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purple_reads's reviews
224 reviews
A King so Cold by Ella Fields
3.0
While I liked the book, it definitely went a direction I was not expecting it to go in.
It definitely wasn’t your clean cut “this is the love interest, the book will be predictable as she will end up with him” - it was a lot more complicated. At first I didn’t really enjoy this but towards the end I actually began to become more and more interested in which way the story will head.
There were a few surprises that hit me in the face; I had no idea they were coming! They made the book much more intriguing and fun to continue reading.
Cruel women protagonists are my weak spot so I naturally gravitated towards Audra and took great pleasure in reading her perspectives.
Stars ~ 3
It definitely wasn’t your clean cut “this is the love interest, the book will be predictable as she will end up with him” - it was a lot more complicated. At first I didn’t really enjoy this but towards the end I actually began to become more and more interested in which way the story will head.
There were a few surprises that hit me in the face; I had no idea they were coming! They made the book much more intriguing and fun to continue reading.
Cruel women protagonists are my weak spot so I naturally gravitated towards Audra and took great pleasure in reading her perspectives.
Stars ~ 3
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
5.0
Wow! I got through this quicker than I thought I would!
I loved every moment from the beginning through till the end. There was not a time when I felt bored or when the writing became dull.
Jude is such a wonderful character to read about and it’s interesting to experience the inner turmoil and conflict of her mind as she goes through her story.
Despite the fact that I probably should’ve seen the ending coming ahead of time, it still shocked me a little bit. I need to read the next book!
Stars ~ 5
I loved every moment from the beginning through till the end. There was not a time when I felt bored or when the writing became dull.
Jude is such a wonderful character to read about and it’s interesting to experience the inner turmoil and conflict of her mind as she goes through her story.
Despite the fact that I probably should’ve seen the ending coming ahead of time, it still shocked me a little bit. I need to read the next book!
Stars ~ 5
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
5.0
Did I think I would be less emotionally withdrawn after finishing this trilogy? Yes.
This book took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected a lot of what transpired and I found I could not put it down when I needed to. It was action-packed and I just had to know more.
Jude is one of the best characters I have read about! Who doesn’t love a good character development that ends in the way it did for Jude?
Not to mention that Cardan is an absolute delight to read. I kept anticipating his scenes more than anything else!
I have to give it to Holly Black for I haven’t read a YA series or book that I enjoyed this much in a long time.
Stars ~ 5
This book took me by surprise. I hadn’t expected a lot of what transpired and I found I could not put it down when I needed to. It was action-packed and I just had to know more.
Jude is one of the best characters I have read about!
Spoiler
She quite literally took over the world.Not to mention that Cardan is an absolute delight to read. I kept anticipating his scenes more than anything else!
I have to give it to Holly Black for I haven’t read a YA series or book that I enjoyed this much in a long time.
Stars ~ 5
The Wicked King by Holly Black
5.0
THAT ENDING. I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT.
When I began, the story started off slower than I had anticipated, however, around a quarter of the way through I was hooked.
It’s interesting to see the power dynamics between Jude and Cardan and to watch them both go through this uncharted territory of running a kingdom, which neither of them have much experience in. The character development of Jude throughout this book is amazing and I loved reading about her journey.
There were a lot of plot twists that shocked me and others that I kind of saw coming. However, the ending was definitely one that I did not foresee or could comprehend when I read it at first.
Stars ~ 5
When I began, the story started off slower than I had anticipated, however, around a quarter of the way through I was hooked.
It’s interesting to see the power dynamics between Jude and Cardan and to watch them both go through this uncharted territory of running a kingdom, which neither of them have much experience in. The character development of Jude throughout this book is amazing and I loved reading about her journey.
There were a lot of plot twists that shocked me and others that I kind of saw coming. However, the ending was definitely one that I did not foresee or could comprehend when I read it at first.
Stars ~ 5
When Wishes Bleed by Casey L. Bond
DNF at 74%
I really thought this book was going to be good. It began so well and I was interested in the magic system and the world the story takes place in.
However, it all went downhill once I got to 20%.
The MC constantly berates other females for what they wear and prides herself on being modest. This belief is supported by a side character, who just happens to have the MC’s back through everything even though the MC thought she hated her for all of her life. This small detail is mentioned and then barely talked about. Same goes for a lot of things in this book; there are some major events and barely any emotions or detailed answers are given. For example, yet expresses no inner turmoil towards all of what is happening.
Another thing I absolutely hated was the lack of consistency in characterisation. The love interest was sarcastic and witty when he is present in the first few chapters and then spirals into someone who has less of a personality than a cucumber. It made me cringe to read his scenes and to see all of his original characteristics thrown out of the window. Furthermore, the MC also lacks consistency having gone from disdaining females for what they wear to complimenting and wanting to communicate with them. All of her original thoughts are gone and replaced with a picture-perfect heroine.
Additionally, there is another male who the MC is not attracted to and when this male tries to kiss her without permission, the situation is never brought up again. No inner monologue that comes back to it, no conversation between the two of them. They act like it did not even happen and this isn’t some awkward situation in which you act as if nothing ever happened but the air around them shows something did. They literally just go back to how they were before he tried to kiss her.
The characters were annoying:
You have an MC who thinks she is better than everyone else yet tries to humble herself by saying everyone hates her.When she could just try talking to people as it is previously stated that nobody actually hated her.
A love interest who lacks consistency in character and has more concerns for a woman he just met than he does for the majority of people he has known for much longer, and has an actual relationship with.
A female side character whose only job is to swoon over the love interest, make dresses using powers that aren’t even connected to her affinity and be a messenger. The whole ordeal with witches being able to do things outside of their affinity undermines the whole point of the system that is put in place to separate them into groups. It seems like some cheap way of having the MC get what she needs.
Then there is the male side character who is in love with the MC and everything he does is out of jealousy and he’s just the most frustrating character to read. I wanted to smack him multiple times.
What caused the most disappointment was the way the world is set up and the main plot besides the romance is somewhat interesting. I would’ve stayed to read this but I could not cope with the characters any longer, the sheer boredom a good fifty percent of this book was (how did so many unneeded scenes get past editing?) and the random plots that were being thrown without any real substance.
This book was one big bowl of bad characterisation, random plot lines that weren’t developed and annoying characters all mixed together.
Stars ~ 0
I really thought this book was going to be good. It began so well and I was interested in the magic system and the world the story takes place in.
However, it all went downhill once I got to 20%.
The MC constantly berates other females for what they wear and prides herself on being modest. This belief is supported by a side character, who just happens to have the MC’s back through everything even though the MC thought she hated her for all of her life. This small detail is mentioned and then barely talked about. Same goes for a lot of things in this book; there are some major events and barely any emotions or detailed answers are given. For example,
Spoiler
her mother is raised from the dead and the MC’s first reaction is “I must destroy her” when she had only just been informed that her mother is supposedly evil,Another thing I absolutely hated was the lack of consistency in characterisation. The love interest was sarcastic and witty when he is present in the first few chapters and then spirals into someone who has less of a personality than a cucumber. It made me cringe to read his scenes and to see all of his original characteristics thrown out of the window. Furthermore, the MC also lacks consistency having gone from disdaining females for what they wear to complimenting and wanting to communicate with them. All of her original thoughts are gone and replaced with a picture-perfect heroine.
Additionally, there is another male who the MC is not attracted to and when this male tries to kiss her without permission, the situation is never brought up again. No inner monologue that comes back to it, no conversation between the two of them. They act like it did not even happen and this isn’t some awkward situation in which you act as if nothing ever happened but the air around them shows something did. They literally just go back to how they were before he tried to kiss her.
The characters were annoying:
You have an MC who thinks she is better than everyone else yet tries to humble herself by saying everyone hates her.
A love interest who lacks consistency in character and has more concerns for a woman he just met than he does for the majority of people he has known for much longer, and has an actual relationship with.
A female side character whose only job is to swoon over the love interest, make dresses using powers that aren’t even connected to her affinity and be a messenger. The whole ordeal with witches being able to do things outside of their affinity undermines the whole point of the system that is put in place to separate them into groups. It seems like some cheap way of having the MC get what she needs.
Then there is the male side character who is in love with the MC and everything he does is out of jealousy and he’s just the most frustrating character to read. I wanted to smack him multiple times.
What caused the most disappointment was the way the world is set up and the main plot besides the romance is somewhat interesting. I would’ve stayed to read this but I could not cope with the characters any longer, the sheer boredom a good fifty percent of this book was (how did so many unneeded scenes get past editing?) and the random plots that were being thrown without any real substance.
This book was one big bowl of bad characterisation, random plot lines that weren’t developed and annoying characters all mixed together.
Stars ~ 0
Red Thorns by Rina Kent
1.0
The only good thing about this book were the sex scenes.
I skimmed most of it.
Naomi is really fucking annoying and such a hypocrite. She claims to be an antisocial loner and then stays with her “best friend” after they leave her for a group of people she hates? Then she makes fun of and complains about how shy her best friend is for having a crush on a guy when she has had a crush on someone for years? Furthermore, she continuously mocks her best friend and it’s just “what are you on about girl? you’re the one making a fool of yourself in your own narrative”.
She is one of the “I’m not like other girls” and I wanted to punch her.
Don’t get me started on the clusterfuck of:
“His olive skin and light blue eyes coupled with his black hair and thick brows give him a Middle-Eastern look that made Luce fall head over heels.”
Like???? He’s either Middle Eastern or not! You don’t just “give a look”.
Most of the conversations between Naomi and Sebastian are cringy as fuck.
As the book went on Sebastian’s narration got worse and I couldn’t stand him. I don’t care about how great you are at hiding emotions and reading people, not after you’ve told me for the hundredth time.
The only somewhat good chapters besides the smut were the first three.
