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| 1542039223
| 9781542039222
| B09MVQFKDN
| 3.82
| 13,853
| Dec 01, 2022
| Dec 01, 2022
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it was amazing
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This book was so much dang fun to read! I knew from the very beginning I was going to love it, and I was totally sucked in from page one. I just sat h
This book was so much dang fun to read! I knew from the very beginning I was going to love it, and I was totally sucked in from page one. I just sat here all day, avidly reading page after page, only getting up to grab some lunch (which I ate one-handed while I continued to read) and to refill my iced coffee (because caffeine). I knew I would love a book about a total boss woman who decides to defend the legacy her and her husband built in Washington after he went and tarnished it like an idiot. What I didn’t expect was to love this greedy, ambitious, shallow, vain, unscrupulous, whip-smart, and borderline sociopathic boss woman so much. She’s everything I’ve always imagined the ideal politician’s wife to be, save that most politician’s wives don’t see people as toys that can be taken out and played with at will and then discarded carelessly when she feels they have no use anymore. Her lack of impulse control and her childlike understanding of politics only made me love her more, because it caused the book to edge on satire at times, showing the true colors behind all politicians: they are all just petty children looking to not be picked last for kickball on the playground. They are all adolescents in a high school cafeteria looking for the ideal place to sit for maximum popularity. They are all part of a clique facing the peer pressure to take this or try that. But Jody Asher? Jody Asher is a singular woman who wants to be Captain of the kickball team, the most popular girl in school whom everyone wants to sit next to at lunch, and never have to fit into a clique because she is every clique and everyone both loves her and fears her. In short? She’s the Regina George of Washington D. C. and I am here for it. This book would be a good book if it was just about Jody and her efforts to restore the glory of the Asher legacy her idiotic husband left her with, but Rouda adds a layer to the cake with a glorious game of bad blood between Jody and her college friend/Think Tank founder, Mimi. That whole layer of the cake should and will remain a huge spoiler should it be revealed in a review, so this reviewer will keep her trap shut and let you find out when you go to read the book, because it’s catty, juicy, and metaphorically bloody. In short, it’s a delight. I’m here for all of Jody Asher’s blind ambitions and political fumblings, coasting on her husband’s years of service and a lot of hidden dirt to get what she wants. I’m here for her efforts to try and at least give somewhat of a crud about her fellow humans. Most of all, I’m here for what was just a really clever and sharp book. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for granting me access to this title. File Under: Thriller/Political Thriller/5 Star Books/Crime Fiction/Mystery/Suspense ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Nov 29, 2022
not set
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Nov 29, 2022
not set
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Nov 29, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| 0593487508
| 9780593487501
| 0593487508
| 3.81
| 10,844
| Jan 03, 2023
| Jan 03, 2023
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it was amazing
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Last year there were a plethora of fantasy novels and series launched with their roots set in the myths, legends, and folklore of East Asia. Some of t
Last year there were a plethora of fantasy novels and series launched with their roots set in the myths, legends, and folklore of East Asia. Some of them were great (I personally loved “The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea), and some simply missed the mark. No matter how well each book was received, I was simply overjoyed to see all these books bringing these beautiful stories, some of which have never been heard by readers in far-flung countries, brought to life in their own way by Asian authors or authors of Asian descent. “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night”, is my first fantasy read of 2023, and I enjoyed it more than I have any East Asian mythology retelling novel in many months. It was nearly 500 pages, but it was 500 pages worth of time well spent steeped in a world that not only reminded me of some of my favorite epic animes like Inuyasha, but also of Wuxia films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. It even, in a cheeky way, reminded me just a tiny bit of Kung-Fu Panda. (I tried not to go there, folks, but I couldn’t help it). I know that the blurb mentions that readers who like “The Untamed” might like this, but I’ve never read the books or seen the show (though I have a friend who’s a superfan, so I do know the basics, and I can see where the appeal would lay). I knew this book was going to be good when it took off right away interchanging worldbuilding and character building for our female protagonist in between weaving incredibly vivid imagery of the surroundings and sprinkling in exhibitionism in the form of show and not tell. It was as if Zhao was tap dancing in these fast-moving opening scenes, masterfully trying to show us her world, her character, what everything looks and feels like, and also sneaking in the “why” of it all anytime there was a chance. I kept trying to highlight and note in my Kindle so I could come back, but by the time we got to what most “Hero’s Journey” devotees would call “The Point of No Return”, I had completely forgotten about taking notes and highlighting because the story had swept me away. And it kept me swept away with its clever dialogue, hypnotizing stories within the story, colonizing, sadistic, conquering villains, complex and unique supporting characters, and our female protagonist’s male love interest, who’s story is sad and heavy and fills him with a weighty self-fulfilling prophecy. Even knowing this is the first book in a series, Zhao wasn’t unkind when writing the ending of this book and decides to leave us grounded, even if it is a bit rocky. It’s sure better than a cliffhanger. A lot of plates are spinning and a lot of balls are in the air, but at least most loose ends that could’ve been left loose for readers to wonder about until the next book in the series is released were tied up so we can be just hungry enough when the next installment comes to shelves. NetGalley and Delacorte Press provided me with access to this title. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Reads/YA Fantasy/Myth Retellings/Fantasy Series/Coming of Age/Fantasy Romance/Historical Fantasy/Myth Retellings/YA Book Series/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 03, 2023
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Jan 03, 2023
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Nov 28, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1250830915
| 9781250830913
| 1250830915
| 3.59
| 18,110
| May 02, 2023
| May 02, 2023
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it was amazing
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I absolutely adore stories that read as both horrific and beautiful at the same time. Absolutely elegant prose filled with gore and terror. Colorful a
I absolutely adore stories that read as both horrific and beautiful at the same time. Absolutely elegant prose filled with gore and terror. Colorful and evocative imagery juxtaposed against apathetic and dismissive dialogue. Compassionate concern wrapped in manipulation and poison. This novella is Hans Christensen Anderson, Poe, Dickinson, and Shelley tossed into a cauldron and simmered together into a black magic soup. And it is delicious. I don’t normally give warnings. I don’t like them, because I feel it ruins the story. Especially if you’re reading dark fantasy or horror. In my opinion, you should pretty much be buckled in and ready for whatever when you open up a book in these genres. In this case, I am going to warn you this book isn’t for people who want to avoid gore or body horror. Just trust me on this. Clocking in at around 115 pages (depending on your format), Cassandra Khaw makes efficient and effective use of every single word, using brilliant sentence and scene construction to bring this story together in the most economic, efficient, and elegant way possible. It’s not a complex story at its core: It’s two characters simply traveling together to see what’s over the next mountain. That’s generally what most stories are about, really: What’s over there? It’s a classic journey. In a full-length novel, the characters would be waylaid several times by side quests and subplots. In this novella, our two protagonists reach their first side quest and that’s where the vast majority of the story takes place. I love that. I love that these two characters abandon their journey for what they think will just be a little while: First out of curiosity, then out of obligation, then out of vengeance, and then…Well, that would be spoiler territory. It’s lovely and ghastly and perfect, in my opinion. Macabre, sinister, and sad. I highly recommend it. I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All ideas, views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: Dark Fantasy/Horror/Mythological Fiction/Novella/Body Horror ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 06, 2023
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May 06, 2023
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Nov 22, 2022
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Hardcover
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| B0BKZJLTXX
| 4.04
| 7,979
| Feb 09, 2023
| Feb 09, 2023
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it was amazing
