flowerpaladin's reviews
19 reviews

The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder

adventurous hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

This was a great book! It was fast-paced with likeable characters, and I finished it faster than I normally finish books (I'm a slow reader). I really enjoyed the friendship between Fi and Shane and would love to see more books that center friendship while just sort of pushing the romances to the side. Shane was by far my favorite character. I loved her backstory, and I actually teared up when I learned of her heartbreak.

One thing that was kind of unusual to me was how the girls were both about 17 yet seemed to have rich and vibrant pasts. Both have been adventurers, it seems like, for many years. Both have exes. Makes me wonder when they started dating/adventuring, like... when they were twelve?! LOL Oh, I like Fi's backstory as well; I wouldn't mind learning more about her relationship with her family, especially since that's kind of a big plot point specifically for her (as we learn about midway through the book).

The evil-ex trope was fun, though I wouldn't have minded lingering in that scene for a few more chapters. I kind of wanted to see more of a bigger showdown with the evil-ex, you know, just to give him some comeuppance and let our heroines look all the awesomer. But maybe we'll get that in the next book.

The ONLY thing that was a LITTLE flat for me (and that's why I can't go 5 stars) were the romances. I really liked Briar at first, but I don't know, something about his interactions with Fi just didn't endear me to him. Maybe it's that he came on a bit strong. I was hoping he'd be shier and sweeter, too (judging from the description on the book flap). As for Shane and Red, they just didn't seem to really get to know each other in a way I usually prefer for romances. For both romances, they seemed to start with physical attraction, linger on that for a bit, then jump immediately to "I love you!" Which is fine. Just a personal thing with me; I prefer friends-to-lovers, where the physical attraction comes later and isn't really a focus.

Curious to see where the sequel takes us! I'd like to meet Sage, Briar's older brother. And I hope we see more of my favorite character, The Paper Witch!! I was SO disappointed that he was barely in it. He seems like a fun mentor type. Like a pretty Gandalf, if you will. 

Don't Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

Gruff soldier man x wild forest girl just isn't my kind of romance. I'm getting pickier and pickier when it comes to f/m romances these days! Would've probably kept reading though if it were f/f or m/m.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

I stopped reading when I realized Nathaniel was going to be the love interest. He was kind of disrespectful and condescending towards the main character, and I'm just not into that kind of romance.

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

Book hangover!! Book hangover!!! Book hangover!!! I stayed up till 4am to finish this one. 😂 Absolutely ADORED this book. The Jane Austen comparison is obvious, but it's actually merited... it's not just "Regency-inspired"; it's got Austen's sharp social criticism with an extra dash of magic! Normally I hate fantasy books that incorporate real world -isms like sexism, but this book did it purposefully and brilliantly. 

The only reason it's 4.75 instead of 5.0 is because I thought the romance was kinda meh? I love both characters, but they kinda fell in love at first sight, and the attraction felt mostly physical... I felt like there was an attempt to make the attraction more Austenian, more cerebral, and it was ALMOST there. But in the end I didn't feel they spent enough time together, shared enough conversations, to really get there. Ianthe also had me scratching my head at the end there because he didn't seem to get it for about 90% of the book, then he kinda comes around. I was like... okay, that's great, buddy, but... how and why? 😂

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

The most frustrating thing about this book for me is that it was marketed as YA. It's not. It's MG.

Mona, the main character, is 14. The other major side character/best friend character is 10. The voice is MG, the story is light-hearted (with one, tear-jerking exception), and the character development is pretty thin.

The thing is, two of my favorite authors are MG fantasy authors (Shannon Hale and Gail Carson Levine). I think I just prefer more "serous" MG fantasy. Kingfisher's light-hearted, snarky voice combined with a MG adventure just ended up being too much for me.

The world-building is a bit derivative. The soldiers and guards are all men, which felt like a pointlessly old-fashioned choice. Their religion seems to be vaguely Catholic. There's a duchess and court wizards. There's nothing super original about this world, and that would be just fine (I'm not one of those who demands EVERY fantasy novel completely reinvent magic) though if the characters were super interesting. Mona (the MC) is okay; she's a nice girl, but I was about 100 pages in before I could consistently remember her name. Her friend the urchin talks like a Dickensian orphan? It's an odd choice.

I think I would have enjoyed this SO much more if it were YA. If Mona were 16 and Spindle were 12, then we could get some deeper world-building, some more introspection (and less snarky asides) on Mona's part, and a scarier battle scene at the end. 

That said, Kingfisher is an amazing writer, and the pacing is terrific. I sped through the story pretty quickly. I was going to give the book 3 stars but a shocking scene at the end had me literally crying! So bumped it up to 3.5. 

This is more of a "not for me" book than anything. 

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense 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

5.0

I had the BIGGEST book hangover after finishing this one. 😭 I'm going to miss these characters so much, and can only hope that the author plans to write a sequel! The two main characters are exquisite, but Kadou is without question my favorite. He's just a precious little bean, trying his hardest to be relevant in his sister's court. Evemer is a sweetheart, but my next favorite is a tie between the sultan and the captain of the guard. The world-building is really interesting; my one regret is they didn't really lean into the metal-tasting magic much at all, which is kind of weird considering it's literally in the title. But still, absolutely wonderful fantasy romance, with a warm and tender pairing that will make you sigh and want to hug them both.

Timekeeper by Tara Sim

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I enjoyed the softness of the romance and the idea behind the magic, but overall felt the plot was a bit... I don't know. I didn't find myself really caught up in the mystery and kind of figured out who the "bad guy" was pretty quickly. The world felt very gray for some reason, and only when the MC and the LI were together did things seem to brighten. That was a neat, deft touch, but it kind of left me bored with the story anytime the two of them weren't together.

So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens

lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.0

I have to say I was really disappointed by this one. The characters were just way too paper thin, especially the friends... they kind of felt like D&D pre-made characters. I didn't really feel any romance or affection between the two leads, and the main character's narrative voice kind of got on my nerves. But that's all totally subjective, to be honest, and I can imagine a lot of people enjoying this fun, light read. (So "light" I can't even really think of any terms to tag it with...)

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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

5.0

An amazing, AND FEMINIST!!, epic fantasy! As someone who grew up reading epic fantasy 20 years ago, this was just a breath of nostalgic yet fresh air. It had queens, dragons, magic, you name it, but instead of following some farm boy and his bros we follow four interesting and diverse characters. My favorite was without question Niclays Roos; I got so excited when one of his chapters came up! He's been through so much, and the depiction of grief in his chapters was so spot on and made me want only the best for him. My least favorite was probably Ead; she's a little too perfect for me, but hey, at least she's a girl and not a boy! 😂 Loth is a cinnamon roll, and Tane reminded me of a Ghibli heroine, so she gets a pass! I did think the first 2-300 pages dragged a bit, especially the chapters where Ead is at court, but the story in its entirety is just too fantastic to give it less than five stars.