mistysbookspace's reviews
945 reviews

Shadow Walker by Jina S. Bazzar

4.0

This book has been on my TBR for a while. The author sent me an ARC of it back in 2022 and I just now managed to get to reading it. Thankfully I didn't have a time limit on when I needed to get it read but I still feel bad that it took me so long to read it. Thank you, Jina, for sending this my way. I also have to thank Jonny for suggesting it as a buddy read because that was the push I needed to finally read it. 

I've been a longtime fan of Jina's stories, and this one was no different. I really enjoyed this one and I'm kicking myself for not getting to it sooner. This is the start of a new paranormal dystopian series. There are 9 houses that control this world and Melaina has made it her mission to stay as far away from the houses and those who rule at all costs.  At the start of this book our main character Melaina (Mel) has decided to put her criminal ways behind her, but someone has something else in mind. 

This was a bit slow going for me to begin with, slower than I typically like but despite that I was still invested in the characters and the story overall. Once things picked up though I started flying through it. I loved the world building and the magic, and I can't wait to learn more in the next book. Mel is such a badass main character. She does what she needs to do to survive and doesn't take any crap from anyone even those who scare the shit out of her. Did I mention she also has a disability, and she doesn't let it hold her back. For the most part we get to know Mel as this hard ass who doesn't care about anything except those, she loves which is true, but we also get to see her softer side make an appearance at several points throughout the book. Mel is just a well-rounded character and I'm looking forward to getting to know her more in the next book. 

While this book did have a bit of a slow start it is action packed and will have you on the edge of your seat in anticipation. I'm also hopeful that a romance will be introduced in the next books I'm just not 100% sure who the love interest will be because after reading this book I feel like there are 2 possibilities. If you haven't read this book or any others by this author, I recommend you do. 

The Righteous by Renée Ahdieh

3.0

 I started reading this series with Ali last year and we've been slowly making our way through them over the past several months. I was hoping the further into the series we got the more I would enjoy them but that hasn't happened unfortunately. I'm not hating them but I'm not loving them either. They have all just been ok reads. We are following Arjun and Pippa in this one and that kind of threw me off a little bit because up until this book we were following Sebastian and Celine. We also get several POVs some of which I don't think we have gotten before and while I didn't mind the POV switches all that much there were some instances where I had to reread a section to figure out whose POV we were getting. Also, every single character except for Sebastian and Arjun infuriated me so much especially Celine and Pippa. These two seemed to have a complete personality change. To me this book wasn't pretty much pointless. There will be mild spoilers from here on for all three books so if you haven't read them, yet you should probably skip this next part. Both Arjun and Pippa go to the world of the fey both for completely different reasons. Arjun is trying to find a healer to save Odette but as soon as Pippa shows up and Arjun has to save her it becomes about their not so fake wedding and saving Odette doesn't get brought up again until the end and I'm still not even sure if she was in fact saved. I did like the romance in here, but it was a small part of the overall story. Something happens in the end that sets up for the next book and that's really the only important thing that happens in this book in my opinion. If I wasn't buddy reading these and I wasn't invested in the romances, I probably would have DNFed this series after the first book. So overall this was just another ok installment in the series and while I'm not looking forward to reading the final book, I will be reading it because I own it. 

When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker

2.5

 Ok this one hurt. This was the Lost in Romance Book Club pick for January and I have finally finished it. I started it at the end of January and just finished it in April. If that doesn't tell you how much I struggled, I don't know what will. This started out as a buddy read with Destiny but she DNFed it. I probably should have DNFed it myself, but I decided to push through because it was a book club pick. This book had a lot of potential, but the execution fell flat, at least for me. I was so confused throughout this book. Even after finishing it I still feel confused about some aspects of it. There is a bit of a romance in here and that's what I was clinging to while reading it. The chemistry between the main characters was amazing. The author had this habit of repeating words three times, and it happened so much all throughout the book that it started to stand out to me and got very annoying. Also, there were some other things that were repetitive that started getting on my nerves like how often Raeve would talk about not wanting to remember anything from her past/other life. There was something that kept me reading this book aside from it being a book club book and I'm realizing as I'm writing this, I think it was the characters. Even though I was on the struggle bus while reading this one I've decided to give the second book a try, but I refuse to push through that one if it ends up being anything like this one. Everyone seems to be loving this one so take my review with a grain of salt. 

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

4.0

 I buddy read this with Destiny. This book has been getting a lot of hype lately and while I did like this one I feel like it was over hyped. I loved the world building and the magic system, and I even enjoyed most of the characters although some I'm still not sure about. My favorite part of this book was the romance although it wasn't a major part of the story it was still the best part for me but that's coming from a romance lover. My biggest issue with this book is how there was way too much time spent on the day-to-day happenings and not enough time spent growing the relationship and looking for the cards and because of this it was slow going. There are moments of action, and the author doesn't shy away from the gory bits all of which I like. Overall, this was a great start to a series, and I am looking forward to jumping into the next book very soon. 