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Oh holy sweet cuteness I declare Christian a cinnamon roll that must be protected at all costs, if only from himself. Saxon James just somehow knows h Oh holy sweet cuteness I declare Christian a cinnamon roll that must be protected at all costs, if only from himself. Saxon James just somehow knows how to write books that are 33% cute, 33% sweet, 33% sexy, and 1% angst. And no, I won’t be budged on those numbers. You would think that I’d get tired of it, but I absolutely NEVER tire of Saxon James, and that’s down to her versatility as a writer in every other way. Saxon is not an author you go to for plot, and that’s okay. There are many great authors known for being stronger in other areas than plot. With Saxon, it’s characters. It’s like she has some sort of character generator in her head and it spits out the most fascinating motley crews for her to write the best stories for, and we get them in all shades of the rainbow. Sometimes their backstories are happy, sometimes they’re sad, but they’re always interesting. Best of all, all of her characters are unique, distinctive, and aren’t simply there for window dressing. They usually always have a role to play, however small. I’m very, very picky about books with a plot that hinges on the fake relationship/engagement/marriage trope. Mainly because books with that trope make the main characters look like very stupid people who have no idea how to communicate, and then you get to the 80% mark in these books and the conflict always comes to a head with… you guessed it! A major communication problem! I had given up on reading them altogether until Saxon and Eden Finley lured me out with their Fake Boyfriends series. Luckily, Saxon sees the errors in most fake relationship trope books, knows it well, and has found a host of ways to work around it. In this book, the way through is fast-burn, confidence, taking a leap of faith, determination, and words of affirmation. Boy, does it work. It works so, so well. The chemistry between Emile and Christian is through the roof from the moment they meet, and it makes the whole book absolutely combustible. Christian’s found family of misfit artists are all going to be the stars in the rest of this series (save Molly, if I’m correct), and they’re all absolute peaches who you will want to hug and bake cookies for. Well done, Saxon, for birthing yet another book series for us all to go crazy for! I was provided a copy of this book by the author. All opinions and views expressed in this review are my own. Thank you. File Under: Gay Romance/LGBTQ Romance/Contemporary Romance/5 Star Reads/OwnVoices/Romance Series/RomCom/Spice Level 2 ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 08, 2023
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Feb 08, 2023
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Nov 18, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| 0063222892
| 9780063222892
| 0063222892
| 3.71
| 63,463
| Apr 25, 2023
| Apr 25, 2023
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it was amazing
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Okay, can I just let you guys know right off the bat that I devoured this book all in one sitting in about three and a half hours? This book is 352 pa
Okay, can I just let you guys know right off the bat that I devoured this book all in one sitting in about three and a half hours? This book is 352 pages, so that’s about 5 pages a minute, on average. I’m a speed reader. That’s been the case my entire life. But in this case I think it’s fair to say I absolutely devoured this book in the way I usually only reserve for books that utterly captivate me and drown out the world around me until the book is the only thing I know and see. I love a good piece of meta fiction, and while The Last Word isn’t completely meta, the catalyst for the plot is definitely a sharp bit of meta that anyone who’s been contacted by a wounded or narcissistic author about what they feel is an unfair or nasty review they don’t deserve and demand you take it down (and/or stalk you online…maybe talk trash about you on social media) or know someone who has. Authors who, for some reason, don’t understand when you put your work out for public consumption it then becomes up to the public to decide its merits and deficits because art is subjective. Just that part of the book alone was enough for me to be drawn in completely, along with Emma’s (our protagonist) spot-on analysis of an independent author’s truly horrible horror novel that she dares to give a one-star review on a certain bookseller’s website. Let’s just say he doesn’t appreciate her review and threatens to go further in revenge than just online stalking or social media trash talking and Emma is almost completely alone on an isolated strand of beach houses in northern Washington with only her beloved dog, Laika, and a single neighbor down the beach named Deek for company. Emma came to Washington with more emotional baggage than physical and with a goal in mind. She just isn’t there yet. In the meantime she plays Hangman with Deek via telescope, reads free and bargain deal books on her eReader en masse, drinks a lot of ginger tea, and plays with Laika on the beach. It’s not long at all–only a day or so, maybe–before Emma starts to get that feeling all of us thriller readers know is coming: the feeling of being watched. Emma just feels like she’s being watched very closely. From this point in the book, the plot starts to accelerate quickly, while the POV shifts between the narrative in third person omniscient and the narrative told like a story from the antagonist’s POV. This section of the book is riveting as it shows just how delusional and unbalanced our antagonist is while simultaneously showing the story from what some call the “God Perspective”. This is also another meta point to the plot, as the antagonist points out more than once that “the author is God”. The contrast between the antagonist, with his conspiracy theory dog whistles and definite incel personality and Emma, with her loyal dog and huge heart, make for a fascinating show-down. One is filled with bravado, narcissism, and power he didn’t earn but only manufactured for himself from delusions and what he probably read on social media sites. The other may have a huge heart, but it’s a wounded one housed in a vulnerable body with a depressed mind, all of which stems from very real emotional trauma and pain. Emma doesn’t start off believing she can survive this ordeal, but she has hidden strength and enough resilience to know she doesn’t want someone like our antagonist to be the one to take her (or her dog!) down. Yes, this book may be a bit predictable in spots, but it’s enough of a surprise where it counts that I was happy as a clam. It’s rare that I get surprised by thrillers, but this book definitely got me going, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I couldn’t stop reading and the time just flew by. I definitely think you should put this on your TBR. Heck, just go and read it now. It’s clever, quick, and an absolutely fantastic read. I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Read/Conspiracy Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller/Thriller/Crime Thriller/Murder Thriller ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 06, 2023
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Apr 29, 2023
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Nov 14, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1728256151
| 9781728256153
| 3.97
| 7,437
| Aug 01, 2023
| Aug 01, 2023
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it was amazing
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With every book she writes, Rachel Griffin just gets better. I loved Wild is the Witch, but I absolutely adored Bring Me Your Midnight. I adored every
With every book she writes, Rachel Griffin just gets better. I loved Wild is the Witch, but I absolutely adored Bring Me Your Midnight. I adored every page. You guys, this book made me cry. If you know anything about me, you should know I don’t cry easily from reading, so for a book to move me enough to make me cry (and more than once!) is a huge feat, and for me is one of the markers of a truly excellent novel (well, I don’t expect comedies to make me cry, obviously). What isn’t there to love about this book? Griffin already had the talent for world building and writing stunningly beautiful prose that evokes the natural and lush landscapes her books tend to take place in (in Wild is the Witch it was forests, and in this book it’s a gorgeous island redolent in meadows, idyllic forests, and a picturesque shoreline). For the magic system world building in this story she seems to have upped her game and stretched her muscles a bit into a wider stretch of the paranormal than her previous books, but it’s used very well and to great effect. The storyline itself is not only interesting but it’s a sweeping, gothic, romantic fantasy that I gladly sunk into, letting the familiarity of an “arranged marriage for the sake of politics” trope alongside the “FMC has doubts because she really hoped her husband would love her and she doesn’t want to leave her friends and family” trope run along as it get swept up in intrigue over a parable about climate change, cults of personality, and how you can’t make people change their way of thinking with facts. People change their ways of thinking with their hearts. The main characters in this book, Wolfe and Mortana, are absolutely wonderful. Watching them come together, both capricious and cautious at the same, is a delight. The beautiful and sad subplot of Mortana’s and Lily’s friendship was especially moving for me. The constant looming date of Mortana’s marriage to Landon, the son of the mainland’s governor, is also something that evoked a lot of emotion in me. I’d tell you why, but spoilers abound. All in all, it’s a gorgeous book that’s elegant and wonderfully written. An excellent novel all-around. I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Review/Fantasy/Romantasy/Gothic/Paranormal Fantasy/Paranormal Romance/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Aug 04, 2023
