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muccia's reviews
48 reviews
Three Drops of Blood by Jessica Julien
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Three Drops of Blood - Jessica Julien
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/🌶️/ Kindle / TW: assault, violence, blood
🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸
Summary:
Told from the perspective of two women, both cursed by fate. Lily’s mother was enchanted by a spell, making it so any female born by her would face a cursed life, the only solution being a magic mirror long since thought lost.
Born a siren, Lorelei is cursed with eternal youth and beauty, fueled by the taking of men’s souls to survive. But as Lorelei grows weary of her fate, she too must find the fated mirror that will tell her how to escape her endless cycle.
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Review:
I LOVE a good retelling, and this one did not disappoint! It is rich with Germanic lore and has so many elements of a classic fairy tale, but with an edgy twist.
This book is told from multiple points of view, primarily between our FMCs, Lily and Lorelei. I particularly loved the scenes between Lorelei and her maiden, Daria - every scene felt organic and full of love.
The friendship between Lily and Sophie tugged at my heartstrings, and the Huntsman’s devotion to Lily had me begging for more. Really, who doesn’t love an assassin to protector moment?!
The author has such a fantastic ability to describe the scenes and setting as well, especially with the weather magic at play. The Forbidden Forest truly felt terrifying and the scenes within it were filled with well-placed tension.
Overall, a fantastic book if you’re into dark fairytale retellings with a bit of bite!
The Bourbon Bride by Adrian R. Hale
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The Bourbon Bride - Adrian R. Hale
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/ 🌶️🌶️🌶️/ Kindle / TW: sexual assault
🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃🥃
When Georgia debutante and hotel heiress Paige Fairchild finds herself facing a less than desirable arranged marriage, she inadvertently runs to the aid of Hayes Olsen - Atlanta businessman billionaire, many years her senior. As their attraction deepens, she must sort out just how advantageous this relationship is, and for whom.
👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻👰🏻
I INHALED this book. I had to fan myself like a true southern belle as I read this book lest I find myself kicking and screaming at the chemistry between these characters.
Imagine my surprise when after a chapter or so I caught on to the Hades/ Persephone retelling and I was absolutely hooked. I read for two hours straight until 3:00 in the morning because I just couldn’t stop. HOOKED.
The Bourbon Bride is fast paced, sexy and fun. Hayes and Paige are hot as hell and charming to boot. Hayes is everything you want in an MMC - strong, rich, protective, morally grey but with a gentleness only for her. Paige’s journey into confidence and finding herself and knowing what she wants while staying true to herself is inspiring and honestly she is just so dang sweet. We love a southern belle with teeth.
Author Adrian Hale effortlessly weaves the tale of these lovers and while things move fast, it’s easy to believe that these two characters truly care for each other and complement each other. Her writing style is quick and concise, and the characters are fully formed and easy to imagine. And the spice? The SPICE?! There’s so much tension and touching and I was a giddy little girl all the way through.
Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Parts 1 & 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Descended by Ingrid J. Adams
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.25) / 🌶️/ Kindle / TW: drug use, suicide, assault
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Synopsis:
Indigo has what everyone else wants - he is smart, attractive, kind and has rich (and famous) parents. But what he wants is to be seen - truly seen- and loved and understood. Enter the Carlisle family - a family who fully embraces and accepts him. But as he is ripped away from them and the girl hw has fallen for, will he begin to find himself or lose everything along the way?
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Review:
This book caught me way off guard, in the best way. It oozes 90s nostalgia and while I’m not familiar with the Australian teen scene (from the 90s or today) I can honestly say it sounds like the teen experience is pretty universal.
Indigo, Cordelia and Robbie are just the sweetest little band of unlikely buddies - Robbie stole my heart and reminded me so much of some of my high school friends.
In my mind, Indigo is baby Heath Ledger and I am all about it. We love a popular boy who uses his status for good. His struggles were truly heartbreaking and I loved his interactions with Raf. His storyline is truly one of self redemption, when you’re at your lowest on then can you truly see what and who you are.
