maryp20's reviews
55 reviews

The Charlie Method by Elle Kennedy

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

As always, I love everything Elle Kennedy writes. I loved seeing something new with having a poly relationship; I think it’s something that a lot of people look down on or think is weird and I think Elle did a wonderful job navigating the social expectations and the feelings that are involved with this kind of relationship. I loved Charlie and all of her layers, especially having been adopted and seeing the imposter syndrome and feeling out of place and how that affected her relationships. I know Beckett is the one known for being a heartbreaker, but Will broke mine (IYKYK) and I’m not happy with Elle for that but I loved the ending. Will’s story and seeing him navigate having a political figure for a parent and trying to decide his own path was great and I loved seeing those parts. However, I wish we got to see more of Beckett and his story; but I think it’s symbolic of how closed off he is towards Charlie and Will and everyone else. My favorite part was all the little add ins like chapters from “The Virgin and The Blade” (which I couldn’t stop laughing at the idea of Elle having to sit down and write those) and even more so the inclusion of the Dad Chat, I miss all those characters so it’s so nice to see them still involved in these stories.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

I cannot believe this was a debut novel, it is so whimsical and well thought out. I loved the magic system and the characters in this book, Collins and Joanna are my favs. The character development throughout the story is amazing and I can’t get over how Esther’s love for Pearl was so strong that is was the catalyst for this whole story. This story is filled with familial love, lies, betrayal, and surprisingly enough, trust and we get to see what happens when power falls into the wrong hands. Also those plot twists really had me going, my emotions were all over the place! Really the only downside for me was how slow the beginning was, it took me a little over a 100 pages to get hooked and I was starting to consider DNF’ing it but I’m so glad I didn’t. I cannot wait to see what other fantastic stories Emma Törzs comes up with.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Let me start by saying how shocked I was to love this story. I have heard so many mixed reviews and I really wasn’t sure if I would even pick this up, but I am so glad I did. I loved that Arthie had layers to her story that were only revealed when she wanted. The other characters were amazing and I love them but this story is full of lies and betrayal that my feelings were constantly swaying. I will say, the first half of the story was hard for me to get through; it took me some time to get used to Faizal’s writing style and it was a bit slow to pick up. The second half though?! Amazing, my heart was racing and jaw was on the floor, every page brought a new lie, betrayal, information, and action that kept me engaged for the remainder of the story. I’m completely shocked by the twist of events at the end and I have no idea what to think, I’m just excited for the next book to come out now!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Strange Alchemy by Gwenda Bond

Go to review page

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

2.5

I liked the concept of this book and that’s why I initially picked it up, but the execution of it wasn’t great. I didn’t mind the first 2/3 of the book since it was mainly Miranda and Grant finding information and making theories and all the other minor events that brought us to the end. The end was good and bad all at the same time; like the plot twists were good but everything was so cheesy and cliche to a point that I couldn’t really enjoy it. And the one thing that really irked me throughout the entire thing was that we were using UK spellings for words and using the metric system to describe a place in the United States; it may be a small thing but it bothered me the entire time.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Blood Traitor by Lynette Noni

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

My my, this was an absolutely phenomenal ending to the trilogy. I adored the whole series but The Blood Traitor is by far my favorite. The final installment is full of even more love, hurt, hope, lies, betrayal, sadness and joy. Our beloved characters, Kiva especially, has been through so much and grown into the best characters. We finally get to see more of the continent and so many new characters and relationships. The ending is completely full circle and so incredibly satisfying. My only wish was that it was longer, there was so much happening in this book and I was longing for more details on all the major events, and I would have loved an epilogue to see how everyone is doing after everything. I cannot wait to re-read this series in the future and to read more of Lynette Noni’s books.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Oh my god. That ending?! WTF?! But seriously, the twists in this book were insane. The character development for beloved and new characters was phenomenal and I’ve fallen in love with Cal and Tor. The second installment of The Prison Healer trilogy was full of love, hope, betrayal, and lies. I’m so excited to read the last installment and see what Kiva does following these events.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

I enjoyed the first installment of the Scholomance. I found it a bit difficult to get into and I felt like the world building was stretched out in a way that I was confused for a good portion of the beginning. But nonetheless, I caught on and started enjoying the story. I do wish that there was more of a subplot or something to help keep things moving cause I started to feel like things were dragging throughout the book. But the ending was the kind of speed and action that I was looking for so I loved that. I’m looking forward to the rest of the Scholomance series and seeing how certain characters make out. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

Go to review page

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

Let me just say, Lynette took some notes from SJM and I’m not made about it in the slightest. I got incklings of the plot twists throughout which I’m sure that was intentional, but I did not suspect the gravity and depth of those plot twists. Like WTF was that ending, my mind is reeling and I’m so excited to continue this story. I will say that Kiva and Jaren were so Feyre and Rhys coded, in such a good way. Like Jaren always gave me “I’ll burn the world for her and I’ll crawl to her” vibes and it was swoon-worthy.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Striker by Ana Huang

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-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

Ana Huang has my heart, I love everything she touches and everything she writes. Asher is heart-achingly charming and he is so focused on little details that he remembers and uses later to show he’s listening and paying attention it’s swoon worthy. Scarlett is my baby and I loved seeing her grow and face her fears and anxiety following the accident in so many different ways. And I couldn’t forget, I love the crossovers and seeing our beloved characters from other books, it is my favorite Ana thing and I will never get tired of it. My only things that weren’t my favorite was that it felt a little long for the story and it felt like Ana was trying to write a slow-burn that just wasn’t working super well. But again, I loved this book and I already have the next one preordered!
Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-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

3.75

Godkiller is an incredible and unique story that has so much potential. I adored every single character and their development. Inara is a badass little girl and I was so incredibly shocked by her in the end. Kissen is too funny, she gives me similar vibes to Aelin from Throne Of Glass in terms of confidence and swagger. My heart breaks for Elo, he just wanted to live a simple life and it’s all been thrown out the window. The book felt really slow to me, which wasn’t horrible but I wish there was some different action filled parts to keep it moving that didn’t repeat; like I felt like every fast-paced parts until the end were fighting the shadow demons. But that ending?! Absolutely insane. I was shocked by those twists. I really look forward to continuing the series.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings