Scan barcode
sashavolesky's reviews
103 reviews
These Stained Glass Hearts by Sienna C. Jones
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Will I ever emotionally recover? No.
Would I still sell my soul to be able to reread this for the first time? Absolutely.
An intricate and amazing thought out new fantasy world with its own unique magic and curses. The characters are all phenomenal and so loveable, the dynamics between them so enjoyable and real. Ever other line got highlighted on my kindle, the writing was magnificent, flowed well and so many heart-stopping lines and quotes throughout.
This book has to be one of the BEST fantasy books released, everything about it is phenomenal and deserves all the love the world can give.
Would I still sell my soul to be able to reread this for the first time? Absolutely.
An intricate and amazing thought out new fantasy world with its own unique magic and curses. The characters are all phenomenal and so loveable, the dynamics between them so enjoyable and real. Ever other line got highlighted on my kindle, the writing was magnificent, flowed well and so many heart-stopping lines and quotes throughout.
This book has to be one of the BEST fantasy books released, everything about it is phenomenal and deserves all the love the world can give.
Liars and Light by Rebecca Camm
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book lady’s, gentlemen and humans of all kinds, is a fantastical read. Nothing else needs to be said, however I shall say it.
Rebecca Macc was able to create this amazing world building that you learnt along the way without info dumps that just kept you knowing exactly what you needed to know but also keep the mystery of the world itself, it was just so smooth and effortless learning about it. The concept behind the world itself is intricate, amazingly thought out and original. There are 5 Gods from which stem 5 races; Human, Elementum, Anima, Mors Alv and Lys Alvs. Each has their own characteristics, powers and lore behind them. Watching the intricately drawn picture of the world unravel was an absolutely delightful and surprising experience.
Now the characters. I fell in love with Nora in just a few lines, she’s just hilarious to read from, describing herself as a ‘sarcastic antagonising asshole’ and she’s not wrong. Also may I mention she’s a trained assassin with elemental magic! Her badassery was so fun to read about. Her lines and interactions with everyone around her left me laughing for so long I had to sometimes close the book to recover. Her character isn’t just one dimensional arrogant ass, she has deeper sides that get explored as the book progresses, same with all the characters they all have deeper sides that come about. There were so many characters that are just absolutely loveable, and the way everyone interacts was very natural and the writing of interactions was perfection.
On the topic of writing, it flowed effortlessly, an easy read. The pacing was too very even, and no parts felt too rushed or too slow, each section working well.
My only slight critique that some may find annoying is parts did feel quite predictable, in the sense that it felt some twists felt handed on a platter. However not all and even with my guessing I was still very surprised throughout.
This amazing book is a gripping start to a hopefully successful new fantasy series!!
Rebecca Macc was able to create this amazing world building that you learnt along the way without info dumps that just kept you knowing exactly what you needed to know but also keep the mystery of the world itself, it was just so smooth and effortless learning about it. The concept behind the world itself is intricate, amazingly thought out and original. There are 5 Gods from which stem 5 races; Human, Elementum, Anima, Mors Alv and Lys Alvs. Each has their own characteristics, powers and lore behind them. Watching the intricately drawn picture of the world unravel was an absolutely delightful and surprising experience.
Now the characters. I fell in love with Nora in just a few lines, she’s just hilarious to read from, describing herself as a ‘sarcastic antagonising asshole’ and she’s not wrong. Also may I mention she’s a trained assassin with elemental magic! Her badassery was so fun to read about. Her lines and interactions with everyone around her left me laughing for so long I had to sometimes close the book to recover. Her character isn’t just one dimensional arrogant ass, she has deeper sides that get explored as the book progresses, same with all the characters they all have deeper sides that come about. There were so many characters that are just absolutely loveable, and the way everyone interacts was very natural and the writing of interactions was perfection.
On the topic of writing, it flowed effortlessly, an easy read. The pacing was too very even, and no parts felt too rushed or too slow, each section working well.
My only slight critique that some may find annoying is parts did feel quite predictable, in the sense that it felt some twists felt handed on a platter. However not all and even with my guessing I was still very surprised throughout.
This amazing book is a gripping start to a hopefully successful new fantasy series!!
Play To Kill: A Royal Lesfic Romance by Arizona Tape
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Cursed And The Broken by Chloe Hodge
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
4.75
A round of applause to Chloe Hodge for this absolute masterpiece of lore, magic and witty badass main characters!
This books has all the best tropes, enemies to lovers, 1 bed, and more. A full package.
The lore and worldbuilding being set up as witches in Hungary (based on Hungarian folklore) during a time of their persecution due to Christianity added a great factor of realism, and depth into the story, a sense of what’s happening around them in the world without interacting with them.
The magic too is based of elemental principles, fire and earth primarily seen, with secret other ones you’ll have to read to learn about.
Now the characters. From the very beginning I fell in love with Kitarni from the get go. She’s witty, questions the world around her, overall a badass, could win a battle with her dagger or her tongue. Some of her one liners are to die for and I was laughing through the whole book. The rest of the characters are absolutely loveable, have great depth, and many tend to have battle of the wits with Kitarni, some of my favourite scenes.
The writing is very well done, well spaced out, flows nicely, pacing fits well.
Oh and let’s not forget the spice! It’s written deliciously and that’s all I can say about that!
Wonderful book, easy contender for one of the best Fantasy Romance books of this year, cannot wait for their story to continue!
This books has all the best tropes, enemies to lovers, 1 bed, and more. A full package.
The lore and worldbuilding being set up as witches in Hungary (based on Hungarian folklore) during a time of their persecution due to Christianity added a great factor of realism, and depth into the story, a sense of what’s happening around them in the world without interacting with them.
The magic too is based of elemental principles, fire and earth primarily seen, with secret other ones you’ll have to read to learn about.
Now the characters. From the very beginning I fell in love with Kitarni from the get go. She’s witty, questions the world around her, overall a badass, could win a battle with her dagger or her tongue. Some of her one liners are to die for and I was laughing through the whole book. The rest of the characters are absolutely loveable, have great depth, and many tend to have battle of the wits with Kitarni, some of my favourite scenes.
The writing is very well done, well spaced out, flows nicely, pacing fits well.
Oh and let’s not forget the spice! It’s written deliciously and that’s all I can say about that!
Wonderful book, easy contender for one of the best Fantasy Romance books of this year, cannot wait for their story to continue!
From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
funny
lighthearted
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
Bones to the Wind by Tatiana Obey
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Fascinating concept, amazing world-building, realistic characterisation with flaws. Fantastic enjoyable read, amazingly written, diverse and different characters.
The only not so great part is the queer-bating of the blurb *spoilers* the blurb makes it sound like Rasia and Nico will get together, enemies to lovers confined together. But no it doesn’t happen and a main part of why I read this book was for them, however the relationships that did happen were great, well developed and real.
The only not so great part is the queer-bating of the blurb *spoilers* the blurb makes it sound like Rasia and Nico will get together, enemies to lovers confined together. But no it doesn’t happen and a main part of why I read this book was for them, however the relationships that did happen were great, well developed and real.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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? No
5.0
Frozen Hearts and Death Magic by Day Leitao
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
4.5
This book will leave you absolutely flabbergasted in the best way possible.