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tobereadbookshelf's Reviews (935)
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’m currently reading Manacled, but it’s really a toss up on which “book” included more Harry Potter references. 😅 Overuse of pop culture references is a major pet peeve of mine and so are 3rd act break ups. I read primarily fantasy, and still, these were some of the most unrealistic characters I have ever read. I am more likely to believe in the existence or Faeries and Werwolves than I am in believing that these hockey players meet up regularly to recite Shakespeare. Give it a rest already. 🙄 I was planning to read this entire series, but I think this is the end of the line for me.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
2.5 ⭐️’s
As YA Romances go, this was alright but not my favorite. Would likely be a hit with all the millennial girls out there who once dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. Not sure why that was such a wide spread dream but clearly it wasn’t a dream of mine.
Full disclosure… I listened to the audiobook which was read by Rebecca Soler. She bugs me on an irrational level so that may have impacted my rating. I did try to be objective. 🤷🏼♀️
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Letter 24 in my A-Z reading challenge! 😁
As YA Romances go, this was alright but not my favorite. Would likely be a hit with all the millennial girls out there who once dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. Not sure why that was such a wide spread dream but clearly it wasn’t a dream of mine.
Full disclosure… I listened to the audiobook which was read by Rebecca Soler. She bugs me on an irrational level so that may have impacted my rating. I did try to be objective. 🤷🏼♀️
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Letter 24 in my A-Z reading challenge! 😁
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this more than the Kingdom of the Wicked series, but I don’t really like the way this author writes romance. She focuses solely on the physical aspects and falls short when it comes to developing a true connection between her characters. I believe that they lust after each other, but I don’t believe that they’re in love. I think these stories work better as standalone books so I am happy she has moved to this format for Envy and the other Princes. I’m not sure if I will read the rest of this series. She’s a decent author but the romance aspect is too vital to these books to not get it right.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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 really enjoying this until the very end which was completely underwhelming. I just don’t understand why the author decided to go in that direction at all. I was not happy with her decision and it did not feel true to the narrative. All three books highlighted how perfectly suited he was for the role and it did not make sense to remove him from it. It was all very abrupt and kind of out of left field. So much build up for nothing.
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Nora was giving off some strong stalker vibes at the beginning. I was half expecting the author to flip the script and make her the murderer. 😅 Nora and Becca’s strange relationship was pretty much the spookiest thing about this book. I really don’t understand why people seem to love horror so much. It just doesn’t appeal to me at all. They all feel like lackluster mysteries with nearly the same format. The “romance” was a completely unnecessary addition to this story and choosing to end the book with a kiss felt extremely cliché. This honestly started out strong, but I was underwhelmed by the “big reveal” and I thought the majority of the book was just plain boring. I’m sure there are people out there who will love this, but I’m not one of them.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
Where the Dark Stands Still is a dark fairy tale reminiscent of the classic Grimm’s Fairy Tales. I think what it most reminded of though was The Bear and the Nightingale. This story has a Polish influence rather than Russian, but both featured demons, house spirits, evil creatures in the forrest, and a girl with concealed magic who holds the key to saving her village. Considering that this is a debut novel, I am very impressed. The writing and pacing were excellent and both the main and side characters were perfectly written.
I listened to the audiobook and I do think that added to my overall enjoyment since I doubt I would have been able to pronounce many of the included Polish names and terms on my own. I can see myself enjoying this less if I had been stumbling over word pronunciations so maybe keep that in mind if you choose to pick this up. Standalone books rarely earn a favorites slot from me, but this one is certainly worth the read. I’m expecting big things from this author. Looking forward to reading her future works.
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you had asked me who my favorite authors were in 2020, JLA would have been at the very top of the list. I have read 30 of her books, some of them multiple times. She has written some of my all time favorite book boyfriends and I have loved experiencing all of the worlds she has created. I have been a loyal fan for years, but sadly I no longer feel comfortable recommending her work.
This was an absolute turd of a book. It was 632 pages and took place in roughly 8 scenes. There was almost no forward momentum. JLA has lost all sense of timing and no longer seems capable of creating the tension and feeling of urgency needed to keep readers engaged in a story like this. Readers who pick up this book can look forward to spending hundreds of pages trapped in Sera’s repetitive thought spiral. She spends half the book in captivity and the other half having an overly dramatic heart to heart with Ash (read sex) despite the claimed “urgency”of their situation.
