squids_can_read's reviews
697 reviews

Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

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dark tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

It is hard to write a plot summary of this book. There really wasn't a super coherent plot that couldn't have been solved in at least 100 pages. So, I'll just move on to the review. 

First for the writing style. It was okay, but nothing super special. It was very philosophizing for a cast of characters that really didn't change throughout the whole book. It was really just okay. 

The world building on this really didn't make any sort of sense. First of all I believe that this takes place after WW1 but the war remains unnamed throughout the book. Just looking at the time period I think that its WW1. None of the background of the war was described except for the fact that magic was corrupting people and that's who they were fighting. Maybe. It wasn't super clear. Then there is something called faux magic and there was real magic but the difference between the two was never described. Additionally, many of the characters used blood magic in this book but apparently there are different types of magic but none of those were ever described. Literally, the magic system made no sense. Another thing that didn't make any sense was that I'm pretty sure that the book takes place in Britain where there was never a prohibition. So that really didn't make any sense. Honestly, none of this book made much sense. 

Onto the characters. I won't say much about them because I really didn't like these characters at all. None of them changed throughout the whole book and all of them were melodramatic. Also my favorite character died(which is kind of a spoiler but I won't tell you who it was). The villain of this whole book was extremely justified in feeling the way that he did. It felt so insincere that he was painted as the villain when all of the other characters were so much worse than he was. 

I was really not impressed with this book what so ever. I think that I would definitely give this one a pass.      
Overload Flux by Carol Van Natta

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adventurous emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Mairwen is a night shift security guard. It's a job that she has specifically chosen in order to keep a low profile. No one needs to know about her past, not when she's still running from it. But when the reconstruction specialist Luka needs a guard to investigate a break in, Mairwen's carefully planned life begins to fall apart. Luka has trauma of his own making it difficult to figure out exactly what is happening especially without all of the pieces. When a double murder throws Mairwen and Luka together they have to work fast in order to solve this mystery and maybe fall in love along the way. 

The writing of this book was okay. It wasn't anything too spectacular and was really very simple. It was dual point of view with some additional points of view here and there. This did make knowing who was speaking a little bit difficult especially when the change in point of view wasn't identified to the reader. Other than that the writing style was okay but simple. 

The world building is where I think this book really starts to fall apart. The only people that are in this universe are humans. Despite all of the exploration that has happened humans are still the only intelligent life they have found. That just seems a bit of a weird choice. Additionally there is a CPS in this book but they are almost an evil type of entity which is think might have been an unintentional critique of Child Protective Services. There were also things called hybrid planets that I didn't really understand how they worked. It was just kind of lazy world building especially because there were lots of names of companies that were thrown around without a lot of connection between them and the rest of the world. 

Finally, I'll talk about the characters. The main two characters of this book are Luka and Mairwen. Luka was actually a really good main character. He seemed like an extremely in depth character with really interesting motivations. Mairwen actually was my least favorite character in the book. She did change and her growth was really interesting and I really liked it. However, Mairwen kept comparing her body to others and the way that she talked about being attracted to Luka was just really weird. It just made me uncomfortable every time that I read her point of view. 

This is book is the first of a series but the first book left off on a satisfying ending to me. I have no real interest in reading the rest of the series although I would be interesting in seeing what the plot is. Overall, it was alright but nothing special.  
The Lantern's Ember by Colleen Houck

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Ember is a witch. She has always known that some one has been watching over her but she has always felt safe. Jack has made sure to watch over Ember making sure that she is kept safe from capture. But know Ember is feeling a longing to go to the Otherworld, a place that is not safe for any witch especially one as powerful as her. Now Ember is traveling the Otherworld dodging people who wish her harm and Jack is racing to find her. 

I really didn't like the characters in this book. Ember is meant to be a super strong and independent character but she clings on to men a lot in this book. She also really doesn't question almost anything and takes people at their word. She is this super powerful witch that has no idea how to use her own powers and just follows what other people tell her to do. Also she said that she thought of Jack as her caretaker and it eventually formed into something that was romantic which was weird. Jack himself is fine. I actually liked his character because he wants to keep the people he cares about safe. The vampire Dev, who we meet fairly quickly, is weird. He's meant to be this gentleman but he just keeps creeping on Ember even when she says that she doesn't enjoy it. Also it's okay that she likes older men because she was kept in limbo for like 50 years. Whatever, it was just creepy and gave me the ick. 

