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tobereadbookshelf's Reviews (935)
adventurous
emotional
reflective
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
✩ 4.35 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ Little Mermaid Retelling
➼ Natural Enemies-to-Lovers
➼ From Different Worlds
➼ Prince x Princess
➼ Pirates
➼ Found Family
➼ Siren/Mermaid x Human
➼ Forbidden Love
➼ Kiss or Kill
➼ Secrets & Betrayal
➼ Young Adult Fantasy
➼ Debut Novel
➼ Third Person POV
Can we just have a moment for this cover art?! Seriously, @frostbite.studios killed it! 🙌🏻
As a millennial gal who has watched The Little Mermaid roughly five thousand times, I was one hundred percent the target audience for this book. If you’re here for pirate booty 😉, you’ve come to the wrong place because this was true YA and therefore did not include spice. I really don’t think you’ll miss it though! I wouldn’t have minded a few more lingering looks or touches here and there, but I mostly thought the slow burn build up between them was very well paced.
Among the Sirens, strength is valued and empathy is seen as a weakness and Celeste has always felt her feelings very deeply making her feel like an outsider among her people. They are taught to believe that all humans are evil and should not be allowed to live, but after observing Prince Raiden and his crew, dancing, smiling and generally showing their humanity, she begins to doubt that the humans are as bad as she has been lead to believe. In a moment of doubt, she chooses to save the Prince and his friend, a choice that could lead to her banishment. She is given one chance to fix her mistake and kill the Prince, but the more time they spend together, the harder her task becomes.
Much like in the Disney movie, Celeste does not speak once she is on land. I was very impressed by how much I enjoyed the banter in this book, even though it was mostly one sided from the Prince. The author was able to convey a lot of emotion and meaning through Celeste’s character, even without the use of words.
I am extremely impressed by this debut novel! This was incredibly well written and I’m genuinely excited to read book two. The audiobook was also exceptional! I adore Natalie Naudus! She is easily one of my favorite narrators. This was just an all around great read in my opinion! Little Mermaid lovers, please don’t skip this book!
Thank you to the author, Blackstone Publishing, and Libro.fm for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
What to Expect:
➼ Little Mermaid Retelling
➼ Natural Enemies-to-Lovers
➼ From Different Worlds
➼ Prince x Princess
➼ Pirates
➼ Found Family
➼ Siren/Mermaid x Human
➼ Forbidden Love
➼ Kiss or Kill
➼ Secrets & Betrayal
➼ Young Adult Fantasy
➼ Debut Novel
➼ Third Person POV
Can we just have a moment for this cover art?! Seriously, @frostbite.studios killed it! 🙌🏻
As a millennial gal who has watched The Little Mermaid roughly five thousand times, I was one hundred percent the target audience for this book. If you’re here for pirate booty 😉, you’ve come to the wrong place because this was true YA and therefore did not include spice. I really don’t think you’ll miss it though! I wouldn’t have minded a few more lingering looks or touches here and there, but I mostly thought the slow burn build up between them was very well paced.
Among the Sirens, strength is valued and empathy is seen as a weakness and Celeste has always felt her feelings very deeply making her feel like an outsider among her people. They are taught to believe that all humans are evil and should not be allowed to live, but after observing Prince Raiden and his crew, dancing, smiling and generally showing their humanity, she begins to doubt that the humans are as bad as she has been lead to believe. In a moment of doubt, she chooses to save the Prince and his friend, a choice that could lead to her banishment. She is given one chance to fix her mistake and kill the Prince, but the more time they spend together, the harder her task becomes.
Much like in the Disney movie, Celeste does not speak once she is on land. I was very impressed by how much I enjoyed the banter in this book, even though it was mostly one sided from the Prince. The author was able to convey a lot of emotion and meaning through Celeste’s character, even without the use of words.
I am extremely impressed by this debut novel! This was incredibly well written and I’m genuinely excited to read book two. The audiobook was also exceptional! I adore Natalie Naudus! She is easily one of my favorite narrators. This was just an all around great read in my opinion! Little Mermaid lovers, please don’t skip this book!
