shallyne's reviews
124 reviews

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Holly Jackson when I catch you... 

...you'll get the biggest forehead kiss and all my gratitude for your books. Amazing Author, amazing book, I was on the edge of my seat the whole entire time. I've been reading this book in one go because I just couldn't stop which is a rare occurance. 

I loved Red and I loved Arthur and I loved Red and Arthur and I loved the twists and I loved the tension and also

I am LOATHING Oliver, dumb ass bitch. 

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Do not let the 4 stars fool you, it is not worth a 2 year wait. Many plot points felt cheap for a series that was so promising?? Book 1 was literally a masterpiece
And while we are at it: can someone tell me what Miss Sarah Janet Maas has against Hunt? That guy was done SO dirty in hofas, I'm past disappointment, I'm just sad. It makes me sad. And there was so much going on that the ending felt rushed and tied ends felt loose

I still enjoyed it tho, that's why 4 stars. Could definitely have delivered a much better quality, though. 

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Started the book, went into a reading slump (not bc of the book) and came back a month later because a friend finished the first book and I got inspired to read the book

Let's just say that was the hardest I've ever cried while reading a book because I got attached to that one specific character to the point that I couldn't scroll on my phone because the screen was full of tears

Also one thing that Rachel Gillig excels at is seamless transitions because in so many books I could tell you the exact moment where the story picks up and it all feels like "and then, and then, and then" but not here. It all blends in perfectly

10/10 would recommend, my heart is in shreds

Riding The Headless Horseman by Molly Likovich

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

3.0

Well, this was something

Mr. October by Bethany Weaver

lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

It was fine. It wasn't a masterpiece of a novella and the characters came off very childish but it was a cute october spooky season fall novella. 

WiccaCreed - Zeichen & Omen by Marah Woolf

slow-paced

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

3.0

500 seiten und 80% davon waren einfach nur sau langweilig. Das ende war okay aber es war das warten absolut nicht wert.

The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Vivi, Rhys, Gwyn and Wells are great but Percival has my whole entire heart! Treats! And he calls Gwyn Mama 🥺
I loved Gwyn and her baby Witches, together they were adorable
The book was funny, it made me giggle a bunch of time
I wasn't the biggest fan of the pacing in this book. It wasn't the greatest, kinda different from the first book. 
Also, I listened to this on audio and was disappointed that there is a different narrator. I really liked the narrator of the first book but eith this one I didn't like the male voices, it gave me slight cringies

The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

This book was PERFECTION
Erin, girly, come here and let me give you a kiss. 
FINALLY, after what feels like forever I found a good wotch book. I love witches, I want to read all about witches but no book hit like this. NO. BOOK. It's such a cute and funny and cozy read for spooky season! 
The little breakup at the end was unnecessary but I can look over that. I devoured that book! The writing was great, the plot made sense, the romance was amazing, the characters have my heart
Love love LOVED IT

also, I love you by Morgan Mei

lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

First of all, the chapters were way too long. I lost motivation a bunch of times because the chapters seemed never-ending. 8 chapters in 200 pages? Eh
I also didn't like the romance. I'm aware that it's the main thing in the book but if it eould have focused on the discrimination of fae in the human world and scrapped the romance, it would have been amazing. But the romance aspect was bad and the fae-human plot half-assed.
Much of the dialogue was cringe.
Raven was lowkey a shit friend and sometimes she felt like a fifty-five year old, faux-wise sorcerer and the next like a 12 year old child, it felt very inconsistent
 the timeline was confusing
Three stars because I see the potential and I really liked the modern fae combination but it mostly bored me, sadly

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I say
He says
She says
Someone should count every mention of "say" in this book, I bet it's a huge amount.
I had to check the publishing date because that book feels really early 2010s to me. It was published 2013 so I guess it's fine, but the 2010s vibes are there. Strongly. It kind of feels like something you would find on wattpad
I do like that it's an easy read, or listen if you're on audiobook, and the chapters are really short which I LOVE. 
I didn't really feel the tragic ending tho. It told me that it was sad but I didn't feel it.