Book Review: Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (The Guild Codex: Demonized #2)

Overall: 4/5

Plots and Themes: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Attention Grabbing: 5/5 

This is my continued reread of the Demonized series to match my progress in the Spellbound series. Honestly though, rereading this has made me want to read this more than Spellbound. The intricacy of the characters is just so much more appealing to me and I can't really put my finger on why. I think it's the idea of overcoming obstacles to relate to someone. Neither of them are really changing themselves, they're just working to better understand one another's worlds. I love it, it's some sort of niche trope that I would like to see in every book. 

So not much to say, my original review from 2021 covers it pretty well. I'm excited to get through the next Spellbound so that I can get back to this series. 

Book Review: The Alchemist and an Amaretto (The Guild Codex: Spellbound #5)

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 2/5 

The Alchemist and an Amaretto is the fifth book in the Spellbound part of the Guild Codex series. Tori and her friends are visiting an elite academy for mages- owned and run by Aaron's parents. It's stressful enough being around all the wealthy elites, add in the mysterious werewolf-related deaths and a demon with near total control of the guy she's starting to develop feelings for an it's not exactly a relaxing holiday. 

I like this series, but it pales in comparison to Demonized. I don't know why it just doesn't hit as hard, maybe too many storylines or maybe the fact that Tori doesn't have magic. I wish we looked into her who familiar angle a bit more, I thought we were going to get into how magic could be accessible to those without the genetic benefit of being related to someone with magic. But instead, Tori is learning to fight which is cool but just makes her feel like a bit of a burden in this world. I do appreciate her willingness to step up to the challenge, but it's hard to see when you know the extent of the powers that they have. 

I think things are going to start picking up in the next installment, I vaguely remember her role in the Demonized side of things so I'm excited to read it all through her eyes. 

Book Review: Taming Demons for Beginners (The Guild Codex: Demonized #1)

Overall: 4/5

Plots and Themes: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Attention Grabbing: 5/5 

This is my reread of the Demonized series because I started her Spellbound series and realized they weren't just related but intertwined and felt the urge to go back for this one and read them chronologically. Gotta say, like two years later and I still love it. Robin and Zylas are so good together in such a weird way. Zylas is a demon, he doesn't understand humanity, same can be said for Robin on demons but it's easier for us to empathize with the human of course. But the beautiful part of this series is that we get to see him figuring it all out. And it's so subtle and creative the way that she introduces elements of humanity into his behavior without overtly stating that he was learning, you just get to see him morph into his humanity. 

So I'm a big fan, probably a bigger fan of this one than Spellbound as I feel that Robin is more relatable and I'm just a huge fan of their relationship dynamic. 

Book Review: People We Meet on Vacation

 

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

Overall: 3/5

Plot and themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing style: 4/5

Attention-grabbing: 3/5

They met at college orientation, they clicked at the end of their freshman year and they were inseparable best friends for ten years after that. They took vacations together every summer, until one year when it all went wrong. Now, they haven't spoken in two years and Poppy has had a hard time feeling happy like she once did. But she's finally decided she's not giving up without a fight, and she invites Alex to go on another vacation with her, one where they can hopefully fix everything that went wrong two years ago. 

Books that flip between the past and the present always give me anxiety. If there are two things I don't like in contemporary romances it's second-chance-romances and the miscommunication trope, this book had heaps of both. The conflict is built and built and built, you find yourself wondering what could have possibly gone wrong two years ago to destroy a friendship that was so strong and built on so many wonderful experiences? Then it all kind of falls flat. As a real person, maybe it would be easy to see where the disconnect was. As an omniscient reader, Poppy and Alex both seemed like a couple of hypocritical idiots. I didn't see the point of all the drama, I didn't see the point of all the heartbreak. 

I liked the banter, I thought Poppy and Alex worked really well together. Which I think was the whole point, there was no conflict at all on that front because they felt flirtatious and romantically involved with one another from the start. Their relationships with other people felt superfluous and kind of weird. I liked the explanation of how they got where they were going and the beauty of their friendship shifting into something else but the "hurdles" felt like they would drive me absolutely insane if I knew them in real life. I think it was entertaining and it definitely will be remembered, it just seemed like a lot of drama for no real reason except to cause drama.

 

Book Review: Bad Wolf (Cat McKenzie #4)

Bad Wolf

Lauren Dawes

Overall: 3/5

Plot and themes: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing style: 3/5

Attention-grabbing: 4/5

Bad Wolf is the fourth installment in the Cat McKenzie series, following the lone human in the Paranormal Investigations unit. She used to hate the supernaturals, she's come to her senses and is now dating one. Life would be perfect if it weren't for all the random monsters and people who are constantly setting their sights on murdering her. 

I like how quirky the characters are. I have a bit of an issue with the pacing of the romance. I love to see how naturally they work together to like host parties or be like a functioning couple aside from supernatural chaos but I also think we've gotten to that point way too fast. The characters have only known each other for like a month and we have this level of intimacy? Hard to follow. Also, I really need them to both get more background on one another cause we really know nothing and it's frustrating. 

The plot line on this one is also a bit sketchy. I don't like delving into Native stories and then manipulating them to the extent which we see here. I don't think it was intended to be rude but I think it could have been phrased a bit better. It didn't destroy the narrative, but it definitely left me feeling a little like we had missed the mark here.

Still enjoying the series and looking forward to when the next one comes out though. Cat and Sawyer are really just the perfect amount of cool and weird and I need to see some real explanations behind it all.

Book Review: House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1)

 

Crescent City

Sarah J. Maas

Overall: 4/5

Plot and themes: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 4/5

Attention-grabbing: 4/5

House of Earth and Blood is the first book in the new Crescent City series by SJM. And up until like five minutes ago I thought it was called Crescent City rather than House of Earth and Blood but I guess that's not really all that important. The book starts of strong by massacring nearly every single loved one that the protagonist, Bryce Quinlan, holds dear and just goes from there. It's a paranormal/urban fantasy type book, something I did not know when I started out and it's hefty weighing in at nearly 800 pages. While every page of this 800 page journey was far from riveting or even essential to the story, the ending definitely caught me off guard with how invested I got into it. 

Honestly, I think this is the best book by SJM that I've read. It finally got the right balance between friendship and romance- something she tried to do in ACOTAR but in that one she forgot to add the friendships in until the end. In this one, the friendships are front and center the whole time through and they really are essential to Bryce's arc. Usually after I read a SJM book I spend the following days figuring out more and more reasons why I disliked it, but this one is really going to stick with me for good reasons. 

I will say I wasn't much of a fan of the length and a lot of the repeated terminology. I think we could've cut it down to 600 pages by removing the words "party girl" and "alphahole" all on their own. I nearly DNFed like thirty times because trudging through the first like 400-500 pages was such a chore. But you know, everyone who has been telling me for the past year and a half that it's an essential read wasn't totally wrong. I did cry like three times while reading it, so while it was far from perfect it does get you feeling things. 

I'm going to say I recommend it, but probably not for SJM's usual fans as this is much more solidly PNR. I really forgot I was reading SJM multiple times (probably a good thing in my case) and I think that's pretty interesting in the progression of the paranormal versus fantasy debate. But yeah, I'll be on the look out for the sequel and I won't be totally dreading reading it. Though I will just a bit cause like why do they have to be such behemoths?

 

Book Review: Spirit Witch (The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic #2)

 

Overall: 4/5

Plot and themes: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 4/5

Attention-grabbing: 5/5

This is the third and final full-length book in the Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic series following Ivy Wilde and Raphael Winter. Ivy has just survived a catastrophic incantation and mostly recovered from the medical aftermath. Aside from the fact that she's seeing ghosts now and she's not sure if they're real or hallucinations. When they start giving her tips about murders though she knows she has to step up to the plate and finally get off her couch again. 

