maello's reviews
30 reviews

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

3.75

I would say overall this book was good! I really enjoyed it, and definitely cried at some parts. I definitely didn't like the 'typical' parts where the girl assumes the feelings of the guy. I get why she did that, etc, but it's just hard to read. I feel like I've read it a million times. I would recommend this book to people that like 'grumpy-sunshine' tropes or 'rivals-to-lovers' (sort of, it's more like misunderstood rivals-to-lovers or one-sided). It had good writing, there are a few good quotes that I really loved that the writer includes during parts where the MC is being introspective. I would say that this story is more of a good one rather than an okay one, was a good read, but was predictable. And I kind of didn't like the ending either.

My rating system:
5 ⭐ = Great story, loved it, would definitely recommend to everyone
4 ⭐ = Good story, enjoyed it, worth the read, would recommend it to people that like this genre
3 ⭐ = Okay story, some predictable parts, it was fine
2 ⭐ = Lame story, boring, kept losing interest
1 ⭐ = Terrible story, couldn't finish

Content Warnings

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death of parent and Bullying

Minor: Vomit

When I see reviews for this book they are usually very polarizing. Some will say that the book's writing wasn't good and the world was underdeveloped, and some will say that this book was amazing and book of the year. I think the book was great, but I definitely think the complaints have merit. To start, this book's romance sub-plot is very involved. If you think it's just a book about dragons and then there's some romance in it, you would be wrong. The romance is deeply engrained in this book, and in my eyes it's really important. Without this romance, the FMC would've gone down a completely different path in this book. It is necessary. Of course, she is very ... thirsty ? And there are paragraphs and pages for how thirsty it is. If you won't like reading that, this isn't the book for you. Because there is a lot. lol In regards to the worldbuilding, I'm a bit torn. Yes, we didn't get that much information about what people care about (how dragons bond, the dragons, etc, etc). But, I think this makes sense. The parts of the world that we know, are the parts of the world that Violet knows. She trained to be a scribe, she thinks she knows everything about history. We expect her to know everything. But the truth is, she doesn't. There just isn't much written and recorded knowledge about the dragons. She doesn't know it, so we don't either. I personally like this storytelling, it makes it easier to immerse and connect with the MC rather than being an all-knowing reader. However it's definitely not for everyone, and so I can see why some people say the worldbuilding is underdeveloped and stuff is inconsistent. All things said, I really liked this book. It is an easy-to-read non-complex world, with a physically disabled character (something I have personally never read in this kind of kickass hardcore fantasy world) and she isn't just disabled to be a diversity-quota selling point, but it actually feels important to the story. It changes how she approaches things, it shows that accommodations aren't something to be ashamed of. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and pre-ordered the next book as well.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

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challenging emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I loved this book. It is a bit difficult to read in the sense of wording/sentence structure. It can come off as a bit of a 'pretentious' read. Another thing is that this is not a book that is primarily about a 'time war' you're not going to get chapters based on fighting a war, at least not in the literal sense you might think. It's more based on the two characters, and their relationship with each other and the secondary relationship to their side/cause. The book is short so the pacing is fast but I wouldn't say it's rushed, just fast. In the true nature of books regarding being able to move through time, there's a lot of surprising interactions/twists (?) that are really nice. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like shorter emotional stories, or people that enjoy reading literature with this kind of tone.

Content Warnings

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

Goes too slow in some parts, took me a while to get into it. MC is kind of stupid and not very relatable.

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes dark academia type of stuff. That being said, the book is heavy/dense and it takes a while for it to truly pick up.

If you love secrets/scheming/secret agendas, multiple POV's, and dark academia/magic stuff, I would definitely recommend this book! However if that doesn't sound like something that interests you, this book probably won't be your cup of tea. Some of the characters feel snooty or with a superior complex but I think it's normal to pick favorites of your characters depending on who you empathize most with. The dialogue does get a bit wordy at times and I am definitely guilty of skipping paragraphs here and there once it was but I truly did enjoy the book. I just have attention span/instant-gratification needed issues.

Content Warnings

The Stolen Heir by Holly Black

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I had a hard time starting this book, but once I made it through the first few chapters I read the rest of the book in the same day. Overall I found it alright, the pacing was a bit slow, it wasn’t until the last few chapters of the book that we were actually where we were traveling to the whole rest of the book. and the action happened there very quickly. i do think that this was intentional, to represent the surge and quickness of Wren’s feelings at the end.

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

A good book, better than the first but not as good as a second. This book is certainly the 'ending' and it does a good job at tying together the loose ends, and to begin a healing process for many. There wasn't as much of trickery and such, but there was still a lot of good. Unlike the 2nd book where it felt like we were constantly trying to stay one step ahead, this one feels a lot simpler. In some ways I can see why some say it is a disappointment, but for me it comes welcomely. It is a good ending, and I enjoyed it.

Content Warnings

The Wicked King by Holly Black

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is the best book of the series (IMO). It's full of the faerie stuff of making sure your words are smart, of promises and of schemes. It is dramatic, it is tense, it is adventurous. There is so much unfolding. The pace is fast, but I wouldn't say it is rushed. It is fast because we have to always be on our toes, trying to be one step ahead as Jude is. Things thrown her way ruin her plans, and she has to adapt-- quickly-- before things get horrible. Overall this is my favorite, and I'm glad I stuck with this series despite my initial issues with the first book. In this book you learn much more of the main crew. Their thoughts, their reasoning, etc.

Content Warnings

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book would be a lot higher but I found the beginning slow-- which surprised me given that the first few scenes as brutal. There is a lot of death/murder in this series, something that you should probably know going into them. The prince and his friends are horrible to Jude, perhaps in ways that some would consider 'unredeemable'. Popular critiques of the characters is valid, and so it is up to you to decide whether they are redeemable or not. Overall, I enjoyed this book, I had to take several breaks just getting through the first half but it really started to pick up in a sense and by the time I finished it I had to pick up the second book.

Content Warnings

The Therapist by B.A. Paris

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dark mysterious tense slow-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

Like many others, I found the beginning incredibly boring. I guessed the ending early enough, and although there were red herrings, it didn't really feel like they got me. (And I usually get 'got' by everything lol). It kind of felt like I was reading just to finish it at one point (to get my money's worth). Although I can understand why others may like this book (if they didn't expect the turns, etc), it just wasn't for me. I didn't find the characters loveable or honestly that friendly. Alice's friends just felt like plot devices/reasons to write off her boyfriend at the time. The neighborhood people were purposely annoying and clique-y and the 'you can't sit with us' drama was annoying.

Content Warnings

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maello's reviews 30 reviews

maello's reviews
30 reviews