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mcaliz's reviews
295 reviews
The Awakening by Nora Roberts
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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? No
3.5
Rep: queer side characters, drag queens, friendship, grandmother/granddaughter bond, animal companions, SLOW BURN romance
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
The writing was kind of off. It felt like there were missing words in sentences & the pacing of the dialogue was all over the place in the “non magical” world that we meet Breen in. This just felt campy to me. Like I was reading fanfic & was just reading it cause it wasn’t overall bad, just a little bit ridiculous. I am still interested in reading on in the series, despite its campiness, cause I think the world building was interesting as well as the over arching problem. But this SERIOUSLY, needed some editing and format changes to help with the flow of the narrative.
Pros:
The relationships in this? I absolutely loved. Breen’s and Marcos friendship!! It was so cute & wholesome. They cared so much for each other & were each other’s biggest supporters 😭 I loved reading their interactions. I loved Breen’s and her grandmothers relationship as well!! You could literally feel the love that Marg (Breen's grandma) had for her & it was just very wholesome.
The romance(s):
We see a relationship begin to blossom between Green & Keegan toward the end of this first book and let me just say, it is SLOW BURN TO THE MAX. If you've ever read The Queen's Rising Duology by Rebecca Ross, Breen and Keegan reminded me of Brienna's and Cartier's relationship and how that one developed. So if you liked their relationship, then I think you'll like Breen's and Keegan's. They had some cute moments of bonding, but their relationship definitely feels underdeveloped and I look forward to seeing it grow in book 2.
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
The writing was kind of off. It felt like there were missing words in sentences & the pacing of the dialogue was all over the place in the “non magical” world that we meet Breen in. This just felt campy to me. Like I was reading fanfic & was just reading it cause it wasn’t overall bad, just a little bit ridiculous. I am still interested in reading on in the series, despite its campiness, cause I think the world building was interesting as well as the over arching problem. But this SERIOUSLY, needed some editing and format changes to help with the flow of the narrative.
Pros:
The relationships in this? I absolutely loved. Breen’s and Marcos friendship!! It was so cute & wholesome. They cared so much for each other & were each other’s biggest supporters 😭 I loved reading their interactions. I loved Breen’s and her grandmothers relationship as well!! You could literally feel the love that Marg (Breen's grandma) had for her & it was just very wholesome.
The romance(s):
We see a relationship begin to blossom between Green & Keegan toward the end of this first book and let me just say, it is SLOW BURN TO THE MAX. If you've ever read The Queen's Rising Duology by Rebecca Ross, Breen and Keegan reminded me of Brienna's and Cartier's relationship and how that one developed. So if you liked their relationship, then I think you'll like Breen's and Keegan's. They had some cute moments of bonding, but their relationship definitely feels underdeveloped and I look forward to seeing it grow in book 2.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Im putting this down at page 100.
Overall: Special thanks to NetGalley and Andromeda Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content warnings: alcoholism, alcohol abuse, killing of animals, gore
Rep: twin sisters, forced marriage, enemies to lovers
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
I kind of had trouble with this one. Our MC, Wren, is an interesting character. As I mentioned up above about alcoholism, Wren suffers with alcoholism very much. To the point that it was VERY uncomfortable and it really was putting me off from reading. I have family members who have suffered thru this and it was all I could think about. So kudos to the author for getting the experience right. It unfortunately made me want to skim a lot of the time that Wren was getting drunk in the first quarter of the book.
I do think that Wren is really cool and she is the definition of a badass. She had a lot of respect for herself and tried to make the best decision based off what was around her. But she is VERY prickly, but I'm sure that she is someone that people will come to love and understand as they get further into the book.
Like I stated at the top, I will be putting this down for the moment, but I DO plan on coming back to this later on. I'm just not in the right head space to be in the mind of someone like Wren.
