tbrthatneverends's reviews
14 reviews

Doctor D'Arco, Sorcerer Of London: A Victorian Gothic Romance by Kathryn Colvin

dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.75

For me, this book dragged. it was interesting for the first 20%-30%, then after that, until about 70% it just seemed to drag on and on; with the stuffy gentlemen, the endless talking, the use of the same 7 adjectives over and over, the nothing happening...

Then we hit the 70% mark, and *minor spoilers*

they kiss, we get Victor's backstory (which is so weird and honestly a bit confusing), they do nothing but fuck for 10% of the book while nothing happens (still)!!! also, at this point this book turns into every other book in this genre, with the *surprised Pikachu face* its soooo big, how will it ever fit?!?!? and he's a secret sex god (shocker).

and then we get the big fight with Gremio we've been nonstop talking about for more than half the book, and it's confusing and then the book ends.

TL;DR: the magic system was interesting, the tension was very high and historical romance-esque (which I enjoyed), but it tells way too much with next to no showing, and it falls completely off the rails at the end. 

Black and Deep Desires by Claire Trella Hill

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

This book was written fantastically, paced well, and the first ~75% was so hard to put down!! i just felt as though the last ~25% and especially the ending was just.. confusing? not quite thought out enough??

the ending was way too confusing for me and not in a good way. too many ideas and concepts and it felt like it was haphazardly thrown together because the author had too many ideas and didn't know how to properly end the story. 

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

The premise of this book is so interesting!! It has a unique setting (during the Spanish Golden Age), and a unique and simplistic magic system - both of which I loved. 

I also loved the complexity of the characters. None are simply good or evil, they're all a mix of both. It's very realistic and I enjoyed that very much. As well as the writing style - it reminded me of an old/original fairy tale, and I don't see many authors writing that way now. 

I had two main issues with this book, though: 

1. The pacing in the beginning was kind of really slow. Like up until almost the torneo, it was pretty slow. 

2. this is kind of more of a personal issue, but some of the Spanish words i had issues finding translations for which had me a bit confused on some words. if I had been reading a paperback instead of on my kindle, I probably would've DNF'd. 

Shadows so Cruel by Liv Zander

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Is this book dark and problematic? yes. 

did I love it? also yes. 

These things are not mutually exclusive. 

the ending crushed me. I sobbed. It makes sense even though it makes me sad. I love it so much. 

Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

While I predicted half of the big twist at the end, i still loved this book so much. the characters are so complex and the magic is so interesting.

It is also extremely dark so please check TW's before reading!!

Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This book is dark. especially in the beginning and at the end. however, something about it was just so fun that I read it all in one sitting!! the FMC was witty, girly, and authentically herself without being bratty or a Mary Sue. And the MMC

both of them

was fun! and hot!! 

There were some obvious issues but I just had too much fun to care. 

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I think my least favorite part about these books is the formula. shit happens at the beginning, 90% of the middle is filler, and then shit happens at the end. overall shit only really happens for 20% of the entire 700 page book. for all the non math nerds, that's less than 150 pages where shit actually happens. 

I'm tired of the mates thing, it's super overused. I'm tired of the "what is the highest of all the high stakes you've ever read and how can I make it higher than that?" honestly I'm just tired of these books lol. 

It was just okay. Better than the first, worse than the second. The MCs are together now so all the tension (aside from the upcoming war nobody will let you forget about for even a second). 

In my opinion, there's no need for more books in this series!! the ending here was good enough for me. also i just don't care about the characters enough to read more lol

TL;DR:
I don't have much to say. same general formula as the previous ones (aka so much middle filler). if you didn't like the first two, you won't like this one. book 2 is the best of the series imo. Will not be continuing.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I'm convinced this is the best book of the series. And I don't even need to read the others to know that. 

There is a bit of a slowburn in this book! Rhys x Feyre >>> Tamlin x Feyre 

The found family aspect and the reveal that Rhys is really just a big sweetie in disguise (this happens fairly early on) were some of the best bits of the book. and the slowburn was fun too! the best scene of this entire book was definitely the court of nightmares bit. also probably the best thing I'll read in this entire series lol

However: 
-writing was just as bad as before (new repetition of "vulgar gesture" and if I see it again in another book I might cry) 
- the

fated mates

part imo took away from the story. It was fun when I thought it was a

conscious decision, not "fate". Also if the repetion of the word mate is worse in the next one I might just DNF

 
-somehow the complicated bits got more complicated. and we added more even more complicated bits. everything is just so complicated. 
-while it wasn't exactly a 180 it was definitely a 90 degree turn in the wrong direction for Tamlin's character. By the end of this book I truly felt as though 80% of the first book was entirely pointless and the whole thing could've (should've) just been one book of the same length as this one. I hate how he just got shit on to make Rhys look better. 

TL;DR: 
this book better than the last, but not by much! still very much the ultimate teenage fantasy (just not done well imo!!) also the first book was basically useless!!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous medium-paced

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

2.75

People who read this book (and the rest of the series) seem to either absolutely love it, or absolutely hate it. However, I am firmly in the middle of the road.

I liked some of the characters (Lucien and Alis), but found a few of them (*cough* Feyre *cough*) to be boring tbh. I thought the big twist was interesting, although not original at all and I guessed it before it was revealed. I liked how it kept me captivated enough to finish in one sitting.

The writing style was... interesting. A bit too much repetition for me (her mouth went dry like 1000 times) and also the use of some... creative phrases (my bowels turned watery 🤢). But otherwise it was okay. 

The worldbuilding was probably the best part of the book. although honestly it sort of felt like a child came up with it (like when you were little and pretending to have magic and you wanna be the most powerful of your friends so you go "I can control water!! but also fire, wind, animals... everything!!" it was kinda like that, but more new adult.) just because there are SO many elements and powers and courts and aspects to everything. 

But I hated Feyre's horrendously obvious plot armor. I hated how easy it is for her to do things that (according to other faerie characters) should be impossible. I hated the sheer absurdity of some things

like the ending? I really hate the resurrection trope ngl

The character development is also just plain bad. 

TL;DR: 
This is not a well written book. In fact, there are probably more bad elements than good. However, it tapped into my inner child; that piece of me that wanted to be the most powerful, badass, beautiful being. And that was enough to keep me reading!