I still loved the universe and the characters but this one felt like a bit of a rushed conclusion. I think we could've done with a lot more exposition on this villain, who seems to be the ultimate villain of the trilogy, along with more on the backgrounds of the main characters. I'm not even sure if Ivy has a family or what because if she was a hair from dying and no one showed up I'm going to have to assume she doesn't. The interaction with Winter's family that was mentioned in the synopsis was given like three pages and all in all it felt like the rise and fall of the series was difficult to peg. That doesn't mean I disliked it, I still think this alone was a four-star read, but the whole series either needs more books or should just be accepted as more surface level writing. 

The epilogue with Brutus was super cute because I love his perspective. He really made the books and I'm disappointed that I won't get to read more of him. I know there's a novella which I haven't read yet so we'll have to see if I can motivate myself to get into it knowing that there aren't any more full-length books out there and that there are so many questions about Ivy and Winter that I still want answered.

 

Book Review: Star Witch (The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic #2)

 

Star Witch

Helen Harper

Overall: 5/5

Plot and themes: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 5/5

Attention-grabbing: 5/5

So I thought that Brimstone Bound would have to be my favorite Helen Harper series but this one is really raising the bar. Ivy and Winter had an awkward encounter a few weeks ago and haven't talked since. She doesn't want to be part of the Order but she does want to see him. When she's recruited to work with him and go undercover on one of her favorite shows, it seems like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, things get pretty serious pretty quickly and the danger of the whole situation escalates faster than she can really keep up with. 

I said it in the last review and I'll say it again: I love Ivy. I also love Rafe and obviously I'm obsessed with Brutus. They're such a funny cast with such amazing interactions. I think that Ivy goes a bit overboard with the whole lazy angle but we really get to see her step up for what she believes in in this one. It's campy and fun but still has a great underlying plot that keeps you wanting more. 

I just have to restate how funny Brutus is. Like, you won't think it's funny unless you read it but a cat who only speaks in monosyllabic statements like "food", "pet", and "bitch" turning around and basically giving us a whole page of poetry? That's comedy gold right there and no one's going to convince me otherwise. I loved him and I loved the story which he was such an intricate part of. 

So yeah, this is perfect for urban fantasy fans because it's my ideal urban fantasy. I'm recommending this series a lot and I've already read it all so I can really confidently do so.

Book Review: Slouch Witch (The Lazy Girl's Guide to Magic #1)

 

Slouch Witch

Helen Harper

Overall: 4/5

Plot and themes: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing style: 4/5

Attention-grabbing: 5/5

I'm back at it again with another Helen Harper series and this one really didn't disappoint. It follows Ivy Wilde, a witch who has left the Order where nearly every other witch of any consequence ends up in favor of being a taxi driver. She's lazy and she doesn't really care who knows it because it's practically a hobby for her. When she's dragged back into the Order because of a paperwork issue, she's forced to actually do some work and solve a mystery that could end up destroying the organization she hates so much. 

Okay I lived for the characters in this book. Ivy was hilarious, Winter was funny but also serious, and Brutus was the star of the show. These books are seriously addictive and I don't have much to say only because I've accidentally read them all now. The one disappointing element of this book particularly was how complicated the mystery tried to be without really adding up to much. But honestly I'm here for the characters and the magic which was fantastic and very fun. 

10/10 would recommend, I took a star away from it for the plot being a little weak but honestly the characters are amazing. I was reading this at like 2am and laughing out loud so if you want a book to take your mind off life this will definitely be the one for you.

 

Book Review: Curse of the Wolf King (Entangled with the Fae #1)

Entangled with the Fae

Tessonja Odette

3/5

Gemma Bellefleur is sick of being under her father's thumb. After a scandal forced them to move, she is focused on securing employment in their new town and living her life the way she wants to live it. When she gets tricked into working for an unseelie king, she thinks that she can figure out how to make it work best for the both of them. The two work together to trick another villager in need of humbling into falling in love to break his curse and save his people. 

It's a pretty classic Beauty and the Beast retelling. There are some fun twists and it's definitely modernized in both content and viewpoints to give it more appeal. There are also some super comical situations that take away from the whole possibility of perceived Stockholm Syndrome. It's not traditional B&B as the main protagonist has complete autonomy away from the "beast", they're really more like business partners. He tries to trick her into helping him by staging a fight scene and actually using tomato sauce to imitate injury. It was a bit farfetched but also I think it made it a lot more lighthearted and more fun to read. 

My real problem came from the timeline. I just think we could have extended it to span even the three months or something instead of the two weeks. So it felt a little instalove in that respect. Though I did appreciate how their separate animosities were expressed not through violence or something but rather you could just feel like Elliot really hated humans and Gemma hated relationships. It was a nice balance and not to overdone. I also think that the whole fae thing should have been explained a bit better. Especially regarding their immortality, the epilogue gave me no insight to the duration of their relationship and that just feels like a major oversight. 

All in all though it's a pretty enjoyable retelling. It's short and fun, definitely perfect for breaking you out of a reading slump or if you just read a heavy book and wanted a tastebreaker like me. 

Book Review: Under Black Skies (Beneath Black Sails #3)

Under Black Skies

Clare Sager

4/5

I'll start by saying I received a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. So we're back at it again with more Knigh and Vice. They're inching closer and closer to Drake's treasure, sought after by pirates for centuries and promised to be of value beyond comprehension. They're also struggling with their feelings, after hurting each other in all kinds of ways they've decided it's best if they're just friends. Cause that always works out well for people with that kind of chemistry.

You can definitely see the character growth in both Knigh and Vice. In book one I wasn't sure how their relationship was going to work with all of their separate traumas and inabilities to commit but they're really pulling through. I love the romance because neither of them is satisfied to let the other be unhappy and they're so good at acknowledging when the other is suffering. They're getting so much better at knowing one another and pushing themselves to be better about it. Yet they're also simultaneously both so ignorant of their own issues which is the perfect combination for angst.

My only criticism would be the back and forth being a bit heavy towards the middle. They rehashed their feelings so many times that it felt a little repetitive. That's definitely not a bad thing for everyone, but I think compared to the last book I was just expecting a lot more pirate action. I do understand that there are four books in this series though and we can't just rush into a whole war and everything. I think that the ending also made up for some of the middle that I struggled through.

Now I don't want to spoil anything because I definitely think this whole series is worth the read but I will say I feel GUTTED by that ending. I didn't know I was signing up for a top tier cliffhanger but I did ask for the angst so I don't know what I expected. I'm very excited to see how everything gets pulled together in the finale (I'm pretty sure this is a four book series but I could be wrong). If you're a fan of fantasy, romance, pirates, or fae, this series really just has it all and should be on your shelf ASAP. 

Oh yeah even with the great romance and all the pirate battles, my favorite characters are probably Barnacles and her whole squad and I demand more page-time for them.

Book Review: The Rook (The Twisted Kingdoms #2)

 

The Rook

Frost Kay

3/5

Picking up nearly immediately where The Hunt left off, Tempest has decided to join the Jester in taking down King Devin. Doesn't mean she's not still being torn between her allegiance to the uncles who raised her and the need for justice. But she fights for the innocents, so she's not allowed to let the war crimes stand. 

Again, super interesting writing and characters but the flow of it was just weird. They would all the sudden be in these randomly tense situations without any build up. I didn't hate it and I read it in one day so it was definitely exciting, it just could have been better as a story line. Doesn't mean I haven't already downloaded the third though. 

Again, a fairly basic Kindle Unlimited book that's exciting but not all that memorable. I think the romance is heating up a bit and it's great if you're a big fan of the idea of soulmates or anything of the sort. I'm excited to see how it all goes down in the third book! 

Book Review: The Hunt (The Twisted Kingdoms #1)

The Hunt

Frost Kay

3/5

The Hunt follows the story of Tempest, a female Hound destined to fight for a corrupt king. She is torn by her allegiance to her insane monarch and the righteousness of the rebel's cause. Featuring intense fighting, a little bit of enemies to lovers (or what would probably be it) and some awkward tensions. 

I already read the sequel, so I enjoyed the book a lot, I just think it could have improved on its mechanics. I think Tempest is a very enjoyable protagonist but she also is a little bit out of it. I hope that we see more of her making good choices in the future cause she was kind of all over the place here. 