Overall: Special thanks to NetGalley and Andromeda Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content warnings: alcoholism, alcohol abuse, killing of animals, gore
Rep: twin sisters, forced marriage, enemies to lovers
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
I kind of had trouble with this one. Our MC, Wren, is an interesting character. As I mentioned up above about alcoholism, Wren suffers with alcoholism very much. To the point that it was VERY uncomfortable and it really was putting me off from reading. I have family members who have suffered thru this and it was all I could think about. So kudos to the author for getting the experience right. It unfortunately made me want to skim a lot of the time that Wren was getting drunk in the first quarter of the book.
I do think that Wren is really cool and she is the definition of a badass. She had a lot of respect for herself and tried to make the best decision based off what was around her. But she is VERY prickly, but I'm sure that she is someone that people will come to love and understand as they get further into the book.
Like I stated at the top, I will be putting this down for the moment, but I DO plan on coming back to this later on. I'm just not in the right head space to be in the mind of someone like Wren.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content warnings: murder, torture
Rep: found family, reincarnation
This was a solid 3. This first book is a product of its time with it'd cliches and pacing. It didn't make this book bad for me, but I had to remind myself that it was published in 2011.
So I will say that the pacing of this book is VERY slow. Yes there are things happening, questions being asked and information being found, but it is still a very slow paced story. The best way that I could describe is, is that it was simmering.
But I think that for someone, especially a teen, this is a good book to read for them to dip their toes into fantasy & if they like having a romance be at the core of the story
Rep: found family, reincarnation
This was a solid 3. This first book is a product of its time with it'd cliches and pacing. It didn't make this book bad for me, but I had to remind myself that it was published in 2011.
So I will say that the pacing of this book is VERY slow. Yes there are things happening, questions being asked and information being found, but it is still a very slow paced story. The best way that I could describe is, is that it was simmering.
But I think that for someone, especially a teen, this is a good book to read for them to dip their toes into fantasy & if they like having a romance be at the core of the story
Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This book... THIS BOOK Y'ALL. I cannot 😹 I liked this purely for nostalgia reasons, but if I was using my critical thinking skills I would NOT have been able to finish this 😹 Edwards was just something else & I could NOT with him.
Gilded by Marissa Meyer
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
Content warnings: physical child abuse, killing of animals, killing of children*
*It is VERY gruesome as to how the children are killed. They are murdered by sliced throats, left to die out in the cold, hanged & or mutilated and have bodily organs removed. So while we never see on page the killing of these children, we still see their dead body’s & the aftermath of their death.
Rep: father/daughter bond, magical creatures, queerness, talks of motherhood (Open this at your own risk ( there is a pregnancy )
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
This reminded me A LOT of Little Thieves by Margaret Owens. In terms of the voice of the narrative, Vanja & Serilda both being seen as nothing but Liars & both being blessed by the Gods in these (Germanic?) worlds. If you liked Little Thieves then I highly recommend that you try this! Or read Little Thieves then read this. I am interested in where the next book is gonna go & how the story will end, given what happened at the end of the book & what the original tale of Rumpelstiltskin entails, but I am excited nonetheless for the next book in this duology.
The chapters in this can be considered to be really long, but I honestly didn’t really notice it. There was always something going on in each chapter that made me keep turning the page. But I can see how someone could find this story on the boring side & the chapters being long-winded. Cause I’m gonna be honest, this book is one of those stories where nothing and everything happens. There were easily could have been some scenes, or a number of pages/events that could have been taken out of the book & it still would have been just as good. But because this book is more character driven than plot driven, there are scenes that seem kind of pointless & have some sense of significance later on in the book. But I liked the story so much that I didn’t mind the fact that this was more character driven.
Pros:
I really liked the relationship that Serilda had with the children in her village. It was really sweet. Since most of the people in the Village ostracize her for the markings in her eyes, the children were the only ones that really paid any attention to her & liked the stories she told them & appreciated that aspect of her, rather than shun her & ignore her.