The Orc's Sweetheart by Elle Sterling

lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.5

I read an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review. This is the first book in a new cozy monster romance series, and I thought it was so freaking cute. 

Tilly is our FMC. She moves from the big city to the small town of Starry Hill because she needs a change. Bodin is our MMC who is from this small town, but he has had some experience in the big city and let's just say that his bad experience causes him to be a bit judgmental when he first meets Tilly. It doesn't take long for them to go from dislike to like at all which is a nice refresher from all of the slow burns. I will say the jump from them not liking each other to them liking each other and being all flirty was a bit abrupt but I couldn't help but root for them. They were just so cute. Each character has their own pasts to work through and I loved seeing them grow throughout the book and learn to talk through their problems together. 

We get plus sized rep in this book as well with both characters and for the most part they are both very comfortable with their bodies which again I love. Tilly does show a little self-consciousness here and there but that's realistic to me. At one-point Bodin says "The Way Tilly's self-assuredness equally matches her vulnerability makes me fall a little more for her" That to me perfectly describes Tilly. Also, at one point Tilly refers to herself as a "plus sized queen" and I was just reading that like yes girl!! 

The world building in this book was on point. The author did an amazing job painting the picture of Starry Hill so much so that I want to live there myself. Also, the spice in this book had me fanning myself and there's no third act breakup which is probably my favorite thing ever. 

If you want an easy quick read that's not action packed but still packs a punch, I highly recommend picking up this small-town monster romance. 

The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce

5.0

 I read this with The Swoony Readers Book Club. I'm always up for reading more romance so of course I joined another romance book club. I loved this book so freaking much. It gave me everything I could possibly want in a romance. This is a second chance, friends to lovers forced proximity romance. Eli is top tier book boyfriend material, and he had me swooning and giddy throughout the whole book. Georgia did kind of bug me with all of her self sabotaging but overall, I loved her as a character as well. I loved the found family aspect in this book as well. Honestly all of the relationships in this book were amazing whether they were romantic in nature or just friendships. Both of the main characters have some not-so-great pasts, but they grew so much in this book especially Eli. He shows the most growth out of the two. I also just have to mention the steamy scenes because damn Eli I didn't expect that from you. I could go on and on and on about how much I loved this book but I'm just going to end it by saying if you are a lover of romance you NEED to read this book. 

That's Not My Name by Megan Lally

3.5

 I read this with the Thrills and Chills Book Club. I don't tend to read a lot of thrillers only because I prefer romance but this year, I am trying to read more books that I would normally pick up hence why I joined this book club. This book is told from 2 different perspectives and two different timelines. At first, I wasn't a fan of getting Drews POV but by the end his POV ended up being my favorite. I totally should have seen that ending coming, but somehow, I didn't. With thrillers I expect to have that sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation feeling but I never got that with this book. I thought it was an ok read, but I was just along for the ride. 

Four Past Midnight by Stephen King

4.0

 This is described as being a collection of 4 full length novellas. First off these aren't novellas and what the heck is a full-length novella. Anyways tangent over. Anyone who has been following me for a while knows that I'm on a journey to read all of King's books and you also know that he tends to be hit or miss for me. Usually when I read a collection of his short stories there are some I like and some I don't like. In this one I liked all of them to different extents of course, but I enjoyed all of them none the less. I gave all of the stories a 4-star rating except for the last one, it was more of a 3.5-star rating but overall, the whole collection was a 4 star. I didn't write my thoughts on each individual story, so this is my thoughts on them as a whole. The first 3 stories hooked me from the very beginning, and they kept my interest throughout. A lot of times with short stories I feel like we don't get enough for it to feel like a full story for me but that wasn't the case for any of these. The final story in this collection was the one that didn't full hit for me. I just wasn't as hooked as I was with the first three and I was kind of bored but despite that I did want to keep reading because I needed to know how things would play out. Overall, I think this is one of if not the best of King collections. 

The Princess and the Rogue by Kate Bateman

4.0

 Ashley and I started this trilogy back in January and with this book we have now finished it. This book probably had my favorite coupling out of all three of the books. It was the most believable, there wasn't a 3rd act breakup, and they had great communication. There was a twist that happened in the end that I somehow saw coming. I'm normally not good at guessing twists but even though I guessed this one it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book at all. We also get to learn about Russian Fairy Tales and superstitions which I thought was a great addition. Overall, a great ending for this series. 

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

4.0

 This was a buddy read I did with Jonny. This isn't a book I would typically pick up on my own. It was on my TBR because the synopsis intrigued me, but I never picked it up until Jonny suggested it as our next buddy read and I'm glad he did because it probably would have sat on my TBR for years going unread. This book is different to what I normally read but overall, I enjoyed my time spent reading it. It was a bit of a slow start but once things picked up, I was on the edge of my seat. I will say the fantastical elements had me a bit confused at times, and it was a bit weird, but it all worked in the end. The thing this book excelled at was pissing me off. The injustice happening in this book had me wanting to do some not nice things to certain characters and I'll leave it at that. I can definitely see myself reading more books by this author.