sanihours's reviews
344 reviews

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

medium-paced

2.0

[trying not to be a hater challenge failing badly] 

As one of those people who loved and when I say loved, I mean, loved Ashley Poston's writing, this was the worst kind of washed down disappointment. Please tell me this is not the same person who wrote The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip because I found none of the warmth, the blossoming feeling of coming home in this book. What I've always admired about her writing was that you could be at the worst deranged phase of your life and you'd read her books and feel like, ‘‘no, there's something to life. I must!” 

Sadly and unfortunately, A Novel Love Story took me to the worst degrees of cringeness. Every action of the main character, Eileen Merriweather was a desperate attempt to show that she's quirky, that she feels things, that she's sad and depressed but tries to cover up with her unique blend of optimism and pessimism which made her a rather bland character. The author was trying too much to make her relatable. Keyword here: too much. 

"He smelled like black tea."
 "His minty gaze." 

What's with these descriptions? I'm sure half of the book is Eileen trying to describe Anders in her own quirky way. One of my biggest pet peeves is when the author tries to describe the male love interest again and again with those very same recycled words. Not to be rude but get an editor, please? 

Eileen and Anders had zero chemistry. Like, nor at all? What's the point of me reading a romcom if I don't get enough sexual tension that could be cut through a scissors? Nada. Nope. Zero. More like, they were being forced to fall for each other with absolutely no amount of tension. I would much rather go into Ruby and Jake's story considering how there were actual conflicts in their story. 

The premise was so interesting and the author could have executed it so well but sadly, no. The ending was so rushed and random, I'm banging my head against the wall. This is what you get for waiting for a book for a year, I guess. Another day of thanking God that I've The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip with me, at least. 

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

This one is for us, pretentious girls, I'm so serious. 

"For someone who loved words as much as I did, it was amazing how often they failed me." 

If We Were Villains follows the story of seven Shakespearean fanatics. You can't blame me for calling them fanatics! They lived Shakespeare, they breathed Shakespeare. And they preferred each other's company over the world. Well, at least, in the beginning.

I hate this book actually. This book tore me apart and I suffered through the entirety. Truly a page turner. The plot was immaculate, the writing wonderful and the characters so deeply flawed you know they're going down and taking you along themselves. Sometimes, it feels like you're not just a reader but the eighth person in the group and if that's not truly one of the best reading experiences, then I don't know what it is. 

“You can take the boy out of the theatre, or something like that.” 

Oliver's entire life turns into one of those Shakespearean plays, a tragedy and I can't forgive the author for it. From the beginning, he's got this feeling that he's not as talented as the rest of his friends and lo and behold, he's the one who actually breathed Shakespearean. 

One of the things that I did dislike were the casual misogyny. The objectification and treatment of Meredith were a sore point in my eyes, something that I did not like at all. But in some regards, it's slightly more passable than The Secret History where the female characters barely served any importance, aside from being a plot object, of course. 

Having seen so many discourses on how If We Were Villains is just a duplicated copy of The Secret History, now that I've read both the books, I can assure you they're not. While one book obsesses over Greek, the other prefers Shakespeare. Surely, there are obsessed students in both and a murder but that's where it ends. 

SPOILER‼️ 

WHAT WAS THE ENDING? What do you mean James is dead? This is just cruel. Imagine spending ten years in a prison, just waiting for the person you love and boom, you find out that he had drowned himself. I HATE IT SO MUCH. Also, you've to love Filippa so much. She cared so much about everyone *sobs* Also, I can't be the only one who finds Richard's possessiveness over his cousin, Wren, weird? I mean, let the girl breathe? That was so off putting 

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous dark 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

[tries not to let out a sob of anguish but fails] The Song of Achilles comparisons were so wild because i find She Who Became The Sun much much better. the perpetual sense of unbelonging, gender dystopia, hidden homoerotic desires, brutality of the war, overcoming against the heavens itself. oh, this book was everything. someone preserve it in the museum. 

Tricked into Becoming the Heroine's Stepmother by MOKGAMGI, HARIHEEN, eeesansee

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

the cinnamon roll story i didn't know i needed omg. little chestnut is so cute, im sobbing actually. touching her hair would fix me up. not to mention, daisy and dane. they're a match made in heaven. cries in anguish. i like prince glen but he better not intrude in my otp 

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

dark emotional 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

5.0

“This would be Sciona Freynan's mark on the world: a great red flower in the centre of Tiran.” 

truly the dark academia book. top tier magic system, absolutely complex flawed characters you can't help but love. this was INSANE. 

books on imperialism, colonialism and racism, you've all of my heart. dark, disturbing and truly obsessed with it as i should be actually. surprising how i was so not into the book in the beginning but as the story developed, i felt like i had personally been teleported to Tiran along with Sciona, Thomil and Carrah. 

you've to love Sciona's character development. how she goes from being selfishly obsessed with her work in the beginning to ruining the very Leon Hall for justice, for the fairness. her character, her resilience, her optimism has stood with me and im sure it'll be forever etched in my mind. Thomil :(( he deserved so so so much better.

 Thomil and Carrah are in fact, Sciona's legacy. Highmage Sciona Freynan, the woman you are. 

ML Wang never misses with her writing. first, The Sword Of Kaigen and now this. this is how you're supposed to write sff omg. 

Villains Are Destined to Die, Vol. 1 by SUOL, Gwon Gyeoeul

adventurous 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

3.0

need to tuck penelope in my pockets and protect her. her adoptive family can go to hell for all that i care

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

oh for the love of the lord, this was straight up awful

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

adventurous emotional 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

5.0

An emotional masterpiece. 

“What are you?"
 "I'm Matsuda Misaki. I'm your wife.”

I think we rarely come across a fantasy series with a mother-child-father theme and I didn't know I'd love that until I read The Sword Of Kaigen. What absolutely touched me was the emotional resilience the book portrayed. Tragic. Raw. Beautiful. 

Matsuda family, I can never forget you. Misaki, Mamoru and Robin were my favourite characters. I can't get over the way they were written. So beautifully that you'd be hooked from the beginning, except that the chapter one was a little bit hard to get into. 

The way motherhood and identity crisis revolved an important plot point has my whole heart. It's not often that this is touched on in a fantasy book and Wang absolutely rocked it. 

Misaki was a woman, a daughter, a wife, a daughter-in-law, a mother and a warrior in all. Truly one of my favourite characters. 

Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee

adventurous 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 fear im never moving on. kaul hiloshudon, you're the only man ever. 

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

1.0

extremely disheartened by the author's political views.