I loved how Meyer explored storytelling & the purpose that it can serve depending on who is telling it & who the audience is. Cause in this one Serilda continuously tells stories that everyone, even she, thinks are just tales or lies that she makes up. And some of them are just that, lies, embellishments or things that she makes up on the fly, but some of them make you wonder if what she says is true . But that is part of story telling, for some it is true while for others they are just fictional tales. But all tales are based off real people/entities and true events & it is simply up to the storyteller and the listener to determine for themselves what they think is true or not. And I really liked that aspect of that in this & it honestly is one of the biggest things that kept me reading the book.
I loved the lore in this. I LOVE the story/myth/legend about the Erlkiong, also known as the Alder King, & I LOVED HIM in this. I think Meyer did such a good job of characterizing him with his wickedness, his trickery, and the mystery about him. Just, chef’s kiss. He honestly was a deplorable being and he did ATROCIOUS things, seriously, but I loved it.
Good dialogue about gender identity & queerness. We do get to see a potential sapphic relationship bloom & discussions about people being nonbinary & how individuals do not have to stick to the gender roles of the communities that they were born into if that is not what they want to do or part of who they are.
Gripes:
I don’t know how I feel about the ending, it’s the only real complaint I have. There was a certain revelation , you could say, at the end of the book & I just don’t know how I feel about it. (It pertains to a certain aspect of the Rumpelstiltskin tale…about a baby. IYKYK) I honestly don’t even know how to express how I feel about it, after thinking on it for a couple of hours, I just don’t know if the way that part of the original story was integrated in this was done right? I’m not sure how Meyer would have incorporated it differently, but I just feel w e i r d about it.
The romance(s):
Serilda & Gild: I thought that they were cute. They had really good banter between the two of them. I can see there relationship be described as “insta-lovey” & while that USUALLY gets on my nerves, I thought it was handled well in this one. Given how people have treated & VIEWED Serilda all her life, Gild was one of the very few that didn’t see her as a bad omen, he saw her as something more. And once you learn about Gild’s background, you can understand his fascination & attraction to Serilda. Their relationship was at a QUITE interesting moment at the end of the book, and I can already feel the angst of the next book 😹 But I have hope for a happy ending for them
*It is VERY gruesome as to how the children are killed. They are murdered by sliced throats, left to die out in the cold, hanged & or mutilated and have bodily organs removed. So while we never see on page the killing of these children, we still see their dead body’s & the aftermath of their death.
Rep: father/daughter bond, magical creatures, queerness, talks of motherhood (Open this at your own risk (
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
This reminded me A LOT of Little Thieves by Margaret Owens. In terms of the voice of the narrative, Vanja & Serilda both being seen as nothing but Liars & both being blessed by the Gods in these (Germanic?) worlds. If you liked Little Thieves then I highly recommend that you try this! Or read Little Thieves then read this. I am interested in where the next book is gonna go & how the story will end, given what happened at the end of the book & what the original tale of Rumpelstiltskin entails, but I am excited nonetheless for the next book in this duology.
The chapters in this can be considered to be really long, but I honestly didn’t really notice it. There was always something going on in each chapter that made me keep turning the page. But I can see how someone could find this story on the boring side & the chapters being long-winded. Cause I’m gonna be honest, this book is one of those stories where nothing and everything happens. There were easily could have been some scenes, or a number of pages/events that could have been taken out of the book & it still would have been just as good. But because this book is more character driven than plot driven, there are scenes that seem kind of pointless & have some sense of significance later on in the book. But I liked the story so much that I didn’t mind the fact that this was more character driven.
Pros:
I really liked the relationship that Serilda had with the children in her village. It was really sweet. Since most of the people in the Village ostracize her for the markings in her eyes, the children were the only ones that really paid any attention to her & liked the stories she told them & appreciated that aspect of her, rather than shun her & ignore her.
I loved how Meyer explored storytelling & the purpose that it can serve depending on who is telling it & who the audience is. Cause in this one Serilda continuously tells stories that everyone, even she, thinks are just tales or lies that she makes up. And some of them are just that, lies, embellishments or things that she makes up on the fly, but some of them make you wonder if what she says is true . But that is part of story telling, for some it is true while for others they are just fictional tales. But all tales are based off real people/entities and true events & it is simply up to the storyteller and the listener to determine for themselves what they think is true or not. And I really liked that aspect of that in this & it honestly is one of the biggest things that kept me reading the book.
