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wendeedeedee36's reviews
250 reviews
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! I first started it back in November when it first released, but ended up having to pause to catch up on some ARC’s that I had. Since then, Ive managed to continually procrastinate going back to finish it, in part because I was determined to read my physical copy. I finally caved and went with the audiobook, and I am very glad that I did. I really enjoyed Brittany Pressley’s performance as the narrator. She does a really good job of making it fun and exciting, pulling out the different attitudes of each character, and made it easy to sense the emotions and tones throughout the story.
I will say, the first third or so of the book is very slow. A lot of world building and plot development. It was not boring, just not super riveting. However, it really kicked up after that and the character relationships alone had me hooked. I love all the members of the squad and how they become a so tight knit. Bristol and Tyghan’s relationship was also very intriguing because it was never really in doubt it would get there, but I felt like it was pretty subtle in the buildup for along time, which I liked.
The ending was so noncliffhanger-y that it actually caught me by surprise. I was waiting for the next chapter when they started reading the credits. It wasn’t abrupt, I think I’m just so used to books ending when everything is awful, and this one instead ended on rather light and positive note. Definitely some questions left to be answered though and I cannot wait for The Last Wish of Bristol Keats.
I will say, the first third or so of the book is very slow. A lot of world building and plot development. It was not boring, just not super riveting. However, it really kicked up after that and the character relationships alone had me hooked. I love all the members of the squad and how they become a so tight knit. Bristol and Tyghan’s relationship was also very intriguing because it was never really in doubt it would get there, but I felt like it was pretty subtle in the buildup for along time, which I liked.
The ending was so noncliffhanger-y that it actually caught me by surprise. I was waiting for the next chapter when they started reading the credits. It wasn’t abrupt, I think I’m just so used to books ending when everything is awful, and this one instead ended on rather light and positive note. Definitely some questions left to be answered though and I cannot wait for The Last Wish of Bristol Keats.
Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox
4.5
I loved this! It was like if Serpent of the Wings of Night and Fellowship of the Rings had a love child. Epic world-building, deadly trials, dark forces trying to rule the world, and the camaraderie of a ragtag group of challengers. I ate that shit up. Don’t even get me started on the slow burn. Fan-fucking-tastic 🫠❤️🔥 Gretchen also manages to rip your heart out a few times.
I loved all of the characters and I think all the personalities made a really fun group with a ton a great banter. I liked how there were so many different relationships within the group and everyone blended in with each other in the own individual ways. This is one of my favorite found families to date.
I have so many theories moving, and I am so proud of myself for calling the epilogue way early in the story 😎 I cannot wait for the next book because I NEEEEED more.
Thank you SO much for letting me be part of the ARC team! 🫶🏻
I loved all of the characters and I think all the personalities made a really fun group with a ton a great banter. I liked how there were so many different relationships within the group and everyone blended in with each other in the own individual ways. This is one of my favorite found families to date.
I have so many theories moving, and I am so proud of myself for calling the epilogue way early in the story 😎 I cannot wait for the next book because I NEEEEED more.
Thank you SO much for letting me be part of the ARC team! 🫶🏻
Queen of Shadows and Ruin by Nisha J. Tuli
5.0
I’m not crying, you’re crying! The most perfect ending to a rather perfect series. Full review to come but just know this was absolutely amazing 🫠
UPDATE:
The tension and drama was SO good and the spice was hitting hard in this final installment. Nisha made me root for myself to be wrong in my guesses even though I knew I wouldn’t be, and it still hurt so good.
As always, Yas is the absolutely best. I love him to pieces and he must be cherished at all costs.
I really loved the ending, end the sort of epilogues each character got to wrap up their individual stories, and the final chapter made me so happy 🥹 This was the first series I started by Nisha J Tuli, and while I have since read and finished Artefacts of Ouranos (and loved it), this series holds a special places in my heart and deserves so much more hype than it gets.
Thank you thank you thank you for the ARC
UPDATE:
The tension and drama was SO good and the spice was hitting hard in this final installment. Nisha made me root for myself to be wrong in my guesses even though I knew I wouldn’t be, and it still hurt so good.
As always, Yas is the absolutely best. I love him to pieces and he must be cherished at all costs.
I really loved the ending, end the sort of epilogues each character got to wrap up their individual stories, and the final chapter made me so happy 🥹 This was the first series I started by Nisha J Tuli, and while I have since read and finished Artefacts of Ouranos (and loved it), this series holds a special places in my heart and deserves so much more hype than it gets.
Thank you thank you thank you for the ARC
The Mortal Queen by Ashley Metzler
3.5
I enjoyed the premise of this story. It has all the good tropes: fae vs humans, enemies to lovers, found family, two sides to one story. I also like Aisling as the FMC. She’s sheltered but stubborn. I think her family treats her pretty poorly given they sell her to the enemy, but I think she’s been groomed enough that she takes forever to notice it.
Lir is a very typical, brooding fae male MMC. It’s not a bad thing, just not super unique in his behavior. Their relationship is definitely going to be a slow burn but you can feel the tension very early in. I also like the rest of his court that help Aisling throughout the story.
As I mentioned, the plot was good but I think it got convoluted and overly detailed at times. It made it difficult to track what was going on and what was important. I found myself a bit confused towards the end but also excited to read more of the series. Other than that my only complaint is what I found the be an excessive use of “the mortal queen.” I’m not sure why but it really bugged me after a while.
Samantha Norbury is one of the highlights for me. Her narration style was easy to listen to and I like her voice. She did a good job with pronunciation and making distinctions between the different characters. She did a great job conveying emotions. I hope she narrates the rest of the series.
Thank you to Bookouture Audio, NetGalley, and Ashley Metzler for this listening opportunity!
Lir is a very typical, brooding fae male MMC. It’s not a bad thing, just not super unique in his behavior. Their relationship is definitely going to be a slow burn but you can feel the tension very early in. I also like the rest of his court that help Aisling throughout the story.
As I mentioned, the plot was good but I think it got convoluted and overly detailed at times. It made it difficult to track what was going on and what was important. I found myself a bit confused towards the end but also excited to read more of the series. Other than that my only complaint is what I found the be an excessive use of “the mortal queen.” I’m not sure why but it really bugged me after a while.
Samantha Norbury is one of the highlights for me. Her narration style was easy to listen to and I like her voice. She did a good job with pronunciation and making distinctions between the different characters. She did a great job conveying emotions. I hope she narrates the rest of the series.
Thank you to Bookouture Audio, NetGalley, and Ashley Metzler for this listening opportunity!
Something Cheeky by Thien-Kim Lam
4.0
This was sweet, steamy, and poignant as heck. I loved the friends to lovers vibes and the way Zoe and Derek transitioned to a romantic relationship. Derek’s pining was honestly quite adorable and I liked Zoe’s representation as a demi-sexual. The fact that she’s also an empowered plus size badass working to help other women feel empowered and sexy makes me love her all the more. She’s stubborn as heck which is sometimes a problem in the story, but I like that she stands up for herself and what she believes in. Derek is tough because he absolutely has the people pleaser tendencies and you just want to shake and hug him at the same time. He is also a lady pleaser though so definitely a plus on his resume ❤️🔥
Greg is obviously a turd and he just got worse and worse. But I feel like he was really useful tool to highlight the harmful of being insensitive both by ignorance and by choice. I actually feel like I learned a lot reading this as well.
I’m really glad I ended up getting this as an audiobook because I enjoyed ByVy Nguyen and David Lee Huynh’s narrations, and I think hearing them pronounce things throughout book was very helpful. They both did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and projecting the emotions of the story into their own styles.
Overall it was a really great book and I want to go back to find Happy Endings now too!
Thank you HarperAudio and NetGalley for the listening opportunity!
Greg is obviously a turd and he just got worse and worse. But I feel like he was really useful tool to highlight the harmful of being insensitive both by ignorance and by choice. I actually feel like I learned a lot reading this as well.
I’m really glad I ended up getting this as an audiobook because I enjoyed ByVy Nguyen and David Lee Huynh’s narrations, and I think hearing them pronounce things throughout book was very helpful. They both did a wonderful job bringing the characters to life and projecting the emotions of the story into their own styles.
Overall it was a really great book and I want to go back to find Happy Endings now too!
Thank you HarperAudio and NetGalley for the listening opportunity!
Order of Swans by Jude Deveraux
3.5
This was fun and unique! I know sci-fi and fantasy get lumped together a lot, but for the most part they are separate in my mind. Order of Swans manages to blend them in a way I have not seen before with the use of space travel and planets, but also a high fantasy setting. It was a fun dichotomy.
I think the world-building could have had more to it as it felt like sometimes we were just supposed to know things. However, it wasn’t anything too major. I snagged more on the fact that the magic and and Bellis’ location were supposed to be a big secret kept from Kaley, and yet she never seemed to question her ability to understand animals, nor the fact that she lived through multiple fairytales before realizing she was on another planet. She just kinda accepted it like it was normal which was a bit strange to me.
I really enjoy Sojee and Mikos’ personalities and even their interactions with each other. I can’t decide what Sojee’s secret is but I feel it will be a doozy. (Apologies for potential spelling errors. I listened to the audiobook 😆)
Alexandra Hunter does a very good job with the narration. She has a nice voice and clear diction. I found her easy to follow and felt she did well differentiating between characters and emotions.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable and relatively easy read. After that ending, I am definitely looking forward to the sequel!
I think the world-building could have had more to it as it felt like sometimes we were just supposed to know things. However, it wasn’t anything too major. I snagged more on the fact that the magic and and Bellis’ location were supposed to be a big secret kept from Kaley, and yet she never seemed to question her ability to understand animals, nor the fact that she lived through multiple fairytales before realizing she was on another planet. She just kinda accepted it like it was normal which was a bit strange to me.
I really enjoy Sojee and Mikos’ personalities and even their interactions with each other. I can’t decide what Sojee’s secret is but I feel it will be a doozy. (Apologies for potential spelling errors. I listened to the audiobook 😆)
Alexandra Hunter does a very good job with the narration. She has a nice voice and clear diction. I found her easy to follow and felt she did well differentiating between characters and emotions.
Overall, this is a very enjoyable and relatively easy read. After that ending, I am definitely looking forward to the sequel!
Nevermore by Miranda Lyn
4.0
A solid continuation to The Never Sky series! I enjoyed this story even more than I did Till Death. I was very eager for Paesha’s story and I was not disappointed! I love the way she constantly messes with Thorne’s OCD. They banter during those moments are hilarious. “Oh your eye is twitching” 🤣 It’s basically Control Freak x Free Spirit instead of Grumpy x Sunshine.
As with Till Death, the found family is my favorite part of the story in Nevermore. I adore Archer and Harlow, and Jasper and the members of the Fray are so sweet!
The mystery had me going back and forth on what I thought was happening. My gut instinct was mostly right but I convinced myself of other twists about 6000 times through the story. It was great and it kept me in my toes. I still have some questions after the ending but the emotional damage was impressive 🥲
The only con I have for this book is that - in my opinion - the writing style can be a touch flowery/convoluted. I think this could have been a shorter book with just as much intrigue and impact, but I also never lost interest in what was going on so it is a very smell con.
All in all, this was a great story and I agree Paesha needs more time to shine! (as long as we get some Quill in the sequel 😉)
Thank you so much to The Realm Studios and Miranda Lyn for the ARC! I can’t wait for Evermore!
As with Till Death, the found family is my favorite part of the story in Nevermore. I adore Archer and Harlow, and Jasper and the members of the Fray are so sweet!