Definitely a let down and the lowest I’ve ever rated one of Rina’s books. The only reason I’m not giving it 0.25 stars is because of the smut.
Stars ~ 1.5
I skimmed most of it.
Naomi is really fucking annoying and such a hypocrite. She claims to be an antisocial loner and then stays with her “best friend” after they leave her for a group of people she hates? Then she makes fun of and complains about how shy her best friend is for having a crush on a guy when she has had a crush on someone for years? Furthermore, she continuously mocks her best friend and it’s just “what are you on about girl? you’re the one making a fool of yourself in your own narrative”.
She is one of the “I’m not like other girls” and I wanted to punch her.
Don’t get me started on the clusterfuck of:
“His olive skin and light blue eyes coupled with his black hair and thick brows give him a Middle-Eastern look that made Luce fall head over heels.”
Like???? He’s either Middle Eastern or not! You don’t just “give a look”.
Most of the conversations between Naomi and Sebastian are cringy as fuck.
As the book went on Sebastian’s narration got worse and I couldn’t stand him. I don’t care about how great you are at hiding emotions and reading people, not after you’ve told me for the hundredth time.
The only somewhat good chapters besides the smut were the first three.
Definitely a let down and the lowest I’ve ever rated one of Rina’s books. The only reason I’m not giving it 0.25 stars is because of the smut.
Stars ~ 1.5
Gild by Raven Kennedy
2.0
I’m not even entirely sure what I’m supposed to say because this was just extremely boring.
The only reason I’m giving it more than one star is because I liked how the author portrayed Auren’s loneliness in a diary-like narrative, allowing us to understand her naïveté and the faith she has in Midas. I do think Kennedy does a good job at not telling us what we should think and rather let us form our own opinions on the situation through the writing.
However after around 40%, I skimmed the whole thing. I do not need to know the weather fifty times every ten pages, nor do I need useless descriptions of everything.
Stars ~ 1.75
The only reason I’m giving it more than one star is because I liked how the author portrayed Auren’s loneliness in a diary-like narrative, allowing us to understand her naïveté and the faith she has in Midas. I do think Kennedy does a good job at not telling us what we should think and rather let us form our own opinions on the situation through the writing.
However after around 40%, I skimmed the whole thing. I do not need to know the weather fifty times every ten pages, nor do I need useless descriptions of everything.
Stars ~ 1.75
The Dragons of Nova by Elise Kova
3.0
I wasn’t as drawn into the story during this book than I was with the first instalment. It felt like a filler of information just to lead to a cliffhanger at the end.
I wanted more Florence, I didn’t care for what was happening on Nova. I’m still annoyed that Ari didn’t really address what she did to Florence in the previous book either.
Something that caught my attention was the Crimson Court, but even that wasn’t developed upon besides fighting to the death. I would’ve loved to see more of it but I didn’t. Nothing interesting happened there besides the duel with Ari and the Master Rider. Furthermore, it is emphasised that Cvareh is expected to duel and it would be seen as weak if he didn’t but we don’t see any repercussions when this happened. The narrative didn’t follow through with what was previously stated.
This book definitely focuses more on the characters than the plot.
I’m excited to know more about Fay and hoping we get to see some development there.
Coletta is and interests me a lot. I hope to see more of her in the last book.
I WANT MORE FLORENCE.
I’m sad about Petra.
I wish Ari chapters didn’t exist sometimes.
Stars ~ 3.5
I wanted more Florence, I didn’t care for what was happening on Nova. I’m still annoyed that Ari didn’t really address what she did to Florence in the previous book either.
Something that caught my attention was the Crimson Court, but even that wasn’t developed upon besides fighting to the death. I would’ve loved to see more of it but I didn’t. Nothing interesting happened there besides the duel with Ari and the Master Rider. Furthermore, it is emphasised that Cvareh is expected to duel and it would be seen as weak if he didn’t but we don’t see any repercussions when this happened. The narrative didn’t follow through with what was previously stated.
This book definitely focuses more on the characters than the plot.
I’m excited to know more about Fay and hoping we get to see some development there.
Coletta is
Spoiler
a better ruler than YveunI WANT MORE FLORENCE.
I’m sad about Petra.
I wish Ari chapters didn’t exist sometimes.
Stars ~ 3.5
Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella
5.0
This is by far the best book I have ever read!! I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with all the characters. It was really cheesy and funny at the same time. It was one heck of a crazy, yet amazing emotional rollercoaster. I found it hard to let Emma and Jack go when it ended. I cannot wait for the movie!!
I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
5.0
The first third of the book was pretty boring. Nothing really happened much. That’s why I put it down for a couple of months. However, recently I’ve been trying to finish all my books before the new year.
As I got further into it, the book actually got really interesting and pretty addicting. I finished the rest of it all in one sitting.
Stars ~ 4.5 (purely because of the first third of the book)
As I got further into it, the book actually got really interesting and pretty addicting. I finished the rest of it all in one sitting.
Stars ~ 4.5 (purely because of the first third of the book)