I loved the lore in this. I LOVE the story/myth/legend about the Erlkiong, also known as the Alder King, & I LOVED HIM in this. I think Meyer did such a good job of characterizing him with his wickedness, his trickery, and the mystery about him. Just, chef’s kiss. He honestly was a deplorable being and he did ATROCIOUS things, seriously, but I loved it.
Good dialogue about gender identity & queerness. We do get to see a potential sapphic relationship bloom & discussions about people being nonbinary & how individuals do not have to stick to the gender roles of the communities that they were born into if that is not what they want to do or part of who they are.
Gripes:
I don’t know how I feel about the ending, it’s the only real complaint I have. There was a certain revelation , you could say, at the end of the book & I just don’t know how I feel about it. (It pertains to a certain aspect of the Rumpelstiltskin tale…about a baby. IYKYK) I honestly don’t even know how to express how I feel about it, after thinking on it for a couple of hours, I just don’t know if the way that part of the original story was integrated in this was done right? I’m not sure how Meyer would have incorporated it differently, but I just feel w e i r d about it.
The romance(s):
Serilda & Gild: I thought that they were cute. They had really good banter between the two of them. I can see there relationship be described as “insta-lovey” & while that USUALLY gets on my nerves, I thought it was handled well in this one. Given how people have treated & VIEWED Serilda all her life, Gild was one of the very few that didn’t see her as a bad omen, he saw her as something more. And once you learn about Gild’s background, you can understand his fascination & attraction to Serilda. Their relationship was at a QUITE interesting moment at the end of the book, and I can already feel the angst of the next book 😹 But I have hope for a happy ending for them
The Valkyrie's Daughter by Tiana Warner
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Special thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen Publishing for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content warnings: girl-on-girl hate, animal death
Rep: sapphic relationship, animal horse companion(s)
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
I did appreciate the fact that the chapters were short. I am a big fan of short chapters overall, so it was nice to have them. Sometimes they were a little TOO short as it would a scene short when it should have been longer. But it did overall help with the suspense of the book
I overall just felt very MEH about this book. I think that this is a good book for anyone teen or person who liked YA Fantasy, and norse mythology & wants to follow a girl try make something of herself in a world when she has been constantly been looked down upon when she has the potential for greatness.
Pros:
The writing is super simple & easy to get thru.
I really loved the norse mythology that was integrated into the story & learning about all of the different creatures.
The animal companions in this book? WERE. SO. CUTE. I was never a horse girl, but I can still appreciate reading about a girl and the bond she has with a horse/horses
I really liked the characterization of Sigrid. She was naive, being that she’s only 16 when the story starts, but she really grows as the story went on. She’s stubborn, passionate, and trying to make her mark and prove her worth to those around her & while it is VERY messy, she still tries her best.
Gripes:
(Because I am a 24 year old adult, I just thought that these characters were very underwhelming & I just couldn’t really relate to them as much as I could have if I was 15/16/17 reading this for the first time)
Content warnings: girl-on-girl hate, animal death
Rep: sapphic relationship, animal horse companion(s)
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
I did appreciate the fact that the chapters were short. I am a big fan of short chapters overall, so it was nice to have them. Sometimes they were a little TOO short as it would a scene short when it should have been longer. But it did overall help with the suspense of the book
I overall just felt very MEH about this book. I think that this is a good book for anyone teen or person who liked YA Fantasy, and norse mythology & wants to follow a girl try make something of herself in a world when she has been constantly been looked down upon when she has the potential for greatness.
Pros:
The writing is super simple & easy to get thru.
I really loved the norse mythology that was integrated into the story & learning about all of the different creatures.