Thank you to the author, Blackstone Publishing, and Libro.fm for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
What to Expect:
➼ World Building
➼ Unique Magic System
➼ Slow Burn
➼ Found Family
➼ Funny Gargoyle
➼ Broody MMC
➼ Medieval Setting
➼ Gothic Fantasy
➼ Divination
➼ Cliffhanger
➼ Narrated by Samantha Hydeson
➼ First Person POV
I have somewhat mixed feelings about this one because I had to listen to it twice all the way through to feel like I truly understood the story. The first time I listened, this was a 3 star read for me that I honestly could have DNF’d at any time. The second time around, I felt much more connected to the characters and the story, and could better picture the setting which allowed me to have a much better reading experience.
Now that I don’t feel completely lost, I do think this book had a lot of strengths. The story itself was very unique, the world building was complex and well developed, and the magic system was unlike anything I have ever read. What really stood out to me though, were the characters. I loved both MC’s but the gargoyle was absolutely the star of the show for me. He has a very literal mind and he has lots of hilarious lines throughout the book as he struggles to use and interpret idioms. The broody MMC will also win a lot of hearts. He has several swoon worthy moments that romance readers will absolutely adore.
Despite my initial difficulties with this book, I think this is probably Rachel’s best book yet. Be warned that there’s a cliffhanger ending that will leave you wanting more! Full review on goodreads.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✩ 2.45 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ Political Intrigue
➼ Eight Sacred Animals
➼ Possession
➼ Murder Mystery
➼ Deadly Trials
➼ Competing for the Throne
➼ Romance Subplot
➼ Second Chance Romance
➼ Epic Fantasy
➼ Third Person POV
I’m gonna be honest, I could have DNF’d this at literally any point. It was 656 pages and once I got about halfway through I just couldn’t bring myself to quit even though I really wasn’t having a good time. I think the premise and the world building were strong, but there were a lot of confusing transitions where the focus shifted to minor characters, different timelines, or the backstories of the eight that really bogged down the story for me. These side stories were not only convoluted and hard to follow, but most of them were just plain uninteresting to me. I’m kind of picky about the POV in stories and I really don’t like for there to be too many deviations that slow down the overall progression of the plot.
I knew going in that this was an epic fantasy and not a romantasy, but the romance subplot was so uninteresting to me that I would have preferred for it to have been excluded all together. If these two characters had just been childhood friends, it could have fulfilled the same role in the plot.
There are some found family vibes at the end, but for most of the book I struggled to like or connect with any of the characters and the eight felt pretty demonic to me which made me mistrustful of their role in the story. A person would have to give them (one of the eight) permission to enter them (essentially possession) but at one point they almost convince her to do something that would have resulted in her death, and after that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and expected her to be double crossed by the raven.
There’s a murder mystery and also a competition for the throne but I continually forgot about both of these very prominent threads of the plot because there were such long stretches where they weren’t the focus at all. The author does tie together a lot of details by the end, but I still think this was about 200 pages too long. I have a feeling I’ll probably be an outlier on this one, but I personally wasn’t a fan.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
What to Expect:
➼ Political Intrigue
➼ Eight Sacred Animals
➼ Possession
➼ Murder Mystery
➼ Deadly Trials
➼ Competing for the Throne
➼ Romance Subplot
➼ Second Chance Romance
➼ Epic Fantasy
➼ Third Person POV
I’m gonna be honest, I could have DNF’d this at literally any point. It was 656 pages and once I got about halfway through I just couldn’t bring myself to quit even though I really wasn’t having a good time. I think the premise and the world building were strong, but there were a lot of confusing transitions where the focus shifted to minor characters, different timelines, or the backstories of the eight that really bogged down the story for me. These side stories were not only convoluted and hard to follow, but most of them were just plain uninteresting to me. I’m kind of picky about the POV in stories and I really don’t like for there to be too many deviations that slow down the overall progression of the plot.
I knew going in that this was an epic fantasy and not a romantasy, but the romance subplot was so uninteresting to me that I would have preferred for it to have been excluded all together. If these two characters had just been childhood friends, it could have fulfilled the same role in the plot.
There are some found family vibes at the end, but for most of the book I struggled to like or connect with any of the characters and the eight felt pretty demonic to me which made me mistrustful of their role in the story. A person would have to give them (one of the eight) permission to enter them (essentially possession) but at one point they almost convince her to do something that would have resulted in her death, and after that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and expected her to be double crossed by the raven.
