floofymoosereads's reviews
437 reviews

A Court of Mist and Fury : Rhysand's POV, by IllyrianTremors

dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

A Warrior's Fate, by Melissa Kieran

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

A Warrior’s Fate by Melissa Kieran is the first book in The Wolves of Morai series, a wolf shifter fantasy romance. It looks like book 2 is due out at the end of July 2023. The female main character, Isla, has no interest in looking for a fated mate, and wants to just focus on her upcoming warrior trial. But, Fate has another plan for her and before the start of the trial she meets her mate Kai (I’m not spoiling, this is all on the book jacket). They agree to ignore the bond and move on without each other. Fate has opinions about that and keeps throwing them back together. Layered against that plot line is political intrigue (and betrayal) and something dark and evil lurking in the kingdom. This is a spicy book for adults only.

The Lovely: I am in love with the development of the relationship between the two main characters, Isla and Kai. You can really feel how much they love each other, and neither are portrayed as subservient to the other. The spice was well written and not overwhelming in terms of the number of spicy scenes.

The Mundane: I felt like some of the secondary characters, in particular the males, were not well fleshed out and felt a bit flat. Sometimes I wasn’t even sure who was who (especially at the beginning) or who was with who.

The Dreadful: I didn’t feel like the tension (plot, not relationship) was consistent throughout the book. Sometimes it was, yes, yes, this is perfect and flowing and other times I started to get bored and needed it to move on. I think part of it was sometimes the scene descriptions (generally physical descriptions or thoughts) got a little long and verbose.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommendation: I was unsure going into this book because I’m not normally into a lot of lycan shifter fiction but I was drawn to the tropes listed for this book. And I can confirm all the following are included, and done well: fated mates, protective, found family and slowburn. The slowburn is slowww in the first half. I absolutely cannot wait for book two to come out in two long months.

Kingdom of Ash, by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Kingdom of Ash is the seventh and final book of Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. All the stories and characters wind together in this story. Aelin is being held captive by Maeve and subject to unimaginable torture. Her friends and allied are spread across Erilea, converging for a final battle for Terrasen.

The Lovely: Plot-wise the twists and turns were phenomenal in this book and I felt like the different sub-plots flowed together, at least as compared to prior books in the series. Aelin’s character development was still top notch, as was Elide’s and Manon’s.

The Mundane: Some of the “battle” scenes were long and verbose. To be fair, I think I said the same about the battle scenes in A Court of Wings and Ruin. So, it seems to be an issue with how the author writes battle scenes.

The Dreadful: Some of the other characters (generally the male characters) felt flat and didn’t really develop in this book. For example, in the second half of the book Rowan seems to just be there to support Aelin and to be subservient to her. I liked it better when he was a badass.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Recommendation: This book was an emotional roller coaster, and although I reached for the tissues several times, it didn’t hit me as hard as I thought it would. That said, one event did wreck me and I’m still upset over it. As the conclusion of a series, the book was good and I appreciated how things were wrapped up, without it being too neat and tidy. Overall, I give the series a three out of five, maybe four. Later in the series I was missing Celaena, particularly her sass and being a badass.

Tower of Dawn, by Sarah J. Maas

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Tower of Dawn is the sixth book of Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. As a note, I did not tandem read this with book five as some people recommend. This story focuses on Chaol and Nesryn on the southern continent. Chaol meets Yrene, a healer who is to try to help him recover the use of his legs. Nesryn spends time with a new-to-the-reader character to learn more about the villains from the main plot line.

The Lovely: The only part of this book I liked was the development of the relationship between Chaol and Yrene. It’s not an easy, love at first sight kind of thing. Instead, it’s a challenge for both of them and feels more realistic.

The Mundane: The story wrapped up too neatly at the end. I can’t say much without spoiling but it felt too convenient in terms of whether the royals helps them (Chaol and Nesryn), Chaol’s healing, and the relationships.

The Dreadful: Nesryn’s storyline felt like it was just there to explain the history of the Vlag. It was long and verbose, and felt much longer than it needed to be.

Rating: 2/5 Stars

Recommendation: I admit I ended up skimming some of the scenes because it was so painfully slow and boring. I feel like this whole book could have been done in 200 to 300 pages. I wonder if that’s why some people tandem read this book with the prior book of the series. It really is more of a companion book, but what you learn definitely impacts the main plot line.

Empire of Storms, by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Empire of Storms is the fifth book of Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. This is a busy book! Aelin and her companions travel Erilea to try to keep the villains at bay and prepare for the upcoming war, trying to find allies and protect the world.

The Lovely: The characters. As with each of the prior books, I still find the best thing to be the characters and their relationships with each other. I loved how relationships were wound together and changed. Even if this fifth book, there is a good amount of character and relationship development.

The Dreadful: I honestly had a hard time getting through this book. The pace felt disjointed, like it was a lot of “hurry up and wait” instead of tension building and easing. I think this was made worse by having SO MANY different plot lines.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommendation: I feel like someone took the prior book and cranked the pacing to HIGH. However, many parts of this book, generally relating to the characters and their relationships, made me FEEL, which is something I love in a book. The ending made me so sad and upset. I just wanted to hug a couple characters.

Queen of Shadows, by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional 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

Queen of Shadows is the fourth book of Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. Celaena heads back to Rifthold as Aelin, the Queen if Terrasen. Before she can claim her crown though she has to fight for those she loves, has loved, and comes to love. This culminates with the long-awaited battle with the tyrant king.

