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sarah_cameron's reviews
102 reviews
The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
The Moth & the Flame by Renée Ahdieh
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
A really lovely addition to the main duology. Despina was one of my favourite secondary characters in the core story and I never felt her journey and motives were given enough space, so this was the perfect opportunity to weave some background in.
It was sweet, and as with the main books, the writing is just so nice to read. If you’ve finished the two novels and are not quite ready to let go of this series, this is a great, short, accessible read that’s so worth it.
It was sweet, and as with the main books, the writing is just so nice to read. If you’ve finished the two novels and are not quite ready to let go of this series, this is a great, short, accessible read that’s so worth it.
The Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
The fact that this book is a fairytale retelling set in a boarding school and is chock full of tropes, and yet still manages to have a fresh and unique take, is honestly pretty impressive.
I was a huge fan of how Pohl worked so much diversity into the characters in a pretty realistic and naturalistic way. I also loved how this included things like chronic illness and less-represented mental illnesses like OCD that we see as much as we should.
The vast majority of this book is spent building the plot, so I suspect the pace and payoff will be better in the sequel, but it was still an engaging and interesting read. If you’re a fan of a dark twist on classic fairytales, this one’s for you!
I was a huge fan of how Pohl worked so much diversity into the characters in a pretty realistic and naturalistic way. I also loved how this included things like chronic illness and less-represented mental illnesses like OCD that we see as much as we should.
The vast majority of this book is spent building the plot, so I suspect the pace and payoff will be better in the sequel, but it was still an engaging and interesting read. If you’re a fan of a dark twist on classic fairytales, this one’s for you!
This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Okay so I really enjoyed this book - but in saying that I don’t think it’s for everyone.
Excepting the last 15% or so, this book has a very slow pace, and it’s vastly character driven - the main plot/setting-in-motion-of-events is all in the final chunk.
However, for me this didn’t detract from the story at all. I think there was a lot of value in fleshing out our FMC in particular, but also our MC and side characters get a fair amount of attention. In addition, the crafting of the world, the different levels in society, and the wonderfully rich descriptions and beautiful prose were so worth it. Like really I just need to shoutout the writing - Mafi has such a lyrical and fairytale-esk style that fits this narrative so perfectly.
Also gosh those romantic scenes - they had me smiling ear-to-ear. Like damn they were so sweet, a little spicy, but still YA friendly (similar level to WHTF). Gahhh, it makes me willing to bypass the instalove tropethough with the disruption at the end, who knows what’s gonna happen there now 👀 .
The exploration of the magic-system was largely limited to what our FMC had directly experienced, but there seems to be really solid set up to dive into this more in the sequel.
I really do highly recommend this book - but definitely only if you are up for something slow and detailed.
Excepting the last 15% or so, this book has a very slow pace, and it’s vastly character driven - the main plot/setting-in-motion-of-events is all in the final chunk.
However, for me this didn’t detract from the story at all. I think there was a lot of value in fleshing out our FMC in particular, but also our MC and side characters get a fair amount of attention. In addition, the crafting of the world, the different levels in society, and the wonderfully rich descriptions and beautiful prose were so worth it. Like really I just need to shoutout the writing - Mafi has such a lyrical and fairytale-esk style that fits this narrative so perfectly.
Also gosh those romantic scenes - they had me smiling ear-to-ear. Like damn they were so sweet, a little spicy, but still YA friendly (similar level to WHTF). Gahhh, it makes me willing to bypass the instalove trope
The exploration of the magic-system was largely limited to what our FMC had directly experienced, but there seems to be really solid set up to dive into this more in the sequel.
I really do highly recommend this book - but definitely only if you are up for something slow and detailed.
We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25
Wow! What an incredible story, I really enjoyed this!
A particular highlight was Zafira’s slow but well-written arc of self-discovery and acceptance. This was done through the lens of coming to terms with her gender and being proud of who she was, even in a misogynistic and harsh world. It was believable and earned, not rushed at all, and I’m excited to see more development of this.
