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388 reviews
Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch by Serena Valentino
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
For now I'm not motivated or interested in finishing the series. Might come back to it later.
Timeless by Josephine Angelini
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Josephine Angelini for an advanced readers copy of this book.
First off, this is book four to the Starcrossed series and it’s absolutely amazing. It is definitely my new favorite in the series. This book is coming out quite a while after the original three but it feels like it transitions seamlessly and you as a reader don’t feel the gap itself, Josie has definitely done her own research to make this happen after such a large gap in between book three and four.
Timeless picks up right where Goddess left off. That includes the aftermath of the third book, the repercussions of the characters choices in Goddess and everything that came with a war.
Character development in this book specifically was absolutely astounding. Not only do we get to revisit our favorite characters, but we get to see them grow, suffer(of course, Greek history is rarely a happy tale), and develop not only themselves but with the other characters in the book. Sure, there are particular elements of the book where the characters are literally forced to come to terms with things and others around them by an outside force, but they handled this with (mostly) grace.
There are certain aspects of the book that really has Helen’s support system stepping up to the plate, fighting not only ‘with’ her but ‘for’ her. It was so endearing to see how much Hector and Orion specifically would go to ensure her happiness.
There is a huge mystery aspect to this book. If there’s one thing I love it’s a fantasy with either political intrigue or a good mystery you have to figure out. Timeless delivered. There’s obviously characters keeping secrets… for how much they all like to be in the know, each and every one is quite tight lipped themselves. Interesting how that works.
I felt almost every emotion possible with this book. The only way I can describe it is I was always either feeling stuck on a roller coaster that never ended, or straight up punched in the face by the Hulk. There were so many twists, turns and revelations that will have your jaw dropping into your lap.
I won’t even mention the time travel, because I love a good time travel arc in books! What I will say is you should read Scions, the prequel to Helens’ story before Timeless, if only to better appreciate what happens during a particular scene. Though this is not necessary, only a friendly suggestion.
Timeless hits on some themes that I don’t think the past books did. Real themes that real people in today’s world deal with. Paying for college, women’s rights and many more. I think this made the characters and what they were going through feel more real, which I appreciated.
I will sit, not so patiently for the next book to come out, because that cliff hanger has me… hurt.
First off, this is book four to the Starcrossed series and it’s absolutely amazing. It is definitely my new favorite in the series. This book is coming out quite a while after the original three but it feels like it transitions seamlessly and you as a reader don’t feel the gap itself, Josie has definitely done her own research to make this happen after such a large gap in between book three and four.
Timeless picks up right where Goddess left off. That includes the aftermath of the third book, the repercussions of the characters choices in Goddess and everything that came with a war.
Character development in this book specifically was absolutely astounding. Not only do we get to revisit our favorite characters, but we get to see them grow, suffer(of course, Greek history is rarely a happy tale), and develop not only themselves but with the other characters in the book. Sure, there are particular elements of the book where the characters are literally forced to come to terms with things and others around them by an outside force, but they handled this with (mostly) grace.
There are certain aspects of the book that really has Helen’s support system stepping up to the plate, fighting not only ‘with’ her but ‘for’ her. It was so endearing to see how much Hector and Orion specifically would go to ensure her happiness.
There is a huge mystery aspect to this book. If there’s one thing I love it’s a fantasy with either political intrigue or a good mystery you have to figure out. Timeless delivered. There’s obviously characters keeping secrets… for how much they all like to be in the know, each and every one is quite tight lipped themselves. Interesting how that works.
I felt almost every emotion possible with this book. The only way I can describe it is I was always either feeling stuck on a roller coaster that never ended, or straight up punched in the face by the Hulk. There were so many twists, turns and revelations that will have your jaw dropping into your lap.
I won’t even mention the time travel, because I love a good time travel arc in books! What I will say is you should read Scions, the prequel to Helens’ story before Timeless, if only to better appreciate what happens during a particular scene. Though this is not necessary, only a friendly suggestion.
