thebookishmechanic's reviews
275 reviews

Blood & Steel by Helen Scheuerer

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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. 

Sinner by Sierra Simone

emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Midnight Ruin by Katee Robert

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The Sinner by Shantel Tessier

dark emotional tense slow-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? It's complicated

4.0

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Priest by Sierra Simone

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is a story of forbidden romance . Meet Tyler Bell, a 29 year old priest of 3 years. Tyler lost is sister after abuse from within the church and he was called to make changes from within. Tyler has devoted himself to helping repair his church both physically and mentally after the members were betrayed by their last priest and left reeling. 

Meet Poppy Danforth, Poppy is a wealthy heiress turned stripper. Poppy looked around one day and saw everything she was supposed to be and she hated it. So she ran. In the strip club Poppy found her footing and her love for herself that is until her ex showed up to ruin everything. Next thing she knows Poppy finds herself running again, right into the church confessional and subsequently the arms of Tyler Bell. 

Tyler and Poppy grapple with their love for each other, and the potential for Tyler’s entire life to come crashing down around them. Would that really be so bad? 

This book is spicy SPICY, enjoyable, relatable and extremely difficult to put down. There was never a time where I found myself wishing things would hurry up or I considered leaving the book for something else. Less than half way through the book I began hitting to my husband that buying me the next books would be a good gift. 

Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli

adventurous hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

3.5

I've been a slump lately and yet when I pick up this book, it is still impossible to put down. 

In a world full of magic Zarya has little, but she is reminded everyday that no one can know by her only companions. Row may not be Zarya's father but he's the closest thing to one, even if he's the only thing between her and freedom. 

"Dharati wasn't just a city -it was cacophony: layer upon layer of color, people, carts, and animals roving through the crowded streets...This was it. The life she'd been chasing. The chance to experience something more." 

This isn't just a description in the book it is a description for the book. Nisha's world building is so strong that you spend every moment reading right there beside Zarya. 

I had to google many things throughout this read, I will admit that can be somewhat distracting, however it allowed me to learn a little about Indian culture in a way that made me want to keep learning. 

The slow burn kept me on my toes the entire time, desperately waiting for more but not wanting to rush things, but more than the romantic aspects of this story is the developing friendships. Watching two strangers who didn't really like each other turn into friends is just such a pleasant experience.

Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli

adventurous hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book grabbed me from the very first line, and never let me go. No really Nisha outdid herself with that line. 

Lor is a prisoner, filled with rage, and thoughts of revenge that often get her thrown into solitary confinement. Every day is a fight just to survive, that is until her world gets turned upside down and she is thrust into a deadly competition. Everyone has been training their entire lives for this, except Lor, the only human amongst fae. 

lam not joking when I tell you that I loved this book from the moment I picked it up. I had to force myself to put it down so I could follow through with my responsibilities. Lor was such a relatable main character, she had experiences, she had feelings, and she had strong will and an attitude to back it up. 

Everyone of Lor's relationships leave you hungry for more, wanting to know what is going to happen next. 

The magic system in this book is unquestionably unique, and I am excited to learn more about the fae kingdoms and how they came to be so separated. 

This book was such an easy and enjoyable read for me, and the only thing that left me disappointed was the fact that I finished it. I'm ready for the next book. If you loved A Court of Thorns and Roses, if you read The Hunger Games as obsessively as I did as a teenager you will devour this book as quickly as I did. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Nisha J Tuli, and the publisher for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? Yes

5.0

Purely based on Vibes I think this book is a 5 star read for me, but when you ignore the Vibes I would probably subtract a .5 

If you know me you know I didn't pick up Fourth Wing in the beginning, even with the pretty pages, and the hype because "I don't really care about dragons" boy was I wrong. It turns out I love dragons, and I missed out on a beautiful book - I'm still on the hunt for one. 

Iron flame was a lot, I throughly enjoyed it. I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time. 

Constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. I felt there there was a lot of predictability, but I am the kind of person who usually predicts books. It was great to dive a little deeper into the lives of Violets friends but we still don't know enough about them to be genuinely and completely attached to them. We lost a lot Xadens edge, he was too soft for me in this book when it came to his love for Violet, what happened to my morally grey shadow daddy? Violence however took some great cues from book one Xaden and there was a lot character development there that was necessary. We love a smart FMC but strong in her own way is good too. The ending of the book was ... disappointing. It was the obvious move. All that being said I am already ready for book 3. 

Now, I don't detract from stars for book condition or delivery, however, I feel that Red Tower should be embarrassed. The condition the dust jackets, edges, maps, spines, and so much more is disappointing. A major release was rushed and for what purpose, when you have a fan base of this size you know they will wait longer to get their hands on the quality print they wanted. The holiday SE was an added weight on an already rushed and over sold book. I genuinely feel that had Red Tower pushed back the holiday edition of Fourth Wing by even a month the pressure would have been less and the condition of books would have been improved.