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r_bookish_rambles's reviews
178 reviews
Lies Within the Darkest Tower by Tessa Cole
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
The perfect mix of romance and magic starts this exciting hidden identity RH series!
One of my favorite tropes in fantasy is hidden identity so I was super excited to be given a chance to read this! Lo and behold I ended up loving this from start to finish. I found the world building to be well done, and the political drama easy to follow yet still being exciting. Multi POV strikes again, but it’s another win for this book. I loved seeing all views and watching everyone figure each other out.
I will mention this is very slow burn and unfortunately pretty low-ish spice. That’s honestly the single downfall I found, but something that I’m really looking forward to in the coming books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
One of my favorite tropes in fantasy is hidden identity so I was super excited to be given a chance to read this! Lo and behold I ended up loving this from start to finish. I found the world building to be well done, and the political drama easy to follow yet still being exciting. Multi POV strikes again, but it’s another win for this book. I loved seeing all views and watching everyone figure each other out.
I will mention this is very slow burn and unfortunately pretty low-ish spice. That’s honestly the single downfall I found, but something that I’m really looking forward to in the coming books.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
A Covenant of Monsters by Shyla Colt
emotional
funny
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? Yes
3.0
If there is one thing I like as much as academy reverse harem, it’s monsters. Thankfully this book has it all!
I had honestly a ton of fun reading this with the POV’s of not only Rune but all the men. Multi pov can sometimes take away from the story but in this case, it added emotional depth. It was refreshing to see everyone’s view in real time and watch how all of their feelings slowly shift over the course of the story.
I liked the premise of mental health being a blockage for magical beings and powers, and I thought it was done very well with this book. I also loved seeing our FMC actively being in STEM, and it not being just a sidenote to her personality. Though the college was the main setting I still feel like readers did not see enough of it in the first book. I’m hopeful that the second book will remedy that.
I loved all the different personalities and creatures in the harem. It was for sure a welcomed change from the cookie cutter mold we see a lot of times in reverse harem books. This is a very slow burn series, which I found that I truly don’t mind. With that being said I am very excited to see what else is in store for Rune and her men as the series progresses.
Take Her to the Grave by Dana LeeAnn
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Spooky graveyards and primal prey loving vampires? Count me in! The premise of this book read as interesting; however, for me it fell flat in nearly every aspect.
This was a perfect bite sized (get it? Ha) novella for spooky season, or honestly any season for dark romance and fantasy lovers (I know a lot of us- me included go hand in hand with those genres). There is a decent amount of dark romance tropes, including primal play and stalking. The vampire aspect was done well and felt fairly realistic. Of course, because this is a novella it may feel as if there is not enough story, but for the page length I was pleased.
It pains me to say but this was a very mediocre read. The tropes sounded fantastic, but the writing was lackluster and felt very one dimensional. The spice felt overly tame and didn’t live up to my expectations.
Mistletoe Misconduct by Giuliana Victoria
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
We’re getting in the holiday spirit early this year!! And what better way to do that than to read a holiday hockey romance?
This is such a fun and unique trope that I haven’t seen before! It’s almost like fake dating but spicier and in my opinion waymore fun. I absolutely loved the forced proximity trope (this is no surprise for those who know my reading habits) but I felt like it was done exceptionally well that I wanted to shout it out. For those of us who like Christmas but don’t entirely love it, this was the perfect drizzle of it without making the entire story about Christmas. There were some definite ultra sweet moments when left me grinning like an idiot. My only qualm is I really wish we got more of the hockey aspect, as it felt like it was absolutely a side bar and pushed aside for most of the book.
I loved the banter between the two of them and an extra bonus was added to their relationship from them having an established acquaintances vibe right off the bat. There are unspoken feelings between to them at the start but quickly unravels into becoming more than roomates. And woware their interactions spicy as all hell!! Between the dirty talk and cam couple persona, it gets intense fast and stays that way throughout the entire book. I loved the open communication, especially with a strong mental health rep. It brought a very human and emotional side to themselves but also to the people they love around them.
Taken by Aries by L.A. Monteiro
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lazarus by Chris Kauzlarich
dark
medium-paced
2.0
I’m going to sound bitter when I say this but I am noticing that overall thriller novels have changed for the worse within the last few years. This might be a little bit of a soapbox but I am seeing more and more novels that are a scrambling of ideas rather than a well put-together novel. It’s become increasingly hard to enjoy as the writing ability decreases.
At this point I’m just making up names to sub-genres but it’s fine. I like to call this corporate thriller mixed with sci-fi. If it sounds like it doesn’t really work, you would be correct. It starts off fine, with a large corporation doing shady things to get the results, but things get progressively stranger and out of pocket. That is where the sci-fi comes into play because that is the closest thing I can think of. The plot stops making sense there and it was an entire struggle to finish. The only good thing about this novel is that it does have a clear ending.