Book Review: A Dawn of Onyx

Overall: 2/5

Plots and Themes: 2/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 2/5

This book follows Arwen, a village healer who has been waiting for word from her brother at war for over a year. Her family has accepted the fact that he's probably dead but she's not giving up. When he does show up, it's with stolen money and a poorly planned desire to get out of the country. Her family escapes, but she's captured by the ones he stole from. 

The whole captured plotline is boring. The stakes don't seem as high as the synopsis makes it seem. Her powers had the potential to be developed into something interesting but I feel like they kind of just existed without any real fanfare. They made it seem like it was unique and rare but they never even really showcased it. 

The romance was predictable. I didn't hate it, but it was definitely not something I'll remember. It was just so cliche and at times felt like we were being forcefed their chemistry cause I really just did not feel it. Like a lot of the plot points in the book, they made sense sure they just all felt too easy. 

I probably won't read the sequel because I won't remember enough from this one to go on. Too much was happening in the last fifty pages to even follow where the next will go. I didn't hate it, I just had expected more from the synopsis. 

Book Review: House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City #2)

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Attention Grabbing: 2/5

House of Sky and Breath is the second book in the Crescent City book series by Sarah J Maas. It's over 800 pages of conflict and conversation with nearly as many characters to match (most of which with names ending in -ion). My thoughts on this one are similar to my thoughts on the first book, a lot of pages with some interesting fragments peppered in. 

One of the things I appreciated from SJM in this series versus her others was the focus on feminine friendship. Despite the unfortunate reality of the bond and how we knew it would have to end, it still had some beautiful moments and bonds that existed outside of the romantic pairing. But she couldn't let that slide, and she used a significant portion of this book to dissolve the trust of that bond giving no power to one side to defend themselves or to repair the breach in trust. 

I kind of liked the ending despite the confusion. Like the first book, the last fifty pages are what really got me. Without that, I would have rated even lower. I liked Bryce in the first book, but I feel she was sacrificed in this book in an attempt to build the arcs of everyone else. When I don't feel her and Hunt's story is well-rounded at all. ACOTAR and TOG did the same thing, but at least she provided us a bit of closure before diving in headfirst. 

So, there were good parts and there were bad parts but the book's greatest weakness is the fact that it relies so heavily on twists and turns rather than actual plot or character development. It was too long for that, and I think it would have been a lot better if it came in at 400 or 500 pages. 

Book Review: King of the Court

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 2/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

I'm so desperate for sports romances at this point that I'm really reading a basketball romance. King of the Court follows a basketball team spending some time in a small Texas town to train for the Olympics. It's your typical basketball superstar meets small town poor girl and tries to solve all her problems. But here, we have kind of a broken part one and part two with the added benefit of a time jump just to avoid actually maybe, I don't know, developing their relationship. 

That seems harsh, but it did feel like a cop out. I also don't know enough about basketball to gauge if this is anywhere close to a realistic portrayal of how a basketball superstar might be treated. It felt way overdramatic. It was pretty entertaining up until the cheat of a plot-twist. Beyond that, everything felt rushed and half-hearted. It's definitely not in my top tier sports romances, but was also not the worst. 

Book Review: Dear Aaron

Overall: 4/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 4/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

Dear Aaron is what I think people refer to as a Dear John story. The protagonist, Ruby, starts writing a soldier through a program decided to comfort those who are deployed. But they talk a lot more than she ever has with any of them before and they get to know each other beyond the words. It's set in 2008, but I feel it's more reminiscent of like a Tumblr love story of 2012.

At this point, I've read quite a few Mariana Zapata books and I'm a fan of the formula she has established for writing these books. It's a slowburn that is isolated to a standalone, so she has to get through all the character-building separately while pushing them to be together. Dear Aaron throws the additional challenge of trying to get us to understand these characters through their messages exclusively rather than any sort of additional dialogue. I think it's not my favorite of her reads, but it's definitely fun and different to feel like you're meeting the characters as they meet each other. You don't have any of that reader's omniscience that allows you to see into their heads and gives you that told you so feeling. 

So, not my favorite of the Zapatas but definitely not the worst. I still need to read From Lukov and I know these guys get a feature so I'm excited to see how they've progressed. I was deprived of my usual Zapata married with children epilogue and I'd love to see where they end up. 

Book Review: When it Falls Apart (The D'Angelos #1)

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 2/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

When it Falls Apart is the first book in a contemporary romance trilogy that follows the relationships of three siblings. In this one, Luca and Brooke meet at his family restaurant in Little Italy. They bond over their willingness to do whatever necessary for their families, despite a rocky start. 

My biggest issue was the title honestly. When it falls apart implies that something catastrophic is going to happen, and then synopsis supports that idea. But it wasn't dramatic enough for me. I didn't feel like much had gone into the foundation of the relationship prior to the big dramatic earthquake that was supposed to destroy everything. It wasn't catastrophic and it wasn't even that deep as I didn't feel as though their relationship was serious enough for that. I started getting annoyed by it all because it felt like we were supposed to interpret the relationship as much more intense than it actually was. Thus, the fallout wasn't nearly as big as they wanted us to feel it was. 

Still a decent read, but just kind of meh all the way through. Predictable without any of the fun that should accompany such a crazy title. Maybe I was just expecting something closer to Things Fall Apart.

Book Review: The King's Captive (Gates of Myth and Power #1)

 

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 3/5

Attention Grabbing: 3/5

The premise of this book was strange. She turns into a cat- and like exclusively a cat. It kind of became obvious from the start that there would be more to it eventually and we spent the whole book waiting to see what her next trick would be. But in the middle of all that waiting, she gets... adopted? By an elf king who just decides he needs a pet cat. She fit the bill and he places all her trust in her and then we have the awkward and unique experience of watching someone bond with a pet that is totally sentient and basically trapped. 

I think points for being quirky but like it lost me at points. I started dozing off cause it was just so slow-paced and it felt like things were being rehashed that didn't necessarily need to be rehashed. Definitely not as weird as the plot premise sounds, but also I would need a big opener to get me interested in the sequel. 

Book Review: Untainted (The Crystal Island Series #1)

Overall: 3/5

Plots and Themes: 3/5

Characters: 3/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Attention Grabbing: 4/5

This book was interesting for the same reasons that it felt boring at times - because it followed all the desired tropes pretty much exactly. I enjoyed it and I think it was an enjoyable read, but I think it also could benefit from a really good plot twist. The prologue gave away more than necessary and after that I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop.