allymae's reviews
153 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense

3.0

The only real issue I had with this one was how sexually charged it got.
On one hand I get it. What else are teens going to do when left to their own devices. On the other, it felt a bit weird knowing it was a grown man who was writing it from the perspective of a teenage girl.

It's the main thing I've picked up on differently listening to the audio vs when I read the boom

The group finding Chris hit really hard however. Maybe even harder the physically reading

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

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challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book took me quite a while to get through. Which was a shame to me because there was a point in the beginning were I has stayed up until 2am reading because I was HOOKED. The for some reason it got harder and harder to get myself to pick it up. The fact I always lull in the middle of a SJM book could be a me issue.
However, she always brings out her best for the endings. Empire of Storms was no exception to that. This might be one of my favourite SJM endings so far. The way that everything falls in to place was very satisfying but also absolutely heart-breaking.

I know it can be kind of annoying when all of the characters start to couple off, but I feel that in this book it all plays an important role into the character arcs. I will say though, that I do get kind of tired of the "territorial fae bullshit". Do you always have to be such grumps? But you do see some of the males start to soften and re-evaluate their beliefs in this book.
The smut involving Aelin and Rowan was not enjoyable personally. I found myself much preferring those side character couplings.

I'm very glad I read Assassin's Blade as the first in the series, I very almost skipped it. Having those characters reappearing was so exciting. It left me with a sense of hope amongst such an emotional ending

Still love Manon. Always have and always will. Elide was also a really strong character for me. Her dedication and her strength were admirable.

Nana, Volume 12 by Ai Yazawa

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Like the last few volumes, this one also focused on the way the music industry uses their clients personal lives for business purposes.
I'm starting to find Hachi's constant focus on her past boyfriends a bit tiring, but I also feel for her being isolated for the sake of a band's image

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Something I've noticed with Sarah J Maas books is that they tend to lull in the middle a bit, but then those endings really ramp up and pull you back in.

I felt emotional coming to the conclusion of Queen of Shadows because it felt like an end of an era for these characters. Things have really changed for all of them and I'm sad about it but also excited to see where the next book takes us

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

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tense fast-paced