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kaitie_reads's reviews
143 reviews
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
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
The Redemption of Morgan Bright by Chris Panatier
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and Angry Robot Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: Horror isn't a regular genre for me, but this book just seemed so interesting, and with the early reviews, I wanted to see what it was about. Also, a woman who checks herself into a mental asylum to investigate the death of her sister? Sign me up.
This book was... unsettling, but also genius? I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly happened between these pages. It was actually horrifying, but I also couldn't peel my eyes away.
The path that the author takes with this book is definitely unexpected. I did feel like the story has a great message by making us feel uncomfortable, and [I believe another reviewer mentioned] is also reminiscent of Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale."
The story never feels gruesome for the sake of being gruesome but also has some pretty gag-worthy moments and a lot of creepiness, which ties together well with the storyline. It all feels very intentional.
My only hang-up is that there is so much going on, that I feel I need to reread it just to grasp it a little bit more and make sense of all of the layers that Panatier built into the story. It's very well-constructed but also confusing at times because of the mental state of the unreliable narrator and her own confusion. Overall, it was a great read, and I think this one will sit with me for a while.
Disclaimer: Horror isn't a regular genre for me, but this book just seemed so interesting, and with the early reviews, I wanted to see what it was about. Also, a woman who checks herself into a mental asylum to investigate the death of her sister? Sign me up.
This book was... unsettling, but also genius? I'm still trying to wrap my head around what exactly happened between these pages. It was actually horrifying, but I also couldn't peel my eyes away.
The path that the author takes with this book is definitely unexpected. I did feel like the story has a great message by making us feel uncomfortable, and [I believe another reviewer mentioned] is also reminiscent of Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale."
The story never feels gruesome for the sake of being gruesome but also has some pretty gag-worthy moments and a lot of creepiness, which ties together well with the storyline. It all feels very intentional.
My only hang-up is that there is so much going on, that I feel I need to reread it just to grasp it a little bit more and make sense of all of the layers that Panatier built into the story. It's very well-constructed but also confusing at times because of the mental state of the unreliable narrator and her own confusion. Overall, it was a great read, and I think this one will sit with me for a while.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Moderate: Drug abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Murder
After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is definitely a little corny and cheesy... BUT I've also laughed, cried, been heartbroken, and felt all of the feelings in between these pages... so cheesy it may be, but it's also brilliant.
The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson
adventurous
funny
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
4.0
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story wasn't exactly what I expected, I thought maybe there'd be some more magical realism with the mention of Djinns in the summary, but I enjoyed it all the same. This story also educated me on a topic I previously knew nothing about (the previous French Protectorate in Morocco), so that's always a bonus for me.
The story follows Hamou as he grapples with his own moral compass and is very much a coming to age tale but in a divided land. Hamou works as an officer under the French Protectorate and firmly believes in empathy and doing what is morally sound and just, but soon learns that the world is more complicated than right or wrong and good or evil. The author wrote the book in such a way that we can really feel his pain in being torn between two worlds when there is wrong and evil on both sides.
There were some parts that were slow to read, and I did struggle a little bit as there are many names, titles, and characters. I really liked the end of the book and thought the conclusion was well done. I also love an animal companion, and Madani, the cat, really added to the story for me - I loved the relationship between Hamou and his pet. I think Jane Johnson did a great job at making the story relatable and also adding in some humor.
Overall, it was a good read, and I was pleased to learn more about a culture that I'm not very familiar with and some of the history of its people.
This story wasn't exactly what I expected, I thought maybe there'd be some more magical realism with the mention of Djinns in the summary, but I enjoyed it all the same. This story also educated me on a topic I previously knew nothing about (the previous French Protectorate in Morocco), so that's always a bonus for me.
The story follows Hamou as he grapples with his own moral compass and is very much a coming to age tale but in a divided land. Hamou works as an officer under the French Protectorate and firmly believes in empathy and doing what is morally sound and just, but soon learns that the world is more complicated than right or wrong and good or evil. The author wrote the book in such a way that we can really feel his pain in being torn between two worlds when there is wrong and evil on both sides.
There were some parts that were slow to read, and I did struggle a little bit as there are many names, titles, and characters. I really liked the end of the book and thought the conclusion was well done. I also love an animal companion, and Madani, the cat, really added to the story for me - I loved the relationship between Hamou and his pet. I think Jane Johnson did a great job at making the story relatable and also adding in some humor.
Overall, it was a good read, and I was pleased to learn more about a culture that I'm not very familiar with and some of the history of its people.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
Brilliant.
