thevalkyriereader's reviews
1597 reviews

Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Treasure Ship: The Legend And Legacy of the S.S. Brother Jonathan by Dennis M. Powers, Dennis M. Powers

adventurous challenging informative tense medium-paced

5.0

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Another Ali Hazelwood read finished! Her style of incorporating romance and STEM makes for a cute, nerdy and awkward story. The character development was excellent, they were actually communicating at the end. Loved the Twilight references! 

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

 Kelly Bishop lived the opposite of her iconic character on Gilmore Girls. A product of the free love generation of the 1960s, she enjoyed a stage actress' lifestyle, never settling down. Her sharp jokes and unapologetic style made this read go quick with its laugh out loud moments. 

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

 This gave me echoes of The Night Circus but with spice. The games were an intriguing concept. Blackwell/Salem was suspicious from the beginning. So, his reveal at the end wasn't a surprise. I did not enjoy the end though. Ophelia just accepts her potential death and gives him the key? No. I wanted to more.
I recommend it for lovers of NOLA and voodoo! 

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

adventurous slow-paced

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

3.75

3.75 stars

Let me start with saying that I enjoyed this book. This book had more plot and world building than actual character-building development. The dialogue between the two MCs felt forced at times. Given their ages (FMC is 20//MMC is 27) I expected more maturity. The scenery and descriptions is what drew me in. Most fantasy novel I have read draw heavily from European, Russian or Middle Eastern mythology. This story, in my mind, drew inspiration from southern Asia and the south pacific. At times throughout the book, I also got Grishaverse vibes from our two MCs. 
Overall, I will continue the series to see how it continues. 

The Midnight Arrow by Zoey Draven

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

Rating: 3.5

An adorable novella set in Zoey Draven's Kylorr world. As always, the author creates an intricate story of heartache and growth. The story was too short for me; I would have liked to have read about Marion's first venture to The Below with Larik. 

The Library: A Fragile History by Arthur der Weduwen, Andrew Pettegree

informative sad slow-paced

3.75

3.75 stars

The history of the library was a fascinating story of what started out as a collection of papyrus scrolls, to painted manuscripts, to what we know now as the modern library. We take for granted the access we have to physical copies of books with little to no restriction. The only downside to this audio was the accent of the narrator caused me to reduce the speed at which I normally listen to audiobooks to understand what was being said.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.5

Rating: 3.5

I loved Hazelwood's Love Hypothesis and Bride books. This was no exception. This STEM book was fun, light-hearted and has fun banter between the quirky FMC and the broody MMC. 

Quote: The villain is love: an unstable isotype, constantly undergoing spontaneous nuclear decay.

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Maybe spoilers?
I enjoyed the information overload in this book. The author answered many of my questions from Iron Flame. There were some new characters tossed in there, but I rolled with it. A character death that I didn't see as meaningful to progressing the story, just shock factor. Sometimes the pacing felt off, but the plot combined with how RY ended it left even more questions on the history of the continent and set up a plethora of theories for book four. Many of the easter eggs from the previous two book finally clicked. Of course there was the cliff hanger. Like her previous two books, this one was just as shocking. Xaden pulled a New Moon Edward Cullen (if you know, you know). Something I want more of is Violet's family. Not Mira and Brennan. I want Lilith, Asher and her grandmother. With only two books left, how much was kept from Violet? Brennan is nearly a decade older; how much does he know from Violet's childhood that he has kept. Is he really so ignorant? I'm (im)patiently waiting for news on the publication of book four. 

Favorite quote: Gods help her, my love, I'm afraid our daughter has atrocious taste in men. - Lilith Sorrengail. 


1/23/25: Will review later. Still processing.