The world-building, both the current and the explanations of the history and how the sociopolitical climate eventually came to fruition, as well as the magic system, we’re all really interesting and explained in natural and engaging ways. I hope we explore the magic system in greater detail in the sequel, especially in light of the repercussions of the ending. Also damn, the plot twists (especially in the epilogue) were great! I’m hopeful we’ll explore more of Misk and Deen’s pasts and how they fit into the story. Also please give me more Yasmine!
My only ‘cons’ aren’t even really cons. The FMC was damseled a few times early in the story - thankfully this doesn’t become a trend, and the MMC is similarly damseled at one point so it kinda balances out. It also seemed a bit simple at times - girl who has always shunned romantic love meets dark boy with a troubled past who has a cold exterior but really feels all the feels, and they quickly develop feelings for one another that both are shocked by. But frankly, this is YA and it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that. Is it overdone? Sure. But the rest of this book is so detailed and complex that it makes up for it, and who cares if a book for a younger audience keeps it simple. Additionally, I did love that when the two did have a moment, consent was worked in there really naturally - great to see in a book full stop, but especially one for younger readers!
On the whole this was an awesome story, and I’m excited to see what happens next!
A particular highlight was Zafira’s slow but well-written arc of self-discovery and acceptance. This was done through the lens of coming to terms with her gender and being proud of who she was, even in a misogynistic and harsh world. It was believable and earned, not rushed at all, and I’m excited to see more development of this.
The world-building, both the current and the explanations of the history and how the sociopolitical climate eventually came to fruition, as well as the magic system, we’re all really interesting and explained in natural and engaging ways. I hope we explore the magic system in greater detail in the sequel, especially in light of the repercussions of the ending. Also damn, the plot twists (especially in the epilogue) were great! I’m hopeful we’ll explore more of Misk and Deen’s pasts and how they fit into the story. Also please give me more Yasmine!
My only ‘cons’ aren’t even really cons. The FMC was damseled a few times early in the story - thankfully this doesn’t become a trend, and the MMC is similarly damseled at one point so it kinda balances out. It also seemed a bit simple at times - girl who has always shunned romantic love meets dark boy with a troubled past who has a cold exterior but really feels all the feels, and they quickly develop feelings for one another that both are shocked by. But frankly, this is YA and it doesn’t need to be more complicated than that. Is it overdone? Sure. But the rest of this book is so detailed and complex that it makes up for it, and who cares if a book for a younger audience keeps it simple. Additionally, I did love that
On the whole this was an awesome story, and I’m excited to see what happens next!
The Rose & the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book - it was a very solid follow up to the first and I’ll go through all the highlights, but I did really struggle with the pacing on this one. It was a bit slower and inconsistent without clear highs and lows. I think it would have really benefited from a clearer structure, and this would have made the height of the story more impactful.
This resulted in the curse and the ‘battle’/clash parts of the story feeling a little underwhelming given how much they’d been built up. I also wish the magic element was given more time to fully develop - I felt we’d just touched on its true potential when the story ended. There was a lot left unanswered about all of this.
In saying that, it was still a fantastic read. As before, Ahdieh’s writing is so lyrical and beautiful. Her imagery is great and her lines are very poetic.
I also enjoyed that we delved much more into people’s motivations and backgrounds beyond our FMC (don’t worry, this is still very much Shahrzad’s story and we get plenty of her, which I love as she’s undoubtedly my favourite character). This helps to flesh out so much of the story, and is such an asset. This is especially true for Khalid and Irsa.
Finally, I loved the tie-in at the end back to the original story with the nod to One Thousand and One Nights. It was not forced in, and was a great way for the book to end.
On the whole this was very much worth a read, especially if you prefer character-driven books, and ended the story in a really nice way.
Crave by Tracy Wolff
adventurous
mysterious
3.5
Is this a straight up rip off of Twilight but more cringey? Yeah. But hey it was fun.
