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mayhemboundbookshelf's Reviews (599)
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.25*
FEB 2025
Thank you Emma Lord, Macmillan and NetGalley.
I love Emma Lord’s writing style, it keeps things light even when the plot gets a little heavier or more tense. I found Sam and Mack to be endearing and fun and would love to hear more about Hannah and Serena and even Lizzie and Ben. Overall this was a really fun read and I flew threw it.
UPDATE July 2025 - Audio
Lord's story came through beautifully through skillful narration on this one. I absolutely felt these characters. The voices and inflection were perfect.
FEB 2025
Thank you Emma Lord, Macmillan and NetGalley.
I love Emma Lord’s writing style, it keeps things light even when the plot gets a little heavier or more tense. I found Sam and Mack to be endearing and fun and would love to hear more about Hannah and Serena and even Lizzie and Ben. Overall this was a really fun read and I flew threw it.
UPDATE July 2025 - Audio
Lord's story came through beautifully through skillful narration on this one. I absolutely felt these characters. The voices and inflection were perfect.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Oof. Thank you so so much Maddie Rose Andry for giving me the honor of being one of your ARC readers. I read book 1, mortal end, as part of a traveling book club and when it came to an end, I knew I had to know what happened next. Book 2c Chaos Resurrected is told from the POV of Emil, which usually isn’t my jam. I’m not a - read multiple books with the same time period but different POVs - kind of girl. But a couple chapters in, I realized that maybe… just maybe I AM that kind of girl because I found myself needing to know more, needing to understand the past, the present and the inevitable, from Emil’s perspective. And it turns out, I liked it even more than book 1, Phenice’s POV.
“She has to want to come back, Emil, make sure to give her a reason to return.” … let me tell you… you’ve given ME a reason to return, and I can’t wait for this official release and to follow the journey even further.
“She has to want to come back, Emil, make sure to give her a reason to return.” … let me tell you… you’ve given ME a reason to return, and I can’t wait for this official release and to follow the journey even further.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Amanda Prowse, Netgalley and Brilliance Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. I have only previously read one other Amanda Prowse book and I think what strikes me again here as did there, is her ability to really capture grief and how it isn't one size fits all but also that it's not fleeting. It sticks with you and shapes who you become down the road. This book combined themes of grief from death, grief from broken relationships, and grief from a sense of self in such a deep way. I also am repeatedly blown away by Prowse's ability to narrate so impeccably in addition to writing such beautiful stories. This was a non-traditional romance where the happily ever afters are much shaped by circumstance. Ultimately, I really loved this one.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for the audio ARC! I love romances and romcoms and romantasies of all kinds, and I really tend to be a reviewer that lives by vibes. For me, this one was a really interesting concept and the narration was quite well done most of the time (though there were some instances that made me pause and wonder what was going on like when the line "people-watching" was narrated as though people were watching, not the activity of people-watching. Ultimately, no narration will be perfect, but this stuck with me. As for the story itself, I thought it was a fun concept, but it was a little too sleepy for me to really get into. It was a fun listen, but wasn't something I'd re-read or re-listen to.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Evelyn Chatelain bared her entire soul in this book. For anyone who has lost someone to a hard fought battle with Cancer, or any long-term or rapidly degenerating illness, this book will tear open some wounds, but in my experience, it will also help heal them. Reading this book brought me back to watching my mom as the primary caretaker helping when my grandpa was up against the ropes with Multiple Myeloma and it brought back vivid memories of all of us caring for my grandma as she faced her own downhill battle - which we never sought an official diagnosis for because it wouldn't have changed the palliative measures just by giving it a name. I was brought back to hearing her sing You are my Sunshine to my own little boy, and the bond they had for the 2 short years they had together. It brought back the morbid humor that we all shared to help us cope and keep putting one foot in front of the other. It reminded me of the kindness of those closest, like my husband who held me up during the hardest times, and the friends that never turned their back on any of us. When I say, make sure you have tissues nearby... what I actually mean is... have a whole box of tissues, some water to rehydrate you, and maybe an ice pack and advil to soothe the post sobbing headache you might get. But don't let that deter you, this depiction of grief, motherhood, daughterhood, the grandparent bonds, the familial support system, and the internalized (and absolutely misplaced) guilt... sent me a little further on my own healing path. Thank you for sharing your deepest moments with us, Evelyn. My therapy bill will be in the mail soon.
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you to #macaudio2025 , Mikayla Bridge, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. I wanted to love this book so much. The concept was fantastic and different and I was really pumped about a fantasy about phoenixes. The phoenixes and the races were definitely highlights in the book but I personally felt the character building and world building fell short. At the end of the book, I still felt infested in the Phoenix at the center, but didn’t really feel drawn to the humans. The narration was wonderfully done and I think had it not been an audio, I would have struggled to finish this one.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this as one of the books on our #courtofthetravelingbooks book club route and I have to say, so far it was my favorite of the bunch. It was shocking to me that I could laugh my way through murder and cannibalism and dismemberment but hey, Brynne Weaver is a mastermind. Absolutely loved this book.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thank you Maisey Yates, Netgalley, Nancy Peterson and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. I went into this and the first chapter had me questioning whether I was going to like this book at all but I am so so glad that I stuck it out. The premise of this book was so interesting and the character growth was wonderful. Nancy Peterson's narration was impeccable and brought every bit of the story to life brilliantly.
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have had this on my TBR for such a long time, but because I don't tend to read a lot of dark romance, I was a little nervous about starting it. Lately I've been expanding what I read and realizing that dark doesn't = scary and sometimes it's just a little more unique. I'm so glad I decided to finally jump into this book... I mostly listened via libby audio, but because I have the hard copy from a friend on bookstagram, I also picked up the paperback a few times to read and I have to say I really loved it in both formats! This was a solid 4.5 star for me and I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and took a chance on this one! Josh was the best and it was just a really fun read.
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
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:
Complicated
Thank you #macaudio, Sarah Beth Durst and NetGalley for this ALC. First of all… if you loved The Spellshop, there’s no way you won’t love this perfectly cozy follow-up. Loaded with sentient plants, political intrigue, found family, reunions, and of course love and magic, this book 2 was wonderful. The narration was so well done and I felt immediately connected to the characters, being fully drawn in by the voiceover. I cannot wait to get a physical copy!