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buffyreads's Reviews (575)
The Good
I immediately liked both Stacy and Pashov and understood both of their fears and wants. Their situation is very difficult and made worse by the big move to the new settlement. This was a second chance romance done well. Once they started to understand each other I started giggling and kicking my feet. I rarely read books with an amnesia plot but this was done incredibly well. They both cared about each other so much in different ways. Stacy was grieving the relationship they had and the husband she and while Pashov was trying to figure out how to be a mate to someone who he didn't know and was grieving.
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
I immediately liked both Stacy and Pashov and understood both of their fears and wants. Their situation is very difficult and made worse by the big move to the new settlement. This was a second chance romance done well. Once they started to understand each other I started giggling and kicking my feet. I rarely read books with an amnesia plot but this was done incredibly well. They both cared about each other so much in different ways. Stacy was grieving the relationship they had and the husband she and while Pashov was trying to figure out how to be a mate to someone who he didn't know and was grieving.
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
“Is he the devil?” she whispered. “My boyfriend is the fucking devil!”
Highlights:
I love established relationship books and especially ones with a couple with great chemistry like Maeve and Galen. I actually giggled and wanted to kick my feet and twirl my hair reading this. I also found the lore interesting.
Lowlights:
I can't think of a lowlight except that I wish that it was longer.
Horn Level: 5/5
"Black tinged the edges of her vision—black, and then scarlet. An awful rage filled her, consumed her thoughts entirely. She needed revenge like she needed to breathe."
The Good
I love Rin. I love her rage, I love her desperation, I love her pain and her courage. Most of all I love her selfishness, desire for power and pride. I like how real the struggles felt. Rin doesn't always win, she had to work hard and even then she may fail. She's not perfect or just. She feels like a real human being. I loved her fear as well. It was good to see a heroine who doesn't just jump in and be brave.
Rin's need for praise from those she admired was such an interesting character point. It motivated her more than even her will to live. The world building is insane but i love it. I like that Kuang took the time to have Rin explore the world after very high stress events. It's also a great way to give story exposition without it being boring or just fed to us through character conversations. The fighting was well written. Sometimes authors try to write blow by blow and it annoys me as someone with mild aphantasia. I liked the depiction of war and politics. I enjoy shows like this but haven't read any books like it. Altan: Yeah I hated him. But he's a great comparison to Rin because she's used to losing and struggling and he isn't and it's driving him mad. He desires praise and power just as much as Rin does but it's crushing him. Learning his past was interesting and it made me empathize with him. Nezha: I of course hated until him and Rin became friends. I wish their bond had been built better to understand Rin's intense reactions to him.
The Bad
Sometimes time is hard to understand. Suddenly it's stated months, seasons, or years have passed and it doesn't feel like it.
The relationships were sometimes hard to understand in this book. Sometimes I wish more time was spent on building connections between characters instead of world building. Certain scenes in the beginning of the book could have been trimmed to do so. So many characters are terribly frustrating it irked me so bad. I understood why they were characterized like that but it felt like they were either in friend mode or antagonistic mode with no inbetween. Even Nezha went from actively trying to end her life to them being friends. There was no between period to deal with that nuance. (I do not count the mess hall conversation) There was a pacing, not issue, but rhythm I did not like. Something big would happen and then long drawn out chapters that while I understood their purpose I wanted them to be shorter. I understand war is not just the big events but the time in-between and development was necessary but especially the last 25% I wanted to reach a conclusion. These books are large and that is both a good thing and a bad thing.
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
I received this title as an ARC on Net-galley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you publisher for the copy!
The Good
This is entirely new version of the fake-dating trope I haven't seen before. Ben is chronically single and enlists his coworker Margot to fake date him at his family home for Christmas. The plan goes wonky when Ben's sister Ellie overhears a conversation of theirs out of context and assumes Margot is a gold-digger only interested in Ben's money. Resulting in further hijinx!
I loved Margot so much it's insane. Her story about her Nana, her witty and kindness, her journey figuring out how bad her ex truly treated her. I really liked her and loved reading her POV. Ben also was incredibly sweet and supportive. His issues with feeling like he wasn't enough was very relatable. I liked the subplot with Mitsi the dog and Grandpa with the mysterious "pony". It had a really sweet Christmas vibe.
The Bad
The idea of women dating men with money and not doing a humble bit of refusing said money or else they're gold diggers has always annoyed me. Ellie infantilizes Ben at every turn. Your brother, an adult man, dates a woman and treats her with his own money and therefore she is a terrible villain? Also Ellie lacks self-reflection. She projected so much onto Margot and when she's revealed to be completely wrong she's like "anyways yay! new friend!" like what? It might just be my feminist brainrot at work but it felt like a plot-line from a 90s/00s movie that wouldn't be used today.
Format:
Ebook — Netgalley Arc
The Rating
I give this book a 3/5
The Good
This is entirely new version of the fake-dating trope I haven't seen before. Ben is chronically single and enlists his coworker Margot to fake date him at his family home for Christmas. The plan goes wonky when Ben's sister Ellie overhears a conversation of theirs out of context and assumes Margot is a gold-digger only interested in Ben's money. Resulting in further hijinx!
I loved Margot so much it's insane. Her story about her Nana, her witty and kindness, her journey figuring out how bad her ex truly treated her. I really liked her and loved reading her POV. Ben also was incredibly sweet and supportive. His issues with feeling like he wasn't enough was very relatable. I liked the subplot with Mitsi the dog and Grandpa with the mysterious "pony". It had a really sweet Christmas vibe.
The Bad
The idea of women dating men with money and not doing a humble bit of refusing said money or else they're gold diggers has always annoyed me. Ellie infantilizes Ben at every turn. Your brother, an adult man, dates a woman and treats her with his own money and therefore she is a terrible villain? Also Ellie lacks self-reflection. She projected so much onto Margot and when she's revealed to be completely wrong she's like "anyways yay! new friend!" like what? It might just be my feminist brainrot at work but it felt like a plot-line from a 90s/00s movie that wouldn't be used today.
Format:
Ebook — Netgalley Arc
The Rating
I give this book a 3/5
The Good
Max and Dani have amazing chemistry and banter. The development of the friendship to relationship was great. They had interesting journeys separate and combined. This was a perfect example of slow burn and pinning done well with a good balance of love and attraction.
The Bad
I cringed when Max described seeing her hip bones as attractive. I took literal psychic damage. I also didn't like Max outing his brother to Dani, even though he trusts her, it's not a nice thing to do. Just because someone tell you they're gay that doesn't give you the right to tell other people. Also Leo being so sharp with her on the phone made no sense to me because Dani had no idea about Max's feelings so why would he be mad she rejected marrying Max. Like why would she move countries for a man who didn't say he loved her? This made no sense to me for him to be that mad.
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
Max and Dani have amazing chemistry and banter. The development of the friendship to relationship was great. They had interesting journeys separate and combined. This was a perfect example of slow burn and pinning done well with a good balance of love and attraction.
The Bad
I cringed when Max described seeing her hip bones as attractive. I took literal psychic damage. I also didn't like Max outing his brother to Dani, even though he trusts her, it's not a nice thing to do. Just because someone tell you they're gay that doesn't give you the right to tell other people. Also Leo being so sharp with her on the phone made no sense to me because Dani had no idea about Max's feelings so why would he be mad she rejected marrying Max. Like why would she move countries for a man who didn't say he loved her? This made no sense to me for him to be that mad.
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
"You've been living a dream for long enough! Welcome to your nightmare!"
The Good
Zetian is amazing. I love her anger and desire for revenge. I also love how she manipulates the system and men around her to her advantage. She's a master strategist with nothing to lose. The lore is amazing. Once the action starts and we get more information I was hooked into the story. Yizhi and Zetian have such sweet relationship. He is so devoted to her and though he has a difficult perspective in life, he understands her. Li Shimin is the love of my life. Forreal. He's a mess but cares so deeply and is protective of Zetian in a way no one had been before. This book is such a "fuck you" to love triangles and I'm obsessed. I like how subtly it was built and worked up to. They each have something the other needs and complete each other. I love how this book tackles sexism, classism, and even colorism. It also shows these issues in a more nuanced way. Women have have internalized misogyny. Misogyny in men is also deeper than hatred. It's about control, dominance, and power. I also loved how high the stakes were. Ever action or non-action had a consequence and ever win had a loss. Nothing is perfectly and that makes it all the more real. There is also a twist at the end I wasn't expecting at all. I love not being able to anticipate where a story is going.
The Bad
The biggest problem I had was visualizing the fights. It was difficult for me to really imagine what it looked like so it made the battle sections very confusing and hard to track what what happening. It might be due to me never watching shows with mecha's but I often got lost reading these parts.
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5