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myblendedbookshelf's Reviews (195)
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
This was the perfect, spooky Halloween read. I started it Halloween morning and finished it Halloween night. The first 75/80% was a 5 star read for me. I was so captured by the story. The last 20% was a bit slower and I had so many questions when it ended which I am sure is by design given the story and concept of the book.
The way Kliewer makes the reader question common occurrences is quite spooky. Do you ever question something that you know for certain you already did? Like I swear I just moved my Kindle to my room and now it is not there but it is sitting where you left it? Now think, maybe you did move it and it was moved back! That was this book. Am I going crazy or did that really happen?
I felt so sorry for the main character the entire time I was reading this book. I would highly recommend this one though. Save it for a spooky time and really add to the mood. The audiobook was GREAT!
The way Kliewer makes the reader question common occurrences is quite spooky. Do you ever question something that you know for certain you already did? Like I swear I just moved my Kindle to my room and now it is not there but it is sitting where you left it? Now think, maybe you did move it and it was moved back! That was this book. Am I going crazy or did that really happen?
I felt so sorry for the main character the entire time I was reading this book. I would highly recommend this one though. Save it for a spooky time and really add to the mood. The audiobook was GREAT!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars rounded up! This was a cute and cozy winter romance. I received this as an audiobook from NetGalley. The enemies to lovers trope involves Daphne, a Christmas pop up bake shop owner and Tristan, an architect who works in the firm above Daphnes shop but we will call him the Grinch. He does not enjoy all the extra that comes with Christmas and what he thinks her pop up shop does to the professionalism of his firm. He’s grumpy and Daphne is the sunshine. The other trope is fake dating due to a favor Tristan’s family asks him to help with. There was cute banter and fun side characters. The relationship seemed a bit rushed for me but overall, I thought it was a cute and fun seasonal read. Thanks for the opportunity to ARC read this book.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed The Serpent & the Wings of Night and Six Scorched Roses more. There was a ton of action in this book which is great but I did find myself wishing for more relationship building. I absolutely adored Mische in this book but can I say, wanted to kick Simon and Septimus. The imagery in Carissa’s books is phenomenal and paints perfect picture’s in the readers minds. This book broke my heart, put it back together, broke it again, and mended it back. I do hope the next one focuses more on Mische and what we do not know about her because she easily became my favorite character. I would recommend this book and series and I look forward to meeting Carissa in November for the release of her third book, The Songbird and the Heart of Stone.
adventurous
emotional
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:
Yes
✨Book Review✨
Six Scorched Roses by @carissabroadbentbooks
This was a TOP notch novella. I read it after Serpent and the Wings of Night but before The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King. I have not completed The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King but the MMC of Six Scorched Roses is a character in Ashes so I am glad I read it before.
🌹 I absolutely adored Lilith and her drive, compassion, and dedication to those that she loves.
🌹 And Vale, oh my gosh. He is precious.
🌹 I could not believe how complete this book seemed when I finished it. In under 200 pages, Carissa was able to tell a perfect story with amazing characters and a detailed plot without feeling like anything was missing.
🌹 If you are a fan of romantasy, I would for sure pick this novella up.
Six Scorched Roses by @carissabroadbentbooks
This was a TOP notch novella. I read it after Serpent and the Wings of Night but before The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King. I have not completed The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King but the MMC of Six Scorched Roses is a character in Ashes so I am glad I read it before.
🌹 I absolutely adored Lilith and her drive, compassion, and dedication to those that she loves.
🌹 And Vale, oh my gosh. He is precious.
🌹 I could not believe how complete this book seemed when I finished it. In under 200 pages, Carissa was able to tell a perfect story with amazing characters and a detailed plot without feeling like anything was missing.
🌹 If you are a fan of romantasy, I would for sure pick this novella up.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
🐍 🐍 🐍 🐍 .5
4.5 serpents rounded up!
Hunger games meets Twilight in this beautiful romantasy about an adopted human daughter, Oraya that enters a deadly tournament to try to be someone of more importance in the vampire world.
I say 4.5 rounded up because personally, I don’t prefer a super plot heavy book. I know plot and world-building is important in fantasy, but this felt like a lot more of that with little character building for the entire first half but by the end, I was in love with the characters.