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Aug 04, 2023
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Nov 11, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0593532260
| 9780593532263
| 0593532260
| 4.11
| 6,494
| Jan 30, 2024
| Jan 30, 2024
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it was amazing
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The Invocations is the type of book I live to read. Love to read. The kind of book that when I open it during my ARC reading I do a fist pump and cong
The Invocations is the type of book I live to read. Love to read. The kind of book that when I open it during my ARC reading I do a fist pump and congratulate myself on finding an absolute gem of a novel that speaks to me on every level–that resonates with me on a molecular level. The Invocations is the kind of book I read the ARC of, then buy a physical copy of and put on my bookshelf so I can read it and show it off and recommend it to people again and again. Am I the “target audience”? Heck no. I’m in my mid-40s. The Craft came out the year I graduated high school. Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out the year after. I was a fan of the movie before the show, for pete’s sake. My own era of witchery came and went before I even had my first kid. You know what has come and not left since then, though? My anger. My rage. My fear. My fear of men. My rage at systemic patriarchy. My anger at myself for still being so afraid, even though I know there’s still so many reasons to be afraid every single day. (Then there’s more rage). It’s those feelings that make this book something I completely vibe with, along with how much I adored every single female character within. Krystal Sutherland pulls no punches with her female characters and I’m loving it. I’m never here for females who approach this world like it’s not out for our blood. I’m never here for female characters who think we’re safe or who are complacent. Jude, Emer, and Zara are all angry at the world in their own ways and none of them are complacent about it. They’re all trying to fight in their own ways. Sure, in the beginning they’re all fighting in self-serving ways–but when they find a common cause and common enemy (hint: it’s a man) they band together to stop it. They fight through pain, blood, sweat, tears, dirt, and more. They sacrifice. Because they know no one else will. It’s not an easy book to read. My belief is that books like this shouldn’t be an easy read because women’s lives aren’t easy. Books like this remind us it’s okay to be angry. That we can be angry. That we should be angry. And it does it in a glorious, gory, blood-soaked, demonic way. I loved it. I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Review/Body Horror/LGBTQ Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Occult Fiction/Sapphic Romance/Serial Killer/Supernatural Horror/Suspense Thriller/Thriller/YA Thriller/YA Fiction ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 20, 2024
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Jan 20, 2024
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Nov 08, 2022
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Hardcover
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| B0BBJG4Z1L
| 4.13
| 11,655
| Nov 03, 2022
| Nov 03, 2022
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it was amazing
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I don’t often go in for a huge amount of emotional angst in my romances. I mean, I don’t mind my characters being a hot mess, but usually too much of
I don’t often go in for a huge amount of emotional angst in my romances. I mean, I don’t mind my characters being a hot mess, but usually too much of it just brings me down and I’m not down for it. I got my own depressive demons to deal with, you know? I guess that’s why I love Andi Jaxon’s books. They’re thick books (this one comes in at 431 pages and I still finished it in less than 6 hours), but inside those pages are a shockingly consistent, well-balanced, and well-placed amount of angst, spice, humor, and genuine emotion. Throw in making it a hockey romance and we get some of that sweet locker room action, along with some action on the ice. The plot of this book is a doozy, and I was here for it. I can’t say much about it because of spoilers; but Preston, one of our two MMCs, is new to Denver and its’ college hockey team after he was forced to move from Boston by his father, who is a famous and renowned plastic surgeon. Since he’s moving to the university past the housing deadline, he has to share a dorm instead of having a single like he’s used to. He ends up rooming with our other MMC, Jeremy, who is Preston’s opposite in just about every way. This, of course, leads to just about my favorite romance trope in the world: forced proximity. Heck yeah! Contents under pressure, man. Preston is indeed the definition of a pressurized container, because he is a bottle stuffed full of secrets, lies, pain, and shame. He’s surrounded by walls made practically of adamantium, mainly because he’s made sure he’s been alone for so long. Living in close quarters with Jeremy begins to quickly erode Preston’s walls and his resolve. Is there angst? Oh yes. Plenty of angst. You will feel plenty of emotional pain for both Preston and Jeremy, and you will feel rage on one character’s behalf as well. I know I did. Luckily, Jaxon knows when to lighten things up just a little, throwing in humorous scenes that will make you grin, cackle, and snort. If you aren’t busy laughing, you’re reading about hockey, reading about Preston and Jeremy trying to find their way through to one another, or reading one of many (but not too many) scorchingly hot spice scenes (hot, fast, and dirty, just like I love them). If you’ve never read Andi Jaxon before, you’re in for a wild ride. She doesn’t pull punches with her characters and her writing never shies away from the darker side of romance. I know for a fact she puts a lot of time and care into writing her books and fine-tuning them into the creatures they become. Her novels are some of my favorites because they draw you in and don’t let you go. File Under: Contemporary Romance/Sports Romance/Hockey Romance/MM Romance/Gay Romance/LGBTQ Romance/College Romance/Indie Author/Independent Author/5 Star Books ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 30, 2022
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Oct 30, 2022
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Oct 27, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| 0593481658
| 9780593481653
| 0593481658
| 3.90
| 9,399
| Apr 04, 2023
| Apr 04, 2023
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really liked it
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Bwhahaha! My inner Arthuriana fangirl was itching to get its hands on this book, being such grabby hands for books tied to the infamous mythological b
Bwhahaha! My inner Arthuriana fangirl was itching to get its hands on this book, being such grabby hands for books tied to the infamous mythological barbarian king, his loyal knights, Merlin (lord, let’s not get into HIM), Tintagel, Camelot, yada yada yada. However, there is one specific group of people that will always capture my attention more than any other when it comes to books related to this sub-genre of fantasy novels: any novels having to do with Morgan/Morgana, Elayne, and/or Vivian/Viviane/Vivane. (Example: Laura Sebastian’s beyond excellent Half Sick of Shadows). I’ll even throw in Morgause, since she’s sometimes substituted for one of the other three or even included with the other three, depending on your source material. So I was so excited to get a chance to read Silver in the Bone, urban fantasy meeting the realm of Avalon, with a character named Emrys (Merlin’s name in the Welsh Arthuriana texts), a desperation to save a sibling, some enemies-to-lovers action vibes, curses, dark magic…sign me up! I cracked this baby up, settling in for a good, day-long read (it ended up being a day and a half because reasons). The verdict? Besides being very predictable in a lot of ways (to the point where I got downright mad at the obliviousness of some characters) with some solid (but obvious) red herrings thrown our way, Silver in the Bone is an enjoyable fantasy read, but not an enjoyable fantasy romance. It’s the start of a fantasy romance, but this book is way more epic and dark fantasy than it is anything else. I enjoyed the first and second acts of this book far more than I did the third. The third act may be where all the questions are answered and where all the serious action is, but it’s also where I facepalmed the most because I was constantly saying, “DUH” because everything I had already predicted (including the very end) was coming true). Alexandra Bracken does a fantastic job of building both the mortal world in this book for the Hollowers and sorceresses (where Tamsin, Emrys, Cabell, and Neve come from), but she deserves even more props for her worldbuilding in Avalon. I can’t tell you about the Avalon worldbuilding because it’s not included in the summary and it would be a huge spoiler; but trust me, it’s some of the most intricate worldbuilding I’ve ever read when it comes to a rendering of Avalon. I’d say the characters in this book stand out, but they really don’t. They feel familiar because they are familiar. A snarky, cynical, closed-off female protagonist. A yearning, slightly softer, slightly vulnerable, out-of-place, yet loyal brother figure. A bubbly, friendly, extroverted bestie who manages to melt the female protagonist despite her emotional shields. A dark-haired, handsome MMC with whom the FMC has a rivalry with even though she can’t stop thinking about him and even though she knows he’s nothing but trouble. I could keep going. You know them and you’ve met them because these same archetype characters have been in so many fantasy novels over the past decade or so you can recognize them right away. Still, I can’t help but love Tamsin (our FMC) because I loves me a snarky and sharp-tongued woman fueled by spite. Reminds me of me. The pacing is solid, but the plot obviously needs work if I found it so predictable. This isn’t me saying I didn’t enjoy it, because it’s an interesting and fresh take on Avalon and Arthuriana. Plus, the ending had me greedy for the next book. I was left with that urgent feeling of, “What comes next? I need to see what comes next!” And that feeling is what you want from the first book in any book series. This book does end on a major cliffhanger. It’s a doozy. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. But do try and pick this up and give it a read. I think you’ll enjoy it. I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All ideas, views, thoughts, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: Arthuriana/YA Fantasy/YA Fantasy Romance/YA Fiction/Fantasy Series/Book Series/Coming of Age/Dark Fantasy/LGBTQ Friendly/Epic Fantasy ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 04, 2023