And then Cordelia - sweet Cordelia. Just an angel who has so much love to give. Someone who doesn’t know their own draw, who is just trying to figure out who they are. Which is the true teenage experience.
So much about this book is nostalgic and the twist at the end had me GASPING. I loved the transition from sort of teenage romance to understanding one’s own “power” and the interesting structure of the afterlife in this book.
So much happens and I don’t want to soil it, but if you’re into the 90s, magic and whole consuming love, you’ll enjoy this book! I highly recommend
!
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.25) / 🌶️/ Kindle / TW: drug use, suicide, assault
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Synopsis:
Indigo has what everyone else wants - he is smart, attractive, kind and has rich (and famous) parents. But what he wants is to be seen - truly seen- and loved and understood. Enter the Carlisle family - a family who fully embraces and accepts him. But as he is ripped away from them and the girl hw has fallen for, will he begin to find himself or lose everything along the way?
🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊🌊
Review:
This book caught me way off guard, in the best way. It oozes 90s nostalgia and while I’m not familiar with the Australian teen scene (from the 90s or today) I can honestly say it sounds like the teen experience is pretty universal.
Indigo, Cordelia and Robbie are just the sweetest little band of unlikely buddies - Robbie stole my heart and reminded me so much of some of my high school friends.
In my mind, Indigo is baby Heath Ledger and I am all about it. We love a popular boy who uses his status for good. His struggles were truly heartbreaking and I loved his interactions with Raf. His storyline is truly one of self redemption, when you’re at your lowest on then can you truly see what and who you are.
And then Cordelia - sweet Cordelia. Just an angel who has so much love to give. Someone who doesn’t know their own draw, who is just trying to figure out who they are. Which is the true teenage experience.
So much about this book is nostalgic and the twist at the end had me GASPING. I loved the transition from sort of teenage romance to understanding one’s own “power” and the interesting structure of the afterlife in this book.
So much happens and I don’t want to soil it, but if you’re into the 90s, magic and whole consuming love, you’ll enjoy this book! I highly recommend
!
Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
Heir of Fire - Sarah J. Maas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 🌶️/ Kindle / TW: violence
Everyone shut up. SHUT UP.
I can’t form coherent sentences. This book consumed me. It was all I wanted to do, read this book. There was not a single thing I didn’t like about this book. Not a single. Thing. Halfway through I texted my sister and told her I already knew this was now my favorite SJM series. By a LONG shot.
And what a turn around from the first few books - whereas ToG and CoM were very world buildy and weirdly paced, HoF held my attention the whole time. Even with the introduction of so many new characters (finally met who is now my personal lord and savior, Manon and the alter at which I’d pray, Rowan) I was never bored or confused. I only wanted more.
Even without spice I was giggling and giddy and kicking my legs and sending screenshots to my sister who I’m sure had better things to do 🤣
This is fantasy. This is pure fantasy at its heart. A teeny sprinkle of romance but a heaping pile of fantasy and I reveled in it. I cannot wait to keep reading even though I do know some of what lies ahead and I know I am not prepared. It’ll be hard to top this one for me, but I love a challenge.
Them Bones by A. Atkins
challenging
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨(4.5) / 🌶️🌶️ / Kindle / TW: SA/ Assault/ Drug use
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉
Summary:
Laney and Shane are star crossed lovers who cannot seem to stay out of eachother orbit. Desperate to be with eachother but constantly running into barriers, they are the epitome of “right person, wrong time.” But over the course of many years, trials and tribulations, will they be able to make it out unscathed?
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Review:
AHHHHHH. WHAT DO YOU MEAN. I AM REELING FROM THIS BOOK.
Author Alex Atkins has written a visceral, raw, coming of age story here that had me hooked from the start. Unlike anything I’ve read in an incredibly long time, I was gasping and giggling and crying. My eyes were WIDE and my breath was HELD.
My heart completely aches for the characters in this book, all flawed and all really just wanting to be loved. Laney is our sweet FMC who has grown up too fast but knows who she is. Shane, the MMC, is a brooding, lovely, lonely boy who only has eyes for Laney. Both are so much more than what they seem and I’d give them the world if I could.
