hollowbound's reviews
44 reviews

Immortal Dragons Starter Set by Ophelia Bell

adventurous dark fast-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

This series is great at something that is surprisingly difficult: giving sex scenes narrative purpose. I mean, they're definitely meant to titillate, but almost all of them also serve to propel some aspect of the overall narrative. In other news, I found the world-building and character development to be particularly strong. The second book had a few issues—mostly a significant increase in typos and other formatting errors, as well as the far too constant flashbacks padding out its first half. For something I got for free on Stuff Your Kindle Day, though, I was delightfully surprised by the quality of the work and I'm excited to read the rest!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence and Sexual content

Moderate: Murder and Torture

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

4.0

The first third of the book really threw me off. The author paints a really broad picture of many of the murders and other suspicious deaths surrounding the case without giving the reader much narratively to focus on. I suppose it makes sense stylistically, since the confusion probably mimics how Molly feels about the events unfolding, but for me it was just not clicking. I almost put the whole piece down. I'm thankful I didn't, though! The second and third portions of the book, from Thomas White and the author's perspectives respectively, are much clearer and concise with their details. I really enjoyed the amount of sensitivity the author took in his approach of researching and relaying this story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Racism, and Hate crime

The Devil Takes You Home: A Novel by Gabino Iglesias

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This had a really interesting rhythm to it, where we'd go from scenes of relative mundanity to hyper-stylized violence and back again. It worked to lull you into some sense of security, humanizing the deep sorrow so many of the characters face, before striking you with the depths of cruelty even the most good-intentioned people can fall to. I will say, Mario's grief over Anita and Melisa, while completely understandable, became far too repetitious for my tastes. It blocked out other opportunities for other character-building, such as strengthening my belief in his and Brian's friendship leading to the ending. Just as well, I found Juanca a much more engaging character. It almost felt like the book was way more about him than Mario, who was just along for the ride, and I think that's what made the ending feel so abrupt to me. Overall, though, the writing was solid and the characterizations were on point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Racism, Child death, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs and Murder

Queen of Queens by Traci Lovelot

adventurous 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

4.0

The series has definitely improved the further along it's gotten. As the plot thickens and Glori's relationships with her consorts are tested, I found myself speeding through this entry trying to find out what happens next. There were still a few unnecessary scenes and weird character choices, but overall I enjoyed it. I'm a bit sad that the next book is the last, but I also can't wait to see how everything comes together in the end!

Fated Queen by Traci Lovelot

adventurous dark 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

3.0

Glori continues to become a more and more interesting protagonist. I'm also glad we finally got to meet

Spoiler

Maeve

, however brief. My main hang up with this entry was the several weird character choices. Thressa

Spoiler

revealing herself randomly

,

Spoiler

Kenji

and

Spoiler

Rorik

getting really annoying with their angst, and a few other repetitive internal monologues detracted from the overall piece. Things are definitely picking up plot-wise, though, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Our Fae Queen Volume 1 by Traci Lovelot

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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 got this for free as part of Stuff Your Kindle Day. Even for a slow burn, the pacing of the first two books is agonizing. Both books suffer from an issue I've noticed in a lot of modern fantasy romances—that being the author seems to forget there's an actual plot besides the romance and smashes all the action in the last hundred or so pages of the book. Thankfully, the third book significantly improves on everything from the first two. Glori becomes a much more engaging protagonist, there's a lot more steamy romantic scenes, and we get an actual evolving narrative and lore information. I'm ultimately glad I stuck through the entirety of the box set!

Last Courtesan of Olympus by Amanda Meuwissen

lighthearted 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

4.0

This was a fun read! I don't often like reading things regarding Greek mythos since I have my own ideas about the mythology, but the interpretations here were interesting enough (and they served their purpose, I suppose). Aikos was a lovely protagonist with a lot more depth of character than you'd expect in a one-off spicy piece like this. My interest has definitely been piqued, I can't wait to check out the author's other works!

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

dark emotional sad slow-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? No

3.0

It took me a while to get into this. The prose itself was lovely and the horror eerie, but there wasn't much that was grounded enough for me to hold onto. Miri's perspective in particular drifted between the strange liminality of Leah's deterioration and various flashbacks that often went on a tad too long. These moments weren't bad, per se, but it made my experience as a reader feel...like I was above the goings-on of the narrative rather than in the midst of it. Now, all of that could absolutely be intended, considering the ultimate reveal. But, for me, it made it hard to settle in to the story and engage with the characters.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

dark emotional sad 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

3.5

While the beginning dragged quite a bit, things picked up halfway through and by the end I was in it. I do think the alternating timelines overall did the narrative a disservice. When things started to get interesting in one timeline, we'd jump back to the other and lose all momentum. Addie was not the most engaging character (and I didn't enjoy being told how beautiful and cunning she was over and over), but Luc was a great antagonist and Henry a sweet foil. I wish we had seen a bit more of Henry's prior interactions with people instead of, again, being told. I also, personally, didn't feel the romantic aspect of Henry and Addie's relationship was wholly necessary, but it is what it is. All in all though, an entertaining read.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

dark emotional reflective fast-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

3.0

If you've seen It's A Wonderful Life or A Christmas Carol or anything of that ilk, you know exactly how this goes. Despite it's predictability, the execution of this piece is great. I related to Nora a lot. It did get heavy-handed with the proselytizing by the second half. Overall, this is a fast and entertaining read, though I wouldn't recommend starting it if you're already in a bad place (the first few chapters are rough emotionally).