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Apr 05, 2023
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Oct 19, 2022
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Hardcover
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| B0BG37P8QJ
| 4.04
| 11,401
| Oct 27, 2022
| Oct 27, 2022
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it was amazing
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Talk about a book destined for a ton of highlighted quotes! The sarcasm and snark is real, folks, and it is HOT. I don’t play hockey. I don’t watch ho Talk about a book destined for a ton of highlighted quotes! The sarcasm and snark is real, folks, and it is HOT. I don’t play hockey. I don’t watch hockey. I don’t even like hockey. I don’t even understand hockey except that the puck goes in the net and there’s a lot of fights and there’s a penalty box where grown men throw temper tantrums until they’re let back out. But Eden Finley (and, to an extent, Saxon James) have somehow made LGBQTQIA hockey romances my jam, and I think I loved “Shameless Puckboy” more than I’ve loved any of the other hockey romances written by either author. I’m not kidding about the highlights, by the way. I found myself snickering, snorting, cackling, and giggling so much that I couldn’t help but highlight passage after passage because the banter was just so witty and vibrant, the dialogue so quick and funny I just don’t understand how these books aren’t on shelves at all major bookstores selling like hotcakes because they’re that good. Maybe it’s just me, but this book was filled with such teasing, such sexual tension, and such chemistry it was like these two characters could be peeled off the page. It was so steamy and rich I got squirmy in the good way and regretted deciding to read in the living room with family around so I didn’t spend the day in bed. And can we just talk about how this book hit some of the best buttons? Major exhibitionism? Check. A brat who isn’t a boy? Check. Two men who like it hard and fast? Checkity check check. Two men who really just want to take care of one another? Freaking SWOON. Conversation as foreplay? HELLO. I loved this plot because I felt it felt like it wasn’t like some unrealistic fever dream that couldn’t ever happen in the world of hockey. The plot wasn’t overcooked or overcomplicated, it was just two men who had deep insecurities and had to decide what was more important to them in the end. Now, I’m going to tell you if you haven’t read the previous two Puckboys books or aren’t familiar with Eden Finley’s Fake Boyfriend series you probably are going to be completely lost going into this book. You are going to want to read the previous two Puckboy books at least, even though I will recommend reading the Fake Boyfriend series as well to get familiar with the entire Queer Collective (the members of which do play a part in this book). It won’t be time wasted, however, because any time spent with either Eden Finley or Saxon James is never time wasted! I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. File Under: 5 Star Books/Contemporary Romance/Books in a Romance Series/Books in a Romance Universe/LGBTQIA Fiction/LGBTQIA Friendly Reads/LGBTQIA Romance/Rom Com/Spice Level 3/Sports Romance ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Oct 18, 2022
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Oct 18, 2022
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Oct 18, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| B0BGPXYH6R
| 4.11
| 5,966
| Jan 25, 2023
| Jan 25, 2023
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it was amazing
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Back in October 2022, Eden Finley dropped a little book named Football Royalty in an interconnected series of LGBTQIA+ romance novels known as Frankli
Back in October 2022, Eden Finley dropped a little book named Football Royalty in an interconnected series of LGBTQIA+ romance novels known as Franklin U (more colloquially known as FU). If you haven’t read it, then I suggest you go read it because that whole book is beyond awesome and because there’s a scene in that book that is then alluded to in Can’t Say Goodbye (but is not vital to reading said book) that then resulted in every Eden Finley fan immediately salivating for the story of Brady Talon and his two Navy SEALs. And when I say we were all salivating, I mean we might as well have all been on our knees, begging and pleading and willing to be Eden’s slaves if she would give us this book. So when Can’t Say Goodbye was announced in the fall, we all might as well have collectively swooned like a southern belle whose corset had been laced too tight. We were dogs collectively chasing our tails, not known to scratch our watches or wind our butts. And then the waiting and the teasing began. So, I’m sure you all want to know: Was it worth the wait? Oh, oh my darling dears, it was. It was worth every day since we found out Brady Talon had a thing for more than one man in uniform. It’s not unusual for people in a position where they spend every day taking care of everyone else, putting out metaphorical fires and carrying other people’s worries and fears on their own shoulders day in and day out, and putting a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed not because of external forces but because they want to be the best they can be to want to come home to someone to help them lay those burdens down, to help them put down the weight, and take care of them. And that’s Brady Talon. No one’s pressuring him to go to law school: He’s doing it because he knows it’ll make him a better sports agent. He’s not becoming a sports agent because it’s his legacy: He’s becoming a sports agent because he wants to be the one to advocate and take care of his brother and his brother’s legacy. He wants to be a part of the agency his uncle founded and join him in his work because it’s how they all came together as a family and the mission it started with and the goals it works toward are some of the most important things in his life. When Brady meets Kit and Prescott at a bar known for catering to sailors, all he’s looking for is a good time, but from that very first night, it’s like something clicks, and holy patty melt does it click! Brady is a needy boy, all hands and skin and mouth. He wants these large men, who can turn him into putty, inside out, manhandle him, wreck him, and leave him feeling warm and absolutely broken down so all his cares and worries have floated away for as long as that high can last. Usually, these kinds of hook-ups are a one-time thing, but these sailors are in town for a bit, and none of them can stay away from one another; and when it comes time for Kit and Prescott to depart (Prescott to deploy, Kit to take a job at the Pentagon), none of them can stand to permanently say goodbye. The goal is to meet up once a year. Yeah right. In a novel like this, with this level of pining (and I love a good pining), there tends to come too much angst for my taste. But this is Eden Finley, and she’s too good of a writer in her genre to let her readers languish in angst. It’s just not her bag, baby. Brady, Kit, and Prescott are pining, but none of them are emotionally stunted. Conversations emotional, steamy, and serious are had between them all. We’re given a lot of insight into who Brady Talon is professionally, and those scenes are captivating, because we get to see just how good of an agent he will be once he’s done with law school and interning for Damon. We also get to see how close he and Damon are, which is something that’s never been explored in previous books that make up the Sadenverse. (Side note: This actually WAS really, really nice and so insightful and revelatory when it came to both Brady and Damon, and it would be nice to see in future Sadenverse novels if there are certain characters who are closer to one another than others that we didn’t know about before). I enjoyed the spicy scenes so much, but I can’t pretend it’s not because I adore mmm scenes. Three sweaty males, and twisted up in a bed together? Don’t get me started. The way Brady becomes this needy, greedy, insatiable thing around Kit and Prescott, and the way they spoil him and give him everything he needs and wants until he’s broken down into pieces? Please. Nothing’s hotter. The emotional development of all three men is sexy, if only because it’s free of the toxicity that could have permeated this novel in the hands of another author. You’d expect it of Brady, given the family and environment he was brought up in. I think with Kit and Prescott it comes from their long history of being the best of friends and from lonely Kit being swallowed up and adopted by Prescott’s open and accepting family. You don’t see these two Navy SEALs who carry themselves around like they are at the top of the predator chain: You only see two guys who know they’re hot and all they want to do is chill and take care of each other and (especially) Brady. Polyamory sometimes comes together out of the blue or it’s built on top of the foundation of an existing relationship. Either way, it doesn’t come together easily, cleanly, and it takes a metric ton of open, honest, and effective communication. It’s also still stigmatized by society for more reasons than I can count. Watching our boys in this story not only come to terms with what they are, what they want, what they need, what they can’t live without, and then accept they refuse to live their lives any other way is not only beautiful but it’s moving. It’s scary to tell the most important people in your life that you want to live a life less ordinary. I can relate, since my family didn’t take my own poly coming out well and choose to ignore that aspect of my identity. It seems love is love is love… as long as that love is with one person. It’s one more stigma that needs to go. Eden does a lovely job of explaining polyamory as it exists today and writes a coming out for Brady that is a mix of emotionally moving and humorous, as only she can. It’s another novel knocked out of the park for Eden Finley, and such a freaking hot read. Brady Talon got his HEA, and us readers got the book we’ve been salivating over. It’s a win all around. The author provided me with access to this title. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Thank you. File Under: Gay Romance/Poly Romance/LGBTQ Romance/MMM Romance/Sports Romance/Military Romance/Sadenverse/5 Star Reads/Contemporary Romance/Gay Fiction/Spice Level 3 ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jan 19, 2023
