and boring characters, a confusing plot and loads of unanswered questions.
Summer Rental by Rektok Ross
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.75
2.75 stars, so somewhere between:
⭐️⭐️: I somehow finished this, it wasn't the worst, but i regret almost everything.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Nothing too special. I would recommend it depending on the mood.
I saw a tiktok about this book and it said that it is a combination of "Mean Girls" and "Scream", so of course I was immediately hooked. I loved the idea behind it, but the execution was just okay and rather superficial. Reading it felt kind of like reading a story on wattpad or a first draft.
This book is thrilling and suspenseful as it explores the darker side of friendships and the secret people keep from each other set against a stormy night on a remote island. The problem is that you can easily tell the «who» and the «why» early on, so it loses much of its mystery. It’s a basic and highly predictable plot. Not the greatest, not the worst.
That of course doesn’t mean that there weren’t parts where I felt my hair standing up, but it builds all this tension that eventually ends up in leading nowhere. This book generally left the vibe that it makes more promises than it can keep.
Also, the logic of the characters is a little too much black and white for my taste. However, it should be noted that this was definetely a page-turner, it just didn't give me everything I was hoping for.
Overall, I think that the idea was brilliant and the author has true potential, but this book just isn’t her masterpiece. It was an okay book. I would definitely recommend it for people just starting reading mystery/thriller genre.
⭐️⭐️: I somehow finished this, it wasn't the worst, but i regret almost everything.
⭐️⭐️⭐️: Nothing too special. I would recommend it depending on the mood.
I saw a tiktok about this book and it said that it is a combination of "Mean Girls" and "Scream", so of course I was immediately hooked. I loved the idea behind it, but the execution was just okay and rather superficial. Reading it felt kind of like reading a story on wattpad or a first draft.
This book is thrilling and suspenseful as it explores the darker side of friendships and the secret people keep from each other set against a stormy night on a remote island. The problem is that you can easily tell the «who» and the «why» early on, so it loses much of its mystery. It’s a basic and highly predictable plot. Not the greatest, not the worst.
That of course doesn’t mean that there weren’t parts where I felt my hair standing up, but it builds all this tension that eventually ends up in leading nowhere. This book generally left the vibe that it makes more promises than it can keep.
Also, the logic of the characters is a little too much black and white for my taste. However, it should be noted that this was definetely a page-turner, it just didn't give me everything I was hoping for.
Overall, I think that the idea was brilliant and the author has true potential, but this book just isn’t her masterpiece. It was an okay book. I would definitely recommend it for people just starting reading mystery/thriller genre.
If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.0
Reading this book led me to so conflicted feelings, so this is a big review, but it is spoiler free.
The plot: We follow the lives of Finn and Autumn two childhood friends whose mothers are best friends and live next door to each other, as they enter and go through puberty. It’s not hard to guess that they were meant to be childhood sweethearts.
The characters: We see the point from Autumn’s point of view and it’s a first-person narration. Autumn generally stroked me the wrong way from the beginning. She is a typical pick-me girl that is actually obsessed with her best friend but in a teenage drama way of ‘oh no, he would never like me back’. Autumn wears tiaras every day just because she likes them and she is edgy, different and weird, but not in a bad way (of course), she’s kind of 2015 tumblr edgy and weird. She makes it clear early on that she is not a cringey goth or hipster or nerd kind of teen, she’s just different and quirky in an eccentric and ultimately effortless, mysterious, sophisticated and I’m-not-trying-to-be-cool way. We learn all these things about Autumn early on in the book, so I wasn’t really interested in reading it.
At this point I felt determined to give up on this book. However, the thing that got me hooked from the beginning was the short and contemporary chapters. It felt like each chapter only need a minute, so I kept reading.
Around 80% done I started thinking about puberty, who girls are brought up and the pick-me phase all girls seem to experience at some point during their adolescent years. A video of a creator in TikTok came to my mind (I don’t remember her name unfortunately) that I saw a couple months ago. The creator explained how every girl goes through a pick-me phase since we are trying to establish that she is not like the others girls. You know which ones. The ones boys say that:
- They can’t think anything besides becoming wives and are obsesses with getting married
- The ones that don’t like anything besides the color pink and putting on lip gloss
- The ones you cheat on because they are boring
- The ones that do not have any ‘boyish’ interests (therefore, real, serious interests)
- The ones that seem like being the same person because they lack any element of authenticity, character and soul. They are not people. They are a stereotype and nothing more.
Of course, she expressed it a much more eloquent way and gave way more examples, but you get the idea.
