outsyinsy's reviews
261 reviews

I enjoyed reading this cozy fantasy. It was a quick read with characters that were easy to empathize with and relate to. I liked Dragon in particular, probably because he often felt more like a cat than a dragon.

If you're looking for a slow-burn romance, this is not it. If you're looking for detailed world-building and exciting plots with twists and turns, this is not it either. But if you're looking for a quick, easy-to-read cozy fantasy with fairly likable characters, then this might just be the book for you.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? No

5.0

Thoroughly enchanted by this twisted Sleeping Beauty fairytale. An odd tale about a slimy toad-girl that cries black tears shouldn't feel so cozy and whimsical, but that's what I got from this book. As with most fairytales, the plot gets dark and fast. The story does get wrapped up nearly, I think. T. Kingfisher has quickly become one of my favorite writers.

A Lady's Lesson in Scandal by Darcy McGuire

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adventurous medium-paced

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

2.5

A spicy Regency (well, Victorian, it looks like) romance with wallflower femme fatales? Sounds like a fun time. The book's first half was quite entertaining, though the evil stepmother trope felt somewhat overdone. Millie, the main female character, was interesting. I liked that she was not some delicate English rose, and the main male character, Drake, was an actual war hero with the scars to prove it.

Unfortunately, I didn't like many of the other elements of this book. The book was fast-paced when it came to the romance, to the detriment of the criminal investigation subplot, which felt more tacked on and didn't seem to have a clear resolution at the end. The main characters' inner thoughts regarding their love interest were repetitive, with maybe some throwaway lines about the investigation to remind us it's still going on. Actually, it felt like, aside from the romance, many of the other characters and situations felt more like throwaways. The best friend from the start of the book doesn't make another appearance until more than halfway, and only so she could trauma-dump on our FMC, and it's never explored again. The evil stepmother exists pretty much to be evil and not add much else. Our main characters obviously finally get together in the end, but what of the investigation? Eh, who knows? Certainly not the reader.

Another nitpick that had me nearly deciding to DNF this book was the author's preference to cut sentences into sentence fragments for emphasis. For example: He was in the middle of a complete mess. Thanks to his lack of control. Which was clearly Miss Millicent's fault.

It very much smacks of amateurish writing I've seen from some fanfiction. Surely there are other ways one can write to make some kind of point?

Heck McTyre, Necromanfluencer by E.B. Hauk

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.5

The title of the book drew me in (a necromanfluencer? amazing), and the start was very promising from the get-go. Heck is an interesting and fun character to follow. The few supporting characters we met along the way were also quite well-written, though no one really stood out to me. The main mystery was compelling and drew me in, though it kind of lost steam near the last third of the book when Heck was suddenly thrown into the Underworld with no warning or preamble to the reader.

A few bits of world-building were sprinkled throughout, though I would have preferred there to be more -- how did the Y2K incident suddenly bring back magic into the world? how did the Mirror Network work? A few more bits about Heck's necromanfluencer side hustle would've also been very welcome.

The ending was quite sudden and felt very unresolved to me. I know there will be another book, which I might read as well since I liked this one, but I would have liked some kind of resolution for book one that would still manage to whet the reader's appetite for book two. Instead, the ending seemed rather abrupt and unfinished.

Overall, this is still a very enjoyable book and a great short read, perfect for the spooky season. Book two is coming out in November, so have that one ready by the time you finish this one.

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outsyinsy's reviews 261 reviews

outsyinsy's reviews
261 reviews