My favorite character was Dustin - Laney’s quiet brother who finds an unlikely companion in Shane and who expresses himself through his art. He’s such a gentle soul that I held such a fondness for. I just want to wrap him up in a blanket and give him a giant hug.
Told from multiple points of view, this book effectively amps up the drama and intrigue all the way through. When I tell you that the last 20% of this book had my eyes watering as I was not blinking and crying and left with an overwhelming ache in my chest - that ENDING though. The gasp I gusped when I hit that last page. I audibly said “WHAT NOW?!”
God I love being a reader. Thank you indie authors for bringing back my love of reading.
Them Bones is available on Amazon now - I HIGHLY recommend you check it out!
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉
Summary:
Laney and Shane are star crossed lovers who cannot seem to stay out of eachother orbit. Desperate to be with eachother but constantly running into barriers, they are the epitome of “right person, wrong time.” But over the course of many years, trials and tribulations, will they be able to make it out unscathed?
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉
Review:
AHHHHHH. WHAT DO YOU MEAN. I AM REELING FROM THIS BOOK.
Author Alex Atkins has written a visceral, raw, coming of age story here that had me hooked from the start. Unlike anything I’ve read in an incredibly long time, I was gasping and giggling and crying. My eyes were WIDE and my breath was HELD.
My heart completely aches for the characters in this book, all flawed and all really just wanting to be loved. Laney is our sweet FMC who has grown up too fast but knows who she is. Shane, the MMC, is a brooding, lovely, lonely boy who only has eyes for Laney. Both are so much more than what they seem and I’d give them the world if I could.
My favorite character was Dustin - Laney’s quiet brother who finds an unlikely companion in Shane and who expresses himself through his art. He’s such a gentle soul that I held such a fondness for. I just want to wrap him up in a blanket and give him a giant hug.
Told from multiple points of view, this book effectively amps up the drama and intrigue all the way through. When I tell you that the last 20% of this book had my eyes watering as I was not blinking and crying and left with an overwhelming ache in my chest - that ENDING though. The gasp I gusped when I hit that last page. I audibly said “WHAT NOW?!”
God I love being a reader. Thank you indie authors for bringing back my love of reading.
Them Bones is available on Amazon now - I HIGHLY recommend you check it out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
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? No
4.75
A Fate Inked In Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
A Fate Inked in Blood - Danielle L. Jensen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.25) / 🌶️🌶️ / Hardcover : TW: assault, violence, gore
This book was a lot of fun - I love Norse Mythology, though I did find myself wanting for more.
Freya and Bjorn’s relationship is…complicated but none the less entertaining. And who doesn’t love a forbidden fruit trope, honestly. Makes things all hot and bothered all the time.
Bjorn is a SWEET ANGEL and I love him (and he’s not even a shadow daddy, would you believe?) I will always and forever stan a MMC who can carry the FMC, both physically and emotionally. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a rippling pectoral and a sweet heart.
Freya is perplexing to me in a way that I think will be better explained once we find out what happens next. She is very hot and cold and at times it is hard to follow where her mind and motives are (which I realize is much of the point of her struggles.) I’m excited to learn more about her and her gifts as the series goes on.
My reason for not giving it a 5 or even a 4.5 was that there were bits that just seemed repetitive to the point where it felt like a copy paste? Like Freya just randomly trips or randomly vomits, and for what. Bjorn says he will follow her until they reach Valhalla at least 5 times, but like in the exact same way. And I get it, we are painting word pictures here. But like…I get it. And don’t get me wrong - there is beautiful writing in this book. The bit with seeing the shore for the first time in ages? You know the bit. It had me threatening to jump into oncoming traffic with how devastatingly precious it was. So I know the author can write, it just had this feeling of monotony at times.
Also it has two of my least favorite tropes involved, which I won’t disclose because it’ll be a spoiler but I was not thrilled.
All in all, a very entertaining, easy to devour read and I will absolutely be reading book two when it comes out!