Oraya is amazing and the banter between her and Raihn was top notch. Mische was the perfect side character to keep things a bit lighter and make you fall even more in love with the main characters. Vincent, I don’t even know where to start and I can say much without spoiling things so I will just say that I am not sure how I feel about him.
I am excited to jump into the second one and this is a book I would highly recommend if you like:
🐍 Romantasy
🐍 Vampires
🐍 Single POV
🐍 Magic/Power
🐍 Reverse Grumpy Sunshine
🐍 Books that are Series
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Yes
I loved this! 5/5 pumpkins for sure! I loved the enemies to lovers trope! Mikes relationship with his niece, nephew, and little sister was the sweetest and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside 🤗 This was the perfect Halloween themed novella. I read it on Kindle Unlimited but with its adorable cover, I think I need to order the physical copy for my shelf! I would read this every October and now I look forward to reading Allie’s others.
emotional
funny
tense
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
Where the Black Line Ends
I devoured this book. I literally could not stop once I started. I was immediately sucked in by the adorable meet cute. I originally applied for this ARC because of the cover and the description. I love the Chicago Fire tv show and a while back I watched a movie about wildfire firefighters so I was very curious about this book. I was thrilled when I received this ARC in my inbox on Monday. I started it right away.
Where the Black Line Ends follows Reed (firefighter) and Hailey (EMT) as they land a job in Idaho after they meet on a plane to Idaho. Aside from the main characters, there are side characters that you will also fall in love with. The character development is great and if you are like me, you will find yourself giggling, kicking your feet, laughing, and yes, crying. I probably cried more than I should have.
When I was 100 pages into the book, I realized that Meagan’s first novel introduces Reed and his backstory. You do not have to read it first but I do wish I would have and I think it is helpful. I was only half way into this book when I knew I needed to read Reed’s story because the author’s writing style is addictive and makes for a total page turner. I already ordered it and cannot wait to jump in.
The tropes and triggers in this book are:
Tropes
-Meet Cute
-He falls first
-Workplace romance
-Dual Character POV
-Slow Burn
-Found Family
Triggers
-Death of a parent
-Death of a friend
-Wildfires
I absolutely adored the epilogue and it makes me that much more excited to read more books by Meagan. Thank you for the ARC!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Wedding People
This book will forever be a part of me. I went into this book blind. I would consider this book fiction more than any other category. There is a tiny bit of romance but otherwise it is a fantastic story about how the path of every human is different and because of that, we may end up in places that we never thought we would with individuals we never knew.
This novel follows the lives of several characters and even though some of them were completely unlovable, I found myself loving parts of them as I got to know them more.
The book follows the main character Phoebe as she works to figure out who she is and where she belongs and along the way she stumbles upon a wedding party at the hotel she has just checked herself into. I found myself kicking my feet, crying, feeling angry, laughing out loud, and having such a good time as Phoebe encountered these strangers and they met her where she was at and brought her something she needed at this exact moment in her life.
I wrote down several quotes that I pulled from this book. I can’t pick a favorite but here are a few:
“I just mean a story can be beautiful not because of the way it ends. But because of the way it’s written.”
“He wasn’t afraid of looking at me. He wasn’t afraid of what I was saying. He wasn’t afraid of the worst parts of me. And this made me feel like those parts were okay. Like I could say anything. Be anything.”
“I think we talk about happiness all wrong. As if it’s this fixed state we’re going to reach. Like we’ll just be able to live there, forever. But that’s not my experience with happiness. For me, it comes and goes. It shows up and then disappears like a bubble.”
“Love is visible–it paints the air between two people a different color, and everyone can see it.”
“It’s not an easy thing to do, walk away from what you’ve built and save yourself.”
I adored the character, Juice. At a young age, she has already faced so much but her relationship with Phoebe warmed my heart.
I believe this book resonated with me because of some of the issues Phoebe faced. I do believe the book needs better trigger warnings for suicide, depression, infertility, and infidelity. I appreciate the author sharing the feelings that can come with a lot of heavy topics but also finding a way to sprinkle in humor appropriately.
The Wedding People is the perfect story of how as humans, we live every day trying to figure out who we are, where we belong, and discover the purpose of those in our life, whether they hurt or harm us.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Suicide attempt