If you like fantasy romances(?) this one would be great. It's also a typical Kindle Unlimited read so it's got about everything you'd expect from a book like that.

Book Review: A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4)

A Court of Silver Flames

Sarah J. Maas

2/5

So like I don't think I really need to give an overview cause if you don't know what this book is about by now you're probably not going to and that's totally okay. This series has so much hype and I don't really understand why, I read a lot of indie books and I just think that there are books out there with a lot more substance. But if I had read this book as an indie book I'd probably have given it a lot higher rating and that's just my own recognized intrinsic bias what can you do. I also took forever to read this because my friend and I read it together and we were doing like 30 pages a night so it was definitely a lot. But overall thoughts, it was good on Nesta's character but SJM is really incapable of boosting one person up without tearing down others. I don't think it was all that awe inspiring I think she overwhelmed us with how bad she was to the point that once she got over herself we were so relieved that we just let it slide. Like I do think she was redeemed but I really wouldn't call it a comeback story because we all expected it to happen.

I'm going to break this review up into sections because I feel like there's a ton that I just need to address about it. From this point on like it's going to be written with the assumption that you've read it like I think my first paragraph is a sufficient explanation without spoilers. 

What I Liked

• I liked how she didn't use Cassian as her primary motivator to change her life story, he was obviously important but he didn't really consume her entire arc it was nice and balanced on that front. 
• She didn't let Feyre and Rhysand dominate the narrative but she also was nowhere close to writing them out. Would have preferred if she had just made this a separate series considering the previous three books were narrated nearly exclusively from Feyre in first person (I think) and this one doesn't fit that at all but like whatever.
• The ending was cute without being overwhelmingly predictable. Like I was much angrier throughout pages 1-600 than I was in the last 150 pages so props to her for that. 

What I Didn't Like

• Bro, Sarah, you're worth 40 million dollars and these sex scenes feel like they're straight out of Wattpad. I didn't find them romantic or like even shocking, they were just kind of gross for no reason? The language was incredibly bland for something that has been hyped up as the most anticipated/spiciest book of 2021. Maybe it's just that it gets reductive once you get away from like the fluffy kind of love but really not even those parts felt significant. 
• Nesta didn't teach her sister how to read and that was a big issue for me that I think we forget. I know she was like she didn't know and all but it was just so much backtracking for SJM. She vilified Nesta and Elain to give Feyre a more tragic backstory and make her more of a hero throughout the first three books and then she was like oops people actually want substance from these characters. So we try to blame it on a phantom mother who isn't relevant to the story and we also tear Elain down a bit in the process. SJM can't lift characters up without tearing other characters down and it's just hard to keep track of who we're supposed to like. 
• Same thing happened with Rhysand I don't know am I supposed to like him now or hate him? I don't really think that any of the choices that he made were outside of the characterization that everyone liked in the first three books. You wanted a dude to tear the world apart for the girl who he loves and like he's doing it but like people don't realize that to tear the world apart they make some questionable choices in blind obsession with the girl. He's not like a women's rights activist, but I never thought he was so like whatever. 
• The biggest flaw with this entire world (which is hard to say cause there are a lot of flaws) is the timeline of everything that happens. These people are literal immortals, they've lived for over 500 years so the events of these books are like the blink of an eye. Why does everything have to happen so fast? People having kids and getting married and getting their redemption arcs and learning to read, I think this story started literally two years ago and some characters have already died and been brought back twice over. I don't know how I'm supposed to find anything realistic when everything is so rushed in the grand scheme of things. 

So yeah, I read it for the hype and I finished it to be allowed to give an opinion on the hype. I didn't hate reading it I just hate that it's promoted as such a great example of fantasy when like, the plot is all over the place and the characters are just okay. I might read the next when it comes out to continue providing opinions but like I honestly enjoyed the first book more for it's just straightforwardness in what it was. I will say that I came in hating Nesta a lot and at the end I was just kind of fine with her, so she succeeded in wearing me down there and I really recognize that she's just a product of a bunch more general things that make me mad. 