The animal companions in this book? WERE. SO. CUTE. I was never a horse girl, but I can still appreciate reading about a girl and the bond she has with a horse/horses
I really liked the characterization of Sigrid. She was naive, being that she’s only 16 when the story starts, but she really grows as the story went on. She’s stubborn, passionate, and trying to make her mark and prove her worth to those around her & while it is VERY messy, she still tries her best.
Gripes:
(Because I am a 24 year old adult, I just thought that these characters were very underwhelming & I just couldn’t really relate to them as much as I could have if I was 15/16/17 reading this for the first time)
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? No
4.5
Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content warnings: girl-on-girl hate
Rep: secret identities, Chinese mythology, friends-ish to lovers, lovers to enemies, love triangle, forbidden love, Mother/Daughter love/bond
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
The writing: In the very beginning of the book, the writing starts off very simple & I didn’t mind that cause I think that it helps represent how Xingyin is in the very beginning of the story. And while it still stays pretty simple, I still thought that it was good & just needed some work with the pacing. But because this is a debut, I am more forgiving when it comes to pacing or more simpler writing.
Xingyin: I liked her overall. I though that she was VERY naive in the beginning, and still through the events of the book, but I think that reflects the pureness of her ideals and her unwavering loyalty and her morals. She was just trying her best in order to set her mother free & finding herself and herself worth in the process & I could admire that about her.
This honestly is a SOLID debut & I highly recommend! I am not entirely sure where the second book in this duology is going to cover, but I am excited nonetheless!
Pros:
I really liked the lore in this one and how the Gods and Goddess were actual figures in this world, not just beings that were written about in ancient texts and stories that are told in the present timeline. How the Moon Goddess did things & how they were represented in our mortal world.
Some of the lines in this were absolutely beautiful. Like I literally had to stop and take the lines in & just are at them for a second.
The chapters in this were short & I honestly was flying thru this book like no other. One second I was on page 56, and the next things I knew I was on page 210 without even realizing it. So while the pacing was a little off in some instances, I was still flying thru the pages.
I also liked seeing the Mother/Daughter bond in this. I also have a strong relationship with my mom & it was really nice seeing the love that these two had for each other & seeing all of the sacrifices and actions that they did for one another because of the love that they had.
Gripes:
As I sit here and write this review I can’t think of any PRESSING issues (aside from the pacing) & the only thing I wasn’t a fan of for the most part was the love triangle that bloomed in this. And while it wasn't THAT bad, it is still a triangle nonetheless & I am NOT a fan of them.
The romance(s):
There is a love triangle in this 🙈 I know for this is a “buzz word” but for me it is not one at all. And while there is an inkling who Xingyin will be with at the very end of this duology based off what happened at the end of the book, I can see there being a “will they won’t they” and Xingyin going between Liwei and a certain General 😉(if you wanna know his name, by all means look at the spoiler ( Wenzhi ) in the next book. And while that ANNOYS me, I am hopeful for my boy Liwei 😭
Xingyin & Liwei: I REALLY liked them. Could they be described as insta-lovey? Perhaps. But I still liked them. First and foremost they saw themselves as friends, as two people who felt like they were lacking in themselves and the positions/roles that were forced into & just wanted a friend that they could lean on. And that is what I liked about them. It was not an instant physical attraction that they had for one another, it was an emotional bond that they formed first before looks came in to the equation. But lemme tell you, this gets angsty real fast 😹🙈 There is some heartache and some circumstances that separate these two from one another, but they may or may not reform their relationship at the end of the book… AND ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I BETTER SEE A MARRIAGE CEREMONY AT THE END OF BOOK 2
For those who don’t know, Liwei is the Prince of the Celestial Kingdom. I REALLY liked him 😹 HE WAS SUCH A CINNAMON ROLL 🥺 While he did kind of get on my nerves on some things, he was also just trying to do his best & having to make choices that he didn’t want to make, but he had to. But he thankfully pull his head out of his butt towards the end of the story & I was swooning all over again.
Xingyin & the other guy 😹: While I understood the blooming of their friendship/relationship, (I even kind of rooted for them at one point) I just do not support them. (When you read the book you’ll know why). But I can totally see people falling in love with him and their relationship.
