Review: Powerful by Lauren Roberts

Powerful by Lauren Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whyyyy WHY did I decide reading this book was a good idea??? I know how it ends and I still picked it up!!!!!  I was sad the WHOLE TIME Adena was with Mak just KNOWING what was going to happen at the end! Adena is the most precious person in the world and what she went through was horrible and cruel and just awful. And then to see Mak's reaction knowing he fell for her and seeing his future get blown apart after all the time Adena spent working her way into his heart????? This was a cruel book and I should have stayed away from it. I'm sure Mak will have a part in the future books but I didn't need to relive that awful scene again through two other viewpoints to utterly gut me.

Excuse me while I continue to cry in a corner...

View all my reviews

Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Edelweiss.  This is my honest review. 

I really really REALLY wanted to like this book!  I mean a librarian who hates people, loves books, lives in a library, goes to a remote cabin and gets to live a quiet life?  That's literally my life...  But I become so bored for most of this book and then got frustrated with the amount of repetition.  Maybe the life of a librarian is bored and I never knew until reading about it?  I'm not sure, but I'm pretty bummed I didn't devour this and love it as much as I thought I would. 

Kiela was a hard character to connect with.  She was very awkward and stilted making reading her story hard and slow.  I loved her love for books and spells and solitude, but being in her head, and then having what's in her head get repeated when she HAD to talk to people, really got a bit old after awhile.  I loved Caz, he was hilarious and the spark of life Kiela needed, but he wasn't enough to make me love the book more. 

Larran was a great character, you could tell he likes Kiela and he's just as awkward as her, but he's been more social than she has and knows how to be a nice, friendly neighbor.  But when he's presented with Kiela's awkwardness, their two awkward personalities at once?  It was a bit much and so cringy. 

So, I'm sad I didn't love it, but I am glad I read it.  I see a lot of great reviews out there that people adore this book and I'm so happy I'm in the minority with my thoughts. 

View all my reviews

Review: The Wren in the Holly Library by K. A. Linde

The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review. 

I love a book with a library in it. I think it's my weakness haha.  So I was very intrigued to dive into this book with a library in the title!  And I enjoyed it.  There were a lot of twists and turns, secrets and reveals.  I called very quickly what Kierse is early in the book so I wasn't surprised by that. 

I loved that Grave made Kierse read so many books.  I mean he had a reason, but seeing a character thrust books at another and them talking about it? Love.  I don't understand why Grave had to keep so many things a secret from her.  I mean I do get it, I don't like or agree with it.  These two kept so many things from each other and kept themselves so distant from each other I just wanted to scream at them.  

I love Kierse's dedication to get friends, her found family.  She is so fierce when it comes to them.  But I'm also glad they will be more protected because of the reveal at the end.  I'm tired of them being collateral damage to Kierse. 

I'm very curious to see how this all ends and who Kierse ends up with. I have my team, but it's not a strong feeling yet so I could probably be swayed if needed for now.  I'm glad I got the chance to read this story and I'm excited to get the pretty deluxe edition when it releases! 

View all my reviews

Review: A Reign of Rose by Kate Golden

A Reign of Rose by Kate Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from NetGalley. This is my honest review. 

I devoured this book in just a few hours. I'm not even sure I moved once while reading it! I was completely entranced in Arwen and Kane's story and needed to see how this was all going to end. And I loved every stage of it. I swear Arwen is a cat with nine lives because this girl throws her whole being into saving everyone around her rather than herself. I dint know if I could be get friends going through that grief over and over again. 

Both Arwen and Kane have grown so much from when they first met and I loved seeing all of their changes throughout these 3 novels. And Arwen's brightness risking Kane's doom or gloom is quite comical. As is Griffin being super stoic. These characters have so many great quirks, its amazing. 

I love Arwen's animal and I totally called what it was at the beginning of this book. I'm so glad I'm right too! 

I'm going there might be a spin off series from this world in the works! Mari, Ryder, Leigh - they all need their story told and I'll be one of the first readers to read it if I'm allowed! Suvh a great series that I'm so glad I dived into and experienced! I wont be forgetting this world any time soon!

View all my reviews

Review: A Promise of Peridot by Kate Golden

A Promise of Peridot by Kate Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This ending!! Holy crap!

Okay, this book was still on a fast pace adventure with these characters and I'm so for it. Arwen did exactly what I would do when discovering what the prophecy said. Why bothering caring, right? I'm glad she had great friends in her life who snapped her out of it. And made her realize being an emotional husk isn't a great way to live.

Kane is amazing as always and we get his point of view in this book!! I loved seeing his thoughts and reactions, especially when it came to Arwen! But these two are so oblivious with each other, I just wanted to lock them in a room and make them talk about their feelings, ha.

I am really enjoying this series and I'm so glad I decided to wait until all 3 books are in my hands! Now time to dive into the finale and see how much Arwen obliterates Lazarus!

View all my reviews

Review: A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden

A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book surprised me by how much I liked it!  There was so much adventure, a ton of mystery, tension out of the wazoo, and a lot of self growth.  Arwen is an amazing character and she sacrifices everything to save her family in the heat of the moment.  She's just a normal girl with a unique gift, and she has such a soft heart wanting to help everyone around her.  But I loved seeing the fire get sparked inside of her the longer she had to be on her own in enemy territory.  She started to realize that she is important and she needs to start defending herself and I love seeing her go through that process!

Kane.  I so wish we had his viewpoint, but with the amount of secrets he was keeping, I can understand why we couldn't get that.  He's such a mystery and with every little bit he lets escape around Arwen, the more I fell for him like Arwen did as well.  He is in a really tough spot so I definitely see his struggle, and he's about to be in even more of a struggle now that all the secrets are in the open and he's not on board with what he's been wanting to happen for a very long time. 

Mari is a delight and I love every scene with her chaos.  Arwen definitely needs a Mari in her world and I'm glad they've become best of friends.  Leigh is also going to be a spitfire and I can't wait to see what shenanigans she gets into soon!

I'm very very glad I decided to jump into this story with not a lot of information and I'm very intrigued on what is going to happen next, since there are at least two more books to go!  I'm sure a ton of adventures and hopefully more intense moments.  Also I cannot wait to see Arwen practice her power more!

View all my reviews

Review: Reckless Love by Hannah McBride

Reckless Love: A Wife for Hire Novella by Hannah McBride
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from the author.  This is my honest review. 

Whhyyyy is this so short??  I need more!  Hannah McBride is a fantastic author and she ENSNARED me with such a short story and I was so immersed in this book that I didn't realize it was done until the last page!  

Sia and Wick are great characters.  I can't imagine being in Sia's shoes and being so scared of what tomorrow will bring.  I'm not sure if I could have made the same decision she did, but desperation calls for some strange decisions in life, I know that much is true.  But she still took charge of her own life and I love that she was strong enough to do that to save what little she had left from her parents and grandparents. 

Wick?  WICK??  Swoon.  He may have his moments of unconventional, but this man does not slack when he wants something.  And when he focuses that attention on Sia?  Wowzas, I was not ready for that intensity!

I absolutely loved this short story and would love to see more, maybe a future spin off?  I'm not sure, but no matter because I adore everything Hannah McBride writes and will be waiting with baited breath for her next masterpiece in 2024!

View all my reviews