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gattolinos_nerdy_nook's reviews
533 reviews
A Kingdom Of Courage And Cruelty by A.P. Beswick
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
3.75
This books is where we really start to see the crossover of the stories start to take pace.
We follow Orjan, who was introduced in briefly in the first book and we got to know in the second book, and Morgana who was introduced in the first book.
The two make for an interesting dual POV which continues to get more complicated as the story progresses, in my opinion. This is mainly due to Morgana as she has visions of the future, whether these are to come to fruition or not is yet to be seen.
I think overall the story does most of the development with Orjan and leaves Morgana to just be who she, is which is upsetting as you can tell towards the end they can to make her a sympathetic villain but it instead feels like it comes out of no where. I think they could have developed her more so what we know that is to come will be more impactful.
By the end of the book I was really interested to see how everything was going to play out in the future considering the standing that everyone is left on. I think book 3 has been the best book so far in building up the wider connections and really showing where the over arching plot is going and you can see how everything is being laid out.
P.S. If like me you couldn't tell what the retelling was it is St George and The Dragon .
We follow Orjan, who was introduced in briefly in the first book and we got to know in the second book, and Morgana who was introduced in the first book.
The two make for an interesting dual POV which continues to get more complicated as the story progresses, in my opinion. This is mainly due to Morgana as she has visions of the future, whether these are to come to fruition or not is yet to be seen.
I think overall the story does most of the development with Orjan and leaves Morgana to just be who she, is which is upsetting as you can tell towards the end they can to make her a sympathetic villain but it instead feels like it comes out of no where. I think they could have developed her more so what we know that is to come will be more impactful.
By the end of the book I was really interested to see how everything was going to play out in the future considering the standing that everyone is left on. I think book 3 has been the best book so far in building up the wider connections and really showing where the over arching plot is going and you can see how everything is being laid out.
P.S. If like me you couldn't tell what the retelling was it is St George and The Dragon .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent and War
Minor: Torture
A Frost Of Fear And Fortitude by A.P. Beswick
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.5
My 2024 bingo card did not have a Father Christmas dark fantasy retelling but here we are.
The book, whilst part of The Levanthria Series, does not continue the main line series and as far as I can tell doesn't look to be joining with the main series at a later date. This is just a story that expands the Levanthria world.
The story was one that doesn't pull punches and sets out a mystery to solve what happened to a young family in a small village. Whilst helping the village Gregor is trying to solve his own mystery after awakening from death with no memories. We slowly learn more about his past but nothing concrete about what happened to him. I know there is a second book that follows Gregor and I have no doubt it will be about his past. I hope when I get to reading it we will get to meet some of characters from the first book again, I thought they were fun.
Overall it was an interesting Christmas read and if you are looking for something different it is worth the read.
The book, whilst part of The Levanthria Series, does not continue the main line series and as far as I can tell doesn't look to be joining with the main series at a later date. This is just a story that expands the Levanthria world.
The story was one that doesn't pull punches and sets out a mystery to solve what happened to a young family in a small village. Whilst helping the village Gregor is trying to solve his own mystery after awakening from death with no memories. We slowly learn more about his past but nothing concrete about what happened to him. I know there is a second book that follows Gregor and I have no doubt it will be about his past. I hope when I get to reading it we will get to meet some of characters from the first book again, I thought they were fun.
Overall it was an interesting Christmas read and if you are looking for something different it is worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
A Sea of Sorrow and Scorn by A.P. Beswick
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.5
I did have to laugh that Blackbeard is counted as an English Folklore in this series. I could be missing a story or two about him that may make it count as folklore but it took me the whole book to figure out what retelling this was.
I did find that the plot in this book was more interesting then the first book. There is still a bit of character development and the story is pushed forwards with the emotions of the characters but there was a clear goal to achieve.
I also liked how the story makes mention of people in the world that we have already met and slowly starts to introduce the reader to this wider connected world. I did think going into this that it would be a more obvious connection between stories and was left with that confused feeling for a little bit when it wasn't as obvious but it was not bad either. It just means we are focusing on the new characters instead and are giving them the time to grow.
By the end of the book I am more invested in the series a the world as a whole. I am interested to see what the next book holds.
I did find that the plot in this book was more interesting then the first book. There is still a bit of character development and the story is pushed forwards with the emotions of the characters but there was a clear goal to achieve.
I also liked how the story makes mention of people in the world that we have already met and slowly starts to introduce the reader to this wider connected world. I did think going into this that it would be a more obvious connection between stories and was left with that confused feeling for a little bit when it wasn't as obvious but it was not bad either. It just means we are focusing on the new characters instead and are giving them the time to grow.
By the end of the book I am more invested in the series a the world as a whole. I am interested to see what the next book holds.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Hate crime and Death of parent
Minor: War
A Forest of Vanity and Valour by A.P. Beswick
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I found that this was a interesting start to a series that is retellings of English folklore. In this case it is a retelling of Robinhood and whilst I found the story solid it also wasn't anything that memorable for me.
Vireo and Jerub are interesting to have as a POV. Both start out as morally grey people but I found Jerub very quickly became a cartoonish kind of villain and lost what made him interesting at the beginning. I think it was meant to be a slow progress to show how much he changed from the start to the end, but instead it felt kind of instant and lost that story telling point.
Vireo on the other hand I think did the slow change throughout the book much better and it was interesting to watch how he changes and what made have the character development.
By the end of the book I am interested in the series especially with the audiobooks being on youtube for everyone to listen to for free. It makes it easy to pick up the series before the newest books come out later this year.
