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saintlychelle's reviews
121 reviews
Wicked Desires: A Dark Mafia Arranged Marriage Romance by Cora Kent
dark
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
4.0
A Flower's Fatal Thorn by Jordan Dugdale
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.25
Thank you, Starlight Library Tours for this gifted copy of A Flower's Fatal Thorn!
This was my first time reading a Jordan Dugdale book, and I enjoyed it so much!!
I really felt immersed in all the action (SO MUCH ACTION!!) and the worldbuilding! I could easily visualise the forests and the rot and was easily swept away in the story! I loved the dual pov of the two main characters and how they were sides of the same coin in this whole adventure! I also adored the bit of found family they gained along the way. And the twists were so good!!!
I can't wait to read what happens next!!
This was my first time reading a Jordan Dugdale book, and I enjoyed it so much!!
I really felt immersed in all the action (SO MUCH ACTION!!) and the worldbuilding! I could easily visualise the forests and the rot and was easily swept away in the story! I loved the dual pov of the two main characters and how they were sides of the same coin in this whole adventure! I also adored the bit of found family they gained along the way. And the twists were so good!!!
I can't wait to read what happens next!!
Heir of Stardust and Secrets by C.C. Hartley, CC Hartly
adventurous
challenging
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
4.75
Thank you CC Hartly for an ARC of this amazing book!!
Heir of Stardust and Secrets drew me in with ease with the first few pages of meeting Nyleeria, captivated me with its immersive worldbuilding...and absolutely widened my eyes, stole my breath, and briefly halted my thought processes with each twist and turn!!!
I had been hearing about this book so much before I read it and the amount of times that people said this story was full of twists and turns! Having read this book, I can 100% say that Heir of Stardust and Secrets lives up to the hype!!!
This book was such a wild ride...and some parts were definitely wilder than others!! And it was all in the best way!!!!
There were so many secrets and unanswered questions! And the reveals evoked so many different emotions from me: surprise, anger, confusion, and sympathy for Nyleeria.
Nyleeria is a character you absolutely want to root for to succeed!! The way her family treated her made me so angry! I was very impressed with how she handled all that "love" and really admired how strong yet vulnerable she was throughout the whole story. It was great seeing her growth as a character!
The cast of characters also had me going through various emotional states of mind. I found the characters intriguing then suspicious, but then I grew to love them and possibly root for them to be a love interest...and then I became suspicious of them all over again..every character and their interactions with Nyleeria just keeps you on the edge of your seat!!!!
And the cliffhanger...it will definitely make you want book 2!!!
Overall Heir of Stardust and Secrets was a fantastic romantasy read!!
Heir of Stardust and Secrets drew me in with ease with the first few pages of meeting Nyleeria, captivated me with its immersive worldbuilding...and absolutely widened my eyes, stole my breath, and briefly halted my thought processes with each twist and turn!!!
I had been hearing about this book so much before I read it and the amount of times that people said this story was full of twists and turns! Having read this book, I can 100% say that Heir of Stardust and Secrets lives up to the hype!!!
This book was such a wild ride...and some parts were definitely wilder than others!! And it was all in the best way!!!!
There were so many secrets and unanswered questions! And the reveals evoked so many different emotions from me: surprise, anger, confusion, and sympathy for Nyleeria.
Nyleeria is a character you absolutely want to root for to succeed!! The way her family treated her made me so angry! I was very impressed with how she handled all that "love" and really admired how strong yet vulnerable she was throughout the whole story. It was great seeing her growth as a character!
The cast of characters also had me going through various emotional states of mind. I found the characters intriguing then suspicious, but then I grew to love them and possibly root for them to be a love interest...and then I became suspicious of them all over again..every character and their interactions with Nyleeria just keeps you on the edge of your seat!!!!
And the cliffhanger...it will definitely make you want book 2!!!
Overall Heir of Stardust and Secrets was a fantastic romantasy read!!
Sardonic Burn by Kat King
dark
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
4.75
Heart of a Forest by Sylvia Lockard
adventurous
emotional
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
4.75
Beast of a Broken Court by Ava Zoe
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Thank you Ava Zoe for an ARC of this book!
I love fairytale retellings and thought and hoped I'd enjoy this one, but unfortunately my rating for it is rather low.