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Jan 19, 2023
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Oct 13, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| 0374390061
| 9780374390068
| 0374390061
| 3.65
| 426
| Nov 01, 2022
| Nov 01, 2022
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it was amazing
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I struggle with labeling this book as a young adult book. Not because I don’t think it’s age-appropriate, but because I think it’s doing the book a di
I struggle with labeling this book as a young adult book. Not because I don’t think it’s age-appropriate, but because I think it’s doing the book a disservice: this book should be promoted to be read by all ages. There have been a great deal of novels over time that could technically be labeled as being “young adult” (“The Call of the Wild” comes to mind), but since they were written prior to the time when the publishing industry started marketing books toward certain demographics to maximize profit they simply were read by anyone who found them interesting and then some of them became classics. Now some of those same books and some that I would argue aren’t even relevant to young adults or even important for them to read during their formative years are still considered required reading, while books labeled as “young adult” still struggle to be included in middle school and high school curriculums, even if they might be more relevant to today’s teens and young adults. Not to mention there are a great many adults who turn their noses up at any books labeled as “young adult” simply for the label, when they might be passing up a great opportunity to read an important and beautifully written book. Such is the case with “The Hunger Between Us”. The cover, on first blush, almost makes the book look like it’s a sapphic romance. What it is, though, is a tragic, moving, violent, desperate tale of a starving girl named Liza during the Siege of Leningrad during WWII (this event was not classified as a war crime at the time, but many historians consider it to be close to an attempted genocide). During the two-plus years this event lasted, Leningrad’s citizens were trapped in the city with no way to get food or medical help, causing millions to starve or die of various illnesses or infections. Many were brutalized by their own country’s soldiers, not to mention Russia’s secret police (the precursors to the KGB), who were hiding in plain sight everywhere and ready to report on anyone showing the slightest bit of disloyalty. I have a… fondness for Russian history. On my father’s side there’s a good deal of Russian in our blood, and out of me and my two siblings, I look the most Russian. (My siblings look like great big Anglo Saxon Germans.) That’s what piqued my interest in this book, and I wasn’t disappointed. The research that went into his book shows in the intricate, depressing, atmospheric, and painful details. You could feel the illness and the starvation on a visceral level. You can vividly imagine the feelings of longing for just one person you could trust–just one person you could hold onto as your world crumbles around you. You can feel the momentary yearning Liza has every once and awhile to just close her eyes and give up. What keeps her going is the search for her best and closest friend, who went out for food one day and didn’t come back. Liza is determined to find her, no matter what she has to do to find the answer. It’s a compelling read, but not an easy one. As a reader, I needed to find out the answer as much as Liza did, even though I had an inkling what the answer was from the start. I just didn’t want to believe it, because I wanted Liza to have just a smidge of something happy in her life. Just that one thing she yearned for, the one thing from her life before the war she could hold onto. Liza is so sick and so depressed, but she’s brave and determined in the face of so much hate, evil, violence, and death. I’m rarely so invested in seeing a character succeed like this. But if anyone deserves a happy ending in a book, it’s Liza. Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for granting me access to this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. File Under: Coming of Age/Historical Fiction/YA Drama/YA Historical Fiction/YA Fiction ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 10, 2022
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Nov 25, 2022
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Oct 11, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1542036615
| 9781542036610
| B09F3FQG76
| 4.33
| 3,033
| Sep 13, 2022
| Sep 13, 2022
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it was amazing
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While I was blown away by the excellent “Her Name is Knight”, this book (the second half of the duology) outshined its predecessor for sure. I had so
While I was blown away by the excellent “Her Name is Knight”, this book (the second half of the duology) outshined its predecessor for sure. I had so many positive things to say about the first book: “...a slick novel, moving quick and smart…”, “...a fascinating and compelling page-turner…”, “I couldn’t put it down”. These opinions continue to be applicable when it comes to “They Come at Knight”, but they get turned up a little bit louder due to the increased stakes, the heightened danger, the more tightly wound suspense, family drama, the dangerous game of cat and mouse (or spy versus spy, if you’d like), and Nena’s constant anxiety as she searches for the traitor in the Tribe’s midst that she had only started to allude to in “Her Name is Knight”. While “Her Name is Knight” is told non-linearly and in two different POVs, “They Came at Knight” is told entirely in 3rd person and in a linear narrative, which Angoe deftly handles by reminding us that her life before becoming a Knight was “Before”, her life after becoming a Knight but before the end of the events in “Her Name is Knight” being called “After”, and all the time accounted for in “They Came at Knight” as being “Now”. These three time periods are emphasized in the text, which I choose to interpret as the way Angoe means us to see the three most important phases in Nena’s life. A lot of time in this book is spent in Ghana, Nena’s homeland, and it’s written with a great deal of love and affection by Angoe. I’ve never been to Ghana (not for not wanting to after taking a course in the Geography of Africa during my undergrad years), but the chapters we spend there as readers are very well-written and touching. I wish I could say that the turns in this book took me by surprise, but most of them didn’t. One did, but only because I was very confused (it was a me problem). But, like with “Her Name is Knight”, I simply didn’t care. The book’s just too dang good to spend time caring about something so small when the book is this good. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for granting me access to this title. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Sep 12, 2022
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Sep 12, 2022
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Sep 12, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| 1250857430
| 9781250857439
| 1250857430
| 4.19
| 495,674
| Apr 04, 2023
| Apr 04, 2023
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it was amazing
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If Rebecca Ross could write a bad book for once and make my eyes leak less salt water I might appreciate it. I’m kidding, of course. Ross is one of my If Rebecca Ross could write a bad book for once and make my eyes leak less salt water I might appreciate it. I’m kidding, of course. Ross is one of my auto-buy authors and right now she’s at the top of her game. Divine Rivals is everything my heart could love about fantasy and romance, right down to the girl I once was, carrying around love letters from former lovers in a shoe box until I finally lost them between one move and another. I still prefer handwritten letters to an email or text message. (I also happen to love typewriters. I learned to type on one and all my essays in high school were typed on one.) This book made me swoon like a maiden whose corset has been drawn too tight and she’s just caught sight of the boy she loves. It hit me on page 41 just how much trouble I was in: that feeling when you’re reading a book and you go, “Oh no. No no. Oh, I’m going to be absolutely wrecked by the end of this book, aren’t I”. Yes, Yes I was wrecked. In the best way possible. Divine Rivals is sensory immersion mixed with epic romance. The fantastic elements are almost background noise due to how similar the setting, fashion, food, and culture match so similarly with real-life WWI. What matters here is how the book feels, more than anything. In Iris’ apartment, lit by candles and refracting green glass. In the newspaper offices, smelling of newspaper and ink. It’s in the distinctive clicking of typewriter keys and the whoosh of a carriage return. Warfare in the trenches, blood in the infirmaries, shellshock at any moment now. It’s in the comfort of familiar faces of friends, the words of beloved people, and shared trauma of war. I’m so glad I waited until December to read this book, since Ruthless Vows comes out later in the month. This way, Divine Rivals will still be fresh in my mind the day that book arrives on my doorstep. I can’t wait to get back to the gods, monsters, war, and the epic romance between Iris and Roman. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed in this review are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Reviews/Book Series/Epistolary/Fantasy/Romantasy/Fantasy Series/YA Fantasy/YA Romantasy ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 12, 2023
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Dec 12, 2023
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Sep 12, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 4.19
| 23,348
| Oct 12, 2023
| Oct 12, 2023
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it was amazing
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First, a note for Sara Cate: I have been here from the beginning of SPC with you and I have been honored to have reviewed every single title of this s
First, a note for Sara Cate: I have been here from the beginning of SPC with you and I have been honored to have reviewed every single title of this series as a member of your street team. Thank you for creating the SPC for all of us readers and inviting us in. It’s been a pleasure. I have to say that I had my doubts when Sara announced there would be two more books added to the SPC lineup from the original four expected books. While I didn’t like The Highest Bidder as much as everyone else did, I absolutely loved Madame. It ripped me apart and then put me back together and then I sobbed like a baby at the end (actually, there were a couple of places here and there in the book where I teared up, too). While this book generally feels like a mix of Eden St. Claire’s story and a general send-off for the SPC series as whole, it never feels like these two matters are just being mushed together for matters of convenience. It feels very organic, like it was meant to happen like this. After all, none of the characters of the SPC are getting any younger, and this book takes place two years after the events at the end of Mercy (book four, if you’re keeping track). All the founding SPC members have settled down in one way or another. Most of them don’t even come into the club anymore. Eden, the Madame who’s been a fixture at SPC since day one, is still there almost every night, working to support her and her son. Does she have control issues? Why yes. Even more so, she has trust issues. I can relate. Sometimes, life happens though, and even Eden St. Claire can make a mistake. Like getting in a little too deep with a submissive named Clay. She was in too deep before she knew it and Clay was in love. She wasn’t ready for him and she cut the thread between them. She’s felt the ghost of him ever since. Now, at the beginning of this book, Clay has a new girlfriend named Jade and he’s crazy about her, but she can’t give him everything he needs and part of his heart still belongs to Eden. Jade may be younger and a touch naive, but she knows Clay is hiding a part of himself from her. After a chance run-in with Eden and her son at a movie theater, Jade wants to know who Eden was to Clay, and once she knows a piece of the puzzle all Jade wants is to know more so she can make Clay happy. So much of this book is focused on a very important point about any relationship, but it’s something that’s essential about BDSM relationships: You can’t just pick up a riding crop and start dominating your partner because you want to make them happy (or vice-versa). You have to want to do things for yourself, to make yourself happy. You can’t fake confidence. You can’t fake dominance. You can’t fake happiness. If you don’t actually want to dominate your partner, you can’t force yourself to. You have to want it for yourself. It has to make you feel good to be that person for them. Another salient point this book makes is that communication in any relationship at all is key. Especially when everything is falling apart and when everyone is feeling their worst. That’s when it's most important to stand up, say something, and be honest. People can misunderstand things so easily when they’re already down or upset. If you aren’t open and honest with the ones you love, they could slip through your hands and you’ll never regret anything more. I loved both Eden and Jade in this book. I didn’t like Clay as much. I found him to be a little too much of a privileged man child who didn’t understand boundaries or ethics, but I admired how much he loved Jade and Eden. I definitely identify with Eden, with my control and extreme trust issues. Eden’s story is touching, as is her evolution as a person and a domme. Seeing her find her place in love and at SPC was a spicy, lovely read. I’m going to miss this series so much but I know I’ll always have at least two copies of every book in the series to keep me happy. You won’t regret reading this book. I was provided a copy of this title by the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Review/Alphabet Soup Romance/Book Series/Contemporary Romance/Erotica/Kink and BDSM Friendly/Lesbian Romance/LGBTQ Romance/Polyamorous Romance/Sex Club/Sex Worker/Spice Level 3 ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Oct 11, 2023
not set
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Oct 11, 2023
not set
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Sep 02, 2022
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Kindle Edition
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| 0356518914
| 9780356518916
| 0356518914
| 3.79
| 24,773
| Mar 07, 2023
| Mar 07, 2023
|
it was amazing
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First thing I absolutely NEED to tell you: The summary of this book that’s up almost everywhere (I haven’t looked at that jacket on my copy, but I ass
First thing I absolutely NEED to tell you: The summary of this book that’s up almost everywhere (I haven’t looked at that jacket on my copy, but I assume it’s there too) not only does a very poor job of summarizing this book, but it’s also very misleading. It also spoils parts of the book in a big way that would have best been left unspoiled until Hannah Whitten saw fit to unveil them in the book. Second thing I should tell you, in the interest of full disclosure: I’m totally biased in reviewing this book because I’m a total Hannah Whitten fangirl. She’s an auto-buy author for me. I had this book pre-ordered as soon as it was up and requested the ARC the day it went up. She’s one of these forward-thinking female fantasy authors that aren’t always in it for the happy endings or tries to blunt the trauma of her characters. Between her, Ava Reid, and Laura Sebastian, I am a very happy fantasy reader right now (there’s likely more in this class of female fantasy writer right now, but I haven’t had a ton of time to explore as of late). I knew I was going to love this book from the start because all someone has to do is mention the plot involves poisons and my ears perk up like I’m a dog and someone said “Ball?”. I have a great love of poisons in my plots. Oh, it looks like we’re tacking on some messing with church versus state? Ooooh. Death magic and catacombs! Book as catnip. That’s what this book is. There’s no denying Whitten’s biggest strength lies in her world-building and magic systems. This book isn’t merely lush–it’s downright decadent, redolent with imagery and prose vivid enough to paint whole scenes inside your mind. Wardrobes bloom with color and movement, magic shimmers and flows through the air, horrors and catastrophes are stark and unflinching against humanity, and insanity is easy to see against mere immorality. Being the first book, and the magic systems in this book being so ancient, we don’t know everything about it yet, but what Whitten does show us and what she foreshadows and/or implies shows us book one is only the tip of the iceberg, but what an iceberg it is! To explain it all would spoil so much, but I have theories. I think all readers will have their theories. And only more of Whitten’s fabulous books will let us know who is right! *maniacal laugh* I loved the themes explored in this book: absentee parents, heavy childhood expectations, feeling unworthy and useless as an adult, wanting to run away from heavy responsibilities but knowing you’re the only person who can do what needs to be done, church versus state, socioeconomic inequality, the blinds eyes of privilege, the excesses of the rich, being used due to your own naivete, and trust issues (“I've got issues, you've got 'em too”). I’m so glad for the worldbuilding, the magic system, the plot, and the strong themes, because the one weak link in this book are the three main characters. I can’t find much fault with Lore, our female protagonist, but I do have issues with her two fellow male protagonists–especially since Whitten spends a great amount of pages in this book building what seems to be a love triangle in this book that may continue on into the next book and I absolutely can’t stand love triangles. Will she step into the shoes of some more progressive and intrepid fantasy writers (see Xiran Jay Xhao’s Iron Widow) and try to embrace polyfidelity or polyamory by the end of the series, or will we readers have to suffer through one or two more books filled with an unnecessary and immature love triangle? I’d like to think Whitten wouldn’t go back to the dark days of painful and immature love triangles. I absolutely couldn’t put this book down. Terrific, engrossing read that was absolutely the escapism I needed. I need the sequel today. I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All views, thoughts, ideas, and opinions herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: Fantasy Romance/Dark Fantasy/Fantasy Series/Book Series/LGBTQ Friendly/Epic Fantasy ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Mar 31, 2023
