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janeyolivia's reviews
142 reviews
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
dark
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? It's complicated
3.0
Ehhh it was alright. Not what I was expecting not sure if that’s the fault of the book or it’s marketing but I thought it was going to be a adventurous fantasy but they kind of just hung around their village and balls doing various tasks.
I found the first 300 something pages a little slow. I just didn’t feel the stakes at all I couldn’t care about any of the characters especially Elspeth. I found her pretty unlikable and bland and everything was just handed to her on a silver platter. The magic system was pretty cool the Nightmare guy was my favourite character and I really liked the ending. I will be reading book two because that cliff hanger was VILE.
Overall pretty good they mentioned the word “callous” 394,398,256 times to many (like seriously my guy Ravyn invest in some Vaseline or something) and the romance was mid at best (OMG WHEN WILL MMCs STOP GROWLING YOU ARE NOT A DOG) and their first kiss was so stereotypical it was funny.
Overall message (probably going to change my rating later) but fantasy alright but good at the end, magic system cool, characters bland, and romance super stereotypical. The vibes were cool and if you just want some gothic, medieval, stereotypical fantasy romance give it a shot. I wasn’t the biggest fan but I don’t think it’s all that bad.
I found the first 300 something pages a little slow. I just didn’t feel the stakes at all I couldn’t care about any of the characters especially Elspeth. I found her pretty unlikable and bland and everything was just handed to her on a silver platter. The magic system was pretty cool the Nightmare guy was my favourite character and I really liked the ending. I will be reading book two because that cliff hanger was VILE.
Overall pretty good they mentioned the word “callous” 394,398,256 times to many (like seriously my guy Ravyn invest in some Vaseline or something) and the romance was mid at best (OMG WHEN WILL MMCs STOP GROWLING YOU ARE NOT A DOG) and their first kiss was so stereotypical it was funny.
Overall message (probably going to change my rating later) but fantasy alright but good at the end, magic system cool, characters bland, and romance super stereotypical. The vibes were cool and if you just want some gothic, medieval, stereotypical fantasy romance give it a shot. I wasn’t the biggest fan but I don’t think it’s all that bad.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
DUDE WHAT WAS THAT?? 😭
One of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given in my life, Leigh Bardugo has done it against.
One of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given in my life, Leigh Bardugo has done it against.
Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? No
5.0
Omg rare sighting, I rated a romantasy 5 stars?! 🤯
In all seriousness, though, there's a reason why this is the only book to reach 5 stars and the first book I've rated 5 stars since July. Everything about this was just so perfect. I'm quite aware this isn't a literary masterpiece, but this was so amazing for a young adult fantasy romance.
I originally read this because Indigo said this was the best young adult book of 2024. Not that I trust them, they put Reckless at 4th and that was not a favourite book of mine. But anywho I thought I'd give it a shot because it looked fun.
My favourite part of this book was the characters. They all felt extremely well-rounded and all the decisions and choices felt true to them as a character. The problem I have with a lot of newer young adult books (or just the romantasy genre altogether) is that a lot of decisions the characters make are just to push the romance, to put them in situations where the relationships can progress. A lot of the time it just doesn't make sense to them as characters. This book finally broke that pattern which I'm very happy about! And omg thank goodness the other character in the love triangle (idk if it's really a love triangle but whatever) isn't some every tyrant by the end! I loved Alex so much and I relate a lot to his character and I'm really sad about what happened at the end.
The plot and the worldbuilding in this book was really good too! I don't think it has the strongest fantasy plot of all time but I deeply enjoyed it. I loved the witches in this book, the magic, the world, and everything else. It was refreshing to see that Rune wasn't some insanely powerful witch but instead was just generally smart and used what she had to her advantage. This book leans more towards the romance side of romantasy than the fantasy but I think what we had for the plot definitely held up. My favourite parts were the mine scene and the ending, because omg that ending was crazy!
Finally the romance. I wouldn't say it was a true enemies to lovers because they weren't really aware that they were enemies. I could literally rant all day about how much it annoys me when books falsely advertise themselves as enemies to lovers. 😒 But I won't hold that against the book. Also, I saw one video saying this was slow-burn, idk if my standards are just really high since Six of Crows and the Cruel Prince but I wouldn't call this slow-burn, once again not holding that against the book just thought I'd mention it.
But the romance was so good! I was skeptical at first because I wasn't the biggest fan of Gideon but once his character was developed throughout the book my mind was changed quite quickly. I really enjoyed the romance in this and I thought it was well thought out.
So yeah, I had a great time reading this and I'm so excited for the sequel! If you do decide to read this go in looking for a fun time, not a literary masterpiece otherwise you will be disappointed.
