shannonreese's reviews
226 reviews

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.25

To be honest, reading this book as an audio book made the experience MUCH better! This was a really good book, I didn't know what to expect from one moment to the next - Emily absolutely infuriated me here and there but I get it....kind of...😅

There is zero spice in the book and I wouldn't necessarily put it in a romantic genre either, it was more of a pure fantasy - it actually stayed pretty close to actual fairy lore based on a few stories I've heard growing up, and some of the stories added within the book were so good! It made me want to read a book that's just short stories of old Fae tales.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I knew going into this book that it was going to tug heartstrings, especially with todays climate in politics, but I don't know that anything could have truly prepared me for Haymitch's story. 

I dont want to spoil anything so ill try to explain this book; I giggled, I cried, I gasped, I raged, and then I cried more, and then absolutely bawled 😭  

The smallest nods in the book to both Hunger Games and to Ballad we like an arrow to the heart and Suzanne was twisting it a little more with every little connection.

Haymitch, I am so sorry for judging you as harshly as I did when I was a teen reading Hunger Games for the first time.

And to Snow...you deserved worse than what you got.

Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Vol. 12 by Ayuko Hatta

emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Vol. 11 by Ayuko Hatta

challenging 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

3.0

Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Vol. 10 by Ayuko Hatta

challenging 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

2.75

Wolf Girl and Black Prince, Vol. 9 by Ayuko Hatta

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

Seriously the burn is so slow I'm about to put them in a microwave if it meant it would speed it up! 😂 Once again I love this series! It's so cute and fun, if you enjoy/say a lot of sassy dad jokes then this is the book series for you! 

It's whimsical with Ella Enchanted vibes, some Princess Bride feels and a couple parts made me feel Howls Moving Castle vibes (if I haven't expressed before I freaking LOVE Howls Moving Castle). There is no smut, just some kisses as it's a slow (sssllllooooowwww) burn but omg I just know it's going to be worth it!! 😄 

It's also a great book to take a break from the world and go somewhere silly 💜 but I warn you, there is a part that made me pretty freaking teary eyed (yes I'm cried when the bronto got left behind on the dock in the last Jurassic world movie, what's your point? 😪)

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I read one chapter of this book each morning and tried to apply it to my life and it really was extremely helpful and motivating! The book was inside full to what can stunt our growth mentally and how to avoid hitting those walls in our brains that stop us from being better at something or just making healthy lifestyle choices.

Highly recommend to anyone and everyone on a journey to grow as a person (and even if your comfortable, it's just a nice tool to keep yourself in check of being on the track you want to be on.) 

Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost, Volume 1 by Kaori Yuki

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

adventurous funny lighthearted 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

This book gave me Ella Enchanted vibes! There was crazy turns and mystery, some parts had me giggling and kicking my feet (i actually had a good chuckle at some parts!) There is no smut in this book, it's been a very, very, veryyyyy slow burn but the plot is interesting!