This has such a good premise. There’s definitely an eerie spooky vibe going on and I LOVE the Louisiana Bayou scenery.
I did however feel that 2.5 ⭐️
This has such a good premise. There’s definitely an eerie spooky vibe going on and I LOVE the Louisiana Bayou scenery.
I did however feel that the story progressed a little slow or ventured off a bit and I had a hard time staying immersed. I would find myself zoning out and other times I was just like what? And had to reread.
Not a smooth, effortless read for me but I’m interested in reading more from this author in the future....more
I'm not going to rate it because I don't think that it's a bad book, the writing is actually beautiful.I'm throwing in the towel on this one. DNF @48%
I'm not going to rate it because I don't think that it's a bad book, the writing is actually beautiful. I'm just having a hard time connecting to the characters and caring at all at this point.
⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆ Idk... this isn't really doing it for me ...more
*Cracks knuckles* I think the time has come to start this. And this cover? So gorgeous. Managing my expectations though, heard book 2 is much more im *Cracks knuckles* I think the time has come to start this. And this cover? So gorgeous. Managing my expectations though, heard book 2 is much more impressive. Time to find out for myself ...more
Alright... this book gave so much of what I wanted and needed and in the same breath bombarded me with so many new revelations that now I'm sitting ovAlright... this book gave so much of what I wanted and needed and in the same breath bombarded me with so many new revelations that now I'm sitting over her with a ton of new questions!
The wait is certainly on for book four now. And the ending! Criminal!
“I love to listen to you explain medicinal practices,” he purred. “And I’d love to listen to you fall off a cliff.”
4 Heart Pounding Stars!
This was su“I love to listen to you explain medicinal practices,” he purred. “And I’d love to listen to you fall off a cliff.”
4 Heart Pounding Stars!
This was such a gem of a debut! I immediately loved it. It's such a comforting feeling when you're in the mood for something and you pick up a book and it delivers in every way that you wanted it to.
╰┈➤ The world building is nothing over the top (which I don't mind extensive world building but just saying) and very easy to follow. It was enough to satisfy me, but for readers that prefer a less complicated world building - this hits that sweet spot. You spend a good amount of the book getting to know the characters and focusing more on their relationship or lack there of in the beginning. So, a bit more centered around the romance than the fantasy element to start.
In a nutshell - the Onyx Kingdom has captured our FMC Arwen because her brother has stolen money from them. Arwen makes a deal that she will be their healer (magic healing abilities) if they don't harm her brother or other family members who managed to escape capture.
The king agrees and from there it's off to the races. There's so many twists and turns. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoiling anything.
But the banter is great, the side characters are all well rounded and lovable. Very important - The FMC is not annoying and I actually like her a lot!
So, I really enjoyed KOTW series and I guess I went into this book with some reasonable expectations that this book would be similar in feel aDNF @60%
So, I really enjoyed KOTW series and I guess I went into this book with some reasonable expectations that this book would be similar in feel and in the world since it is -you know set in the same world.
This book is just porn. That's it. There's a very thinly veiled plot (which is incredibly boring) going on but every situation, every dialogue , every circumstance or obstacle these characters face is all boiled down to cocks being shoved down throats.
Furthermore, these male characters always seem to have their cocks pulled out at random times- just stroking it. Like, for real- in the middle of a political meeting - sure , def the time to start randomly stroking the cock.
Makes me think of a dog in heat or something.
I'm all for a good smut read but at 600 pages- give me a break- literally Kerri, can I get some air, free of sweaty thighs slapping against ass or cocks being driven into every orifice?
I didn't feel the connection between the two main characters, I didn't feel the romance or the building of love between the two of them- everything felt very transactional. I just couldn't stay engaged with the amount of cringing I was doing along with frequent eye rolls.
I'm sure there's a ton of people that will enjoy this, simply because they love spice at the turn of every page. I personally need more plot, character development and arc.
This was my most anticipated book of the year, and Stephanie Garber did not disappoint!
He5 ♾ INFINITY Captivating Stars!
OH. MY. GOD. - MY HEART!
This was my most anticipated book of the year, and Stephanie Garber did not disappoint!