The plot was fine. It wasn't really all that interesting and nothing super important happened. One thing that did bug me was how quickly the author speed through the ending of the book to get to the parts she wanted to write. 

Honestly, I would give this one a pass. 
The Hidden Kingdom by Tui T. Sutherland

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

This book follows Glory as she tries to understand and help her fellow rainwings.  

There was a much bigger cast of characters in this book rather than the previous book though the story is told from Glory's point of view. I like Glory much better than Tsunami. She's much more level headed and she cares a great deal about those around her. 

The mystery in this book was really interesting especially as it had to do with different species of dragons. I just thought that overall, it was really interesting and well done. 

Again, though, I think it's strange to put romance in a middle grade book about dragons. Especially when this other dragon wants to possibly kill Glory and her friends. So I think that strange is a good way to put it. 

I liked this book much more than the first two in the series. I am excited to see how it continues.
City of Dark Corners by Jon Talton

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This book follows a private detective looking to find a killer after a woman is found dead with his business card in her purse. Now he needs to catch this killer before he ends up dead too. 

I really enjoyed the main character. He was head strong but he cared about the people around him. He wasn't like the typical men of the time. The other characters didn't really have any depth to them. That's honestly kind of it about the characters. 

The plot was super interesting until the very end of the book. The mystery kept dragging on and on and the stakes kept increasing. Until the very end of the book where the story just ended. I'm not sure if the author didn't know how to wrap up the book or if it was intended to just end but I really wasn't impressed. I didn't mind the who of the who done it but the finding out of who did it just wasn't satisfying it. 

I think I would give this one a pass.   
The Lost Heir by Tui T. Sutherland

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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

2.25

I am not the target audience for this book.

This book follows Tsunami and her journey in finding her family. None of the other dragons are really in this book and we only learn a few important things about the over plot of the series. Overall, this one was a disappointment. 

Tsunami is the only dragon of note that is really in this book. The other fours dragons are only in it for like 50 pages(exaggeration). Tsunami is extremely head strong and doesn't let any one tell her what to do. Even if it's to keep her safe. And now she knows she's a princess. She was just super annoying in this book because the whole time she only seemed to care about impressing her new family instead of caring about the family that is somewhere in a cave. It was just a struggle to be in her head. 

Putting romance into a middle grade book about dragons is an interesting move to make and this author made it. I didn't super understand the chemistry especially because they really didn't know anything about each other. But at least he seemed like a decent dragon except for the lying. It's not the worse love interest in this series, let me tell you that. 

The overall plot of this book was fine. There was a decent mystery to it that Tsunami was trying to solve(by herself). I thought that the ending was really interesting. Mostly this book was just boring because I knew that we wouldn't really be seeing any of these characters again so I didn't really care about what happened to them. It also sucked that Tsunami really didn't change as a character. 

I think that this book is great for younger readers but I think that as you get older the books lose some of their charm. When I was younger I really enjoyed them but rereading/reading them for the first time now I'm not enjoying them as much. 
A God in the Shed by J-F. Dubeau

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challenging dark 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

This book is about a town with a sinister secret. People have been going missing for years, their bodies never to be found. Until the small police department does a welfare check that unearths a mass grave yard and a weird monument. Now something is lose, something terrible. 

The characters were really interesting in this book. Especially because the main character is only about 15 years old which was really young for the material of the book. It's hard to describe all of the characters in this book because there are so many. This book takes place in a small town so there are really a lot of characters. Saying that, I did think that the cast of characters was executed really well. Not every author can pull of writing this many characters but this author pulled it off. 

The plot was a little more iffy but I thought that it ended very well. It was really interesting to see the way that the author talked about gods and how they were created. The magic system was also really well worked out. Honestly it was really really interesting especially toward the end of the book. 

I am really hoping that this is a finished series because I really want to keep reading. If the next one ends on a cliff hanger I'm gonna be so sad. Anyway, if you are looking for a dark fantasy this will scratch that itch. 
A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

This book is about a motley cast of characters from all different walks of life and how their lives meet during a war. All of the characters do eventually meet each other.

Wow did this feel like the first book in a series. The different points of view, the complex world building, the intense background for the first like hundred pages of the book. That doesn't mean that the book was bad but it definitely reads like a first book.  

