morriganorgana's reviews
115 reviews

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It felt whimsical and warm from the first page, all while maintaining a light academia theme. Emily is a loveable protagonist, Shadow is a sweet side character, and Wendell is a vexing, yet compelling addition to the story.

Perhaps a little slow to start, it did take a few chapters for me to grow invested in the story, but once I did I was enraptured. My only complaint about this book is that I wanted it to be longer, and explore faerie lore in more depth. I wasn't ready for the book to end!

I absolutely adored this, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. It can't come soon enough!

Features:
💚 Faerie folklore
💚 Rivals to lovers
💚 Whimsical atmosphere
💚 Faerie kings

If you like faerie kings and fae folklore mixed with some lovely light academia, this is definitely the book for you.

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.

Honestly, it's not a bad book, I just sort of... Nothing it? I have zero feelings here. I didn't become emotionally invested in any of the characters, I didn't care about the plot - which didn't really seem to know where it wanted to go - and overall I just didn't really feel anything for it. It had potential, but it just didn't hit any marks at all.

Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book takes a simple concept and warps it beautifully: What if Eve wasn't the first? Somehow managing a slow reveal over the course of this short story, Valente manages to construct a surreal, unsettling world that really sinks into your bones. I went into this story thinking that it would be nothing more than another case of Bluebeard's Wife, but was still left simultaneously satisfied and wanting more by the end.

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

4.0

The first time I tried reading this book in roughly 2019, I found it incredibly difficult to get past a certain scene (Chapter 7) as it was quite triggering. Because of this, I initially DNFed the book, gave it 1 star, and shoved it out of my mind. After a few years I decided to give it another go, and I'm really, really glad I did.

This time I skipped the chapter I knew would upset me (thanks to another reader who helpfully looked up which chapter for me), and it was an entirely different experience. The character growth throughout the book is great, and the more you sink into the world the more you can appreciate every act and word.

Worldbuilding is brilliant, and Black uses so much faerie folklore in the series that it felt like I wasn't dipping into a new world, but walking into an ancient one that I already knew. I was so excited to see redcaps given so much love too, as their lore originates from the Scottish-English border near where I'm from, so seeing a character from a Redcap's household was a fantastic surprise.

Overall a great book, and I'm so glad to say that the series only gets better from here.

Content Warnings

How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

4.75

A collection of short stories exploring Cardan's character throughout the Folk of the Air series. A nice addition to a great series.

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional funny 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

4.0

So, before going forward I should clarify that I had to scour the PDF of this entire book and replace every use of "Adam" as a name, because for obvious reasons I cannot reasonably read a romance in which the love interest has the same name as my baby brother. When that was done, I dove in.

First thing's first is that this book started as a Reylo (Rey x Kylo Ren) fanfiction, and ultimately it reads like fanfiction. Honestly? It's what I loved about it.

I'm not a big fan of Reylo, or of Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequel trilogy in general, but luckily the similarities seem to end in Adam's ~~(weird name 0/10 gross do not recommend~~) appearance. He's super tall, dark hair, dark eyes, and has a huge chest (I had a little laugh whenever Olive mentioned that his chest is like a mountain for nth time - we get it, he has big man tiddies).

It was cheesy. It was predictable. It was exactly what I wanted and expected when I went into it. When I say that it reads like fanfiction, I mean it positively: it reads like someone who had a lot of love for two characters and poured that adoration and dedication into their book. It's got some writing that seems clunky in places, but overall it was a light, enjoyable read. Don't think too hard about it.

Content Warnings

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Aside from one scene that seemed really out of place in comparison to the rest of the book, it was a great read. The exploration of gender was interesting too

Content Warnings