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readsforlove's reviews
828 reviews
The School Between Winter and Fairyland by Heather Fawcett
4.5
I have quickly become a fan of Heather Fawcett's work. Her stories are just so magical. Her world building is on a whole different level. I wish I could have seen some more world building in this book--especially with Hedge Witches and the different magics, but what we did see was so beautiful and fun and rewarding. I just wasn't expecting this story to rip my heart out and crush it, but it did. I will now proceed to get my hands on everything this author has written.
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Had to put this down, as the MC was utterly terrible and I could not bear to suffer more of his selfish antics.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
4.5
This was delightful. Magical, beautiful, enchanting, and fun with a cast of loveably endearing characters and utterly magical happenings, I enjoyed this quite a lot.
Blade of Secrets by Tricia Levenseller
4.5
I loved every single one of the main characters, which is actually kind of rare? The pacing was a bit odd, but I didn't mind it. I loved the longer stretches of time, and how that allowed us to really get to know the characters and them get to know each other.
I especially loved the main romance. Kellyn is sweet and gentle and soft. He's so aware of what Ziva wants and needs, and he doesn't do any guilt tripping or gaslighting. He just sees her so fully, and Ziva is super relatable. I love them both so much.
I especially loved the main romance. Kellyn is sweet and gentle and soft. He's so aware of what Ziva wants and needs, and he doesn't do any guilt tripping or gaslighting. He just sees her so fully, and Ziva is super relatable. I love them both so much.
The Diablo's Curse by Gabe Cole Novoa
5.0
I DEVOURED this book, and you will too, if you love The Wicked Bargain. It's not abundently clear that you need to read that book first, but you really do in order to 1) understand this story fully and 2) avoid spoilers for it, because if you read this first you most definitely will be running after any and every book written by Gabe Cole Novoa.
Dami was one of my favorite characters in The Wicked Bargain, and so I was so excited to get my hands on this and read about how they came to be who they are. I was not even a little disappointed. This felt like Indiana Jones, but gay. There is magic. There are puzzles. There's a treasure hunt. A dangerous island, curses, magic, and more. All the elements to an amazing story are here, and Gabe Cole Novoa Delivers with his excellent writing. My only complaint is that our main couple doesn't bond sooner. I feel like they could have had at least one real conversation before the 60% mark, but that's just me being greedy for more page time of them being soft with each other. In actuality, I did like how slow their romance was. How they hated each other in so many ways, and the caring kind of snuck up on them. Caring does that sometimes. Love has a way of catching you off guard.
And DAMI. Bless their precious soul. I love them so much. They deserve all the best things in the world, and their ending was perfect. Now I'm just crossing my fingers for a spin off with Marisol.
Dami was one of my favorite characters in The Wicked Bargain, and so I was so excited to get my hands on this and read about how they came to be who they are. I was not even a little disappointed. This felt like Indiana Jones, but gay. There is magic. There are puzzles. There's a treasure hunt. A dangerous island, curses, magic, and more. All the elements to an amazing story are here, and Gabe Cole Novoa Delivers with his excellent writing. My only complaint is that our main couple doesn't bond sooner. I feel like they could have had at least one real conversation before the 60% mark, but that's just me being greedy for more page time of them being soft with each other. In actuality, I did like how slow their romance was. How they hated each other in so many ways, and the caring kind of snuck up on them. Caring does that sometimes. Love has a way of catching you off guard.
And DAMI. Bless their precious soul. I love them so much. They deserve all the best things in the world, and their ending was perfect. Now I'm just crossing my fingers for a spin off with Marisol.
The Princess of Potential by Delemhach
3.5
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I LOVED The House Witch, there were some weird sexism things and class differences that were made such a huge deal out of by most of the characters that I found hard to get past, and this book exacerbates a lot of those issues. Why do all the women become weepy puddles all the time? I did really like the love interest in this book most of the time, but then others he treated her like a child even while not?? IDK it was just kind of a roller coaster tbh.
In addition to that, there were quite a few big questions that were introduced at the very beginning of the book that were either only half answered or not answered at all by the end, and this was very frustrating. I kept reading hoping to get answers and I just didn't? And one of the biggest questions I had didn't get answered at all which I felt to be just unfair because it was the reason for, like, 60% of the conflict in this story so we freaking deserved an answer by the end.
Anyway, I'm probably going to still read the next series, The Burning Witch, because I do really love the magic and fun of this world, despite the weird class/sexism issues. It's just annoying and like, why do we have to deal with this in a complete fantasy world? But also it's a good reminder of how our world used to be and how far feminism has come, but ... it's just not done super well.
In addition to that, there were quite a few big questions that were introduced at the very beginning of the book that were either only half answered or not answered at all by the end, and this was very frustrating. I kept reading hoping to get answers and I just didn't? And one of the biggest questions I had didn't get answered at all which I felt to be just unfair because it was the reason for, like, 60% of the conflict in this story so we freaking deserved an answer by the end.
