squishies's reviews
2146 reviews

Cursed by Benedict Jacka

adventurous fast-paced

4.0

I love Arachne - she's so knowing and cool.

Also, Sonder is kinda bad ass.

 

It was so obvious that she would be in danger after finding out that the barghest was drained of magic.

Definitely totally obvious that it would be because of Luna desperate to rid herself of the curse.  Same that Martin was Bad News.

But I did not expect a dragon. A bit deux ex machina, though still kinda cool?

I'm glad Alex has worked out the whole mentorship vs romance thing with Luna.

Fated by Benedict Jacka

adventurous fast-paced

4.0

Really enjoyed this urban fantasy world - interesting magic mechanic and Luna's curse is terribly fascinating.

Not sure about Alex and Luna being love interests, but guess we'll see how it develops.

Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher

adventurous emotional hopeful

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I love this retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  Mixing gardening in really appealed to me, but I think it's  more because I'm starting to get into plants *looks at all the plants in my study*.

The growing affection between Bryony and Beast is so cute.

Engagement and Espionage by Penny Reid

medium-paced

2.75

Wow, Jenn's dad was such an asshat.  I'm so glad he and the psycho sisters were brought down.   

Jenn's mum is not super great either, but she's trying.  Kind of.

Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

adventurous fast-paced

3.0

I wasn't paying attention and thought this was a sequel to Legends and Lattes.  Mildly confused for the first chapter (then a bit bummed), but settled down for Viv's backstory by the third chapter.

Pretty cosy story, but not sure what to make of the (maybe?) multiple love interests.  Maybe I'm reading too much into things.

I. Love. Satchel.  Totally would read of their adventures.

The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison

mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I love reading about Celehar's work - the mini mysteries, sometimes murder, a lot of detective work.  As expected, some were pretty sad.

Osmin Temin so completely awful. I'm glad she got her just desserts, though bummed it was at the cost of Celehar's gift. Oof I wonder if they will get it back...

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

Man, I did not think it would turn out to be incestuous body snatcher in cahoots with a sentient fungus. What the actual fuck.

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

adventurous fast-paced

4.0

City of Bones by Martha Wells

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Wells' world building is always so rich and fascinating; I was constantly speculating about the past and what could have happened.

I felt like I should have known that Riathen would be corrupted by knowledge and power, but  was a bit surprised (and disappointed too, poor Elen). And that Constans, while mad, wasn't the real antagonist of the story.

So my theory of post-apocalyptic radiation fallout wasn't it - it really was something more fantastical!  Also they were terrifying.

The Spare Room by Laura Starkey

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Cosy and sweet trashy romantic novel. Though it did feel as though Starkey had done their research on Reddit regarding James and Michael's behaviour as they felt like posts I've read before haha