In all seriousness, though, there's a reason why this is the only book to reach 5 stars and the first book I've rated 5 stars since July. Everything about this was just so perfect. I'm quite aware this isn't a literary masterpiece, but this was so amazing for a young adult fantasy romance.
I originally read this because Indigo said this was the best young adult book of 2024. Not that I trust them, they put Reckless at 4th and that was not a favourite book of mine. But anywho I thought I'd give it a shot because it looked fun.
My favourite part of this book was the characters. They all felt extremely well-rounded and all the decisions and choices felt true to them as a character. The problem I have with a lot of newer young adult books (or just the romantasy genre altogether) is that a lot of decisions the characters make are just to push the romance, to put them in situations where the relationships can progress. A lot of the time it just doesn't make sense to them as characters. This book finally broke that pattern which I'm very happy about! And omg thank goodness the other character in the love triangle (idk if it's really a love triangle but whatever) isn't some every tyrant by the end! I loved Alex so much and I relate a lot to his character and I'm really sad about what happened at the end.
The plot and the worldbuilding in this book was really good too! I don't think it has the strongest fantasy plot of all time but I deeply enjoyed it. I loved the witches in this book, the magic, the world, and everything else. It was refreshing to see that Rune wasn't some insanely powerful witch but instead was just generally smart and used what she had to her advantage. This book leans more towards the romance side of romantasy than the fantasy but I think what we had for the plot definitely held up. My favourite parts were the mine scene and the ending, because omg that ending was crazy!
Finally the romance. I wouldn't say it was a true enemies to lovers because they weren't really aware that they were enemies. I could literally rant all day about how much it annoys me when books falsely advertise themselves as enemies to lovers. 😒 But I won't hold that against the book. Also, I saw one video saying this was slow-burn, idk if my standards are just really high since Six of Crows and the Cruel Prince but I wouldn't call this slow-burn, once again not holding that against the book just thought I'd mention it.
But the romance was so good! I was skeptical at first because I wasn't the biggest fan of Gideon but once his character was developed throughout the book my mind was changed quite quickly. I really enjoyed the romance in this and I thought it was well thought out.
So yeah, I had a great time reading this and I'm so excited for the sequel! If you do decide to read this go in looking for a fun time, not a literary masterpiece otherwise you will be disappointed.
Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
The Gathering Dark: An Anthology of Folk Horror by Tori Bovalino
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Warning, if you go into this expecting “folk horror” you will be disappointed but I don’t really care about that stuff I just wanted something scary so it didn’t bother me.
I don’t feel like writing a review for each story so I just added up all my star reviews and got the average. I really liked a lot of these, my favourites were The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong, Third Burn by Courtney Gould, and One-Lane bridge. The Tallest Poppy was one of the only ones that made me genuinely scared and didn’t feel empty or half-baked. I also just love houses falling apart in a small, stormy ocean town.
The other ones were fine except obviously the ones I didn’t like. The ones I didn’t like were mostly just because of the writing style. Petrified by Olivia Chadha, and It Stays with You by Aden Polydoros were interesting stories but I wasn’t a fan of the writing style.
Besides all of that I just really didn’t like Truth or Dare by Alex Brown or The Burning One by Shakira Toussaint. Once again, the writing style was off putting and I didn’t like the concepts.
Anywho these were fun for Halloween so they did what I wanted from them.
I don’t feel like writing a review for each story so I just added up all my star reviews and got the average. I really liked a lot of these, my favourites were The Tallest Poppy by Chloe Gong, Third Burn by Courtney Gould, and One-Lane bridge. The Tallest Poppy was one of the only ones that made me genuinely scared and didn’t feel empty or half-baked. I also just love houses falling apart in a small, stormy ocean town.
The other ones were fine except obviously the ones I didn’t like. The ones I didn’t like were mostly just because of the writing style. Petrified by Olivia Chadha, and It Stays with You by Aden Polydoros were interesting stories but I wasn’t a fan of the writing style.
Besides all of that I just really didn’t like Truth or Dare by Alex Brown or The Burning One by Shakira Toussaint. Once again, the writing style was off putting and I didn’t like the concepts.
Anywho these were fun for Halloween so they did what I wanted from them.
The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Hey guys here’s an idea can we stop romanizing sexual assault and spiking people’s drinks?? 🤗
Ngl this was extremely entertaining and I would’ve liked it a lot more with a different writing style and if it went in depth about it instead of going “it’s just something they do because they’re just that psychotic and crazy 🤪”. Anyway but thank you to the author for making this free, you’re a real one.
Ngl this was extremely entertaining and I would’ve liked it a lot more with a different writing style and if it went in depth about it instead of going “it’s just something they do because they’re just that psychotic and crazy 🤪”. Anyway but thank you to the author for making this free, you’re a real one.