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anacarter's reviews
988 reviews
After the Fall of the Dragon King (Special Edition) by Shaquilla Lunsford
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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
4.0
Wow!! This was amazing!!
Fall of the Dragon King is an intriguing fantasy story with excellent world-building seamlessly woven into the plot.
This journey was captivating. A world filled with magic, intrigue, and the timeless struggle between good and evil. It starts with a gripping opening, immersing us in a richly detailed tapestry of characters and settings that are both mesmerizing and complex.
I loved the characters so much!!
FMC was great, she's strong yet a little stubborn.
Ghost is the perfect MMC, he's strong, mysterious, and swoon-worthy!!
I loved their budding romance.
-I'm not sure how I felt about the love triangle though... I do like Ty though!
-This definitely needed editing, misspelled words/ incorrect word usage, and maybe a little formatting
-One thing I really disliked was the use of quotations for character thoughts. It would have been better if their thoughts were italicized. The current setup makes it a little difficult to distinguish between dialogue and thoughts at times.
Besides these shortcomings, I really enjoyed the story!
❥moderate spice
❥enemies to lovers
❥forced prox
❥adventure
❥fae
❥talking dragons
❥shapshifters
❥magic
Thank you for the ARC, Shaquilla!
_________________________________
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Fall of the Dragon King is an intriguing fantasy story with excellent world-building seamlessly woven into the plot.
This journey was captivating. A world filled with magic, intrigue, and the timeless struggle between good and evil. It starts with a gripping opening, immersing us in a richly detailed tapestry of characters and settings that are both mesmerizing and complex.
I loved the characters so much!!
FMC was great, she's strong yet a little stubborn.
Ghost is the perfect MMC, he's strong, mysterious, and swoon-worthy!!
I loved their budding romance.
-I'm not sure how I felt about the love triangle though... I do like Ty though!
-This definitely needed editing, misspelled words/ incorrect word usage, and maybe a little formatting
-One thing I really disliked was the use of quotations for character thoughts. It would have been better if their thoughts were italicized. The current setup makes it a little difficult to distinguish between dialogue and thoughts at times.
Besides these shortcomings, I really enjoyed the story!
❥moderate spice
❥enemies to lovers
❥forced prox
❥adventure
❥fae
❥talking dragons
❥shapshifters
❥magic
Thank you for the ARC, Shaquilla!
_________________________________
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The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
4.5
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.5
Tides of Torment by Elle Beaumont
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Shades of Red by Willow Prescott
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sapphire Scars by Pepper Winters
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
Shattered Hearts by Tina Spencer
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Dangerously Tempting by Alexa L Stephen
initial thoughts:
this was a great debut! I absolutely loved both characters and their chemistry. I was completely captivated from page one, the way I DEVOURED THIS!!
-the spicy scenes were SO good!!
-characters felt a little too perfect, but also Amelia's inner struggles of getting too close to someone new, and possibly ending with heartache were so relatable
-I feel like both character's background was a little lacking
-Stalker Tori plotline was predictable/have read so many like it
-The ending felt rushed - after the hospital, we barely get to see Amelia's PDST/her progress, it's happening in the background, while we get Jameson's POVs, then his parents giving him land to build a house, etc. Fast forward weeks later, then months later, and finally 2 years later, and everything comes together in a way that wraps up the story well, but I feel like adding 100 pages to the story for Amelia's struggles, or maybe even getting Kat's PoV, would have been nice? maybe?
-needs slight surface-level editing but overall good
Overall, amazing debut with loveable relatable characters. Amelia and Jameson are one of my favourite couples!! Their budding romance was a delight to read.
full review soon? (might clean this up eventually)
Thank you for the ARC, Alexa<3
_________________________________
Blog ಇ StoryGraph ಇ Instagram ಇ Twitter ಇ Facebook
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
3.5 stars, rounded up
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙡𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙈𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤.
initial thoughts:
this was a great debut! I absolutely loved both characters and their chemistry. I was completely captivated from page one, the way I DEVOURED THIS!!
“𝙇𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙜𝙤, 𝙠𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙥𝙪𝙨𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙟𝙚𝙧𝙠 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙚. 𝙄 𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙡𝙞𝙥 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙥 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙗 𝙢𝙮 𝙠𝙚𝙮𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙯𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨, 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.
-the spicy scenes were SO good!!
-characters felt a little too perfect, but also Amelia's inner struggles of getting too close to someone new, and possibly ending with heartache were so relatable
-I feel like both character's background was a little lacking
-Stalker Tori plotline was predictable/have read so many like it
-The ending felt rushed - after the hospital, we barely get to see Amelia's PDST/her progress, it's happening in the background, while we get Jameson's POVs, then his parents giving him land to build a house, etc. Fast forward weeks later, then months later, and finally 2 years later, and everything comes together in a way that wraps up the story well, but I feel like adding 100 pages to the story for Amelia's struggles, or maybe even getting Kat's PoV, would have been nice? maybe?
-needs slight surface-level editing but overall good
Overall, amazing debut with loveable relatable characters. Amelia and Jameson are one of my favourite couples!! Their budding romance was a delight to read.
full review soon? (might clean this up eventually)
Thank you for the ARC, Alexa<3
_________________________________
Blog ಇ StoryGraph ಇ Instagram ಇ Twitter ಇ Facebook
Songbird of the Sorrows by Braidee Otto
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
3 stars, full Review on my blog!
────── ✧ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ♡ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ✧ ──────
wait that's how it ended? will there be a second book??
slightly underwhelming, the whole book felt very rushed
It’s unique in a way and a great debut but I felt like I was reading and not processing the words, or maybe I just didn't connect with the characters since there were so many. There were so many things happening plot-wise that it was all crammed into 378 pages.