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Mar 31, 2023
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Sep 01, 2022
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Paperback
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| 0374538328
| 9780374538323
| 0374538328
| 3.31
| 691
| Apr 04, 2023
| Apr 04, 2023
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it was amazing
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When I request an ARC there is quite a lag in time between that time (when I first read the summary and it interests me enough to ask for the galley)
When I request an ARC there is quite a lag in time between that time (when I first read the summary and it interests me enough to ask for the galley) and when I go to read the book. Sometimes it’s six months or more. So when I went to read The Insatiable Volt Sisters, I didn’t remember much about this book’s summary other than it involved two sisters, a big house, and it was something involving paranormal and weird stuff. This book is sneaky. At first, it has this feel of being magical realism literary fiction written in some of the (simultaneously) loveliest and most visceral prose I’ve read in some time with a whisper of gothic ghost story woven gently in. Don’t be fooled. This book quickly takes a turn for the paranormal and horrific, while still managing to have that visceral, sometimes violent, often vividly descriptive, and somehow always beautiful prose. Honestly, I don’t know how Moulton wrote this book without summoning demons and muses at the same time, because writing a book that manages to be both heartbreaking and emotionally moving but angry and terrifying is some kind of genius writing magic. Her sentence composition and structure is the definition of perfection for this type of novel, and her copious use of the five senses adds to the surreal experience of spending time with Quarry Hollow (the Volt family home) Fowler Island (on which Quarry Hollow sits) and the quarry itself (one of the main characters in the story, even if it is a location and not a person). Honestly, I don’t want to talk about the plot, because I feel like doing so will not only spoil the book, but it’ll spoil the experience of reading the book for anyone who wishes to read it. I kind of think this book is best enjoyed blind (though I will TW for an animal death late in the book, though it isn’t violent, in my opinion). There are a great many other topics in this book that another reviewer might give TW or CWs for, but I don’t give TW or CWs save for animal deaths, so you might want to look at some other reviews and see if another reviewer has listed comprehensive TWs or CWs. As always, be aware of your own mental thresholds while reading and don’t be afraid to stop if you need to stop. Your mental health is always more important than completing a book. Honestly, this book has sent me reeling, and it’s resonating in my brain. I haven’t yet managed to tease out all the themes, to set them apart and figure out how Moulton managed to braid the strands together into this paranormal symphony. I’m still in the book with the characters, thinking about all of them, their roles in the story, and how they all fit in. I don’t know how long it’s going to take for this story to leave my brain, but I hope it takes a while. The best stories stick with you. I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All ideas, thoughts, views, and opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: Ghost Story/Literary Fiction/Paranormal Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Dark Fantasy/Folk Horror/5 Star Read/Gothic ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 06, 2023
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Apr 12, 2023
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Aug 29, 2022
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Paperback
| ||||||||||||||
| 1250849454
| 9781250849458
| 1250849454
| 3.85
| 13,664
| Nov 07, 2022
| Nov 08, 2022
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it was amazing
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I’ve expressed my deep and abiding love for a deftly crafted novella before. I trace this love of short stories and novellas back to a course I took i
I’ve expressed my deep and abiding love for a deftly crafted novella before. I trace this love of short stories and novellas back to a course I took in community college, when we would take stories like these apart and analyze them to pieces. (In non-shocking news, that’s also where I got my love of literary analysis as a whole from). There’s just something so spectacular about authors who can master the art of economy of words. Who can tell a whole novel’s worth of story in 200 words or less. To leave you feeling as fulfilled by their story as you would if you had read a much longer one. You may think it’s an easy job, but many authors would be willing to tell you it’s not. “Even Though I Knew the End” is a beautifully written example of genre mashup literature. By that, I mean that there are so many genres kneaded into this story that the bread of it is an amalgamation of historical fiction/romance/fantasy/mystery, occult fiction, and LGBT+ fiction/romance/fantasy. I tend to love when authors go wild like this, when they let their imaginations run free and their fingers out to play over theirs keyboards, not stopping to think too deeply about things like, “How can I make a sapphic romance in the 1930s if I add in occultism and some really wicked magic?” and just letting the words flow. I’m sure Polk had to reign herself in at some point to wrestle the book into submission and bring method to the madness, but short stories and novellas are a great place to let experimental pieces out to play. The story itself is mostly a fantasy/occult mystery wound around a powerful private detective/magician (though that’s not the term they use for her in the book) who’s on a very tight schedule and is in a long-term relationship with a woman who she wants to protect at all costs. There’s a big bad in town, and a powerful demon client wants our protagonist to find it so it can be taken out. Problem is, the powers that be in Chicago don’t like our protagonist very much, considering she doesn’t have a soul. I’d tell you more, but there be spoilers, and I don’t deal in those. The magic system isn’t explained in any real detail, but it’s not something that really could be explained unless you sat down and wrote a manual, because it’s based in things like phases of the moon, numerology, astrology, planetary hours (which is also known as the Chaldean order), sacred geometry, and prayers. It’s more fun just to roll with it, honestly, because why would you want to spend pages with magic system exposition when you could be spending time wrapped in lovely prose, an alternative version of 1930s Chicago, and a beautiful love story between two women who really just want to move to San Francisco someday? It’s really a fabulous read. Entertaining, compelling, fun, and beautiful. I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan-Tor/Forge, and Tordotcom for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review. File Under: Novella/Genre Mashup/LGBTQ Fantasy/Historical Fantasy/Historical Fiction/Historical Romance/LGBTQ Fiction/Historical Mystery/Occult Fiction ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Nov 10, 2022
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Nov 10, 2022
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Aug 24, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 1250787130
| 9781250787132
| 1250787130
| 3.42
| 1,375
| Feb 07, 2023
| Feb 07, 2023
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it was amazing
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I missed out on Lauren Blackwood’s debut novel from last year, Within These Wicked Walls, and I’m really regretting that right now as I sit here and d
I missed out on Lauren Blackwood’s debut novel from last year, Within These Wicked Walls, and I’m really regretting that right now as I sit here and digest Wildblood, because it took all of maybe two pages for her to wrap me around her finger with some of the most striking and lovely prose I’ve read in this genre in months, and then I was completely swallowed by the intense characterizations and intricate worldbuilding before I had even hit 5% into the book. I don’t know what to call Lauren Blackwood but some sort of dark fantasy enchantress who knows her mission, researches the heck out of it, and then sits down and somehow comes out the other end with intense tales of adventure, love, horror, evil, friendship, and self-discovery set in times past whose morals and other lessons could be applied to current times and not just to the times in which the books are set (in this case it seems to be Jamaica in the early 1900s). Yes, I do have some complaints about this book: I didn’t like Dean and felt let down by the resolution to his part in the story. I also can both recognize the need (through the time period and where he comes from) for Thorn to be a Christian and to be vocal about it without being thrilled by it. I felt his psalms and prayers took up space in the book that could’ve been used elsewhere. I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority in this opinion. I also wasn’t happy with Blackwood’s decision to not have Victoria contemplate at any point in time what it would mean to leave the compound and go out into a world she’s never been in. She never asked any questions about what it was like out there, or what she would do, or if she would have to wear certain clothing. There were scenes that would’ve allowed for this kind of small talk and intimate conversation between her and Thorn, but it never happened. I don’t know if that’s because Blackwood meant for Victoria to not think about those things because of one reason or another, but by the time I got to the resolution of the book, I found myself facepalming a little because Thorn should have put some thought into matters. Then again, he seems the impulsive type. The worldbuilding, the setting, the magic, the mythology, the folklore…it all added up to make this book so entrancing at times. If you add in Blackwood’s lovely prose, her ability to tap into her character’s inner narratives and emotions, and her ability to draw from the history her world is built on, it all makes for a bright, emotional, adventurous, fantastical read. I loved it. I was provided a copy of this book by NetGalley and the author. All views and opinions expressed in this review are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Reads/Coming of Age/Folklore/Fantasy Romance/Historical Fantasy/Myth/Standalone/Dark Fantasy ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 09, 2023
