rwn_tree's reviews
96 reviews

Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith

2.0

not for me. im usually excited to pick up books with queer main characters, but this one did not deliver.

this book (imo, obviously) is so incredibly boring. little chemistry between the leads, shallow and cringy writing style, and some uncomfortable at best and wrong at worst moments all tie together to create the most uninteresting and lukewarm book i can imagine.

i truly hated the way the main character's friend and sister both pushed him to come out, and insisted being stealth isn't valid. left a bad taste in my mouth. 

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

genuinely, one of the best books ive ever read, i think.
extremely touching, i did absolutely sob my eyes out for the last 5 or so chapters </3

Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

the choice to tell the story of hercules from others' perspectives was a very good one. seeing his every side, from caring to awful to hopeless, left me feeling a little sad in the end, though i found the book overall very enjoyable.

the lighthearted and witty tone is also easy and fun to read.

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

1.0

3.5 stars

i was told this was really good enemies to lovers, but i was a little disappointed to see that it fell into some standard "straight romance" tropes. ie, he calls the mc, violet, a cringy nickname ('violence') throughout the book, i recoiled a little every time ngl 😭

it was a little too fast paced for me, in terms of the romance, but thats just my preference. it was perfectly good development, i just prefer slowburn.

i enjoyed the story well enough, but im a little disappointed to say i just didn't quite click with this story as much as id like. unfortunately, it wasn't anything more than avarage, in my opinion.

UPDATE: rebecca is fucking zionist, so i dont feel bad tearing into this book properly anymore.

shitty writing, constantly needlessly horny protagonist, mid sex scenes, zero interesting chemistry between main couple, mc is "special" (first ever to get 2 dragons, is almost always being told how awesome she is, etc.), boring and stupid way to infodump lore (mc just starts yapping and it's explained as her "keeping calm in stressful situations").

and this pissed me off the most:
pointless conflict towards the end where the love interest is shit on for helping people in need on the enemy side. the mc just hates him now for "betraying her trust", despite the fact that he didn't want to risk telling her a government secret that could have gotten her fucking killed if she knew it 💀💀

most boring and mid shit ive read in a while, this is why i avoid straight romance. 1 star. 

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

4.5

rereading it, it still lives up to how i remember it from when i first read it when i was 12, which was a very pleasant surprise.

i don't normally get this invested with non-queer romance, so that's another plus. i found the characters to be engaging and fleshed out enough to make me tear up multiple times, and i found it overall enjoyable, even if the beginning was a bit slower than i remembered. still very good though. looking forward to rereading the other two books in the series.