I just did not like the fact thatIsabelle (who is a princess!) gets raped by several men, no one in her court goes after them or finds them (she found them rather easily by herself), she has to avenge herself by killing her own rapists (which I didn't mind), but when it comes down to the last rapist, he turns out to be sorcerer who curses her to be beastly.
It's like for most of the story her rapist got away with not only raping her, but also curses her into a beast (adding to her trauma) and then she needs Thorne to do the majority of the curse breaking. Sure she ended up killing the demon sorcerer herself, but it was mostly a man who set everything up.
Personally, I also felt some of the spicy scenes were happening too fast in regards to the pacing of the story. I liked the tension build up of some of the scenes likein the castle , but the scene with the yellow gemstone I felt happened at not the right time in regards to where Isabelle and Thorne were in their relationship.
Overall, I was not the right audience for this book.
I love fairytale retellings and thought and hoped I'd enjoy this one, but unfortunately my rating for it is rather low.
I just did not like the fact that
It's like for most of the story her rapist got away with not only raping her, but also curses her into a beast (adding to her trauma) and then she needs Thorne to do the majority of the curse breaking. Sure she ended up killing the demon sorcerer herself, but it was mostly a man who set everything up.
Personally, I also felt some of the spicy scenes were happening too fast in regards to the pacing of the story. I liked the tension build up of some of the scenes like
Overall, I was not the right audience for this book.
Touch of Gold: King Midas' Prisoner by Shawn J. Romeo
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
A Recipe for Romance by M.E. Giggle
lighthearted
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? Yes
2.75
Thank you, Literary Inspired and ME Giggle for this ARC!!
This was such a cute story!! I just wish it were longer as I was confused with all the time jumps...it felt like a lot of scenes were missing and felt like the romance between Drew and Kelsi was too rushed. More scenes in general would have made me connect to Drew and Kelsi's budding romance more.
I was also confused at first as to if Kelsi was a contestant or like a behind-the-scenes camera person for the cooking show. I also wish there was more backstory to why Drew needed to fix his image.
Overall I feel like this novella has great potential to be a longer book!!
This was such a cute story!! I just wish it were longer as I was confused with all the time jumps...it felt like a lot of scenes were missing and felt like the romance between Drew and Kelsi was too rushed. More scenes in general would have made me connect to Drew and Kelsi's budding romance more.
I was also confused at first as to if Kelsi was a contestant or like a behind-the-scenes camera person for the cooking show. I also wish there was more backstory to why Drew needed to fix his image.
Overall I feel like this novella has great potential to be a longer book!!
The Consulate by Allison Carr Waechter
adventurous
dark
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
4.5
Mistress of Hours by Emma Elizabeth
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
2.75
Thank you Emma Elizabeth and NerdFam for this ARC!
This was a rather "soft fantasy" to me. There was a lot of action towards the end but most of the book was focused on the mystery of why the magic is gone. The world building was interesting and the drama of the plot was intriguing.
This was my first time reading a story with the "instant lust" trope and while I have found it isn't a trope I like, it did fit well with the story.
The dialogue didn't seem genuine/real to me. Everyone was rather soft spoken and almost too formal (tone-wise) to each other in a way. I would say Dominique was a bit more "realistic" with the way she was speaking even though she was mostly making fun of Evi and putting her down...like she spoke like a genuine bully like her character was supposed to be, and I believed it.
Overall I'd say I wasn't the right audience for this book, but I did find the concept and mystery intriguing.
This was a rather "soft fantasy" to me. There was a lot of action towards the end but most of the book was focused on the mystery of why the magic is gone. The world building was interesting and the drama of the plot was intriguing.
This was my first time reading a story with the "instant lust" trope and while I have found it isn't a trope I like, it did fit well with the story.
The dialogue didn't seem genuine/real to me. Everyone was rather soft spoken and almost too formal (tone-wise) to each other in a way. I would say Dominique was a bit more "realistic" with the way she was speaking even though she was mostly making fun of Evi and putting her down...like she spoke like a genuine bully like her character was supposed to be, and I believed it.
Overall I'd say I wasn't the right audience for this book, but I did find the concept and mystery intriguing.