redsrecs's reviews
175 reviews
Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
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? Yes
5.0
Those People Next Door, by Kia Abdullah
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
I could not get into this book at all and reading it made me feel ill. The themes are so relevant, but the characters are completely unlikable and every single happening in this book makes me anxious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Racism, and Ableism
Ruin and Rising, by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
๐ก๏ธ๐ก๏ธ๐ก๏ธ๐ก๏ธ.5 daggers for Ruin & Rising by Leigh Bardugo
โ๐๐ข ๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข'๐บ๐ข.๏ฟฝ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๏ฟฝ๐'๐บ๐ข ๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๏ฟฝ. ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โ
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐:
Plot: 4.5
Pacing: 4.67
Writing: 5
Language: 5
Characters: 5
World building: 4
Romance: 4
Ugh I have so many feelings about this book and especially the ending.
It starts off a bit slow, but the Grisha find their way to allies and endure battles to save Alina and Ravka.
The hunt for the firebird is a bit slow, but by itโs end the entire series seems to come to a head and Mal and Alina get their heads out of their asses and make peace with each other and themselves.
We get some epic worldbuilding, backstories that are plot twists, just general plot twists that will blow your mind and even some romance.
People die, things change, everyone grieves, life goes on.
The ending of this book will surely be in the top 5 of endings that just stay with me forever ๐ญ
I donโt feel like I can say more about this book without spoiling it but as with the previous books it gave that really intense YA vibes that was common for the time the series was written and which I personally love (think The Hunger Games and Divergent)
If you love the series thus far I really think youโre gonna love this book ๐ซถ๐ป
โ๐๐ข ๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข'๐บ๐ข.๏ฟฝ ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๏ฟฝ๐'๐บ๐ข ๐ณ๐ข๐ป๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต๏ฟฝ. ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ.โ
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐:
Plot: 4.5
Pacing: 4.67
Writing: 5
Language: 5
Characters: 5
World building: 4
Romance: 4
Ugh I have so many feelings about this book and especially the ending.
It starts off a bit slow, but the Grisha find their way to allies and endure battles to save Alina and Ravka.
The hunt for the firebird is a bit slow, but by itโs end the entire series seems to come to a head and Mal and Alina get their heads out of their asses and make peace with each other and themselves.
We get some epic worldbuilding, backstories that are plot twists, just general plot twists that will blow your mind and even some romance.
People die, things change, everyone grieves, life goes on.
The ending of this book will surely be in the top 5 of endings that just stay with me forever ๐ญ
I donโt feel like I can say more about this book without spoiling it but as with the previous books it gave that really intense YA vibes that was common for the time the series was written and which I personally love (think The Hunger Games and Divergent)
If you love the series thus far I really think youโre gonna love this book ๐ซถ๐ป
Kingdom of the Wicked , by Kerri Maniscalco
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
A Touch of Darkness, by Scarlett St. Clair
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
4.25
๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฑ.35 vines for A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair
โ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ.โ
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐:
Plot: 5
Pacing: 5
Writing: 4
Language: 5
Characters: 5
World building: 5
Romance: 4
Spice: 3
Hades x Persephone retelling. Slow burn. Enemies to lovers. Found family.
This book was such a fun easy read. The plot and pacing throughout kept my attention, the slow burn had me constantly reading to get to the romance, the plot twists and the character development gave me life!
The spice, although there are a fair amount of spicy scenes, is quite basic and only starts in the last third of the book.
Itโs obvious that the characters have a lot of passion between them but overall we have 90% missionary position and overall the descriptive words used throughout the sex scenes seemed as if Scarlett was looking to use any word except what the anatomy is actually called.
Overall I HIGHLY recommend this book for any fantasy/romance lovers.
โ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ.โ
๐น๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐:
Plot: 5
Pacing: 5
Writing: 4
Language: 5
Characters: 5
World building: 5
Romance: 4
Spice: 3
Hades x Persephone retelling. Slow burn. Enemies to lovers. Found family.
This book was such a fun easy read. The plot and pacing throughout kept my attention, the slow burn had me constantly reading to get to the romance, the plot twists and the character development gave me life!
The spice, although there are a fair amount of spicy scenes, is quite basic and only starts in the last third of the book.
Itโs obvious that the characters have a lot of passion between them but overall we have 90% missionary position and overall the descriptive words used throughout the sex scenes seemed as if Scarlett was looking to use any word except what the anatomy is actually called.