There’s a murder mystery and also a competition for the throne but I continually forgot about both of these very prominent threads of the plot because there were such long stretches where they weren’t the focus at all. The author does tie together a lot of details by the end, but I still think this was about 200 pages too long. I have a feeling I’ll probably be an outlier on this one, but I personally wasn’t a fan.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✩ 3 stars ✩
“Love isn’t something you can cup in your hands, and I have to believe that means it’s something that can’t ever be lost.”
What to Expect:
➼ Grumpy vs. Sunshine
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Rivals-to-Lovers
➼ Opposites Attract
➼ Small Town
➼ Workplace Romance
➼ Slow Burn
➼ Former Celebrity BTS/Tell All
➼ Narrated by Julia Whelan
➼ First Person Single POV
Emily Henry writes beautifully, Julia Whelan is unmatched as a narrator, and I adored Alice and Hayden, so why didn’t I love this book?
I knew going in that this was going to be a little less romance forward than most of her previous books, so I was braced for that and I think I could have still been on board. The main issue was that I was just completely uninterested in Margaret’s story and I didn’t enjoy the reporter style narration of those portions of the book. Unfortunately, this was about 50% of the book and every time the focus shifted back to Margaret, I felt my eyes glazing over. There is a bit of a twist at the end that rejuvenated my interest, but I can’t claim to have fully enjoyed this book.
I think Emily Henry is so popular because her writing is kind of a crossover for those who love romance AND those who prefer contemporary fiction (such as Taylor Jenkins Reid), but in this case I think she pushed the book too far over the line and lost the interest of her romance readers. I’m she sure can win us back with her next book, but I think this one will rank low for most of us romance lovers (even if they rate it high). This is her third 3 star for me though, so I may just not be her biggest fan. 🤷🏼♀️
“Love isn’t something you can cup in your hands, and I have to believe that means it’s something that can’t ever be lost.”
What to Expect:
➼ Grumpy vs. Sunshine
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Rivals-to-Lovers
➼ Opposites Attract
➼ Small Town
➼ Workplace Romance
➼ Slow Burn
➼ Former Celebrity BTS/Tell All
➼ Narrated by Julia Whelan
➼ First Person Single POV
Emily Henry writes beautifully, Julia Whelan is unmatched as a narrator, and I adored Alice and Hayden, so why didn’t I love this book?
I knew going in that this was going to be a little less romance forward than most of her previous books, so I was braced for that and I think I could have still been on board. The main issue was that I was just completely uninterested in Margaret’s story and I didn’t enjoy the reporter style narration of those portions of the book. Unfortunately, this was about 50% of the book and every time the focus shifted back to Margaret, I felt my eyes glazing over. There is a bit of a twist at the end that rejuvenated my interest, but I can’t claim to have fully enjoyed this book.
I think Emily Henry is so popular because her writing is kind of a crossover for those who love romance AND those who prefer contemporary fiction (such as Taylor Jenkins Reid), but in this case I think she pushed the book too far over the line and lost the interest of her romance readers. I’m she sure can win us back with her next book, but I think this one will rank low for most of us romance lovers (even if they rate it high). This is her third 3 star for me though, so I may just not be her biggest fan. 🤷🏼♀️
✩ 3 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ Forced Proximity
➼ Step Sibling Romance
➼ Childhood Trauma
➼ Car Racing
➼ Forbidden Romance
➼ Enemies-to-Lovers
➼ Bad Boy x Good Girl
➼ Dual Narration
➼ Dual First Person POV
First off, let me start by saying that if you’re a romance lover and you haven’t watched My Fault: London on Amazon yet, what are you even doing?! Yes, it’s a step sibling romance, so if you’re really not into that you maybe won’t like it, but the chemistry between those two actors was sizzling! 🔥 The plot is admittedly pretty over the top and cheesy, but I ate it up and I think you will too! 🤤
No one will ever claim that this is high literature, but it was definitely very entertaining and nearly impossible to put down. The plot of the book and the movie are very similar apart from some changes to the locations throughout the book. I found that some details worked better in the London setting while others didn’t make as much sense. His lifestyle made more sense to me in the London setting for example, but her ex being flown in to see her made more sense when she had simply moved across country. I could name others but I think some of them would be spoilers so I’ll just leave it at that...
On the page, the characters didn’t have nearly as much chemistry as they did on screen and their relationship felt much more insta lovey to me as I read than when I watched the movie. I think this would be a big hit with fans of books like Bully or Beautiful Disaster, but if you’re like me and you’re not really a fan of soap opera level drama, you might be less impressed.
If I could change just one thing about this story, it would be to make Noah 18 rather than 17. Sibling romances are already a gray area, but him being 5 years older and her being underage didn’t really sit right with me. I would have felt much more comfy with their relationship if they had both been adults when they met. Gotta say though, him leaving her in the middle of the street was cold in any medium. That would have been hard for me to get past if I was her. I wish she would have made him work a little harder to make it up to her and earn her trust. Dear girls, please do NOT hop into a car or accept drinks from a strange man. We gotta be smarter than this in 2025!
My TBR is crazy long, but I’ll probably read the next book in the series eventually. I’d be willing to bet it will be a dud though. 🙃
✩ 4.5 stars ✩
“It’s weird knowing what’s going to be in your end-of-life montage, as it’s happening. But I already knew when my life flashed before my eyes, the best parts of it were going to be about her.”
What to Expect:
➼ Opposites Attract
➼ Right Person, Wrong Time
➼ Slow Burn
➼ Forced Distance
➼ Family Bonds
➼ Dementia Rep
➼ Mutual Pining
➼ Veterinarian x Social Media Manager
➼ Duet Narration
➼ Dual First Person POV
Abby does it again! I absolutely adored this book! I’ve seen a not of negativity about the pop culture references that were used, but I thought the delivery of them was so genuinely funny that I didn’t mind them one bit. It probably helps that Rhysand is my top book boyfriend so I was maybe the target audience for that comparison, but the main thing I remember thinking as I read was “Abby gets it.” 🤌🏻😋
This book had so much heart and depth. It was kind of insta lovey, but it still felt very genuine. I’ve met people in my life that I’ve immediately clicked with. People who were like the ying to my yang that I formed an instant connection with. This felt like that. Their struggles felt so realistic to me and I’m sure they will resonate with anyone who has ever endured a long distance relationship.
I also think this will hit home for readers who’ve lost someone to dementia. This was such a beautiful and heartbreaking representation of what a family goes through while caring for a loved one with this disease. I loved this quote in reference to her mom. “She couldn’t make more memories with me. But I could still make memories with her. I would be a witness to her life, even though she was done witnessing mine” 💔
Abby is truly a phenomenal writer. I feel like each of her books have left me a little softer and more empathetic to the world and the people around me, and isn’t that such a beautiful thing? I’m not sure I would say this is my favorite book by this author, but there’s really not much I would change! Such a great read! ✨☺️
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
“It’s weird knowing what’s going to be in your end-of-life montage, as it’s happening. But I already knew when my life flashed before my eyes, the best parts of it were going to be about her.”
What to Expect:
➼ Opposites Attract
➼ Right Person, Wrong Time
➼ Slow Burn
➼ Forced Distance
➼ Family Bonds
➼ Dementia Rep
➼ Mutual Pining
➼ Veterinarian x Social Media Manager
➼ Duet Narration
➼ Dual First Person POV
Abby does it again! I absolutely adored this book! I’ve seen a not of negativity about the pop culture references that were used, but I thought the delivery of them was so genuinely funny that I didn’t mind them one bit. It probably helps that Rhysand is my top book boyfriend so I was maybe the target audience for that comparison, but the main thing I remember thinking as I read was “Abby gets it.” 🤌🏻😋
This book had so much heart and depth. It was kind of insta lovey, but it still felt very genuine. I’ve met people in my life that I’ve immediately clicked with. People who were like the ying to my yang that I formed an instant connection with. This felt like that. Their struggles felt so realistic to me and I’m sure they will resonate with anyone who has ever endured a long distance relationship.
I also think this will hit home for readers who’ve lost someone to dementia. This was such a beautiful and heartbreaking representation of what a family goes through while caring for a loved one with this disease. I loved this quote in reference to her mom. “She couldn’t make more memories with me. But I could still make memories with her. I would be a witness to her life, even though she was done witnessing mine” 💔
Abby is truly a phenomenal writer. I feel like each of her books have left me a little softer and more empathetic to the world and the people around me, and isn’t that such a beautiful thing? I’m not sure I would say this is my favorite book by this author, but there’s really not much I would change! Such a great read! ✨☺️
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✩ 2.45 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ Grumpy Scottish Carpenter MMC
➼ Accident Prone Travel Writer FMC
➼ Grief & Loss
➼ Found Family
➼ Scotland Setting
➼ Highland Cows
➼ Clean Romance
➼ Christian Fiction
➼ Dual Narration
➼ Dual First Person POV
Okay, Katie is actually living my dream! 😍 She’s a successful travel writer who gets to travel the world while meeting new people and immersing herself in new cultures? Where do I apply?! If you’re here for the Scottish setting, this book definitely has a lot to offer, but unfortunately this was about where my interest dipped.
I know we don’t love reading about how tiny and waif-like an FMC is, but having to read about how curvy and sturdy they are over and over isn’t any better. I was particularly bothered when Katie finally opened up to Graeme about losing her sister, and the first thing she felt the need to mention was that they were nothing alike because her sister was so thin and petite. This direction in the narrative really detracted from the severity of losing her sister in my opinion.
It might be somewhat relatable to lack confidence, but some of her lines really bothered me and his responses left me unsatisfied. She thinks things like “Why would a man like him want to be with me?” And at one point she says something along the lines of “You’re not supposed to like me.” His response to this was to tell her she was smart and clever which is nice but he never really tells her that she’s beautiful. As a reader we are privy to his thoughts and he definitely thinks a lot of positive things about her appearance, but this is clearly a woman that needs to hear these affirmations voiced aloud.
Don’t even get me started on the awful puns. 🙈
I’ll admit that I find clean romance to be a bit unsatisfying, but it wasn’t the spice level that pulled down my rating in this case. As much as I wanted to lose myself to the Scottish setting and the “hot Scot,” I just couldn’t make this one work.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: I’m a sucker for books set in Scotland.
Fingers crossed that this one is good! 🤞🏻
What to Expect:
➼ Grumpy Scottish Carpenter MMC
➼ Accident Prone Travel Writer FMC
➼ Grief & Loss
➼ Found Family
➼ Scotland Setting
➼ Highland Cows
➼ Clean Romance
➼ Christian Fiction
➼ Dual Narration
➼ Dual First Person POV
Okay, Katie is actually living my dream! 😍 She’s a successful travel writer who gets to travel the world while meeting new people and immersing herself in new cultures? Where do I apply?! If you’re here for the Scottish setting, this book definitely has a lot to offer, but unfortunately this was about where my interest dipped.
I know we don’t love reading about how tiny and waif-like an FMC is, but having to read about how curvy and sturdy they are over and over isn’t any better. I was particularly bothered when Katie finally opened up to Graeme about losing her sister, and the first thing she felt the need to mention was that they were nothing alike because her sister was so thin and petite. This direction in the narrative really detracted from the severity of losing her sister in my opinion.
It might be somewhat relatable to lack confidence, but some of her lines really bothered me and his responses left me unsatisfied. She thinks things like “Why would a man like him want to be with me?” And at one point she says something along the lines of “You’re not supposed to like me.” His response to this was to tell her she was smart and clever which is nice but he never really tells her that she’s beautiful. As a reader we are privy to his thoughts and he definitely thinks a lot of positive things about her appearance, but this is clearly a woman that needs to hear these affirmations voiced aloud.
Don’t even get me started on the awful puns. 🙈
I’ll admit that I find clean romance to be a bit unsatisfying, but it wasn’t the spice level that pulled down my rating in this case. As much as I wanted to lose myself to the Scottish setting and the “hot Scot,” I just couldn’t make this one work.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: I’m a sucker for books set in Scotland.
Fingers crossed that this one is good! 🤞🏻
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
✩ 2.25 stars ✩
What to Expect:
➼ She Ferries Ghosts
➼ He’s the God of Death
➼ Music Based Magic
➼ He Falls First
➼ Touch Her & Die
➼ Haunted Forest
➼ Mystery
➼ Feminine Rage
➼ Dark Red Riding Hood Retelling
➼ Hades & Persephone Inspired
➼ Dual Narration
➼ Dual Third Person POV
A dark and atmospheric Red Riding Hood retelling with nods to Hades & Persephone. Reader’s familiar with JLA’s work, will also notice many similarities to From Blood & Ash.