Anyway, I'm probably going to still read the next series, The Burning Witch, because I do really love the magic and fun of this world, despite the weird class/sexism issues. It's just annoying and like, why do we have to deal with this in a complete fantasy world? But also it's a good reminder of how our world used to be and how far feminism has come, but ... it's just not done super well.
Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens
4.5
From the first line, this book felt like a fairy tale. I was hooked by the writing, by the imagery, by the pure magic of the setting and the characters. A town trapped in five years of winter? Supernatural beings afoot in a community that whole heartedly believes in them, for the most part, even though they can't really prove they're around? Everything about the world felt so mystical and enchanting.
And don't get my started on our two MCs! By chapter 3, I was already in love. Ellery is kind and brave and grumpy as all hells but so endearing. They care about those around them, and sacrifice so much in order to make sure those they care about are okay. That was clear from the end of their first chapter, and I was excited to see where the story took them, and was not at all disappointed.
And Knox! Mysterious hot weird guy. I LOVE HIM. Literally from his first scene sitting on the couch and watching TV I knew I was as much of a goner as Ellery was about to be. He's so endearing and feels so deeply and just longs for connection and love that isn't transactional. And when these two collide (literally lol, such a good scene), the story gallops ahead in full force and leaves the reader happily devouring the lovely little found family they form. Zada and Charley were some of my favorite characters, and I loved how involved in the story they were. Books often advertise found family but don't actually deliver, but this was not one of those stories. The tenderness they all had for each other was adorable and heart warming. (Not to mention the food service workers--as someone who worked for many years in various restaurants, I related a lot, haha.
And when they strike their bargain, I instantly saw the genius of the story that Lukens had crafted. The romance of it swept me off my feet. I felt the same way while reading So This Is Ever After--everything drawing the two of them together, despite all intents and purposes being quite different. And I loved it. In as non spoilery a way as I can say, the ending was peak fairy tale vibes once again. The whole book felt that way, but by the end of the story I really felt like I had read some wintery fairy tale of monsters and darkness and heroes and light, and it was such a beautiful and heart-warming journey.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy!
And don't get my started on our two MCs! By chapter 3, I was already in love. Ellery is kind and brave and grumpy as all hells but so endearing. They care about those around them, and sacrifice so much in order to make sure those they care about are okay. That was clear from the end of their first chapter, and I was excited to see where the story took them, and was not at all disappointed.
And Knox! Mysterious hot weird guy. I LOVE HIM. Literally from his first scene sitting on the couch and watching TV I knew I was as much of a goner as Ellery was about to be. He's so endearing and feels so deeply and just longs for connection and love that isn't transactional. And when these two collide (literally lol, such a good scene), the story gallops ahead in full force and leaves the reader happily devouring the lovely little found family they form. Zada and Charley were some of my favorite characters, and I loved how involved in the story they were. Books often advertise found family but don't actually deliver, but this was not one of those stories. The tenderness they all had for each other was adorable and heart warming. (Not to mention the food service workers--as someone who worked for many years in various restaurants, I related a lot, haha.
And when they strike their bargain, I instantly saw the genius of the story that Lukens had crafted. The romance of it swept me off my feet. I felt the same way while reading So This Is Ever After--everything drawing the two of them together, despite all intents and purposes being quite different. And I loved it. In as non spoilery a way as I can say, the ending was peak fairy tale vibes once again. The whole book felt that way, but by the end of the story I really felt like I had read some wintery fairy tale of monsters and darkness and heroes and light, and it was such a beautiful and heart-warming journey.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy!
Mothballs by Sole Otero
3.0
Well, that was depressing. Story wise, this was heavy and sad and hard to get through. I'm not sure if the story was based on the real lives of the author's family, but it felt that way. I didn't like any of the characters, and while I was sad for how circumstances shaped them, everyone was so selfish and cruel to each other that I left the story feeling sick to my stomach and all around depresso-espresso.
The stars come for the art style, though. I was surprised by a few nude images, so just a heads up for readers. But this was styled so beautifully, and the colors and creativity that went into it took my breath away. I love it when graphic novels really play into their medium. This story wouldn't have worked the same if told in any other format, which is important, in my opinion, to having a great graphic novel. I enjoyed just gazing at the art work, even while the story ripped my heart out and stomped on it.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc.
The stars come for the art style, though. I was surprised by a few nude images, so just a heads up for readers. But this was styled so beautifully, and the colors and creativity that went into it took my breath away. I love it when graphic novels really play into their medium. This story wouldn't have worked the same if told in any other format, which is important, in my opinion, to having a great graphic novel. I enjoyed just gazing at the art work, even while the story ripped my heart out and stomped on it.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault