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booksalacarte's reviews
659 reviews
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.75
A Fate Inked in Blood
4.75⭐️ 3.25🌶️
Fantasy Romance
Viking Fantasy
Forbidden Romance
Gods
Magic
Secrets
War
Slow burn
Forced proximity
I really enjoyed this book so much! You could really tell that DLJ has grown as an author since her Bridge Kingdom series started. I am so excited to see where this series goes, I still have so many questions!
The magic system was interesting and the idea that everyone is fated, except the children of gods is an interesting way to approach the system.
The FMC was torn between her selfish nature and wanting to protect others. It’s such a real struggle that I was rooting for her and frustrated by her at the same time.
The plot was fairly steady. I didn’t feel like there were many lulls in the action, even when there was a break from fighting. The twists and turns were foreshadowed well and left just enough for me to still be surprised by the nature of the ending.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for a eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
The Fine Print by Lauren Asher
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.25
The Will of the Many by James Islington
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? No
5.0
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.75
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Before I let go 5⭐️ 3🌶️
Second Chance Romance
Divorce
Found family
Therapy
Grief
Ptsd
This was such a beautifully heartbreaking, and at the same time, heartwarming book. The characters were so well flushed out and full. The writing was full of poetic inner monologues and glaringly real dialogue.
It felt like a love letter to therapy and the power that it has.
The character of grief is profound in this book. As someone who has lost in a similar way, not skirting around the grief but instead staring it in the face and explaining it in such a poetic way… it was so cathartic to read grief in such an open way.
I loved this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
An education in malice- 3⭐️3🌶️
Adult Paranormal Romance
Dual POV
Dark
Sapphic
Rivals to lovers
Student/professor relationship
Open door romance
Tw: racism, homofobia, murder, blood, gore, alcohol and drug use, discrimination
Looking at the vampire lore and books that have come before it, a fully sapphic vampire novel was such an interesting idea… and this book while the premise was interesting and I was disappointed that it didn’t feel as if the book was taken far enough. I never felt fully immersed in the academic or the vampire sides of this book. With a little more depth this could have been really great.
Characters were interesting but I found myself very unclear of intentions and motivation. rivals to lovers track was decently done, but I wanted the Academic aspect to stretch further than it did.
Pacing was a little bit of a drag. It started out with the interesting rivals tension only to fizzle out when things started to resolve. Writing was really beautiful, I enjoyed the imagery that fit so well with the poetry focus. I really just wanted a more intense reading experience. For such a strongly worded title, it was a fairly mild vampire book.
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
First read- 4.25⭐️ 3🌶️
Adult High Fantasy
Multi POV
Fantasy Romance
Magic
Found family
Journey
Secrets
War
Rebellion
Tech/sci-fi elements
Tw: torture on page, language,
This was a Crescent City book. It wasn’t an ACOTAR or TOG book. It was crescent city through and through with the quick POV shifts and
This large cast of characters has always been the messiest. They are completely flawed and full of contradictions and harder to completely stand behind. There wasn’t a lot of self reflection for anyone in the cast. There were a lot of really brash decisions, even from seasoned warriors and politicians, that I rolled my eyes at. There just wasn’t the character growth that I had hoped to see… if anything, some of the characters, a main character even, seemed to get worse… some character growth and revelations that were foreshadowed in the other two books seemed to have been completely tossed out the window.
The plot was A LOT… and all over the place. There were moments of world-building that was just gigantic info dumps. There were times where we went into sci-fi elements. Many things were concluded and tied up prettily. I’m having a hard time thinking of how this is going to be extended into any more books…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
The Spare Room by Laura Starkey
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
2.75⭐️2.25🌶️
Contemporary Romance
Roommates to lovers
British Setting
Curvy FMC
BIPOC Side Character
Closed door romance
This book was cute and followed the familiar contemporary romance/romcom formula. It was all very predictable in regards to the plot.
The characters were well formed but I kept getting mad at the FMC being awed by the bare minimum… but maybe that was the point. She was also a little too self deprecating for me to enjoy being in her POV. I would have really appreciated this if it had been a dual POV story. To see some of the adoration and romance from then MMC’s POV.
I don’t really love pop culture references that box the book that I’m reading into a very specific timeline.
Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
First read- 3⭐️
No written review
Reread- 5⭐️2.75🌶️
NA Fantasy Romance
Multi POV
War
Mythical creatures
Found Family
I wasn’t in my right mind the first time I read this series. I’m convinced.
The first time I read this I remember I laughed out loud once and I cried once.
This time. I think I was crying throughout the whole last third of the book. I hardly took any notes, most of them “crying”.
Plot-wise, this was a very clean wrap up. Maybe too clean. It left some questions and open threads. But I can see with so much having happened to such a large cast can be fatiguing. As a reader and as a writher. You can only explain a fight or say “he/she growled so many times.
Are there issues? Sure? Am I glad I’m done with that series. Yes. Did I enjoy myself. Most definitely.
No written review
Reread- 5⭐️2.75🌶️
NA Fantasy Romance
Multi POV
War
Mythical creatures
Found Family
I wasn’t in my right mind the first time I read this series. I’m convinced.
The first time I read this I remember I laughed out loud once and I cried once.
This time. I think I was crying throughout the whole last third of the book. I hardly took any notes, most of them “crying”.
Plot-wise, this was a very clean wrap up. Maybe too clean. It left some questions and open threads. But I can see with so much having happened to such a large cast can be fatiguing. As a reader and as a writher. You can only explain a fight or say “he/she growled so many times.
Are there issues? Sure? Am I glad I’m done with that series. Yes. Did I enjoy myself. Most definitely.