doughtah's reviews
344 reviews

A Choir of Lies by Alexandra Rowland

emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

5.0

This is such a wonderful book that continues the story of Ylfing in his process of becoming a Chant. I loved it to pieces.

More specifically, here are some reasons I enjoyed the book:
1) Rowland continues to give deep, but not overwhelming, world-building in her world. Ylfing-Chant gives so many details into his food and what he wears as he grows that it felt like I could see the tavern and the other places Ylfing exists in.

2) I read A Conspiracy of Truths and Ylfing was there, but we didn't get to know his internal thoughts. It was really cool to see the fallout of ACoT and how it impacted Chant and Ylfing, their relationship to one another and Ylfing specifically.

3) The annotations!! There are annotations that add extra thoughts into the story - unlike A Conspiracy of Truths (told to us by one person), A Choir of Lies has one dominant author and one additional author that gives us another point of view. I adore annotations and Mistress Chant's annotations were biting, snarky, and a fun addition.

4) **SPOILERS** It's fantasy Tulip Fever and I am a sucker for a book that takes an historical event and fictionalizes it.

If you're a fan of fantasy, fun narrators, unreliable narrators, and economic affairs, I highly recommend A Choir of Lies. 

Radiance by Grace Draven

adventurous funny fast-paced

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

This was such a sweet romance - like pleasantly surprising in how sweet it was. If you're ever nervous about  romance moving too quickly between the two leads, I highly recommend that you check out this book as it gives you the gradual growth of their romance together.

Brishen and Ildiko come from two different kingdoms. Ildiko is your standard human woman and Brishen is more of your dark elf and the two of them find the other super ugly. It's true! Our two leads do not find the other attractive and this leads to some very funny moments in the beginning. They're meant to be wed to one another as part of a treaty and they were able to find humor in their situation. 

In the midst of their wedding and their marriage, Draven does a good job of world building in a way that keeps you interested, but doesn't overwhelm you. The physical attributes of each character were the focuses at points, but there was also the different standard clothes, the different foods, and other cultural differences between the two. Both kingdoms operate on a kingdom-based system, so there are enough similarities between the two of them to find commonalities. 

Also, again, despite being an arranged marriage, it's not a rushed romance! The book builds the friendship between Brishen and Ildiko before romance really comes up and I really loved that. 

This is the first in a series, which I don't know if I knew before I picked this book up, and Draven builds the tension well. There were touches of a larger conflict beyond the two leads that came into the conversation every once in a while and that's resulted in me putting the rest of the series on my TBR pile!

If you're into friendship to love, arranged marriage, different species relationships, and politics, I highly recommend this book and (potentially) this series!

Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 8 by Gege Akutami

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

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

The Demon Lover by Carol Goodman, Juliet Dark

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 2 by Kintetsu Yamada

funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

Sweat and Soap, Vol. 1 by Kintetsu Yamada

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

I think this is a cute story. It follows a couple adults who work in an office who get into a romantic and sexual relationship. The characters (especially Asako, though Natori has a couple too) have their hangups and there are awkward convos between them. Book 2 added a couple more characters to the lineup that I really appreciated! 

If you’re down for characters having romance and sex, having awkward conversations with one another, and trying to grow as people, Sweat and Soap is for you. 

Jujutsu Kaisen, Vol. 7 by Gege Akutami

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore