r_bookish_rambles's reviews
191 reviews

Sugar's Cookies by Vee Taylor

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funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was a fun small-town romance novella with some very unique kinks. 
A disclaimer: I knew this was going to be full of puns and be light-hearted. But to be honest, it just wasn’t good. It wasn’t even just puns; it was over dramatic euphemisms every other sentence. For me it entirely took away from the entire book and diminished the spice to something I wish I could skip. 
The spice was okay, it was nothing remarkable. For this novella being marketed with a lactation kink it was a shame that it only occurred at the last 10% of the book. If I had known that before reading it the chances, are I most likely would have not picked it up. 
I liked the characters even with the obnoxious puns and euphemisms. They were sweet individually and together it was tooth-achingly adorable. I only wish that there was more of a realistic bakery aspect put into the plot.
Tears of Revenge by Tanja Longoria

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I had high hopes for this story as the excerpt sounded equally exciting and mysterious. Unfortunately, I fell prey to yet another lukewarm reverse harem novel with cookie cutter MMC's and an easily guessable plot. Please be mindful of triggers as there are some heavy hitters in this book.
Honestly this book in its entirety was fine. There was nothing outstanding about it, or blatantly awful. But I definitely feel as though my time was wasted on reading this. Books are meant to wow you and transport you away. This did neither, though it easily had potential to. The plot was straightforward, with every turn being easily guessable. I felt nearly as claustrophobic as our FMC reading day in and day out the same thing. 
We have nearly two exact same MMC's which is so frustrating as a reader, especially as a constant RH reader. There was hardly a distinction between the two vampires which made reading their POV's seem nearly pointless. I found myself wishing it was a romance between Avalon and Lysander as those were truly the only intimate and well-thought-out scenes. 
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Fairies of Death by Victoria Liiv

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adventurous dark emotional 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

3.0

I will always enjoy a good fairie romance and this was no exception! 
I really liked the magic system and felt that it laid out a fantastic groundwork for the rest of the series. There are some twists that I was not expecting late in the plot, but it kept me interested in the entirety of the book. I was brought into this world without reading the novella and I felt right at home with the story and didn’t feel that I had missed out on anything significant.
I loved all the characters and felt that their uniqueness shined through. I liked that the secondary characters stilled played a significant role for the whole book and not just every few chapters. Even more I loved Isay and Karmuth together. The tension and passion between them was so palpable and intimate, and left me wanted more of those two. Thankfully the series isn’t over yet! I’m excited to see how the two fair in the next book.
Nicked by M.T. Anderson

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adventurous funny 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

3.75

I’ll be honest, I really wasn’t totally sure what to expect when I started reading this. The end result surprisingly was the most fun and unique historical fantasy novel I have ever had the pleasure of reading. 
The beginning of the book was rather slow and confusing to me, which had me rethinking my choice in reading it. It did take a little bit to get accustomed to the writing style, as it’s a bit dry. However, it quickly became clear to me than my first impressions were way off base and the story took a turn for the better. I found myself quickly becoming engrossed in the characters and their quirky adventure. 
This is definitely all historical and no fantasy, which normally I would consider a point lost but not in this case. The history and the religious aspects were delivered with excitement and intrigue and had me guessing what was going to happen next. I loved the different locations they traveled to and marveled at how wild of an adventure took place is such a short amount of time. 
My feeling regarding queer literature is the more queer the better. This was no exception to that!! The slow burn was perfect, and the interactions were tooth-achingly sweet and made me wish for more.
Unwrapping Deviance by Airicka Phoenix

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dark emotional 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

I am quickly learning that Airicka Phoenix is the queen of taboo romance and never fails to bring a 5 star read to the table. 

This was a perfect mix of both smutty romance and thriller. The thriller aspect did take a while to be intrigated into the plot, but I still felt that the two genres were well staggered well and kept up with the medium pace. There was always something happening, but not overwhelmingly so. The plot easily kept my attention for the entirety of the book and left me wanting more, even with the HEA. Small town thrillers might be my favorite sub-category of thrillers in general and this was no exception! You can feel the claustrophobic atmosphere of Jefferson through the page, which only made me cheer the three of them on more.

You are going to need a cold drink and a cold shower after this read I guarantee you. The sexual tension between the three of them is so incredibly thick. Even from the very beginning between Mira and Daniel it snatched the air from my lungs. But when Christian gets involved? I didn’t think it could get more hotter (spoiler- it does). Not only is the spice earth shatteringly good, but the intimacy of their relationships and the emotional back and forth is so tanagable. It was a privilege to watch the three of them come together and explore their feelings and other things. This taboo trope added with BDSM may very well make it’s way to my #1 favorite after this read thorough, which I bless Airicka for showing me, LOL. Regarding triggers this one is pretty full of them so please read with your mental health in mind!

