chippyreads's reviews
582 reviews

A Captured Cauldron by R.K. Ashwick

4.0

 

I was thrilled to be diving back into the ‘Side Quest Row’ world, as I loved A Rival Most Vial and this little strip of shops on Rosemond street. Returning was such a treat. The first book was definitely a romcom/light fantasy, this one is more of a light fantasy with a side of romance. 

A Captured Cauldron follows 3 POVs.  

Ambrose: as he’s captured and forced to brew an impossible potion. 

Eli: working with the rest of the characters to desperately save his boyfriend.

Dawn: also working with everyone to save her bestie while also crushing on a new character

We’re introduced to a few new characters, one of my fav being Xavian. 

Xavian: Ambrose’s rival at potioncon who is brought in to cover Ambrose’s shop while he’s gone. They’re amazingly flamboyant and snooty at the same time. I’m hoping to see more of them in future books. 

Nat: a slave that Ambrose befriends while he works away at the impossible potion, she's the youngest character in this series. 

Rory: A reporter who is working at potion con, is quickly crushing on Dawn and helps Rosemond street rescue Ambrose. 

This book was quite short which I loved but was disappointed we didn’t get a lot between Dawn and Rory. They had some cute moments but because the attention is mainly on rescuing Ambrose and Eli fucking shit up they don’t get their moment to shine together. That's the only reason this book isn’t a perfect 5 stars for me.

Just a side note about other reviews. Not a fan of how so many people are assuming Xavian is amab and assigning them ‘he/him’ pronouns when they’re only ever referred to as ‘they/them’ in the text. I don’t like to question whether people actually pay attention when they read but it's pretty obvious some people just don't care enough about queer people….

I received a copy of this book from the author, all opinions are my own.

 

Pumpkin Spice and Poltergeist by Ali K. Mulford, K. Elle Morrison

4.5

Read an arc. Full review to come 

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko

5.0

 

I went into this book ONLY having read Raybearer, not Redemptor. I was missing some context but had quite a lot from the first book to help me understand the world better. It IS a standalone but it's in the same world.

5 stars. The romance fell a bit flat but it was so good I don’t even care.

Audiobook was amazing, I highly recommend it as the singing adds to this book's charm.

I promise to prioritise Redemptor now :P

Audiobook copy provided by BRmedia/Recorded books via NetGalley. All opinions are my own. 

 

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

3.0

 

Enemies to lovers is such a messy trope and this book pulled it off nicely. 

As usual with a 3 star rating from me it means I liked the book. I had a great time and I’d still recommend it. 

I enjoyed most of the book but some parts left me wanting more. I needed more about the school, do the people living in these ‘houses’ have jobs? Do they leave the grounds for work? Did I miss part of the book that explained that? What else does this school teach? Are they all teens? Is the school just teaching them how to be blood bags? Why am I so obsessed with the school? Because it seems so cool and could honestly be cooler.

Most importantly. Where are the queer vampires? We can’t have a vampire book with all straight assuming characters. I WANT to imagine that some of the characters are queer but this book didn't give me anyone to root for. 

LOVED that the Kidan (the mc) was just a trash human trying to save her sister. She even destroys historic artefacts to prove that she's a monster, leaving the vampire looking like the actual good guy, which he definitely is not. There is no actual good person in sight. Everyone is dodgy as fuck. 

Will I continue the series? Fucking yes. As this is a debut novel, I can’t wait to see what this author gets up to next. 

The audiobook narrator was top notch and deserves so much praise. There's so many characters in this book the narrator made it really easy to distinguish between them all. Not sure if I could have done that with a non audio copy. 

eBook/Audiobook supplied by Hachette via NetGalley All opinions are my own.

 

Sabriel by Garth Nix

3.0

Audiobook was fantastic. Can't wait to reread as a physical as I've had this book on my tbr shelf for about 5 years. 

A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir

4.0

Solid 2nd book. Didn't grab me as much as book one.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2.0

I've never been so bored by a book in my life 😴

The writing is beautiful and the world is so vivid. But the 'fierce competition' was bland and the love story was weak. I couldn't care less about the love between the rivals. Most boring rivals to lovers ever.

The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

4.0

*No romantic themes*

Fun SciFi heist book tackling big themes. Loved it. 

No need to read previous book as they are not related

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

5.0

 

Wtf did I just read? It was almost impossible to put this book down. I'd make it to the end of a chapter to only end up at some kind of fucked up cliff-hanger. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it. Hurt me more, please, thank you. 

Compared to Andrew’s previous books this one is definitely a thriller but with just as much body horror and blood. 

Asking me to pick a favourite is like asking me to choose between my cats. I can’t wait to read his adult book if this is what he intends for a younger audience. 

eARC provided by Peachtree Teen via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Key Lime Sky by Al Hess

4.0

 This book had all the typical Al Hess weirdness. 

While I wasn’t personally a fan of the romance the relationship was very sweet and tender. Hess is really good at writing characters you instantly feel a connection to. 

This was less about the aliens and more about how the characters interacted with the ever changing world and each other. 

I think I’ll always be a fan of Al Hess’ writing. 

4 stars.

eBook provided by Angry Robot via NetGalley. All opinions are my own