He would carry her through more than just freezing waters. He would pull her through fire if he had to, haul her from the clutches of war, from falling cities and breaking worlds...
Jacks had been the moon and she'd been the tide, controlled by his impossible force.
What a glorious ride that was. I am so in love with this series and all of the characters! This is the type of story telling I love! The reason I love reading! I laughed, cried, chewed off some finger nails (I'm not even an actual nail biter) , got so angry, and was on the edge of my seat to see how this epic tale was going to come to a close.
Let me just get out of the way how well Garber wrote these characters, and I want to touch on Apollo
[image]
I really can't remember the last time I despised a character so much, I mean EVERYTHING this guy did had me ready to jump into my kindle and just take off his head myself. Bastard. Murderer. Monster.
[image]
He gives major Tamlin Tampon vibes through the entirety of this book and it gets to be enraging - or well maybe that's just me, but when you read it .. lmk. ...more
“Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. Th“Happy endings can be caught, but they are difficult to hold on to. They are dreams that want to escape the night. They are treasure with wings. They are wild, feral, reckless things that need to be constantly chased, or they will certainly run away.”
OMG- I think this book has me more tangled up in my emotions the second time around - I felt everything and it feels almost so hard to express in words.
*Broken Sobs* [image]
You know how many times the middle book in a trilogy doesn't hold up to the first? Make no mistake about it, this book is even better than the first and I wanted to bring back all these feelings in anticipation for book 3.
I won't go into too much in order to avoid spoilers and my review on book 1 covers most of how I feel about this series- it's so unbelievably phenomenal.
[image]
"You're good at this," she murmured. "Do you often travel with girls who've been flayed?" This earned her a soft laugh. "No." Then quietly, as he ran a cloth along her lower back, just below the dip in her waist, "Would you be jealous if I did?"
I'm not a jealous person was what Evangeline intended to say, but instead the words "Of course" came out.
Jacks laughed, louder this time.
Embarrassment surged through her. "That's not what I meant to say."
"It's all right. I'd probably kill another man if I found him with you like this." Jacks's hands pressed harder as they went to her shoulders and, one by one, ripped off the sleeves of her dress so that what remained of the gown completely fell away.
She made a sound somewhere between a squeal and a gasp. "Was that really necessary?"
"No, but everyone should have their clothes ripped off at some point."
In this book, I swear SG breaks you open and just pulls out your emotions. I felt them all, love, fear, anxiety, anger, angst, and pain.
Just know that this book is everything MORE than book one. Ugh I love it so much.
I'm oh so happy that at the strike of midnight I will have book 3 in my greedy little hands.
[image]
He looked at her lips, and the most tortured expression she'd ever seen crossed his face.
When Jacks wanted something, it was with an intensity that could break worlds and build kingdoms. That was the energy pouring off him now, as if he wanted to destroy her and make her his queen all at once.
And it was oh so tempting to let him. Magic crackled in the sliver of space between them. Golden and electric and alive. It felt like the end of a fairytale, when one kiss had more power than a thousand wars or a hundred spells.
Evangeline imagined drawing closer, pressing her lips to Jacks's and spending eternity lost in one neverending kiss.
I haven't had much success with Novik in the past but this gives me a winter feel and I'm in the mood for something different, so here we go. ☃️❄️I haven't had much success with Novik in the past but this gives me a winter feel and I'm in the mood for something different, so here we go. ☃️❄️...more
“Beware the man who faces you unarmed. If in his eyes you are not the target, then you can be3.75 Stars
Planning on going back to this series soon.
“Beware the man who faces you unarmed. If in his eyes you are not the target, then you can be sure you are the weapon.”
An intriguing dark academia/magical story with many twists and turns that is a pretty dense, complicated story that's heavy on the characters and light on the plot.
Characters fascinate me, and no doubt this book is certainly character driven- it's a story of deception and manipulation, a game of social chess you could say.. intelligent, engaging, and the construction of magic based on physics and philosophy story.
Magicians live among the normal human population and attend universities that help them hone their skills. There are different varieties of power sets. Every ten years, the powerful and secretive Alexandrian Society chooses six recruits to train and study. At the end of the first year, one recruit will be eliminated.
