vel629vet's reviews
1039 reviews

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

Very very nearly 5 stars. The butterflies and sparkly love vibes were all over this book and I adored the characters and the story. Definitely my favorite Ali Hazelwood so far! 

Flawless by Elsie Silver

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Quick, easy, and fun! Banter was excellent and the story wasn’t trying to do too much. Would love to continue this series! 

The Waiting Tide by Ryan W. Bradley

emotional reflective fast-paced

3.25

Really loved about 4 of the poems. 

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Disappointingly this was one of my least favorite Maas books... I waited a while to write this review to try to gather my thoughts about everything but I'm still having trouble pinpointing the exact issues I had. But here are a few:

- too much exposition, too much story in one book
- too much telling of the history that led the world to where it is. Literally entire chapters of a character just telling Bryce about the history of Midgard or battles or whatever. It was too much. 
- 'twists' just to make things exciting, rather than them actually being planned out
- everything with the wolves felt useless
- everything with the house of flame and shadow felt useless (like it was only there to make sure the title of the book tied into the story)
- the climax and big battle didn't have the same intensity as books 1 and 2 - like she felt like she needed to make them even bigger than before and instead they just fell flat 
- I was incredibly bummed with how the ACOTAR characters actually came into play
- the torture scenes were excessively and unnecessarily graphic

Overall a really disappointing read for me from SJM. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, War

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

2.5

Weakest of the series so far - I think I’m done with the Bromance series after this one unfortunately. There was absolutely no effort put in to show WHY these 2 characters had feelings for each other, and especially why Colton insta-loved Gretchen. The drama with Gretchen’s rich family was fine, but Colton’s storyline was incredibly weak. Just not worth it. 

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

Can’t wait to read more Rebecca Ross books because the prose was gorgeous. I loved the concept, I loved the story, and the only thing I wished for more of was more moments between Roman and Iris to just let them fall in love. More walks, runs, dates, whatever it may be. Otherwise, this story is so unique and lovely. Can’t wait for book 2!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

Reread Jan 2025: this was an easier read the second time through, and I was much more forgiving of the plot choices. However, I was much less patient for the relationship talks every 5 pages. Added half a star. 

Read Jan 2024: Really struggled through this one but that is likely more about me than the book. 
So plot heavy that at times it seemed as though Yarros was just thinking, what could be the wildest thing to happen next??? Instead of considering the flow of the story. 

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I wanted more - the writing didn’t hook me at all and I had a really hard time getting into it. I did enjoy that there was more to the story than two people falling back in love, but the story still seemed to resolve very easily. 

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

funny 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? It's complicated

3.25

The first half of this book was decidedly rom-com and I was so excited for it. Excellent banter, unique setting, fun characters. 
Then we reached the halfway point and I suddenly found myself in an actual fantasy novel? With like, a whole plot? Idk - I wasn’t prepared for it. And I was honestly very frustrated to reach a cliffhanger and find out the next book releases in fall 2024. I guess my fault for not doing more research. 
Overall a cute, original book. Just not what I was expecting or wanting in my current mood read! 

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I adored this. It has absolutely ruined at least the next few romances I read, because I will inevitably compare them to this. 
A When Harry Met Sally modern retelling but honestly so much more. Her characters are so intricately developed and I found myself in love with them while also thinking, man I wouldn’t be able to stand these people in real life. 
It was like the character development of an Emily Henry romance but with more nuanced and frustrating characters. Gosh I just loved it. Please read.