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Feb 09, 2023
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Aug 01, 2022
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Hardcover
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| 0593499697
| 9780593499696
| 0593499697
| 3.65
| 6,242
| Apr 18, 2023
| Apr 18, 2023
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it was amazing
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This book hit me like a gut punch. I’m telling you, my reaction to the first act of this book was visceral. I don’t normally find books hard to read,
This book hit me like a gut punch. I’m telling you, my reaction to the first act of this book was visceral. I don’t normally find books hard to read, but I related so much to Alejandra as a mother who feels so isolated and lonely in her marriage and in motherhood that I was absolutely transfixed by this book despite how much it was making my heart hurt. I knew I had to keep reading, not just for Alejandra and her story, but for my own sake. I needed to see this story through. I’m so glad I did. Books about generational trauma, no matter the culture (in this book it’s Mexican) are not only some of my favorite books to read but I feel like they are some of the most important books I read. They’ve become even more important as scientists discover more and more how different generational traumas (one example is poverty) can affect our DNA, truly passing the trauma down, right into our very genetic makeup. But besides the science, generational trauma is a real thing, and it can be a dangerous thing. My whole maternal line is full of generational trauma, much like Alejandra. Granted, mine doesn’t come with La Llarona, but it does come with mental illness, a need to please people, and a ton of built-in guilt, but what can you do? This book is told non-linearly and from multiple POVs. It’s easy to see the rhyme and reason in taking this approach when you’re reading the book, and when Castro switches POV it’s only for a very short time. And when the timeline shifts, it’s always into the past to serve both as exposition and to show how the generational trauma has presented itself before in Alejandra’s maternal line. I think this book may be a little divisive if you haven’t had kids or if generational trauma isn’t something that resonates with you for some reason. (Please note I said “may be”--not “will be”). We all know there are people in the developed world who know nothing but privilege. This book may not ring as true with those who have never known hardship. The prose is spooky, ethereal, evocative, and emotionally moving. “La Llarona” itself is spectacularly ghoulish and demonic in how it is described, how it speaks, and in how Castro both explains the character and its motivations in the specter’s inner narrative. It was absolutely nice to actually find an antagonist to be creepy instead of just mildly freaky. I was moved, I was creeped out, I was scared for Alejandra and her children, and I loved every single minute of reading this brilliant book. It’s a great read. I was provided a copy of the title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, views, ideas, and thoughts expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you. File Under: 5 Star Read/Gothic/Women’s Fiction/Folklore Retelling/Folk Horror/Ghost Story/Historical Fiction/OwnVoices/Psychological Fiction ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 06, 2023
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Apr 21, 2023
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Jul 26, 2022
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Hardcover
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my rating |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| 3.82
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it was amazing
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Nov 29, 2022
not set
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Nov 29, 2022
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|||
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| 3.81
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it was amazing
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Jan 03, 2023
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Nov 28, 2022
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| 3.59
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it was amazing
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May 06, 2023
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Nov 22, 2022
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| 4.04
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it was amazing
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Feb 08, 2023
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Nov 18, 2022
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| 3.71
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it was amazing
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Apr 29, 2023
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Nov 14, 2022
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| 3.97
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it was amazing
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Aug 04, 2023
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Nov 11, 2022
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| 4.11
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it was amazing
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Jan 20, 2024
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Nov 08, 2022
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| 4.13
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it was amazing
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Oct 30, 2022
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Oct 27, 2022
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| 3.90
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really liked it
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Apr 05, 2023
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Oct 19, 2022
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| 4.04
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it was amazing
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Oct 18, 2022
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Oct 18, 2022
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| 4.11
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it was amazing
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Jan 19, 2023
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Oct 13, 2022
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| 3.65
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it was amazing
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Nov 25, 2022
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Oct 11, 2022
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| 4.33
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it was amazing
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Sep 12, 2022
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Sep 12, 2022
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| 4.19
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it was amazing
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Dec 12, 2023
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Sep 12, 2022
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| 4.19
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it was amazing
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Oct 11, 2023
not set
|
Sep 02, 2022
|
|||
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| 3.79
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it was amazing
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Mar 31, 2023
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Sep 01, 2022
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|||
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| 3.31
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it was amazing
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Apr 12, 2023
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Aug 29, 2022
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|||
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| 3.85
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it was amazing
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Nov 10, 2022
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Aug 24, 2022
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| 3.42
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it was amazing
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Feb 09, 2023
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Aug 01, 2022
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|||
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| 3.65
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it was amazing
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Apr 21, 2023
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Jul 26, 2022
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