Overall I HIGHLY recommend this book for any fantasy/romance lovers.
Siege and Storm, by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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
4.0
Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
sad
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
This was a reread and I loved this story as much as the first time.
I love the premise, the plot, the magic and the world.
I love that itโs dystopian with a touch of abilities. I love the rebellion.
100% recommend this book for YA and dystopian lovers.
I love the premise, the plot, the magic and the world.
I love that itโs dystopian with a touch of abilities. I love the rebellion.
100% recommend this book for YA and dystopian lovers.
Lightlark, by Alex Aster
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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
3.75
With the controversy surrounding this book the online reviews have either been really good or really bad and I was honestly a bit scared to get into this book.
Ultimately I got this book because it was pretty and I needed a pick-me-up. Thank you to Alicia for reading this book with me!
Here is my honest unbiased review.
Firstly we need to consider the fact that this in fact considered a young adult book. That being said, it contains more spice than most YA books would, but overall it's done really well. This also impacts a lot of the language being used such as calling the sun yolky, a cliff cliffy, or mentioning starsticks, Moonlings, Wildlings, Sunlings; you get the picture.
This language isn't prominent throughout but it was weird reading it initially, overall you do get used to it though especially since the writing is really good.
The plot isn't straightforward in the beginning but as we progress things become more interesting and in the last third of the book things really pick up and become exciting. In parallel the pace was similar, starting out slow and moving into a faster pace.
The world-building is done fairly well although I do still have questions around exactly where the realms are since there is no map in this book and it's not explained in detail.
Moving on to the characters, there are so many whom I really enjoyed, but our FMC got on my nerves for a while. Once again, consider that this book is YA. Isla (pronounced EYES-la) is very naรฏve and indecisive and seems to be unable to choose anything for herself. She grew up sheltered and dependent on those around her and she brings that with her into the Centennial even after being trained her entire life for it. Luckily, there is some serious character development towards the end of the book and overall she becomes a character that I can love.
Lastly, there ends up being two love interests (of course) and you go on first-time romance ride with Isla figuring out how to love and how she feels about it. There are mentions of spicy dreams that she has as well as a spicy scene at one point with one of our love interests.
Overall I really enjoyed Lightlark and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA writing.
Ultimately I got this book because it was pretty and I needed a pick-me-up. Thank you to Alicia for reading this book with me!
Here is my honest unbiased review.
Firstly we need to consider the fact that this in fact considered a young adult book. That being said, it contains more spice than most YA books would, but overall it's done really well. This also impacts a lot of the language being used such as calling the sun yolky, a cliff cliffy, or mentioning starsticks, Moonlings, Wildlings, Sunlings; you get the picture.
This language isn't prominent throughout but it was weird reading it initially, overall you do get used to it though especially since the writing is really good.
The plot isn't straightforward in the beginning but as we progress things become more interesting and in the last third of the book things really pick up and become exciting. In parallel the pace was similar, starting out slow and moving into a faster pace.
The world-building is done fairly well although I do still have questions around exactly where the realms are since there is no map in this book and it's not explained in detail.
Moving on to the characters, there are so many whom I really enjoyed, but our FMC got on my nerves for a while. Once again, consider that this book is YA. Isla (pronounced EYES-la) is very naรฏve and indecisive and seems to be unable to choose anything for herself. She grew up sheltered and dependent on those around her and she brings that with her into the Centennial even after being trained her entire life for it. Luckily, there is some serious character development towards the end of the book and overall she becomes a character that I can love.
Lastly, there ends up being two love interests (of course) and you go on first-time romance ride with Isla figuring out how to love and how she feels about it. There are mentions of spicy dreams that she has as well as a spicy scene at one point with one of our love interests.
Overall I really enjoyed Lightlark and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA writing.
Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
This was a reread for me. Last time I read this book was just as the Netflix series came out and I was knee deep in a multi year reading slump.
I had no issues with this reread, the pace was fast so I never felt bored even knowing what would happen in this book.
I really liked Alinaโs character development and the complexity of her relationships and friendships with everyone around her.
The world building and magic system was done gradually and was easy enough to understand.ย
Overall a really fun and quick read
I had no issues with this reread, the pace was fast so I never felt bored even knowing what would happen in this book.
I really liked Alinaโs character development and the complexity of her relationships and friendships with everyone around her.
The world building and magic system was done gradually and was easy enough to understand.ย
Overall a really fun and quick read