The mystery had me going back and forth on what I thought was happening. My gut instinct was mostly right but I convinced myself of other twists about 6000 times through the story. It was great and it kept me in my toes. I still have some questions after the ending but the emotional damage was impressive 🥲
The only con I have for this book is that - in my opinion - the writing style can be a touch flowery/convoluted. I think this could have been a shorter book with just as much intrigue and impact, but I also never lost interest in what was going on so it is a very smell con.
All in all, this was a great story and I agree Paesha needs more time to shine! (as long as we get some Quill in the sequel 😉)
Thank you so much to The Realm Studios and Miranda Lyn for the ARC! I can’t wait for Evermore!
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
4.0
*Potential Spoilers*
This was a really interesting read. Dystopian is not my usual genre and yet I was pulled in by this story from the start. You can definitely see how Reed was inspired by The Hunger Games. I also got Lunar Chronicles -specifically Cinder- vibes because it has a little bit of the Cinderella feel to it.
I liked all three of the lead characters in this. Inesa is a little sheltered from the reality of her society by choice, but not ignorant. She knows hard work and responsibility. She just doesn’t condone the violence. Her brother, Luka, is probably more of a secondary character but he plays a large role in the story. He is Inesa’s support and strength. Without him, this book would have been MUCH shorter. Melinoë is a tragic character from her upbringing to her ending, but watching her learn how to live was so poignant and bittersweet.
To me, this book is about how hope perseveres even when it is futile. It’s a little scary how the history of Caerus fits with 21st century America. Reed makes it very easy to imagine how this could be us someday and it’s a chilling thought.
Thank you for the ARC opportunity! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was a really interesting read. Dystopian is not my usual genre and yet I was pulled in by this story from the start. You can definitely see how Reed was inspired by The Hunger Games. I also got Lunar Chronicles -specifically Cinder- vibes because it has a little bit of the Cinderella feel to it.
I liked all three of the lead characters in this. Inesa is a little sheltered from the reality of her society by choice, but not ignorant. She knows hard work and responsibility. She just doesn’t condone the violence. Her brother, Luka, is probably more of a secondary character but he plays a large role in the story. He is Inesa’s support and strength. Without him, this book would have been MUCH shorter. Melinoë is a tragic character from her upbringing to her ending, but watching her learn how to live was so poignant and bittersweet.
To me, this book is about how hope perseveres even when it is futile. It’s a little scary how the history of Caerus fits with 21st century America. Reed makes it very easy to imagine how this could be us someday and it’s a chilling thought.
Thank you for the ARC opportunity! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli
5.0
This duology is amazing and The Rebel Witch is a wonderful ending! The political unrest and action are so well done and kept me captivated the whole time. More than that, the mutual pining is perfection 🫠 I kept waiting for this to be a miscommunication trip and yet Rune and Gideon actually speak their feelings and work through their shiz, even when they can’t resolve it. It was so completely refreshing.
Honestly, I don’t know what else to say other than I cannot recommend this series enough ❤️🔥
Honestly, I don’t know what else to say other than I cannot recommend this series enough ❤️🔥
Till Death by Miranda Lyn
3.0
This was a really interesting plot! I enjoyed following the twists and turns and I think the characters are really fun. The world building is very intricate as well. Dey and Orin had strong enemies to lovers tension and I think their relationship developed pretty well. I ADORE the members of the syndicate and Hollis is just the absolute best.
The only downside for me was that this book could have easily been much shorter and more captivating. There were points where it felt like it dragged, and almost like the author was trying to write a full series in one book since they’re standalone.
All in all, I think this was a really good story and I want to read the next book. It just felt really long.
The only downside for me was that this book could have easily been much shorter and more captivating. There were points where it felt like it dragged, and almost like the author was trying to write a full series in one book since they’re standalone.
All in all, I think this was a really good story and I want to read the next book. It just felt really long.