I have struggled a lot with my pick me phase. Although my mom made sure that I snapped out of shortly, I still got in the rabbit hole of thinking that way. The essence of what the creator on TikTok was explaining is absolutely accurate: young girls just want to differentiate themselves from these ‘other girls’ that you treat and think poorly of.
Reading this book and taking into consideration that it is about puberty (from the eyes of a girl nonetheless) it makes a really good point. The thing that made me give this book three stars and not five is that I do not really buy it that the writer wrote it consciously as a disapprovement towards the hate and divination the pick-me attitude creates among women. I think that her purpose was writing a panic-pixie dixie girl and slightly make some criticism on the way society treats girls and women but in vague and subtle way in order not to make it ‘political’.
Whatever the case, I have to give this book credit for capturing a more or less realistic perspective on girls during puberty.
I have my doubts about Finny since we mostly see her interpretation of him and not much information about his character from another point of view. He seems like a nice guy. Idk.
This book is leaning heavily on the miscommunication trope which I also don’t enjoy. As for the ending, other than being stated in literally the first chapter, it had other tropes which I dislike a lot. The ending for itself wasn’t so painful for me as it was for others, maybe it’s because I have read of my fair share of similar books so I don’t react as badly. That certainly does not mean that I wasn’t feeling sentimental.
Overall, on the pros side we have the really short chapters and the contemporary context make it a page-turner. On the cons side this a pick-me female main character. The conception behind the book is great and the book itself has many things going for it: short chapters, capturing a realistic perspective of a girl’s puberty and contemporary content, easily relatable. Nevertheless, there was this glorification of the pick me girl that I don’t support, which pretty much was the only thing the book had against it.
No matter the disadvantages, one thing is for sure: I finished reading this book a couple days back and I haven’t stopped thinking about it.
A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
0.0
0⭐️: I hate this book, and if I could unread it, I would.
I had such high hopes for this book but ultimately it fell so flat.
This book is supposed to be an insight into the inner workings of Dorothy, a food critic turned cannibal. It has been promoted as "feminist Hannibal Lecter" but I honestly didn't see it. I constantly had this feeling that the writer was trying to say that women can be serial killers too, but in an irritating and abnormal way, while the whole point was supposedly to demonstrate human feelings in a hyperbolic way. However, I kept thinking that she is just trying to insert a woman in the place we usually see a man, but didn't really support that, let alone for some shallow, meaningless life lessons from Dorothy. It just seemed forced and poorly executed.
The first problem I had with this book is how boring Dorothy is. I was totally uninterested in her and her victims because in fact, despite telling you how awesome and interesting she is, she actually isn't. I mean, psychopaths are usually charming, or at least appear to be. She wasn't.
By the end of the book I hadn't the faintest idea about her motivations for killing and eating these men. I can't be sure if it was about control, misplaced sexual gratification, culinary adventurism or something else. Since this is supposed to be the point of the whole book, it's more than obvious that it missed by a mile.
Also, I am so incredibly bored of food and genitals descriptions. So many food references without any actual reason to be there. I feel that the writer consumed herself with a lot of unnecessary details and side-stories that didn't really do anything for the plot, the main character and overall, the book.
All in all, I feel like I wasted my time.
I had such high hopes for this book but ultimately it fell so flat.
This book is supposed to be an insight into the inner workings of Dorothy, a food critic turned cannibal. It has been promoted as "feminist Hannibal Lecter" but I honestly didn't see it. I constantly had this feeling that the writer was trying to say that women can be serial killers too, but in an irritating and abnormal way, while the whole point was supposedly to demonstrate human feelings in a hyperbolic way. However, I kept thinking that she is just trying to insert a woman in the place we usually see a man, but didn't really support that, let alone for some shallow, meaningless life lessons from Dorothy. It just seemed forced and poorly executed.
The first problem I had with this book is how boring Dorothy is. I was totally uninterested in her and her victims because in fact, despite telling you how awesome and interesting she is, she actually isn't. I mean, psychopaths are usually charming, or at least appear to be. She wasn't.
By the end of the book I hadn't the faintest idea about her motivations for killing and eating these men. I can't be sure if it was about control, misplaced sexual gratification, culinary adventurism or something else. Since this is supposed to be the point of the whole book, it's more than obvious that it missed by a mile.
Also, I am so incredibly bored of food and genitals descriptions. So many food references without any actual reason to be there. I feel that the writer consumed herself with a lot of unnecessary details and side-stories that didn't really do anything for the plot, the main character and overall, the book.
All in all, I feel like I wasted my time.