Book Review: Midnight Maiden (Midnight Duology #1)

Midnight Maiden

Kathryn Marie

3/5

Christiana is an assassin. She is also a Marchioness and one of the most powerful single women in the land. The two jobs can clash with one another quite a bit, but she would never give up on her opportunity to save the people of her kingdom from the abuse that she had once suffered. 

So a warning, there are some depictions of abuse throughout the story. But I think that they built up Christiana's story pretty well, you were very aware of her motivations and the things that made her such a unique character. She had a bit of a love triangle moment, a little annoying because it was a little predictable, but also kind of a good representation of the dichotomies of her two lives. Call me crazy, but I kind of like it when characters have trauma especially when they're so good at rising above it. Christiana is definitely traumatized and I think the author did a great job representing that in a fantasy world. 

Some of the writing was a little difficult to get through, the dialogue was a little too direct. The decisions felt a bit obvious and it was hard to really feel the build-up through technique rather than just through the dialogue or monologue. I still liked the premise and plot if it all, I just think it fell a little flatter than I was expecting. It was an interesting read though and I'm excited to see where the story is going to go in the next book.

Book Review: Beneath Black Sails (Beneath Black Sails #1)

Beneath Black Sails

Clare Sager

4/5

So I see a lot of people looking for pirate romances and they nearly always recommend Daughter of the Pirate King. While that one is enjoyable, this one is enjoyable in a whole different way. It's the grittier, New Adult version- minus the sirens or I suppose substitute the sirens with fae. We have a fallen gentlewoman turned pirate legend in an alternate England where magic sails the high seas. And we have a kind of enemies to lovers romance between an angsty pirate hunter working for his family and a cocky pirate who is trying to forget the life she left behind. 

If that wasn't enough to convince you I'm probably not really convincing you to read any of the books that I read. It actually kind of reminded me of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard for some weird reason. But again, this is solidly New Adult so there are a couple steamy scenes and the character are not going to refrain from being a little crass. At the same time, it wasn't super overwhelming on that front. 

My only complaint would be with the just general conflict with their identities. I know that it would be different in application, but it just felt so painstakingly obvious to me as a reader that the situation was being misunderstood. I do love a good plot-line with the guy making a mistake and having to grovel for forgiveness though so I still really enjoyed it. There were also a couple of moments when it felt a little too direct, like when their emotions were being explained directly through words rather than for us to just be understanding it as reader. 

Even with that though, it was still a very light and palatable read with a good amount of serious plot. I think that the first fifty pages were a little boring but once you get into it, it really grabs you. I finished it all in one sitting and I'm excited to read the next.

Book Review: Rhapsodic (The Bargainer #1)

Rhapsodic

Laura Thalassa

3/5

I'm literally so conflicted on this rating, I don't know if three stars does it justice but I don't know if it deserves four stars? When Callypso was a teenager, she struck a deal with the Bargainer, a powerful figure who takes magical IOUs in return for basically you can ask for. These IOUs usually come with some devastating side effects and political turmoil, and Callie has somehow found herself owing over 300 of them. 

I enjoyed it, I think it's an enjoyable read. I think it was really questionable at points and really reminiscent of ACOTAR. I loved the combination of past and present POVs, I think that the author did a great job distinguishing between the Callie of before and the Callie of now. The problem I really had with that was how much she grew and how little he did. Maybe that's something that could be fixed in the next book but I'm kind of sick of the super old dude who is just waiting the girl's arc out. I know the seven years had an impact on him but I didn't feel it in the same way I felt it from her. 

I also think that the conflict was rushed at the end. They basically spent 350 pages on pointless stuff- well integral to the characters rather than the conflict. That's fine, but I think it would have been better if the book had ended on a cliffhanger rather than a resolution on that front. I know that another issue is going to pop up quickly, but I think the pacing could have just been better. 

I think it was much more entertaining than it was... good? It's the kind of book that was fun while it lasted but doesn't stand up to much critical thought after your finished with it. Which is totally fine, sometimes you just need that kind of read and if you're looking for it then I think this is a great one! But also if you want something super deep, maybe hold off for a bit. 

