thechaoticreader_'s Reviews (228)

The Sinner

Shantel Tessier

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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: Yes

I was excited to continue the rest of this series after book one, but after this - i’m going to need a little break before starting the sacrifice 🥲 it took about 200 pages of smut before it started picking up on the plot. don’t get me wrong, i love me a good smutty book but when theres 600 pages you be surprise of whats considered too much 😅 the sinner was definitely darker then the ritual so make sure to heed trigger warnings before diving in. there were lots of plot twists and the story kept taking a turn; i felt like sin & ellie was never going to get a break! ellie’s story was truly a sad one.. my heart ached for her while reading. once the book picked up for me, i was deeply invest & wanted more after every chapter. there were some questionable things that Sin did with/to ellie but it seems like this is the pattern of how the Lords are in this series.. safe to say though, ryat is still my favorite! i was also very intrigued with the spade brothers so i can’t wait for carnage’s release.

Content Warnings

Forbidden Hearts

Corinne Michaels

3.5

adventurous challenging emotional funny 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: No

I was looking for a nanny/boss trope & stumbled upon this on booktok! Not bad but also not my favorite. The banter between the fmc & mmc was funny. I was enjoying it up until

she found out she was pregnant with another a**hole (not intentional)

. It sort of threw me off along with the plot twist 🥲 other then that it was a fun read & the ending was cute.

Content Warnings

The Ritual

Shantel Tessier

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: Yes

At first I thought I was going to be overwhelmed with how much smut there was and little to no plot but I knew with 600 pages, there had to be more; I just had to be patient! The plot got reallly interesting and when it finally picked up on it, the smut added to it made it very enjoyable. I wanted to hate Ryat with how harsh he was & it was all just a game to him but as the story went on, his character development was beautiful. While the fmc was great, at times I found her a bit annoying. I felt she was very naive / oblivious, like girl the puzzle pieces are in front of you - put two & two together! But I do feel like Ryat & Blake were made for each other. He loved her & accepted her for who she was as she did for him too. The epilogue was 🥹. Matt & Valerie can go to h*ll where they belong &

I’m surprise there was no growing relationship with her biological mother (I guess she disliked her that much)

. Other then that, the read was very addicting and I couldn’t put it down! Although I heard the second standalone in this series gets even more smuttier, I hope the plot will balance it out like book one! I cant wait to finish the rest of the series.

Content Warnings

Broken Beauty

Ketley Allison

3.25

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

while i fairly enjoyed cruel promises & read it because the worlds were connected, i had a harder time pushing through broken beauty. about 70% into the book was when the plot picked up and got better but i am torn between whether I should pick up book 3 or not. i felt the story jumping everywhere given that there were five pov’s. i found aryden annoying in cruel promises & did love clover, but for some reason in broken beauty; clover was actually more annoying then aryden - her character development did get better though. i felt the book had a lot of potential, it just didn’t live up to it fully in my opinion. book 3 isnt released until october, so hopefully if i do pick it up, it gets better!

Content Warnings

A Thousand Boy Kisses

Tillie Cole

3.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

Cruel Promise

Ketley Allison

3.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

3.5 stars (rounded up for review)! I was actually going to to read broken beauty first but saw that it intersects with the world of Cruel Promise leading me to read this one first. It was a little confusing in the beginning but once I started understanding the plot, it got better. Aryden was just a tad annoying (shes one of those fmc’s thats irritates you with her actions 😅) but i loved temptest & clover! i do have a lot of questions.. and i hope in broken beauty, some of it is answered. it lacked some information that i felt was necessary to the story but nonetheless it was an intriguing read. It is more on the darker side of dark romance so make sure to read trigger warnings before diving in. the setting was my favorite (gothic/dark acadamia) & while it does have mafia ties, it leans more towards the secret society side. I’m excited to read broken beauty next!

Content Warnings

The Blood We Crave: Part One

Monty Jay

4.5

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

i was definitely looking forward to reading lyra’s story as she was my favorite supporting character & safe to say i was not disappointed.

it was pretty cool to see how the stalker trope was twisted to the FMC being the stalker instead of the usual MMC!

book #2 picked up the pace so that book #3 can halt to a break. the slow burn was building up so much tension that i desperately needed the satisfaction and spent the entire day reading & finishing it. am i mad how the book ended? yes. am i rushing to read part two? definitely yes. the hollow boys have definitely became one of my favorites this year. i thought i was addicted to alistair… until i read thatcher’s story & hes now my favorite out of the four (unless silas takes the crown). to be fair each couple has a place in my heart & all were well written perfectly for each other. the plot is seriously what keeps me going in this series because after each book, i just want- no, need to know more! i am deeply invested in this series 🥲

The Blood We Crave: Part Two

Monty Jay

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

book 3 left me running to book 4 annnd again, i was NOT disappointed!! this series had me deeply invested, not only for the relationship buildings but the plot was so good. thatcher & lyra is definitely my top favorite couple out of the hollow boys series. thatcher & lyra was made for each other. already loving lyra as a supporting character, her story as a main character was just beautiful to read. so much angst packed throughout the book but they all deserve that happily ever after.

although there was some things i found sort of lacking was, information - such as what the heck happened after lyra’s little stunt jumping into the waters in book 3??? how did her friends react to her & thatcher being together given they knew her obsession with him?? or thatcher coming clean to the boys? what part does easton play into the sex trafficking, or is he just a pawn delivering threat notes?

nonetheless i devoured this entire series within a week & i cannot wait for silas & caroline’s story in october! definitely one of my favorite reads this year!

Content Warnings

The Truths We Burn

Monty Jay

4.75

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

each of the hollow boys book can be read as a standalone but i feel like it should be read in order because the plot is what i live for in this series. i loved the first book but the second book was sooo much better! the lies we steal was a slow burn, but the truths we burn picked up the pace. straight into action; monty gave us a background of rook & sage before picking up off where the lies we steal ended. i honestly wished we got to see the twins & their happily ever after with the hollow boys together but without the murder of rosemary - there would be no plot 🥲 rook & sage’s story left me in a wreck & i cannot imagine what sila’s story will do to me. i absolutely adore these unhinged & ruthless hollow boys. their loyalty is unmatched & when they love, they love hard. i hated sage in the beginning, but her character development made me love her so much at the end. her background story to her unmasking to be her true self *chef’s kiss.* i cannot wait to dive into thatcher & my favorite supporting character: lyra’s story!!

Content Warnings

When the Night Falls

Moonlightt

4.0

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