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booksalacarte's reviews
659 reviews
Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
Tales of the Celestial Kingdom by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Tales from the celestial kingdom- 2.5⭐️ 1🌶️
Fantasy
Chinese mythology
Lyrical prose
Character chapters
This novella was a collection of chapters from different character’s povs from the daughter of the moon goddess duology.
Each chapter was a small extension into the duology’s world and reflecting characters from the story.
Some of the voices weren’t consistent with the duology’s tone. It was a nice snippet into other characters POV’s from the duology.
Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
5⭐️3🌶️
Contemporary romance
Pen-pals
Dual POV
Friends to lovers
Banter
Dark humor
Secret identity
Travel
Grief
This was such an adorable romance novel. The cover is really cute. I enjoyed every second of it reading the FMC try to find the MMC. I suspected pretty early on what was going on, but I still loved how the plot rolled out.
The characters were really well flushed out. I really enjoyed the side characters and what they added to the plot.
The pacing was steady. I think the dual POV worked out great for this story.
Banter and dialogue was really good. I really enjoyed the almost enemies to friends to lovers pipeline that this book followed. The dark humor involved was right up my alley and made me laugh out loud.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own
Contemporary romance
Pen-pals
Dual POV
Friends to lovers
Banter
Dark humor
Secret identity
Travel
Grief
This was such an adorable romance novel. The cover is really cute. I enjoyed every second of it reading the FMC try to find the MMC. I suspected pretty early on what was going on, but I still loved how the plot rolled out.
The characters were really well flushed out. I really enjoyed the side characters and what they added to the plot.
The pacing was steady. I think the dual POV worked out great for this story.
Banter and dialogue was really good. I really enjoyed the almost enemies to friends to lovers pipeline that this book followed. The dark humor involved was right up my alley and made me laugh out loud.
Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
To Cage a God by Elizabeth May
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
To cage a god- 2.75⭐️ 3.5🌶️
Adult fantasy
Sapphic
30yo characters
Multi POV
Morally grey characters
Hidden identity
Dragons
Mythical beasts
Russian influence
Revolution
Alcoholism rep
Ptsd rep
Chronic illness/disability rep
Tw: self harm/cutting, suicide, murder, gore, death, emotional abuse, alcoholism, eugenics
I love the premise of this story! Commoners have unwilling dragon gods caged inside of them, something reserved for royalty, for a rebellion.
The entry into this story was abrupt, making it hard to connect to the main characters because we were dropped into the very middle of most of the character’s stories. but I just found it hard to feel caught up. I even was a kid fascinated by the Russian Revolution and the last tzar of Russia… and so much of the plot mirrored those true events.
The characters were flushed out well, for the most part. And the banter was good.
I found the magic system to be really interesting in how different magic manifested depending on which dragon god was caught.
The pacing wasn’t great, with the abrupt and slow start and rushed ending.
The spicy scenes didn’t feel as natural as I prefer. The timing of these scene was really NOT great.
Thank You Netgalley and DAW Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
2.75
Heart of the Sun Warrior- 2.5⭐️ 1.5🌶️
Fantasy
Chinese mythology
Love triangle
Lyrical prose
Angst
War
The second book happens a year after the first ended. Just like the first book, the writing was beautiful and lyrical, making every moment testimony to the fairytale they create.
To many things are solved amazingly conveniently. I had the same issue with the first book. The reunions and conclusions to side character’s stories were nice.
The consistency of the FMC not knowing her feelings and being unforgiving is there. And that’s in fact exactly what I don’t like about her. Not liking the main character makes it hard to enjoy the story they tell, even if it ended how I hoped.
Final Offer by Lauren Asher
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.25
The Final Offer 3.25⭐️3.25🌶️
Contemporary Romance
Billionare Romance
Brother series
Small town
Second chance
Forced proximity
Mental health rep
Anxiety rep
Tw: alcoholism
This was a good end to the trilogy. It was interesting to see how the sensitive nature of alcoholism was felt with. There were good side characters and the small town feel was decent.
Over all I was just glad that the series wasn’t longer. Any more and it would have felt too drawn out.
The rival home buyer gave a foreshadowing snippet into the next series.
It made me laugh that in this day and age we have to have the standard set to billionaire romance in order to have people afford what a millionaire romance was just a few years ago. Just a funny observation
Contemporary Romance
Billionare Romance
Brother series
Small town
Second chance
Forced proximity
Mental health rep
Anxiety rep
Tw: alcoholism
This was a good end to the trilogy. It was interesting to see how the sensitive nature of alcoholism was felt with. There were good side characters and the small town feel was decent.
Over all I was just glad that the series wasn’t longer. Any more and it would have felt too drawn out.
The rival home buyer gave a foreshadowing snippet into the next series.
It made me laugh that in this day and age we have to have the standard set to billionaire romance in order to have people afford what a millionaire romance was just a few years ago. Just a funny observation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.0
Night for Day by Roselle Lim
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Night for Day- 1.5⭐️3🌶️
Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Magical realism
Cozy Fantasy
Cozy Fantasy
Dual POV
Second chance romance
Gods/goddesses
Mythical/paranormal
This book was… boring. The whole thing could have been 200 pages shorter and turned into a novella and had about the same emotional impact. The plot was glacial and set up like and escape room for the gods. The world building was shaky and surface-level. The characters were not very likable. The most interesting were the side character gods.
Because the main characters were apart for 90% of the book, I was not at all interested in their romance or believed their chemistry.
Really, I wanted more of the gods, their war and magic system.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
A Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was my least favorite book of the trilogy. I’m glad it’s over and there was closure.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Bride-3.5⭐️3.5🌶️
Contemporary Paranormal romance
Fantasy romance
Shifter romance
Omega-verse
Arranged marriage
Forced proximity
Secrets
War
Politics
This was a fun intro into omega verse shifter romance.
The worldbuilding wasn’t quite as clear as o had hoped. For a while I was very confused about what world we were in, exactly, or how it was set up. It wasn’t until Vegas and. Ali for us we’re mentioned that I realized that this was all taking place someplace in North America.
I enjoyed the slow burn of the “he fell first” trope with this romance. The chemistry of the two main characters was really nice. The 3rd act breakup was pretty substantial and not resolved as completely as it could have been. I mean, the MMC said some pretty hurtful things and the FMC was barely mad about it because plot twists and other revelations were happening…. But it was the equivalent of a shoulder shrug reconciliation.
I enjoyed the cast as a whole, and hope to see more from the author as she experiments with this new side of her writing!