It really screams 2012 YA - the whole ‘I’m so plain and incompetent and have no friends, but the two hottest guys in my new school are weirdly into me’, describing people (in the narrative, not as dialogue) as ‘sexy af’, etc are a lot, so fair warning if you struggle with this.
The writing wasn’t exactly mind blowing, the timeline was rushed, and things get a bit jumbled. However, I appreciate the set up of the magic system, the clear rules on who’s who and what they can do, the effort to include backstories and motivations, and that the MMC wasn’t reduced to an abusive rude a-hole in the guise of being hot and aloof - he actually clearly cared about the FMC and acted like a regular teenage boy most of the time (sans when he’s vamping out).
Despite all the cringe and flaws, this book was way better than it had any right to be. A solid read and a great palette cleanser.
It really screams 2012 YA - the whole ‘I’m so plain and incompetent and have no friends, but the two hottest guys in my new school are weirdly into me’, describing people (in the narrative, not as dialogue) as ‘sexy af’, etc are a lot, so fair warning if you struggle with this.
The writing wasn’t exactly mind blowing, the timeline was rushed, and things get a bit jumbled. However, I appreciate the set up of the magic system, the clear rules on who’s who and what they can do, the effort to include backstories and motivations, and that the MMC wasn’t reduced to an abusive rude a-hole in the guise of being hot and aloof - he actually clearly cared about the FMC and acted like a regular teenage boy most of the time (sans when he’s vamping out).
Despite all the cringe and flaws, this book was way better than it had any right to be. A solid read and a great palette cleanser.
The Awakening by Susanne Valenti, Caroline Peckham
2.5
The best way I can describe this book is that it feels like it’s written from the male gaze of an abusive misogynist.
I kinda sorta get the hype - magic school, fae, very tropey, etc, and to be fair I was entertained at least 40% of the time. The writing itself isn’t awful it’s just flat, and I see how it’s set up for a full series.
But really I could not get past all of the ‘casual’ straight up SA and harassment in this. It’s so normalised and just gross, not a fan. I get it’s meant to be a bully romance, but SA-ing someone and literally trying to off them…what? If you’re thinking about checking this out, definitely read the CWs.
I kinda sorta get the hype - magic school, fae, very tropey, etc, and to be fair I was entertained at least 40% of the time. The writing itself isn’t awful it’s just flat, and I see how it’s set up for a full series.
But really I could not get past all of the ‘casual’ straight up SA and harassment in this. It’s so normalised and just gross, not a fan. I get it’s meant to be a bully romance, but SA-ing someone and literally trying to off them…what? If you’re thinking about checking this out, definitely read the CWs.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
On the whole this was an enjoyable book, albeit a little hard to follow at times, but I largely put that down to having read it on audio - I suspect a physical copy would have been significantly easier to follow, especially the action scenes.
At times I felt there were a few too many characters and it was hard to keep track of them, which was mostly due to their not being enough time to flesh everyone out, especially while working on all the world building and explaining histories and backgrounds.
I’m saying that, the main characters were awesome, and the book had a super interesting premise, cool magic system and societal structure, and the final third was a whirlwind of plot twists that was super well done, so I’d say the payoff was worth it!
It did very much felt like set up for the rest of the series, but nonetheless I’ll definitely read the next one! I’be put it at 3.75 starts but if I had understood it properly it’d probably be 4.25 stars!
At times I felt there were a few too many characters and it was hard to keep track of them, which was mostly due to their not being enough time to flesh everyone out, especially while working on all the world building and explaining histories and backgrounds.
I’m saying that, the main characters were awesome, and the book had a super interesting premise, cool magic system and societal structure, and the final third was a whirlwind of plot twists that was super well done, so I’d say the payoff was worth it!
It did very much felt like set up for the rest of the series, but nonetheless I’ll definitely read the next one! I’be put it at 3.75 starts but if I had understood it properly it’d probably be 4.25 stars!