saltyitalianbrit's reviews
94 reviews

Nightfall by Penelope Douglas

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

I loved this book! It's tied with Kill Switch as my favorite of the series. This book has a plot twist you never see coming! 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional tense medium-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

3.5

I loved this book more on my reread. This is a plot heavy series with lots of twists and turns. This book is the first in the series and remember SJM was very young when she wrote this one. This is a slower start because there is TONS of world building. Trust the process. 

Between Wrath and Mercy by Jess Wisecup

3.0

This book....Where do I even start?? This is a second chance at love book. I like that our FMC is a little older being in her 30's and she's thick girl. She clearly has a lot of trauma to overcome and deals with PTSD. So I like that she is flawed and figuring out how to function through all that. I thought this book got a little laggy at times. And it's just soooooo sweet! Like I need some conflict. That being said I don't know that our girl Emmaline could have handled any additional conflict. You can tell this is a "book 1" in that it spends the whole book building you up and preparing you for the last 50 pages when you finally get to go to war with the bad guy only for things to go horribly wrong. This book is only 560 ish pages but it's a bigger book and the font is smaller so it's a long read. This is not a read in one day kinda book. But the magic system was cool, and there are some things that felt a little "Blood and Ash" to me with the Myriad...very reminiscent of the Maiden and the temple....though no one was drinking blood. I will be reading book two at some point simply because I already have it....but it's not one I'm super excited about. After checking other reviews people raved about it so I'm hoping it will be an improvement.

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

3.0

This book was just meh for me. I felt like this book could have easily been either combined with the others or left out all together. There really was no information that was essential to the series...except for Feyre learns to shift (maybe?) Yeah this one was just filler for me.

Priest by Sierra Simone

4.0

This was a great quick read book. Spice...I would rate this one a 4.5...like this is some good Mexican food spice, bordering on Asian food spice level. Plot....we will give that a 3. Was this book enjoyable? Yes. Was this an "Omg this is my fav read of 2022"?? Nope.

Sinner by Sierra Simone

4.0

This book chewed me up, spit me out, lit me on fire and burned me to the ground in all the best ways! I started this book as a palette cleanser, thinking this was going to be a quick read with some spice...light and easy. I was wrong! Sierra Simone crafted a book that was heady and raw. She addressed some hard issues...Faith and God (of course), but also consent, respect, systemic racism and unconscious insensitivity and ignorance, death (cancer sucks). This book had me laughing out loud and full ugly cry sobbing and then burning for "more". The only reason I didn't give this book a 5 star rating is there were a few places where I felt Sean was a little cheesy. That being said I am a Sierra Simone stan! I can't wait to move on to the next book to see what she has crafted for the Bell Brothers next. Highly recommend this book! Definitely don't read in public! You have been warned dear reader!

Verity by Colleen Hoover

2.0

Ok I'm gonna say it...this book was just meh. Yes there was some spice, and yes there were some twists and turns. But honestly, the special edition with the additional chapter ruined the whole book. It was just an ok book to begin with but that new chapter killed it. Not a fan.

Of Ash and Embers by Jenna Wolfhart

3.0

2.5 stars. It was just ok. This book progressed from the previous one ok. There was a little spice in the middle of the book. I give this book a solid 2 on the spicy scene. Does this book leave me frantic to read the next one...no. Will I? Maybe if I remember it when it comes out.

**For reference on spice scale...If you are looking at relatable spice scale in terms of 1-5 think like cooking.
1 - Northern Midwest white people cooking...no spice, maybe some light salt and pepper.
2 - Southern Cooking...well seasoned, has some good flavor but not too spicy.
3 - Tex Mex...well seasoned, has some good spice/heat to it. You might to drink a little water.
4 - Good, spicy Mexican food...that stuff is hot! You might need a drink to cool things down, you are definitely going to need napkins cuz your "nose" is running and your face is read and maybe a little sweat is starting to bead up.
5 - Is Asian spicy. This is only for trained professionals because that spice/heat is gonna burn you from entry to exit. You need milk to drink to try and douse that fire. It's going to linger and you are going to be feeling that burn for a long time to come. 5 Asian food ratings are for straight up book porn!

Of Mist and Shadow by Jenna Wolfhart

3.0

I'm giving this a 3.5 rating. It took a bit to get into. It was a little slow at the beginning, just mediocre world building, but it was enough to keep me reading. I am hoping book two picks up the pace a bit.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

4.0

This is a dark achademia book with lots of twists and turns. There is a lot of details...you have to pay attention. This not a spicy book at all. Like white people, Northern, Midwestern cooking level of spice. None. But that being said I did like it. I am looking forward to reading book two!