thebookishmechanic's Reviews (281)

Fire Night

Penelope Douglas

3.5

dark tense medium-paced

Conclave

Penelope Douglas

3.5

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Hideaway

Penelope Douglas

4.0

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Fall of Ruin and Wrath

Jennifer L. Armentrout

4.5

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

Corrupt

Penelope Douglas

4.0

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read this book for the first time back in 2021, I enjoyed it but I was in my fantasy era so I never continued the series. Years later many of the girls from my book club have read them all and I own the entire series. So l decided to pick it up again, boy am I glad I did. My tastes have changed and this book is exactly what I was in the mood for. Dark, tense and moody. Even though I knew what was going to happen next it still kept me hooked the entire time.

When two people are thrown together over and over again, is it a coincidence or someone playing a cruel joke? Erika thinks is a surprising coincidence when she moves into her new apartment in a new town and finds out the boy she always wanted but could never have lives on the next floor. Michael just wants revenge.

Through every twist and turn you're left wondering when will Erika finally decide she's had enough, and better yet when will Michael realize that revenge might not be the only thing he's craving.

This story is spicy but still has enough plot to keep you interested. I'm looking forward to reading the next

Hawke

Jescie Hall

3.5

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Cameron Hawke is an interesting character. He’s has a hard life and when you look at him you see someone who was hardened by those experiences but as you get to know him you meet a man who is hurting and so desperate to be loved. Nic is everyone woman who had ever been in a relationship that looks healthy from the outside but isn’t. She thinks that because her partner is willing to pay her bills while she works on her dream that everything is hunky dory and never having an orgasm is acceptable.

While I don’t particularly enjoy the cheating trope and I certainly don’t condone cheating I did find the book to be enjoyable and emotional. There were multiple occasions where I found myself crying along with the characters or texting my friends who recommended this book to me and asking them “what the fuck”

Blood & Steel

Helen Scheuerer

4.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I found this book to be really predictable. Like I knew what was going to happen long before the characters did. This was supposed to be a romantic fantasy? where is the romance? There was very little chemistry between our leads.

Where did Cal and Kip go when she was fighting for her life? It was super obvious that Ren knew about the magic. It was super obvious that Malik know about her lineage.

I know it sounds like I didn’t like this book but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I throughly enjoyed it, I just wanted more from everything.