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This was a good sized horror novella with no lack of suspense but no answers. 

I enjoyed this book for the most part. The idea of sleepwalking paired with not knowing what happens when you sleep is a super underrated horror theme. I loved the internal musings and how the days passed were presented in the chapters. Overall I thought the writing was smooth and the plot kept me interested. There was definite points of suspense that got my heart racing’s 

I had such high hopes while reading both the overview and story but I was left feeling completely blindsided and confused at the end. There’s one thing to leave some semblance of mystery and there’s another to completely disregard giving any answers at the end. This unfortunately was the latter.

No Road Home by John Fram

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dark emotional 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

 
I truly haven't felt this palpable level of suspense while reading in a very long time, and I was hooked in from the very beginning. I thought at first that the vibes were similar to Get Out but I soon realized this was better than anything I could compared it to. An easy 5 stars. 
Nothing is what you think it is through the entire book, and that is a compliment. I loved watching everything unravel both metaphorically and in actuality as the plot progressed. There is just something about a thriller having a central theme of religion that adds that extra level of unease in the very best way possible. It was unexpected how much grief, loss, and queer acceptance showed to be such powerful themes as well, but again everything fit perfectly together. I was also pleased to find that there is a paranormal aspect that readers also get to decipherer. Though the plot may feel busy and hard to follow it is the complete opposite. The confusion I felt was not due to lack of writing talent but because it was meant to confuse until everything was revealed. 
This has easily surpassed to be my favorite thriller of 2024 
Dempress by Anastasiya Serada

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

 
Tarot and forbidden love, what could go wrong? 
The expectation and description of the plot sounded fantastic, and I was extremely excited to read this. The delivery of the plot unfortunately fell flat for me and left me feeling mediocre about the book. The writing was the major blockage for me. It felt immature in that it lacked maturity in terms of themes and vocabulary, and no overarching cohesiveness. Everything felt sloppy and almost copy paste, which I can't explain enough how much of a shame it was. It made it nearly impossible to enjoy reading which truly frustrated me. 
The plot itself was okay, not including delivery. Though the world building was somewhat of a mystery to me. It's a weird mix of the modern world with a twist of tarot magic that never really gets fully explained and only briefly discussed when the time presented itself. I understand why the plot needed both to function, but I wish it would have been one or the other, or at least better combined. 
The large cast of characters lacked depth and true emotion. There is a lot of secondary characters to keep track of which was to be expected given they're modeled after a tarot deck, but it was just a hassle. It mostly boils down to 4 or 5 cookie cutter characters interacting with our FMC and MMC, which brings absolutely nothing good to the reader. Speaking of which, even our two lovebirds felt 2D. I was expecting so much in terms of their personalities and tension but all I got was lukewarm spice and pitiful characters. 
Dance, Sugarplum by Aurelia Knight, Amy Oliveira

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dark emotional 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

5.0

 
The snow keeps coming and so do the holiday romances. I personally love the Nutcracker ballet so when this popped up, I knew I had to give it a read. This was an easy 5 stars! 
This was very much an even mix of smut and thriller. The twists in the plot kept me wanting to read further and see what ends up happening, while the spice kept me on a delicious edge the entire time. I appreciate when there is a strong plot in smutty novellas like this because me to it heightens every interaction between the FMC and MMC and adds more depth than just the physical connection. There are real life triggers including domestic violence and child abuse so please take care of your mental health first! 
Speaking of triggers.. This has all the sexy and depraved triggers that we know and love. These two are so addicting to watch come together (in more way than one). There is so much emotion and tension with these two, it made their scenes that much hotter. The scenes felt intimate and natural, even with the heavy triggers. 
You'll definitely want to pick this up to read during the holiday season. 
What Protects Our Heritage and Other Aberrations by Villimey Mist

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dark fast-paced

3.0

 
This was my first ever time reading a collection of short stories, and I fully consider it to be a success! I thought the length was perfect overall, as well as the lengths of the individual stories. All the stories were interesting, and unique in their own right and kept me on my toes through the entire read. I enjoyed the different cultures and mythologies, especially the Icelandic ones. It was such a welcome change from the usual horror plots and settings. 
For the page length we got I was happily surprised to find great detail and no lack of uneasiness within the stories. They were all individual in nature but kept with the overarching themes of the collection. This is the ideal collection of stories to start off winter with.