Book Review: Marked (The Coldest Fae #3)

Marked

Katerina Martinez

3/5

I would have totally missed the release of this book if I weren't on Katerina Martinez's email list, I don't know why Goodreads doesn't have it under the series like the other two but this is definitely the third book in the Coldest Fae. Dahlia is on the run from the fae government and she still doesn't understand why she's even there. She finds a secret society and the magic gets even crazier. 

I don't know I felt as though a couple things were just given to us in this book and I didn't like it as much. I didn't hate anything about it, I just felt like we were waiting a long time for certain things to happen and then they just kind of happened in this book. Like, the romance was building building building and was all the sudden resolved. The question of her parentage was a huge mystery and then it was just done? I think that the whole rival group plot line is interesting but I also think it needs to be fleshed out a little more before it's super unique.

I've liked this series, I also really like the covers and the way that they're progressing just slightly with the plot lines. I'll be looking forward to the release of the next one just cause I'm excited to see everything resolved.

Book Review: Children of Fallen Gods (The War of Lost Hearts #2)

Children of Fallen Gods

Carissa Broadbent

5/5

I'll start by saying that I was provided an ARC of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I couldn't be more grateful because it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it definitely did not disappoint. Children of Fallen Gods picks up very close to where Daughter of No Worlds left off, a boat full of refugees trying to find their way in a new nation. Tisaanah and Max quickly discover that new complications will make their journey even harder than they originally anticipated as they are pulled onto the battlefield yet again.  

Okay so I don't think I have ever comprehensively loved characters as much as I love Tisaanah and Max. I don't like reading perfect characters, I love characters in spite of their mistakes. Sometimes though, characters that I love make such obvious mistakes in their quest to avoid being classified as a perfect character. Tisaanah and Max run into roadblocks and failures, but they don't make decisions that conflict with the values that make them who they are. Their relationship is such a beautifully crafted dichotomy of their past experiences that make them such an effective and comprehensive unit. 

This book was so much better than the first, both in the emotional descriptions of the characters and the action. It's more high fantasy, more complex, and explores much deeper concepts. I loved every minute of it even though it dealt with some things that I don't typically like in novels. Like an additional POV, I'm usually kind of romance centered and don't want to read about someone else but the events are all so amazingly woven together. On that same note, romances where the protagonists are separated for extensive periods. This is a particular problem in the second books in trilogies because I feel like it's difficult to build a strong relationship the whole time through. Despite separations in this book, the relationship still grew so much and evolved into something better than I could have ever anticipated. 

So yeah, I'm recommending this book and this series very strongly. I love everything about it. If you're a fan of good romances, complex magic, and strong worldbuilding, this series will definitely check off all the boxes. I'm still shaken by just how well-written it all was and I know I'll be thinking about it quite a bit for the next few days. 

Book Review: Acolyte (Tempris #2)

Acolyte

Stephanie Fisher

4/5

After being separated, somewhat by choice and somewhat by circumstance, Skye and Taly are both trying to figure out how to best serve their kingdom and find their way back to each other. Taly is trapped in some temporal loop until she can master her time magic and Skye is trapped in a position which he used to be proud to hold until it decided to hold him back from saving his best friend. 

I think that the worldbuilding and writing style was just a lot stronger in this book. I talked about their being a bit of literal conversations in the last book that kind of turned me off, this one was a lot less of that. I did think some of the portions were a little heavy in the descriptions, but time travel is kind of crazy complicated and I can understand why that was necessary. I love the time magic and all the different kinds of magic in general, they're complicated but open so many doors for great plot lines. The thought that went into the time manipulations was insane, I was struggling to keep up with all the twists and turns.

The romance is also pretty good, though I'm still not sure on how much they bonded as children. I think that the addition of his brother as a possible romantic rival is something that I don't need and I hope it's not all that significant in the future books. I really like the idea of antics that span across so many different timelines to the point that they're never sure what's going to happen next, the idea of Taly being able to see a completely different world than Skye but still taking him along for the ride.

Yeah so I'll definitely be reading any other books that are released in this universe. It's somehow the perfect amount of cute and complex and I think there's so many places that the world could go. I would recommend it, even for people who don't typically like the craziness that time travel can create.