rheamoloo's reviews
30 reviews

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

slow paced but super entertaining. i love Cassandra Clare’s writing and this did not disappoint. she’s very funny and her writing is so movie-like it’s very fun to read. 

it’s the first in a series so there was a lot of buildup and word building which was confusing at times and made the plot a little slow, but it’s understandable. 

 CC never disappoints with her characters, romance and pining and this book is no different. i wish we didn’t have to wait so long for the rest of the series

Salome by Oscar Wilde

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

V.E Schwab described writing this book as coming home and that's honestly what it felt like. Though, I did finish reading A Conjuring of Light a month before this one, so that may be a little dramatic.

75% of the book was build-up. The main action only happened in the last 25%; which I feel is quite typical for V.E.S, however, the character work was phenomenal. I loved seeing Kell, Lila, Rhy and Alucard as adults, I just wish we got more of Rhy in this book! 

The jumping back and forth between worlds and timelines got a bit confusing at times, but otherwise was done very well, and I enjoyed how fleshed out and built up the characters were; not only the original characters from Shades, but also all the new characters - Nadiya Loreni, Tes and Kosika. 

I loved having Holland back, but I'm confused as what he is. Is he a ghost or just a figment of Kosika's imagination? I hope we get to learn more about this later. 

I loved Tes but wasn't too satisfied with her ending. I hope that we get to see more of her and maybe a return to London in the future books. And maybe even more of her family! Are they looking for her? Will she ever see her mother, or other sisters again? And she didn't even get to say goodbye or explain anything to Nero; I would love to see more of those two, how they met, etc. Speaking of Nero, I want to see more of him and his bone magic; it's something we haven't touch on much (except Lila, but she's Antari).

Ren is absolutely adorable and I loved her scenes in the book. Nadiya, on the other hand was slightly underutilised and I hope we get to dive deeper into her background and her side of things in the following books; she's such an interesting take to other scientist, relatively harmless side-kick characters I'm used to in popular fantasy media (e.g. Henry Branwell, Christopher Lightwood, David Kostyk, and even to an extent - though not a side-kick, Nikolai Lantsov). 

I'm so glad Kell got his power back, but also, it was so much build-up and so much emphasis, on Kell learning how not to rely on magic and who he is without his powers only for none of that to be important at the end. I am a bit sceptical on this and am wondering whether him being healed comes with any side effects. 

I enjoyed the political intrigue with the Hand and am excited to see more of it in the followup books.

The Fragile Threads of Power, was a great start to the sequel series and keeps the magic of Shades trilogy alive and well! Can't wait for the rest of the books. 

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

The books kept getting better and better; what a phenomenal ending to such an incredible series.

Some thoughts: 

I was afraid that with so many POVs and such a large ensemble cast of characters, some of the story lines would be lacking or get confusing, but it was done super effortlessly and all the characters were nicely fleshed out. I also loved being able to step into the minds of other characters we haven’t heard from before. 

On that note, Holland is such an interesting villain and I love the fact that we got to see more of him as the series goes on. It was such an interesting perspective to do a deep dive into Holland as a character and to be able to understand why he did what he did. I was feeling so bad for Holland at the end. He deserved better. I think V.E Schwab is so so good at writing real, understandable and 3 dimensional villains and makes you root for them, which is not always done well. 

I absolutely adored the dynamic between Lila, Kell, Rhy and Alucard. It’s such a fun group with such interesting interpersonal relationships. 

Also Kell spends the first 100 pages shirtless and there are so many little comments about it and I find it hilarious for absolutely no reason. 

So much happened and there were some areas I wish were touched upon more, like Kell's parents. 

I have recently been on a V.E Schwab bender and the Shades of Magic series absolutely did not disappoint, I have super high hopes for the sequel series and highly recommend the Shades of Magic series to those who haven’t read it!

Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

5.0

The White Rock by Anna Hope

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved it. Super poetic, each era was written in a different way, emphasising the difference in characters and time. Creative and thought provoking retelling of several true and important stories.

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

3.25

Very cute, Halloween-y, second chance romance. The plot, however, wasn't super memorable and was often overshadowed by the romance. Though the romance was super cute and very enjoyable to read about, it left the plot feeling empty and the ending very rushed. 

The Aelwyd Jones part was so interesting and I would've loved a little bit more on that but unfortunately the plot was highly overshadowed by the romance. 
The resolution of the curse lasted less than 10 pages in the whole 270 page book.  
Also, what was the point of Simon coming to the town? He didn't really do much.

Overall, it was a very easy and fun read, especially around autumn and halloween time!

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.25

I found this book so much more enjoyable than the first one. It was so much fun to revisit Red London, and meet new characters and new places along the way. I really enjoyed Alucard's character, his dynamic with Lila was so witty and so much fun to read. I also loved the banter between Rhy and Kell, and it was so interesting to see the two of them explore their new bond! The Essen Tasch was such an interesting way to get to know the magic system of this series more.

*SPOILERS* 

I thought the rivalry between Alucard and Kell was a bit lacklustre, I wish there was something more to them than just the fact that Alucard broke Rhy's heart. I did, however, think they were such an interesting dynamic and am really looking forward to reading more about the two of them in the next book. 
Also, Lila killing the three Veskan's midway and then that never being talked about was a little bit odd?
I thought the chapter switches between Red and White London were a bit boring, but am keen to read more about Ojka in the following book! Would love to know a bit more about her and her powers.

 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it a 4.25 star rating! 

The Fraud Squad by Kyla Zhao

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

the main character was really annoying at times. ending was rushed, but still an easy and enjoyable read