Because of her magical singing voice, Rowan must serve a 5 year term ferrying the dead through the Dark Wood to the God of Death. She spent her childhood training to “please” the God of Death and was expected to maintain her virginity to offer to him and eventually serve as a sacrifice to protect the rest of her people. The virgin sacrifice bit did not need to be included and frankly didn’t make a lot of sense. How did she “train” to please him if she must remain pure? Don’t answer that. 😂.
With a plot like this, it was already going to be a hard sell for me, but the characters felt underdeveloped and the romance lacked any real spark. If you’re here for the “feminine rage” promised, turn back now because you won’t find that here. I understand wanting to keep Aoife safe, but why not try to escape with her? The romance was very hot and cold on both sides. She planned to kill him so she was fighting her feelings the whole time and anytime there was any intimacy between them, he would say he couldn’t go further and then get all broody and run off and push her away for a few days. This cycle repeated itself several times, but I never really felt like they got to know each other or formed any real connection in the process. It all felt very immature and not at all what I would expect from the God of Death. I found myself counting the amount of times the word “devoured” was used until I got curious enough to look it up. The total, forty-two times. Forty-two times that the author wrote about the wolf devouring her. 🙄 About 30 times too many in my opinion.
Ultimately, while this did promise, it didn’t quite win me over. I might still recommend this to those who love Gothic Fairytales. They are definitely not my preference so perhaps others will enjoy this more. I listened to the audio and I also struggled with the choppy feel of the dialogue. It is hard to say if this was the fault of the narrator or the way the dialogue was written, but I am leaning towards the latter.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: haven’t requested many ARC’s/ALC’s in the past and now suddenly I have 7. 😅
Oops… better get to reading!
What to Expect:
➼ She Ferries Ghosts
➼ He’s the God of Death
➼ Music Based Magic
➼ He Falls First
➼ Touch Her & Die
➼ Haunted Forest
➼ Mystery
➼ Feminine Rage
➼ Dark Red Riding Hood Retelling
➼ Hades & Persephone Inspired
➼ Dual Narration
➼ Dual Third Person POV
A dark and atmospheric Red Riding Hood retelling with nods to Hades & Persephone. Reader’s familiar with JLA’s work, will also notice many similarities to From Blood & Ash.
Because of her magical singing voice, Rowan must serve a 5 year term ferrying the dead through the Dark Wood to the God of Death. She spent her childhood training to “please” the God of Death and was expected to maintain her virginity to offer to him and eventually serve as a sacrifice to protect the rest of her people. The virgin sacrifice bit did not need to be included and frankly didn’t make a lot of sense. How did she “train” to please him if she must remain pure? Don’t answer that. 😂.
With a plot like this, it was already going to be a hard sell for me, but the characters felt underdeveloped and the romance lacked any real spark. If you’re here for the “feminine rage” promised, turn back now because you won’t find that here. I understand wanting to keep Aoife safe, but why not try to escape with her? The romance was very hot and cold on both sides. She planned to kill him so she was fighting her feelings the whole time and anytime there was any intimacy between them, he would say he couldn’t go further and then get all broody and run off and push her away for a few days. This cycle repeated itself several times, but I never really felt like they got to know each other or formed any real connection in the process. It all felt very immature and not at all what I would expect from the God of Death. I found myself counting the amount of times the word “devoured” was used until I got curious enough to look it up. The total, forty-two times. Forty-two times that the author wrote about the wolf devouring her. 🙄 About 30 times too many in my opinion.
Ultimately, while this did promise, it didn’t quite win me over. I might still recommend this to those who love Gothic Fairytales. They are definitely not my preference so perhaps others will enjoy this more. I listened to the audio and I also struggled with the choppy feel of the dialogue. It is hard to say if this was the fault of the narrator or the way the dialogue was written, but I am leaning towards the latter.
Thank you to Libro.FM for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.
✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼
Pre-read: haven’t requested many ARC’s/ALC’s in the past and now suddenly I have 7. 😅
Oops… better get to reading!
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
Complicated