tartan_teapotsandbooks_croft's reviews
264 reviews

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

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

5.0

At first I wasn't sure what to think about this one. In the end I loved it! It was spicy, dark, chilling and spine tingling. The story was very good and the book was well written and very descriptive! I loved the dynamic between Aly and Josh. They just complimented each other perfectly. Josh was morally grey which is one of my favourite tropes! The book was written in first person from Aly and Josh's POVs. It worked well as it let me get inside both minds. If you love a dark and spicy romance with a hot as hell morally grey MMC, then you will be disappointed with this book. Can't wait for book two next year!
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Skandar and the Chaos Trials by A.F. Steadman

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adventurous funny mysterious relaxing 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

This book was fantastic! The best in the series yet! The story was so good and so imaginative. Ms. Steadman has created a world rich in magic and myth. Unicorns aren't fluffy and cuddly. They hatch from eggs are a bloody thirsty. They all have fun personalities too. As always I bought this book for myself so it's definitely suitable for kids and adults alike. The book was so exquisitly written and very descriptive. It still leaves lots for the imagination. The characters again are all wonderful and each are integral to the story. The book is written in third person mostly from Skandar's point of view. Again we have the Interludes from Kenna's perspective. I won't lie this book made me cry more than once! That's emotionally invested you can get in the series. I really recommend this!
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

I really enjoyed this book! It was a fun and spicy Rom-Com which I liked. It has a small town setting which is one of my favourite tropes. Tessa did such a great job with this novel. It was so well written and descriptive. The plot was interesting. The Socialite and the Trawler Captain. I'm certain Brendan's boat is a trawler giving the nature of his job! The characters were great. I didn't like Piper at first but she grew on me. Brendan, I loved from the off. The drawing on the cover does him no justice! The novel is written in third person from the perspectives of Piper and Brendan. I can't wait to read Hannah and Fox's story! I really recommend this book to you all!!
Verity by Colleen Hoover

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Before I start, please don't hate on me for my rating. The book didn't satisfy enough of my check boxes for it to be a four or five star read for me. The story was alright. There were some plot holes that I don't get. I won't go into detail. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to read it. The ending was mostly why it's a three star and not four. It was very unsatisfying. It was an interesting twist but I wasn't all that impressed overall. I feel like the spicy scenes were only really there for the sake of it and they did nothing for the actual plot. The book is written well enough. It's written in first person narrative mostly from Lowen's point of view. There were some interlude chapters for an autobiography called So Be It and a Dear Jeremy chapter and these were all from Verity's perspective. I felt there were small similarities to another book I read called The Wife Upstairs by Freida McFadden. The differences were vast enough though. The characters were not that likable for various reasons. Maybe the exception of Crew. Lowen, Jeremy and Verity had aspects of their characters that made them not likable. I would recommend it to CoHo fans or people who like thrillers. Just don't expect as much out of it like I did.
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Dead on Target: An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M.C. Beaton, R.W. Green

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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? No

5.0

It's another great Agatha Raisin mystery. I can still tell little bit that R.W. Green is writing the books now and not M.C. Beaton anymore. Agatha is still her hilarious and sarcastic self which I love. Her adventures are so cozy and enjoy them tremendously. I loved the story in this book as always and they are a really great read. The book is written in third person from Agatha's perspective for the most part. I love all the characters in the book. I adore a minor character called Mrs. Bloxby. I almost chopped a star off because of something that happens in the book to her. Then I thought that was mean and my rage reader talking!!! The books are about 10 chapters long so they're fairly quick reads. If you love mysteries and/or cozy reads then I really recommend the book and series to you.
Skandar and the Phantom Rider by A.F. Steadman

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So I bought this book for myself. I read the first Skandar when it first came out. My husband thought it sounded like my sort of book and he wasn't wrong. Filled with magic and myth, A.F. Steadman really captures the imagination of any read of any age. The world is so imaginative and immersive. The unicorne aren't cute, fluffy and rainbows. They're wild and monstrous. The book follows Skandar's second year on The Island. It's full of twists and some sadness I felt. The friends have a wonderful adventure. I love the characters in the book. They all have their own individual charm. Except maybe for Dorian Manning.... The book is written in third person from Skandar's point of view. There are several little interludes included but these are from Kenna's point of view. She is Skandar's elder sister who failed The Hatchery exam the year before Skandar even thought about his. I recommend this to you all and your kids if you have any! 
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

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

3.0

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden

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

5.0

This book was chilling! The novel was sitting at a solid 4 stars for me until the ending. It was so shocking! I couldn't believe it. I was certain I had it all figured out but alas no. Freida is by far the Queen of the Psychological Thriller. The story was so good. If I wasn't happily married this would certainly put me off internet dating. It was really well though out and beautifully written. There were plenty of twist and red herrings which I've come to expect from a Freida novel now. I could not put this book down. The characters were all great and they worked well in the story. The novel is written in first person. We have the present day perspective of Sydney and the past perspective of Tom. It was a great way of telling the story. If you love thrillers and/or Freida's work then I simply cannot recommend this enough!!!
Gothikana by RuNyx

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

4.0

I enjoyed rhis. I really like Dark Academia as a trope. The concept of this book was brilliant. The story was well thought out and well written. Corvinia and Vad were interesting characters with equally interesting stories and backgrounds. The plot had some good twists in it which I really liked. The book written in third person. It's mainly written from Corvinia's POV but we have some Vad chapters and one from an unknown. I liked this and it worked well. Would I have liked to have had more Vad chapters to get into his head? Yes but it didn't take anything away from the book or this review. If you enjoy Dark Academia then I think you would enjoy this too. 
Midnight and Blue: An Inspector Rebus Novel by Ian Rankin

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informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

John Rebus, you can take the man out of CID but you can't take CID out of the man! Even banged up in HMP Edinburgh, he still has the most incredible steely grit and determination when he puts his mind to something. Ex cop that's been placed in Gen Pop. It made for extremely interesting and suspenseful reading. I loved this book! Like all Rebus books, it was extremely hard to put the book down. Sir Ian has struck gold again with the latest in the Rebus novels. It was so well written and descriptive. Lots of twists and turns and huge amounts of suspense. It was the perfect read as I finish off my October TBR list. The book is written in third person from multiple perspectives as always. Which isn't a bad thing in the grand scheme of the novel. We get our teeth into several investigations. I loved all the characters. Even Malcolm Fox. I love to hate him. He's selfish and smarmy. I loved everything about the book and I cannot recommend it enough!!!!