Timeless hits on some themes that I don’t think the past books did. Real themes that real people in today’s world deal with. Paying for college, women’s rights and many more. I think this made the characters and what they were going through feel more real, which I appreciated.
I will sit, not so patiently for the next book to come out, because that cliff hanger has me… hurt.
The Stolen Kingdom by Jillian Boehme
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley for a review copy of this book in return for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this book. The only thing I can honestly complain about is that it’s a stand alone and I want.. MORE.
The world building was unique. I feel like instead of having all the information dumped on you in the beginning so you can understand the plot, it instead developes with the plot and characters. It made it so that a complex world isn’t too overwhelming and you can just sit back, panic intermittently, and enjoy the story and the loveable characters.
The characters were intriguing and easy to care about. You got a couple different perspectives and each one made me care, want to read more, etc. This isn’t always the case for dual POV, usually there’s always that one character where you get to their POV and you just want to skip it, but you can’t. That’s not the case with Mara and Alac.
The pacing was great and I didn’t feel like it had any major lulls or places I felt went too fast. Jillian Boehme’s writing and how well she flushed out the characters, the plot and the world building were really well done. Something a lot of fantasies lack is a cohesion of all of these aspects. Many can’t fit all these aspects together in a way that if one is really well done without it negatively impacting another part of the story creation. Jillian did not have that issue with this novel. Very well done.
Themes I enjoyed: Forbidden romance, second born, ordinary yet not, secret life of parent and many more.
This is a book I’m still thinking about and I finished it weeks ago. The ending was unique and just had me feeling like a ball of mush at the end. Highly recommend.
I absolutely loved this book. The only thing I can honestly complain about is that it’s a stand alone and I want.. MORE.
The world building was unique. I feel like instead of having all the information dumped on you in the beginning so you can understand the plot, it instead developes with the plot and characters. It made it so that a complex world isn’t too overwhelming and you can just sit back, panic intermittently, and enjoy the story and the loveable characters.
The characters were intriguing and easy to care about. You got a couple different perspectives and each one made me care, want to read more, etc. This isn’t always the case for dual POV, usually there’s always that one character where you get to their POV and you just want to skip it, but you can’t. That’s not the case with Mara and Alac.
The pacing was great and I didn’t feel like it had any major lulls or places I felt went too fast. Jillian Boehme’s writing and how well she flushed out the characters, the plot and the world building were really well done. Something a lot of fantasies lack is a cohesion of all of these aspects. Many can’t fit all these aspects together in a way that if one is really well done without it negatively impacting another part of the story creation. Jillian did not have that issue with this novel. Very well done.
Themes I enjoyed: Forbidden romance, second born, ordinary yet not, secret life of parent and many more.
This is a book I’m still thinking about and I finished it weeks ago. The ending was unique and just had me feeling like a ball of mush at the end. Highly recommend.
Queen Among the Dead by Lesley Livingston
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
Queen Among the Dead is a stand alone Celtic young adult fantasy. I’m not usually one for stand alone novels. I like drawn out character and plot development, twists and turns, etc. When it comes to stand alone novels though this one wasn’t bad.
I will say that the ending felt very rushed. The story really progresses and builds and I felt like the ending was anticlimactic in a way. I don’t think this will be a book I think about a year from now but I enjoyed reading it in the moment.
The magic system was fun and unique and the premise of the story was also something I haven’t seen. As captivating as they were, I would have liked a deeper dive into them. Even as a duology I think we could have received more with a less rushed conclusion. I struggled to get into the story near the beginning, it was a bit slow paced but near the middle and especially the end I was hooked and then I felt let down by the ending, hurried and a bit too open ended for my liking.
I’m a very character driven reader and love my fantasy romances. That being said, the romance with this book felt forced, and yes, following a trend… rushed. This is a book I will say has really great side characters and a few I even preferred.
All in all I enjoyed the read and would find myself picking up books from this author in the future, and would definitely gravitate towards duologies or trilogies by the author myself.