Six unique and powerful people are chosen to study at the Alexandrian library. Nico and Libby, physical magicians, Reina, a naturalist, Parisa, a telepath, Tristan, whose power set isn’t as well defined, and Callum, an empath, come together to form the next class.
What happens next is betrayal, seduction, and alliances as secrets and lies are the currency they wield. Who will survive the first year? And who will come out on top?
I feel like I should say that while the characters are complex and very interesting in my opinion, it took a while for me to find any of them particularly likable- with that being said, I don't think they're supposed to be very likable. They're these elite of the elite, the creme de la creme, they're quite full of themselves. But putting them all together makes for an intellectual competitiveness- a viciousness that I find delicious.
“The problem with knowledge, is its inexhaustible craving. the more of it you have, the less you feel you know”
“We are the gods of our own universes, aren't we? Destructive ones.”
“Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice.”
“You know why you don’t understand me?” Parisa answered Reina’s thoughts, stepping closer to lower her voice. “Because you think you’ve figured me out. You think you’ve met me before, other versions of women like me, but you have no idea what I am. You think my looks are what make me? My ambitions? You can’t begin to know the sum of my parts, and you can stare all you like, but you won’t see a damn thing until I show you.”
“Don’t envy me, Reina,” she advised softly, turning to say it in Reina’s ear. “Fear me.”
I won't even fake the front lol, it took me almost the entirety of the book to get some footing and feel grounded. Mostly because much of the plot is lost in being bombarded with so many over the top personalities as well as intricate details.
This is the second book I've read by Blake and make no mistake - her writing is flowery, I find that it's something either you love or you hate. For me, I love it. I love the beauty in it, and that it's so multifaceted.
I'll likely read through this one more time before moving on to book 2.
I read this book last year but then got so sidetracked with life that I didn't end up continuing the series. I'd been th 5 Stars again on the re-read!
I read this book last year but then got so sidetracked with life that I didn't end up continuing the series. I'd been thinking of it recently so I wanted to jump back in but needed to refresh my memory first.
I'm newer to Sanderson so many of you already know what a fantastic author he is but let me just gush about him for a min.
Recently with fantasy I've been struggling a little. I have the tendency to fall victim to whatever is popular at the moment, call it FOMO if you want. It's really so freaking stupid because 9 outta 10 times, I just know I'm going to be disappointed but I go and read whatever is all the rage anyway.
I've read few fantasy books this year so far because of that. Which is a true and crying shame because fantasy is my absolute favorite. I've just been so let down by it recently.
Anyway, Sanderson has pulled me out of that funk and has made me feel 1000 times lighter because I really had this heavy disappointment that I've been carrying around this year when it comes to fantasy, world building and magic systems.
This man is really, in my very humble opinion- in a league of his own. So original and creative. Action packed and a real gem of a story.
The world building is chefs kiss, filled with vivid imagery. The magic system is so unique and interesting - the characters have depth and are so well rounded.
My physical books for this series are in storage right now so I decided to try the audios and good news, the audio version is remarkable!
I can't express how happy I am to dive into some quality fantasy this year and leave reality behind! Moving right on to book 2!
"The man who wants you to trust him is the one you must fear most."
"Our belief is often strongest when it should be weakest. This is the nature of hope."
"I'm not really sure why. But... do you stop loving someone just because they betray you? I don't think so. That's what makes the betrayal hurt so much - pain, frustration, anger...and I still loved her. I still do."
Alright, Schwab is one of my favorite authors ever. When I picked up this series last year I flew through book 1. Book 2 I had to push thr3.75 Stars.
Alright, Schwab is one of my favorite authors ever. When I picked up this series last year I flew through book 1. Book 2 I had to push through a bit, I felt that it lulled towards the middle and I struggled to stay engaged.
This book I actually had to go back and completely refresh my memory on, probably because I was struggling from the second half of book 2.
I truly LOVE this universe and the different Londons, I LOVE the characters wholeheartedly - still a struggle for me as it dragged in areas.
But alas, since I am a hardcore Schwab fan - where I would have probably just DNF if it was almost anyone else, I finished and still enjoyed it. But it wasn't as engaging throughout as her other books- to me of course.
Without a doubt I will be reading The Fragile Threads of Power.