⪼When it came to the Trials part of the book, I was disappointed. They weren’t as high stakes as they seemed to be, our FMC breezed through them almost without a thought. I really feel like they could have gone differently. I mean they were entertaining enough but not as incredibly dangerous were meant to be.
IM SORRY BUT IN THE BOOK DESCRIPTION WHERE SAYS "her struggles through high-stakes trials" is literally false advertising 😭😭
⪼I didn't care for Aella and Raven's relationship because there wasn't enough build-up. Although it mentions they 'knew each other' from before, I would have liked to see more of them getting to know each other better. Their 'romance' lacked real tension or chemistry, despite the forbidden love angle.
⪼Every time I read the MMC's name-Raven, idk why but I kept thinking of Raven from The 100(<333 I lovvee her sm). But anyway, HE was... strange; gave weird vibes at times, like he was about to betray Aella or something.
Also, as the MMC he was lacking character development; we don’t get to know anything about him, he has no backstory, we don't even get to know his real name(only his given Songbird name). It felt like his only purpose in the book was to serve as Aella's stress relief because those are mainly the only times we got to see him.
His character was very mysterious, and I WISH we had his POV. That would have made him so much more interesting and we would have gotten to know him more.
⪼smut scenes felt awkward between them? Aella kept having to repeat herself 'it's just sex nothing more'... probably why they lacked chemistry because their relationship was more of a Friends-with-benefits
⪼I feel like I constantly had to keep referring to the glossary to even remember what things were:
Eagle: the leader of the Aviary and advisor to the King of the Sorrows
Tycheroi: fortunate ones – the common race in the Empyrieos. They are long-lived and blessed with soul magic by the gods.
Goiteía: an alphabet of marks used to tap into soul magic. The more one uses goiteía, the shorter their lifespan.
Goiteían: a person who sells the service of mark carving, or is in servitude to carve goiteía for another.
these are just a few, there were so many more words/names/Kingdoms/pronunciations in the glossary, and honestly, at one point I just stopped going back and forth accepting that I probably won't remember what the heck was being talked about.
⪼Xan, is an interesting character that I want to know more about, but his appearance felt rushed in a way.
THE CLIFFHANGER WAS SHOCKING AND SLIGHTLY CONFUSING. If there is a second book, I'll probably read it, because WHAT THE HECK XAN???!!
Overall, I'm not going to say I completely disliked this, but it was very underwhelming, and I feel like I need to read it again.
𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈:
❥Spies
❥assassins & royals
❥a perilous heist
❥'high stakes' trials
❥forbidden romance
❥forced proximity
❥court intrigue
❥kingdom politics
❥Greek mythology
Thank you for the ARC, Braidee!
_________________________________
Blog ಇ StoryGraph ಇ Instagram ಇ Twitter ಇ Facebook
────── ✧ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ♡ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ✧ ──────
wait that's how it ended? will there be a second book??
slightly underwhelming, the whole book felt very rushed
It’s unique in a way and a great debut but I felt like I was reading and not processing the words, or maybe I just didn't connect with the characters since there were so many. There were so many things happening plot-wise that it was all crammed into 378 pages.
⪼When it came to the Trials part of the book, I was disappointed. They weren’t as high stakes as they seemed to be, our FMC breezed through them almost without a thought. I really feel like they could have gone differently. I mean they were entertaining enough but not as incredibly dangerous were meant to be.
IM SORRY BUT IN THE BOOK DESCRIPTION WHERE SAYS "her struggles through high-stakes trials" is literally false advertising 😭😭
⪼I didn't care for Aella and Raven's relationship because there wasn't enough build-up. Although it mentions they 'knew each other' from before, I would have liked to see more of them getting to know each other better. Their 'romance' lacked real tension or chemistry, despite the forbidden love angle.
⪼Every time I read the MMC's name-Raven, idk why but I kept thinking of Raven from The 100(<333 I lovvee her sm). But anyway, HE was... strange; gave weird vibes at times, like he was about to betray Aella or something.
Also, as the MMC he was lacking character development; we don’t get to know anything about him, he has no backstory, we don't even get to know his real name(only his given Songbird name). It felt like his only purpose in the book was to serve as Aella's stress relief because those are mainly the only times we got to see him.
His character was very mysterious, and I WISH we had his POV. That would have made him so much more interesting and we would have gotten to know him more.
⪼smut scenes felt awkward between them? Aella kept having to repeat herself 'it's just sex nothing more'... probably why they lacked chemistry because their relationship was more of a Friends-with-benefits
⪼I feel like I constantly had to keep referring to the glossary to even remember what things were:
Eagle: the leader of the Aviary and advisor to the King of the Sorrows
Tycheroi: fortunate ones – the common race in the Empyrieos. They are long-lived and blessed with soul magic by the gods.
Goiteía: an alphabet of marks used to tap into soul magic. The more one uses goiteía, the shorter their lifespan.
Goiteían: a person who sells the service of mark carving, or is in servitude to carve goiteía for another.
these are just a few, there were so many more words/names/Kingdoms/pronunciations in the glossary, and honestly, at one point I just stopped going back and forth accepting that I probably won't remember what the heck was being talked about.
⪼Xan, is an interesting character that I want to know more about, but his appearance felt rushed in a way.
THE CLIFFHANGER WAS SHOCKING AND SLIGHTLY CONFUSING. If there is a second book, I'll probably read it, because WHAT THE HECK XAN???!!
Overall, I'm not going to say I completely disliked this, but it was very underwhelming, and I feel like I need to read it again.
𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈:
❥Spies
❥assassins & royals
❥a perilous heist
❥'high stakes' trials
❥forbidden romance
❥forced proximity
❥court intrigue
❥kingdom politics
❥Greek mythology
Thank you for the ARC, Braidee!
_________________________________
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