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
3.75
Let me start by saying that this is a book not only challenging to read, but also challenging to talk about. I am confident that I could write a whole paper on it and still not be done.
First things first, it’s giving [book:The Getaway|60114406] vibes. However, I could hardly compare this masterpiece to anything else. I would strongly recommend reading it if you liked this one.
The premises are simple; animals have a virus that makes eating them lethal for humans, therefore the human race turns to cannibalism and eventualize manages to legalize it. Think of pretty much any industry which (ab)uses animals and replace them with humans and there you have it.
The first very notable thing I encounter in this book was the mass hysteria caused by the inability to consume animals no more. People preferred turning to cannibalism instead of veganism since they can’t get all the necessary amino acids from plants (just turn a blind eye to the fact that we are talking about an extremely advanced dystopia setting).
I see a lot of people being extremely shocked and uncomfortable by this book. Even though I could not possibly say that there are no valid reasons to feel this way, I need to point out that this book perfectly demonstrates the cruelty we normalize to the point it almost seems moral on the daily (ex. Palestinian genocide happening right now). Humans have demonstrated again and again that all it takes to dehumanize a group of people is to convince yourself that they have something different about them so they are not really humans. I find the fact that humans bred to be eaten are never called humans in this book very interesting. They are ‘heads’ or ‘(special’ meat), but never actual human beings. It is terrible and unacceptable when a meat with a first and last name dies, but that’s the only fate ‘heads’ are going to experience.
Besides the obvious issues regarding animal cruelty, and the much harder circumstance women have to deal with, a lot of political issues regarding mass manipulation rise as well.
The third person narrative really reinforces the stance the main character holds (i.e., I do not approve of that, but I won’t really do anything to put an end to it) as it kind of offers you a bird’s view on what it happening and possibly allows you to distance yourself from it.
To be completely honest I saw the ending coming around the middle of the book when a certain… situation occurs. After all, it is a well-known fact the in periods of was or any other event that brings imbalance to our otherwise ‘civilized’ society women always have it harder. The ending of this book is evident of that, besides other thing.
I would recommend this book, because it can be the base of endless fruitful discussions. However, I would strongly recommend that you check out the trigger warnings before picking it up as they are countless.
First things first, it’s giving [book:The Getaway|60114406] vibes. However, I could hardly compare this masterpiece to anything else. I would strongly recommend reading it if you liked this one.
The premises are simple; animals have a virus that makes eating them lethal for humans, therefore the human race turns to cannibalism and eventualize manages to legalize it. Think of pretty much any industry which (ab)uses animals and replace them with humans and there you have it.
The first very notable thing I encounter in this book was the mass hysteria caused by the inability to consume animals no more. People preferred turning to cannibalism instead of veganism since they can’t get all the necessary amino acids from plants (just turn a blind eye to the fact that we are talking about an extremely advanced dystopia setting).
I see a lot of people being extremely shocked and uncomfortable by this book. Even though I could not possibly say that there are no valid reasons to feel this way, I need to point out that this book perfectly demonstrates the cruelty we normalize to the point it almost seems moral on the daily (ex. Palestinian genocide happening right now). Humans have demonstrated again and again that all it takes to dehumanize a group of people is to convince yourself that they have something different about them so they are not really humans. I find the fact that humans bred to be eaten are never called humans in this book very interesting. They are ‘heads’ or ‘(special’ meat), but never actual human beings. It is terrible and unacceptable when a meat with a first and last name dies, but that’s the only fate ‘heads’ are going to experience.
Besides the obvious issues regarding animal cruelty, and the much harder circumstance women have to deal with, a lot of political issues regarding mass manipulation rise as well.
The third person narrative really reinforces the stance the main character holds (i.e., I do not approve of that, but I won’t really do anything to put an end to it) as it kind of offers you a bird’s view on what it happening and possibly allows you to distance yourself from it.
To be completely honest I saw the ending coming around the middle of the book when a certain… situation occurs. After all, it is a well-known fact the in periods of was or any other event that brings imbalance to our otherwise ‘civilized’ society women always have it harder. The ending of this book is evident of that, besides other thing.
I would recommend this book, because it can be the base of endless fruitful discussions. However, I would strongly recommend that you check out the trigger warnings before picking it up as they are countless.
My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine
2.0
2⭐️:I somehow finished this, it wasn't the worst, but i regret almost everything.
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely adore this book cover, since it’s so balanced and cute.
As for the book, even though I liked the concept when I saw it, the execution just didn’t work for me. It sure had its moments, but for the most part it was really hard for me to pick it up and read.