The Lovely: The characters. As with each of the prior books, I still find the best thing to be the characters and their relationships with each other. This includes the dynamic between Celaena and Aedion, especially once another characters pops up. She has a LOT of guys in her life. Parts of the book warmed my heart, and parts made me cry, all because of my connection to the character.

The Mundane: The tension was better than the last book but at times felt jumpy and disjointed due to the number of sub plots being wound together.

The Dreadful: There really wasn’t anything dreadful to this book, and that’s how it earned 5/5 stars. If anything, I didn’t like the Amazon/witch storyline but that is apparently a personal opinion.

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Recommendation: I wavered and wavered between 4 and 5 stars for this book. Ultimately, I didn’t find anything drastically wrong with the book, and I loved the characters, so 5 stars it is. A LOT happens in this book action and plot wise but there is also a lot of character and relationship development, which is my favorite.

The Assassin's Blade, by Sarah J. Maas

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Assassin’s Blade is a set of novellas from Sarah J. Maas’ Throne of Glass series. All of the novellas occur, in sequence, leading up to Celaena being sent to the salt mines prior to book one. It explores the fall of her relationship with the Master of the Assassin’s Guild and the rise of her relationship with Sam Cartland (who is referenced repeatedly in books one and two).

The Lovely: The characters and their relationships. I loved Celaena’s blooming relationship with Sam and the ending was so so so sad. I also wasn’t expecting the twist with the female character in the second novella.

The Mundane: I had to keep reminding myself that this series is YA, not adult, and thus the spice is missing. Which, was a bit of a bummer, but is what it is (and can’t really blame the author).

The Dreadful: The novellas start about six months before Celaena is sent to the salt mines so there’s not a lot of her background covered. I had expected it to cover more of her time in the Assassin’s Guild so that period of her life is still a big mystery.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Recommendation: This is a worthwhile read to better understand Celaena’s background and past relationships. I definitely don’t think it would have much of an impact if read before book one and would recommend reading it after book two or book three.

Lycan and Lark, by Violet Taylor

adventurous emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

Lycan and Lark by Violet Taylor is book three of the Chosen Shifter Mates series. This books follows Aria, the sister of the pack’s Alpha, and Lark, the mysterious created lycan celestial. Aria knows Lark is her fated mate but his villain status means their relationship is forbidden. Note: This book contains violence and explicit sexual content.

The Lovely: Again, the characters and relationships are where this story shines. I liked seeing the different side of Lark, and how Aria responded to that.

The Mundane: Again, I missed having Nova and Darren around much. They’re still my favorite pair.

The Dreadful: Most of this book takes place concurrent with book 2 (Alpha and Ivy) but from Aria and Lark’s POV. So if you’ve read book two the tension just really was not there until the end of the book.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Recommendation: First, I always love stories with a fated mate trope. This was a fun, spicy book but in a paranormal/fantasy realm that I prefer to read. The first book is still my favorite. I do think this book advanced some of non-mate, magic threat concepts much more than the prior two books, which was welcome. Book four comes out in June!

Alpha and Ivy, by Violet Taylor, Violet Taylor

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

Alpha and Ivy by Violet Taylor is book two of the Chosen Shifter Mates series. This books follows the Alpha of the lycan pack, Gideon, as he meets feisty Dahlia. Dahlia has magic and other secrets from her past that weave in with what occurred in book one. Gideon is also playing host to members of a pack from across the pond and has to choose between love and the advancement of the pack. Note: This book contains violence and explicit sexual content.

The Lovely: Again, the characters and relationships are where this story shines. I loved Dahlia and how independent, fierce and assertive she was.

The Mundane: I missed having Nova and Darren around! They’re still my favorite pair.

The Dreadful: I felt like the situation with Gideon’s sister Aria didn’t make sense. He knew something was “off” ever since her involvement in the events of book one, and sounds like he suspected what she was up to, but waited a really long time to even address it with her. And his method of addressing it was . . . heavy handed.

Recommendation: First, I always love stories with a fated mate trope. This was a fun, spicy book but in a paranormal/fantasy realm that I prefer to read. The first book is still my favorite. I think that’s because I found Gideon to be very domineering (granted, he is the Alpha), even with Dahlia. Not really my thing when it comes to a romantic relationship, so really just a me thing. I can’t wait to start book three!

Frost and Fate, by Violet Taylor

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Frost and Fate by Violet Taylor is book one if the Chosen Shifter Mates series. An attached 20 something drifter Nova reveals she has magical abilities and someone is after her to make use of those abilities. She is rescued by a lycan pack and sexy lycan Darren is assigned to keep an eye on her. But the hands of fate have other ideas. Note: This book contains violence and explicit sexual content.

The Lovely: I fell in love with the characters so fast, especially Nova when she used her magic to protect others. Bad ass girl! The relationships and spice were also written well and I was invested!

The Mundane: I’m still not clear on how the Veil and magic system exactly function. Hopefully we’ll learn more in the next book.

The Dreadful: This story was very fast paced, which was great for tension, but left me wanting more of the story as it progressed. I kept want to yell “wait for me!”

Recommendation: First, I always love stories with a fated mate trope. This was a fun, spicy book but in a paranormal/fantasy realm that I prefer to read. It was a quick read, which is what I needed right now (I’m in the middle of otherwise reading a different 8 book series), and the relationships gave me warm and fuzzy feelings. I can’t wait to start book two!