I have heard rumors that JLA no longer has an editor and it SHOWS. Girl, you need an editor! This 632 page book legitimately should have been 250 pages. There was so much repetition and so much that shouldn’t have made it to print. I am shocked by how highly this book antd some of her last books in the Flesh and Fire series are rated. Did we even read the same books? I know it sounds dramatic, but I feel betrayed by her recent works. These beloved characters deserved better and so did her readers. What a disappointment this was. Sigh*
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sad to say that this left me feeling underwhelmed. I found the “emotionally unavailable American girl” angle to be a bit uninspired and the love interest seemed a little too keen. I didn’t feel like they had any real connection beyond physical attraction, and I couldn’t really understand his interest in her. His intentions throughout the book were to show her the magic of Scotland, but I’m not sure his efforts would have truly been successful. I would have liked to have felt more of that “magic” as I read, but all I encountered were painfully boring descriptions and historical facts. Also, I’m sure there are women out there who think modern day kilt wearing is attractive, but I am certainly not one of them. If this was a period romance I might be able to get on board, but otherwise I am really not into it. I really wanted to love this one, but it just didn’t do it for me.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
My biggest issue with this series is that I’m really not a fan or either Queen. Rose was slightly less annoying and entitled in this one, but Wren was even more infuriating. She is so reckless and impulsive, and her decision impact their entire world. She has proven time and again that she is not worthy of a crown. I will say that I was happy with the change up in the romantic interest the author made. It was a bit obvious, but I am pretty done with Tor since he continually chooses duty over Wren. I may not be her biggest fan, but come on girl, know your worth.
It’s pretty obnoxious that they seem hell bent on repeating all the same mistakes as the first two Queens knowing what they know, but hopefully they’ll get their sh** together in book three. I did find this plot to be more entertaining than book one. Switching POV’s really took me out of the narrative when I read Twin Crown’s but I felt that this book flowed much more seemlessly. I’m hopeful that the next book will be even better.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
No
Whelp… I definitely can’t say that CC3 is my favorite SJ Maas book, but it was still a great read.
If I’m being picky, as with the last two books, I did feel that this was too long. I just don’t think I needed to read some of those POV’s. Ithan’s and Tharion’s especially felt excessive. I think Maas gets away with writing books this long because it doesn’t often feel like filler, but that doesn’t mean every plot point she includes is vital or necessary. I’m pretty sure she plans to write other books centered on Ithan and Tharion in the future, but I would argue that she could still have done that without including their POV’s up to this point.
Maas really hooked me with the promise of an ACOTAR crossover at the end of House of Sky and Breath, but unfortunately, that portion of the book was a huge let down in my opinion. I did not like the Batman vs. Superman vibes she tried to conjure with these two groups of beloved heroes. The good guys should be on the same side, period.
Another thing that bothered me while reading was that Bryce didn’t really feel like Bryce for most of the book. Her special snowflake/I’m the Queen of everything vibes got pretty old. I really felt like the power had gone to her head until the very end of the book. I wasn’t a fan of the ultimatums she issued to Hunt either.
My last gripe is that the ending was pretty identical to the ending of ACOWAR. I would have liked to read something a little more original and less outrageous. 😅
The amazing thing about anything written by Maas is that even with this laundry list of gripes, her books are still a cut above the rest. I’ve seen some negative reviews and I wonder if some people’s expectations were too high. The only way I could see anyone giving this less than 3 stars would be if they were judging purely against her other books which hardly seems fair. 🤷🏼♀️
If I’m being picky, as with the last two books, I did feel that this was too long. I just don’t think I needed to read some of those POV’s. Ithan’s and Tharion’s especially felt excessive. I think Maas gets away with writing books this long because it doesn’t often feel like filler, but that doesn’t mean every plot point she includes is vital or necessary. I’m pretty sure she plans to write other books centered on Ithan and Tharion in the future, but I would argue that she could still have done that without including their POV’s up to this point.
Maas really hooked me with the promise of an ACOTAR crossover at the end of House of Sky and Breath, but unfortunately, that portion of the book was a huge let down in my opinion. I did not like the Batman vs. Superman vibes she tried to conjure with these two groups of beloved heroes. The good guys should be on the same side, period.
Another thing that bothered me while reading was that Bryce didn’t really feel like Bryce for most of the book. Her special snowflake/I’m the Queen of everything vibes got pretty old. I really felt like the power had gone to her head until the very end of the book. I wasn’t a fan of the ultimatums she issued to Hunt either.
My last gripe is that the ending was pretty identical to the ending of ACOWAR. I would have liked to read something a little more original and less outrageous. 😅
The amazing thing about anything written by Maas is that even with this laundry list of gripes, her books are still a cut above the rest. I’ve seen some negative reviews and I wonder if some people’s expectations were too high. The only way I could see anyone giving this less than 3 stars would be if they were judging purely against her other books which hardly seems fair. 🤷🏼♀️