Overall, I really liked the characters. Both of the female characters were super strong and even when they were with men they remained strong. One of the characters has magic in the form of visions which was really interesting. However, she does sometimes have seizures where she poops herself. Something that author makes sure to point out every time. Another of the characters is a business woman who is known to be ruthless. I really liked her story and how she survived through the riot. I really liked the prince character because he disguised himself as someone who didn't care about anything but he really cares about a lot. I think that he was my favorite character in the whole thing especially after he saw the results of the riot. The final character is the son of a lord who wants to become a lord himself. He is fighting a war for the northern territory. He's pretty childish and I have a sneaking suspicion that he might not like women as much as he says he does. There isn't a whole lot more to say about him. 

The plot of this book was pretty confusing. There was no map so I didn't know where all the people were located. There is a war being fought for the northern territory. It's kind of a one sided fight that wasn't super interesting to read about. As is most of war, most of this part of the book was talking about strategy rather than fighting. The other part of the book was about this riot that occurs because of treatment of workers. This part I thought was super interesting because it dived really deep into motivations behind riots and business. The last part of the book was pretty boring but all of the characters got together and new relationships were explored so it was interesting. 

The world building was really lacking. Not only was I confused about where everyone was located but the actual rules of the world were confusing. There is magic in the world but I din't understand how it works. One of the characters did see visions which I could understand how they worked. But there were other magic users that didn't use magic in this book so I didn't understand how it worked at all. I mean one magic user said that he leveled part of the city but didn't say how in any sort of way. Additionally it seemed like there was another war going on that the author didn't really explore. It was really confusing overall and I hope that it gets better in the next book. 

SPOILER



This book would have gotten four stars from me but there is incest. Two of the characters were super in love and going to get married but they are half siblings. They didn't know before they got together but it was just thrown in there and I was so disappointed. They were so good together. I really hope that they aren't actually related.
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

I think that Edgar Cantero now owns part of my soul and I will read every single book that he writes. 

This book is based loosely on Scooby-Doo but is much darker. The characters are much deeper and it was just such an amazing read.

The characters are amazing. Each character has their own trauma which is intricately explored throughout the book. I never felt like the trauma was cheap. It was super though through and super interesting. The relationships between the characters were also super rich and interesting. Honestly this book felt like a character study where all of the characters were literally amazing. I also really enjoyed the exploration of sexuality as something that can be specific to people rather than something more general.

The plot was amazing. I wasn't sure if this book would take a supernatural turn but I'm so glad that it did. I think that it took the best parts of Scooby-Doo monsters and made it so much deeper and scarier. I couldn't put the book down because of how anxious I was about the characters surviving. The intricacy of the plot was amazing and it didn't come together until the end but even so the pay off was literally amazing. 

I only just read this recently but it already holds a special place in my heart. Please please please read this book because it is literally amazing. Then read the rest of his books because you will not regret it.  
The Queen & The King by Jeanette Rose, Alexis Rune

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Persephone has lost all memory of the strong powerful woman who she was. That doesn't mean that Hades will give up on her though. But with Demeter more powerful than ever and fate may be set on keeping them apart. 

The writing style was pretty much the same throughout the entire series. It's fine but I think for this book it was kind of a let down especially with everything that happened in this book. Especially because there was a scene that I didn't think was taken seriously enough and was really brushed off. It just rubbed me wrong in certain scenes in this book. Another thing I didn't like was that there were parts of the book where the novella was reverenced like the order of reading. It wasn't bad, just weird.  

Hades did grow in this book which I was a little surprised by because he hadn't really grown throughout the series but he did grow in this one. However, Persephone did not really grow in this book. She was really flat, even though she lost her memories. The other characters weren't truly talked about. Overall, most of the characters are flat in this story. 

There were certain plot points within the book that I really didn't understand. They really didn't seem to have an affect within the overall plot of the book. I really didn't like how Persephone got her memories back, it just didn't make sense. Another thing that I didn't like was how Hermes was referenced in the first book then literally never spoken about again. I really enjoyed the fight scenes they were super interesting and I wish they were more of those scenes. However, I didn't super like the ending because it felt like just more of the same thing. Overall, this book seemed the most kind of disjointed. 

The powers definitely made more sense in this book. I will just say that this doesn't feel like a finished series from what I read. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. I'm excited to see what else this authors put out. 

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