Content warnings: girl-on-girl hate
Rep: secret identities, Chinese mythology, friends-ish to lovers, lovers to enemies, love triangle, forbidden love, Mother/Daughter love/bond
Thoughts
Neutral thoughts:
The writing: In the very beginning of the book, the writing starts off very simple & I didn’t mind that cause I think that it helps represent how Xingyin is in the very beginning of the story. And while it still stays pretty simple, I still thought that it was good & just needed some work with the pacing. But because this is a debut, I am more forgiving when it comes to pacing or more simpler writing.
Xingyin: I liked her overall. I though that she was VERY naive in the beginning, and still through the events of the book, but I think that reflects the pureness of her ideals and her unwavering loyalty and her morals. She was just trying her best in order to set her mother free & finding herself and herself worth in the process & I could admire that about her.
This honestly is a SOLID debut & I highly recommend! I am not entirely sure where the second book in this duology is going to cover, but I am excited nonetheless!
Pros:
I really liked the lore in this one and how the Gods and Goddess were actual figures in this world, not just beings that were written about in ancient texts and stories that are told in the present timeline. How the Moon Goddess did things & how they were represented in our mortal world.
Some of the lines in this were absolutely beautiful. Like I literally had to stop and take the lines in & just are at them for a second.
The chapters in this were short & I honestly was flying thru this book like no other. One second I was on page 56, and the next things I knew I was on page 210 without even realizing it. So while the pacing was a little off in some instances, I was still flying thru the pages.
I also liked seeing the Mother/Daughter bond in this. I also have a strong relationship with my mom & it was really nice seeing the love that these two had for each other & seeing all of the sacrifices and actions that they did for one another because of the love that they had.
Gripes:
As I sit here and write this review I can’t think of any PRESSING issues (aside from the pacing) & the only thing I wasn’t a fan of for the most part was the love triangle that bloomed in this. And while it wasn't THAT bad, it is still a triangle nonetheless & I am NOT a fan of them.
The romance(s):
There is a love triangle in this 🙈 I know for this is a “buzz word” but for me it is not one at all. And while there is an inkling who Xingyin will be with at the very end of this duology based off what happened at the end of the book, I can see there being a “will they won’t they” and Xingyin going between Liwei and a certain General 😉(if you wanna know his name, by all means look at the spoiler (
Xingyin & Liwei: I REALLY liked them. Could they be described as insta-lovey? Perhaps. But I still liked them. First and foremost they saw themselves as friends, as two people who felt like they were lacking in themselves and the positions/roles that were forced into & just wanted a friend that they could lean on. And that is what I liked about them. It was not an instant physical attraction that they had for one another, it was an emotional bond that they formed first before looks came in to the equation. But lemme tell you, this gets angsty real fast 😹🙈 There is some heartache and some circumstances that separate these two from one another, but they may or may not reform their relationship at the end of the book… AND ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I BETTER SEE A MARRIAGE CEREMONY AT THE END OF BOOK 2
For those who don’t know, Liwei is the Prince of the Celestial Kingdom. I REALLY liked him 😹 HE WAS SUCH A CINNAMON ROLL 🥺 While he did kind of get on my nerves on some things, he was also just trying to do his best & having to make choices that he didn’t want to make, but he had to. But he thankfully pull his head out of his butt towards the end of the story & I was swooning all over again.
Xingyin & the other guy 😹: While I understood the blooming of their friendship/relationship, (I even kind of rooted for them at one point) I just do not support them. (When you read the book you’ll know why). But I can totally see people falling in love with him and their relationship.
Witchy by Ariel Slamet Ries
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Rep: trans female side character, potential queer relationship, talking animal companion
This is DEFINITELY the first in a graphic novel series & im interested in seeing where this story goes
This is DEFINITELY the first in a graphic novel series & im interested in seeing where this story goes
Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
…I honestly have no idea what happened in this? While the art style was nice, the story overall was just not on point
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was cute & a very good Halloween read