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spellbinding_steph's Reviews (65)
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wtf did I just read? And I mean that in the best way possible. Novellas are great for in between your long reads and this was no exception.
I loved how nonchalant Vera is about the Goddess and her little comments.
Nikolai being both intimidating and a squishy cinnamon roll is a nice contrast to MMCs being one or the other.
Like the blurb says, this book is completely unhinged but in the best way possible!
Thank you Kristen for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait for the rest of the story to unfold!
I loved how nonchalant Vera is about the Goddess and her little comments.
Nikolai being both intimidating and a squishy cinnamon roll is a nice contrast to MMCs being one or the other.
Like the blurb says, this book is completely unhinged but in the best way possible!
Thank you Kristen for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can't wait for the rest of the story to unfold!
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book made me angry. It is a stark reminder of how religion and men have viewed, controlled, and abused women for centuries. But more than just that negative reminder, we are more strongly presented with how women rise above and take back their power. CJ Cook brings Helena’s story back to life in a way that honors the truth behind it while also expanding on it in her own way. I definitely found myself down a rabbit hole revolving around the history that inspired this book.
Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think I like Junior and Lauren more than Josh and Ally. Josh and Ally were the fun, weirdos. Junior and Lauren are more serious.
I’ve seen reviews but I went into this with no expectations so I think that made me enjoy it more than others.
It definitely felt more smut than plot even when you take into account Lauren’s job, it was a bit excessive.
I think a little more lead in might’ve been nice because it felt kind of being thrown in the middle of something but it was still a good listen/read.
I do love a protective MMC who understand they can’t control or change the FMC.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
No
This was such a sweet read! We watch two characters at their worst points grow for the other which leads to growth for themselves. The characters were realistically flawed in ways, I think, a lot of books shy away from, they felt like real people.
We get themes of grief, fear, sacrifice, self-love, and so much more!
It gave heavy Gilmore Girl vibes which I am a sucker for! It was a perfect soft read when you just need something light.
Received from NetGalley for an honest review.
We get themes of grief, fear, sacrifice, self-love, and so much more!
It gave heavy Gilmore Girl vibes which I am a sucker for! It was a perfect soft read when you just need something light.
Received from NetGalley for an honest review.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really good read. I enjoyed the story. I enjoyed the history that came with it. It was paced a little slow at some points and occasionally felt like it jumped from one point to another without warning so it caused some road bumps when reading but the story was still something to enjoy. I had some struggles with the accented dialogue but that’s a me problem more than a story problem. While I’m not a sensitive reader I do think it needed a trigger warning for attempted SA for others who can be affected by that.
Book received from BookSirens in exchange for honest review.
Book received from BookSirens in exchange for honest review.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
Complicated
I am in love with this book. The writing, the story, the emotion. Everything about this was perfectly what I needed when I read it. Did I call certain things early on, yes. Did that make me enjoy it less, not in the slightest. I wish we got more of the after but also I think the way it was left a little open ended allows readers to imagine their own after to the story. It was just a beautiful read all around.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
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adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Trilogy as a whole, solid 3.5 stars. Probably an unpopular opinion but I don’t think I liked Katniss in any of the books save her rare moments of acting the the heroine she was supposed to be. Most of the time she was insufferably childish. I get that she’s a teenager through out the books but if she’s meant to be the main heroine give her heroine qualities. Hated Gale, he was an asshole. Peeta was a wishy washy but mostly I did like his character. I wish we had gotten more of him coming back because it felt sudden. I expected this to be my favorite but I think Book 1 actually was. I watched the movies, I knew what was going to happen. Still hated some of the deaths, actually the books made them worse.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book reminded me why I hate reading unfinished series. It was a good read overall. I’m not sure what it was but it did feel like it was missing something, I just don’t know what. I think it could’ve captured more of the other victors’ personalities. I didn’t feel like we got to know them enough to care about them. I would’ve been distraught if I read this when it originally released and had to wait until book 3 came out with the end cliffhanger.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
DNF at 12% (50ish pages). The story sounds like an interesting concept but the book could’ve used another round of editing and/or proofreading which made it hard to focus on the story when my eye would catch something off. The errors weren’t substantial per say they were just frequent enough that they were hard to overlook.
I do want to give the author some grace though because she is young and it looks like she started working on this book at 18/19. I do think her writing has potential to grow as she does. Not to say younger people can’t write well, but you can often see someone’s age and experience in their writings.