mikcarrington's reviews
278 reviews

Crown of Power by Melanie Cellier

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was such a delightful series, I'm really happy with it! Adored the creative magic system. This last one seemed just a bit too fast for me - probably the same pacing as the rest but it just felt like it needed to switch up the pacing a bit more because of the questing elements. Also..

i'm sure it wasnt intended this way, but Darius's composition thst made his hand turn black when it was wrong... there were an uncomfortable number of weird, negative references to his black hand, to the point that it felt like the author (and everyone who let it stay that way) may have not realized the fact that there are plenty of Black people who have dark skin? I dont know, it just gave me pause multiple times. Could have made it a different color. Or just pointed out that it was strange seeing his skin a different color. Or even note that it was a different sort of black than theyd seen on skin. Idk, something. Mini rant done.

Crown of Strength by Melanie Cellier

adventurous funny mysterious tense 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

4.25

Passion by Lauren Kate

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

2024 reread - and this was the last of this series I originally read back when it was coming out, so everything on will be new! This was definitely an improvement.. and also just more interesting because of the main plot aspect that covers the majority of the book. 
But Luce as a character still bothered me, I still don't think she was well written and all of them honestly feel pretty one dimensional. But! The plot has intrigued me and at this point... I feel like I'll have to go track down the final two!

Torment by Lauren Kate

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

2024 reread and ugh how did editing not help this thing, it's just sooooo slow and soooo frustrating. Perhaps it's just my abhorrence for the miscommunication trope. 

Fallen by Lauren Kate

adventurous dark funny mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

2024 reread! OOF I loved this when I read it when it first came out but why does practically nothing happen in the first 3/4 or 4/5 of the book?? Hilarious looking back, I know I ate it all up, but nowadays I was just cringing and bored until we finally got to the meat near the end. I want to say the series improves, I'll definitely keep re-reading:)

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.5

2024 reread!
The pacing felt off in this one, which I struggled with, and it felt a lot slower to read

Crown of Danger by Melanie Cellier

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not as strong as the first one, but still a fun plot! The characters (esp ones that aren't our main girl) tend to feel a little one-dimensional to me, but I also mostly expect that for this sort of book. Still fun!

definitely started to really get frustrated at Varene for her stupid invasive practices without consent but at least it's  all worked out so far...

Crown of Secrets by Melanie Cellier

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

A strong start to an interesting‐seeming series!

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

adventurous funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Ugh this is hard to rate.
Incredible representation and handling of challenging issues of the time.
Really great storyline and plot (love a good heist).
However, the writing did not seem good to me. There were multiple instances where things didn't add up, things that happened shouldn't have been possible because of something we'd been told earlier that the author and editors seemingly forgot. My edition (OwlCrate - could be part of the issues, but not all) literally had words missing multiple times, and another misspelled. And just in general, it was hard to imagine what was happening. A great story, but so hard to get into when you're constantly trying to decipher wtf is going on in a scene. 
I will read book 2, but jeez I hope the writing is better (and the editing)...

Feral Self-Care: 100 Ways to Liberate and Celebrate Your Messy, Wild, and Untamed Self by Mandi Em

lighthearted reflective fast-paced

2.75

It did definitely do its job, providing a bunch of different tips and actions to consider. That said, it didnt feel researched almost at all (just someone who wanted to put their own personal ideas and beliefs out there, which is fine, just wasnt aware thats what it would be) and I wasn't a huge fan of the tone it was written in. And the narration felt too... happy-go-lucky, for lack of a better term - though I'm sure that's what the narrator was asked to do based on aforementioned tone.