This is the first book I've ever read by Stephen King... I'm not a big thriller/horror reader and picked this up because it is marketed as a dark fantasy (and I love fantasy). I think maybe if you were used to his other works and were expecting this to be very dark, you might be disappointed with the *fairytale* like quality.
Charlie and Radar are such loveable characters (of course, Radar is... she's a dog). Without speaking too much on what actually happens in the story, I love how the author incorporates classic fairy tales and references into this book and takes some of the darker qualities from the original grimm's fairytales to really pull it all together.
There are parts of the story that are slow-paced for sure, and it is a big book. The middle does lull a little bit, but the story held me very well, pretty much the whole time I was reading.
I also enjoyed the writing style, and it's different from the more flowery and descriptive *pretty* styles I'm used to; it's very rugged, straightforward, and almost crass to a point.
This has definitely inspired me to pick up more of Stephen King's books.
This is the first book I've ever read by Stephen King... I'm not a big thriller/horror reader and picked this up because it is marketed as a dark fantasy (and I love fantasy). I think maybe if you were used to his other works and were expecting this to be very dark, you might be disappointed with the *fairytale* like quality.
Charlie and Radar are such loveable characters (of course, Radar is... she's a dog). Without speaking too much on what actually happens in the story, I love how the author incorporates classic fairy tales and references into this book and takes some of the darker qualities from the original grimm's fairytales to really pull it all together.
There are parts of the story that are slow-paced for sure, and it is a big book. The middle does lull a little bit, but the story held me very well, pretty much the whole time I was reading.
I also enjoyed the writing style, and it's different from the more flowery and descriptive *pretty* styles I'm used to; it's very rugged, straightforward, and almost crass to a point.
This has definitely inspired me to pick up more of Stephen King's books.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
3.0
I'm torn because I'm glad this is over, but I also thoroughly enjoyed parts of it.
The story starts off slow and then kind of transforms into an adult version of Twilight. Similar plot lines, similar broody and *dangerous* vampires. Then the story gets kind of... cheesy with so many things happening all at once. I also thought Diana was super annoying and also really... plain? I didn't feel any particular attachment to her as the MC.
It's not amazing or anything new. I'll probably pick up. the 2nd book, but I'm not really excited about it. The middle was really good, and then the whole story just kind of falls off from there. There was too much fluff that didn't really add anything to the story, and it felt like it was just added in to make the lackluster plot feel more interesting.
The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton
adventurous
reflective
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
This was my first read from Kate Morton, and I think I love her writing style. That said, this one was hard to get into.
There are a lot of viewpoints, and it's one of those stories where you have to keep going to see how all of those viewpoints are interconnected. I felt that since there was so much background information and layering to the story that I would've liked an ending that was a bit more conclusive.
About 50% of the way through, I really got hooked on the story, though. I did find Elodie, one of our MCs really dull, and so when it switched to her viewpoint, I felt the story really droned on, at least until closer to the end.
I made the mistake of going to bed with a few chapters left, and I sat there awake with my mind racing about this book and what will happen next, so to me that's a sign of a good story. I couldn't sleep... so thanks, Kate Morton.
All in all, it was good, suspenseful, and well told, but I still have a few questions. I found the conclusion was very quick and found the story hard to get into, which is why I'm not super excited about it.
There are a lot of viewpoints, and it's one of those stories where you have to keep going to see how all of those viewpoints are interconnected. I felt that since there was so much background information and layering to the story that I would've liked an ending that was a bit more conclusive.
About 50% of the way through, I really got hooked on the story, though. I did find Elodie, one of our MCs really dull, and so when it switched to her viewpoint, I felt the story really droned on, at least until closer to the end.
I made the mistake of going to bed with a few chapters left, and I sat there awake with my mind racing about this book and what will happen next, so to me that's a sign of a good story. I couldn't sleep... so thanks, Kate Morton.
All in all, it was good, suspenseful, and well told, but I still have a few questions. I found the conclusion was very quick and found the story hard to get into, which is why I'm not super excited about it.
A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
adventurous
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
I really enjoyed this sequel. I was a bit apprehensive going in because the story switched POVs to a new character, Lia Mara, and to Commander Grey but was easily captivated by their viewpoints within a few chapters. I did feel the conclusion was a little rushed, especially when the middle of the story seemed a bit long and drawn out at times. The worldbuilding in this series is easy to follow, and I do enjoy the simplicity of these books as easy to read fantasy.
A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons by Kate Khavari
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Very slooww pace. I couldn't get into this one by chapter 6.