Vireo and Jerub are interesting to have as a POV. Both start out as morally grey people but I found Jerub very quickly became a cartoonish kind of villain and lost what made him interesting at the beginning. I think it was meant to be a slow progress to show how much he changed from the start to the end, but instead it felt kind of instant and lost that story telling point.
Vireo on the other hand I think did the slow change throughout the book much better and it was interesting to watch how he changes and what made have the character development.
By the end of the book I am interested in the series especially with the audiobooks being on youtube for everyone to listen to for free. It makes it easy to pick up the series before the newest books come out later this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Torture
Minor: War
Wizard's Masquerade: A Medieval Fantasy Romance for New Adults by Jay Pellegrin
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this book. It was a slow burn romance with such a unique love interest that was both fun and flirtatious but also serious and mysterious, honestly what more could you ask for. It was just a breath of fresh air in the world of mortally grey characters that are all dark haired, eyes and ambiguously coloured.
The story plot was ok but the character growth that you can get with Laynah is slow but strong by the end. She has values that she holds dear and those still stay true throughout the book. I also just love the scenes with Jester in them. He always brings a smile to my face and makes me wish we had more MMCs like him as it was just fun to have him in a scene.
I cannot wait to read the second book.
The story plot was ok but the character growth that you can get with Laynah is slow but strong by the end. She has values that she holds dear and those still stay true throughout the book. I also just love the scenes with Jester in them. He always brings a smile to my face and makes me wish we had more MMCs like him as it was just fun to have him in a scene.
I cannot wait to read the second book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad
emotional
funny
medium-paced
5.0
I thought it was really interesting to see what other people's experience is living in Japan. Listening to Chris living their over a decade or so shows the ups and downs of not only living in another country but one where the language and culture can be so different from your own.
I thought it he did a wonderful job of telling his story and mixing in humour and series moments to make something that keeps you engaged. I highly recommend giving this book a read if you are interested in Japan and what it is like for a foreigner to be living in the country.
I thought it he did a wonderful job of telling his story and mixing in humour and series moments to make something that keeps you engaged. I highly recommend giving this book a read if you are interested in Japan and what it is like for a foreigner to be living in the country.
She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
4.5
I loved this book. It was a cute read that for the most part was easy to listen to whilst working. Due to how easy it was to get lost in this book and the characters I had this almost finished it in one day and one sitting. It kept me hooked and interested throughout whatever activity I was focusing on. The characters were flawed but learnt to grow and acknowledge and overcome of the hardest moments in their teenage lives.
Scottie and Irene were so much fun together. Their moments ranging from cute, to bantering and sassy to some of the more sadder and tender moments. I loved them together and thought how their relationship grew and changed through the book fitted in so well with Scottie's own personal journey.
Scottie and Irene were so much fun together. Their moments ranging from cute, to bantering and sassy to some of the more sadder and tender moments. I loved them together and thought how their relationship grew and changed through the book fitted in so well with Scottie's own personal journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Biphobia
Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: Transportation for a Strong Town by Charles L. Marohn Jr.
informative
medium-paced
4.5
I thought this was a really interesting look into how roads, streets and stroads impact a community. How designs really effect the people and how we all perceive the environment around us and how little changes can help improve it.
I think it would be wonderful to have places that implemented some of the changes mentioned throughout the book, but unfortunately I also think governments are also not focused on wanting those changes. I constantly hear that things will costs too much money or that it is not finically viable as they will not make money back.
Hopefully this does slowly change and starting as a town level could be the way to achieve this.
I think it would be wonderful to have places that implemented some of the changes mentioned throughout the book, but unfortunately I also think governments are also not focused on wanting those changes. I constantly hear that things will costs too much money or that it is not finically viable as they will not make money back.
Hopefully this does slowly change and starting as a town level could be the way to achieve this.
The Damned by Renée Ahdieh
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I thought this book was a good read but it was really setting up for the third and final book in the series. It didn't feel like much happened to progress the world but instead focused on Sebastien's struggle with becoming a vampire and what is means to him and humanity.
Where The Beautiful felt more about Celine, The Damned is Sebastien's story. Much like the first story we we still get POV from Celine and other people but Celine doesn't really get involved until later in the book. It is also around this time that I feel we pivot from a historical paranormal to more a historical fantasy in my opinion.
This book does a good job or setting up for the third and where we expect to see it go.
Where The Beautiful felt more about Celine, The Damned is Sebastien's story. Much like the first story we we still get POV from Celine and other people but Celine doesn't really get involved until later in the book. It is also around this time that I feel we pivot from a historical paranormal to more a historical fantasy in my opinion.
This book does a good job or setting up for the third and where we expect to see it go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent
Love, Pawprints & Promises by Karen Drew
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
I thought this was such a cute book. It was an easy read and the characters made me smile when reading. This series is turning into one that I can pick up and just enjoy. There is nothing overly dramatic or sexual in the books so it does just make for a cozy read.
The only thing in the book I wish I could change was the lack of communication between the Selena and Devlin. The book would have honestly been shorter or less treading over the same issues and story points. Honestly it was annoying to see these characters just not talk about their feelings and making preserved drama.
All in all it was still a fun read an the animals in this book were really cute.
The only thing in the book I wish I could change was the lack of communication between the Selena and Devlin. The book would have honestly been shorter or less treading over the same issues and story points. Honestly it was annoying to see these characters just not talk about their feelings and making preserved drama.
All in all it was still a fun read an the animals in this book were really cute.