chaithra's reviews
286 reviews

Masters of Death by Olivie Blake

mysterious 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

5.0

i read the atlas six trilogy earlier this year and i didn’t enjoy it because there was too little plot. i enjoyed blake’s character work, i think she excels at that but a prolonged plot is not her strong suit. 

given this, i was excited to read a stand alone of hers and i loved this! i love the characters she created and there was just enough plot that it worked really well! 

The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliott
Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.

the author mentioned israel. i closed the book.

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson

dark hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

5.0

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

adventurous fast-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

3.0

i really enjoyed this i have some thoughts on

the whole “you need to be married with kids to have good bonds” situation

okay i have a laptop now, i can give a better review. i feel like i need to preface this by saying i did enjoy the book. i read it in a day, i was hooked! the magic system was unlike anything i had read before and so was the world. i also enjoyed reading a setting that was queer normative, kind of awesome

that being said, i want to delve into things i did not enjoy about this book and honestly, i'm not sure if i'll be continuing. the first being, our main characters are both 35-ish? yet they act a lot like erratic teenagers, their feelings go back and forth so fast it's like whiplash. it's part of the reason i veer away from ya books, i need more mature characters but this wasn't it. second, i feel like the end was too quick, too much needed to be set up for the sequel so the second half of the book just threw piece of information after piece of information at you so everything was set for book 2. third, the

whole “you need to be married with kids to have good bonds” situation

. so the architects need to have good bonds in order to not

fall into ectstacy

which i understand to a certain degree. but why the focus on

children. they outright say a spouse isn't enough, but friends? family? brothers? sisters? parents? cousins? grandparents? none of that is strong enough??

for a book based in south asian culture, i would expect more of an emphasis on family as a whole. and also!

you're telling me they keep things hidden until a spouse is pregnant or an adoption is started but oh they can stop the adoption or abort the pregnancy once the secrets are shared?? thats really fucked, like i'm team your body your choice but you have to go that far to know everything your spouse could go through???

seriously??

anyways, idk if i'll read book 2 and 3, i may sometime down the line, but it won't be a read i seek out.

Rubicon by J.S. Dewes

dark emotional inspiring fast-paced

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

4.0

i loved this book up until the ending?? it just felt like everything a certain character went through was all for nothing?? if there was a sequel i’d feel better about the ending but this being a stand alone (for now) just made the end so blah.

A Time of Courage by John Gwynne

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

i feel like if you truly wanted to see an end end to the prophecy from the faithful and the fallen you should read this but most characters were eh to me. i hate to say it but the most exciting pov was in fact drem. this series has been very reminiscent to me of when you read the lost hero after the percy jackson books and your first reaction is “who tf is jason?!” the most exciting parts were whenever corban, coralen, storm, cywen, or literally anyone from tfatf was mentioned or whenever we saw byrne. it felt weirdly rushed (the trilogy as a whole not just this book) i would say because most of the buildup happened in tfatf. overall i’m glad more loose ends were tied up so i’m glad i read it because of that but otherwise, eh.



and i know john said he’s done with the banished lands for now but with that ending…we can all agree he’s coming back…right?

A Time of Blood by John Gwynne

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.75

i fear i’m reading this book/series for the folks at the order of the bright star (drem is included in this group) and the folks at the order of the bright star only

A Time of Dread by John Gwynne

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

i don’t enjoy this as much as i did the faithful and the fallen but i’m intrigued