shaylatrumpower's reviews
16 reviews

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous emotional funny informative lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of the most delightful books I've ever read. Emily Wilde and Wendell Bambleby are the most adorable characters in completely different ways. I love their dynamic and I usually try not to describe things with tropes but they are a pure grumpy/sunshine friendship if I ever came across one. Their banter had me kicking my legs in glee at times.
I enjoyed the plot. While the journal narrative is too precise to be believable as a genuine journal, I found it to be engaging and a perfect fit for the story and the footnotes are a lot of fun. Fawcett obviously put a lot of research into faerie lore. She includes many well known faerie myths while putting her own spin on them and it works well. She does not stray from the darker side of faerie lore either, which I appreciated.
The villagers, while mostly side characters, were well developed. Poe the brownie
This is my top read of 2024 so far.

Content Warnings

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.75

This is an interesting read. I found the narrative voice to be unique and engaging. However, I would have like more depth and detail. There was a lot of telling rather than showing which usually doesn't work but for the most part suited this particular style.

Constanta was the most well rounded character and we do see her growth through the story. However, Magdalena and Alexi felt less so. I found this to be partially a construct of the narrative. They are vastly younger than Constanta, especially Alexi, and have less time to "grow up" to the extent she does. But it does feel lacking at times.
"You" (Dracula, who is never actually named) is stagnant but purposely so and that carries through the narrative well.
This is in no way a faithful retelling to Stoker's Dracula and in fact there was only one mention of the events of the novel in passing.

One "ick" I had was Constanta's relationship with Alexi. She outrightly states she feels motherly towards him. She spends quite a bit of time explaining how their relationship is not sexual until suddenly it is. It felt clumsily handled and took me out of the story for awhile.

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Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It moved at a steady pace and I finished it rather quickly.

Content Warnings

Immortality by Dana Schwartz

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I was immensely disappointed by this book. I've struggled with Maas for a bit after learning about a lot of her behaviors but wanted to finish out this series as House of Earth and Blood was a catalyst for re-igniting my love for reading. However Mass fully destroyed what made the first installment of this series interesting.

Bryce's character development was completed assassinated. She went from my favorite character to someone I could barely stand. She become vapid, selfish, and completely obsessed with her own specialness. Her treatment of Hunt was appalling.

The "spicy" scenes felt like she only wrote them because that's what she's become known for. They were generic and had no emotional depth.

The climax felt like I was just reading ACOWAR again and I knew that Bryce would "almost die" only to be saved by some deus ex machina.
I will not be reading any further money grabbing installments to this series or really anything else of Maas' at this point.

Content Warnings

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A very atmospheric read which shines in its descriptions. I would consider this book to be on the older end of YA. The romance was sweet and well developed. It wasn't instalove but moved a little quicker than I would have liked. Effie is very much a YA heroine in that we are completely inside her thoughts and they are immature in their reactions and her attitude at times. I liked that Preston was very much a foil to the misogynistic male characters but he didn't feel fake about it.

The story moves at a good pace however the climax is slightly rushed.

I found myself wanting the Faerie King part to be longer. It felt anticlimactic to have it confirmed that Effie wasn't hallucinating and then suddenly he's dead, especially since he's been such a specter her whole life.

Content Warnings