Cassie is a broke, innovative artist looking for an apartment, when she happens to see a too-good-to-be-true ad by some Frederick guy looking for a roommate for a ridiculous price rent. Naturally, she takes the deal but little does she know, that Frederick is actually a vampire that was in coma for the last century and now has difficulty adjusting to the 21st century lifestyle.
This a slow-burn, roommates to friends to lovers romance.
The first part of the book started strong, but it kind of started dragging towards the middle and completely blew it by the time we reached the last part to the point that I counted the pages in order for it to be done already.
Overlooking the fact that the plot has more holes than a sponge, Cassie gradually became unsufferable and that’s when I knew that this book can’t be saved for me. I hate this ‘Oh, I am good for nothing, I am so ugly, I am so stupid’ kind of female main character. I actually rolled my eyes continuously and want to scream at her to get a grip. I mean, come on girl. This, paired with the guy being the only one that understands how beautiful and unique she is gives me the ick. Sorry, but these elements are really a deal breaker for me.
As I said earlier the book sure had its moments (a vampire Swiftie? Say no more) but overall, it felt like the characters were extremely flat and there was barely any plot there. I really wanted to love this book and I am really bumbed that this wasn't the case.
To be honest, I wouldn't really recomment it since besides some very limited things I didn't enjoy reading it.
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely adore this book cover, since it’s so balanced and cute.
As for the book, even though I liked the concept when I saw it, the execution just didn’t work for me. It sure had its moments, but for the most part it was really hard for me to pick it up and read.
Cassie is a broke, innovative artist looking for an apartment, when she happens to see a too-good-to-be-true ad by some Frederick guy looking for a roommate for a ridiculous price rent. Naturally, she takes the deal but little does she know, that Frederick is actually a vampire that was in coma for the last century and now has difficulty adjusting to the 21st century lifestyle.
This a slow-burn, roommates to friends to lovers romance.
The first part of the book started strong, but it kind of started dragging towards the middle and completely blew it by the time we reached the last part to the point that I counted the pages in order for it to be done already.
Overlooking the fact that the plot has more holes than a sponge, Cassie gradually became unsufferable and that’s when I knew that this book can’t be saved for me. I hate this ‘Oh, I am good for nothing, I am so ugly, I am so stupid’ kind of female main character. I actually rolled my eyes continuously and want to scream at her to get a grip. I mean, come on girl. This, paired with the guy being the only one that understands how beautiful and unique she is gives me the ick. Sorry, but these elements are really a deal breaker for me.
As I said earlier the book sure had its moments (a vampire Swiftie? Say no more) but overall, it felt like the characters were extremely flat and there was barely any plot there. I really wanted to love this book and I am really bumbed that this wasn't the case.
To be honest, I wouldn't really recomment it since besides some very limited things I didn't enjoy reading it.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: I am so satisfied, I really liked this one. It probably didn't change my life, but I love it and I would most probably recommend.
This was such a cute, cozy read!
Tropes: found family, grumpy x sunshine
Mika Moon is a modern witch, in a world where witches are safer when they are alone- and inevitably, lonely, since they cannot reveal their true selves. When an unexpected job opportunity reveals its self Mika's life is about to drastically change.
I really like the commentary-like narration style, I think it added to the overall feeling of coziness an fluffiness this book offered me.
This was one of these very cute and everything-is-going-to-be-alright-at-the-end kind of books that I occasionally enjoy and with everything going on in the world right now I was in great need of an uplifting book. This absolutely did the job. So, if you're in the mood for a fluffy, holiday-related, witchy book, this one is for you.
PS: I really liked the cover. I don't usually comment on covers, as I don't think that they're that important (I mainly read e-books) but this one really caught my eye.
This was such a cute, cozy read!
Tropes: found family, grumpy x sunshine
Mika Moon is a modern witch, in a world where witches are safer when they are alone- and inevitably, lonely, since they cannot reveal their true selves. When an unexpected job opportunity reveals its self Mika's life is about to drastically change.
I really like the commentary-like narration style, I think it added to the overall feeling of coziness an fluffiness this book offered me.
This was one of these very cute and everything-is-going-to-be-alright-at-the-end kind of books that I occasionally enjoy and with everything going on in the world right now I was in great need of an uplifting book. This absolutely did the job. So, if you're in the mood for a fluffy, holiday-related, witchy book, this one is for you.
PS: I really liked the cover. I don't usually comment on covers, as I don't think that they're that important (I mainly read e-books) but this one really caught my eye.