charliauthor's Reviews (531)

I’m not sure where to begin with this one 🙈 
I’ve read it, I finished it and I’m still not entirely sure what went on or why.  Despite my complete and utter confusion, there were some good moments about it, so let’s start there! 😆

The Gilded Wolves is about a group of friends who go on a mission to find something that will help reinstate the inheritance of the main character, Severin. This band of merry men is giving #SixofCrows vibes, which I immediately loved. I really enjoyed the characters and their back stories which were wonderfully built up, fleshed out in order to keep me invested in their various conflicts. There is a wonderful romance between the Kaz and Inej characters, Severin and Laila, but where the characters started to have issue was that they were a lot more adult than the book seem to intend. These characters were clearly written to be adult, but I’m assuming on the part of the publisher, the writer was asked to age them down which was at an immediate conflict with the language, style and overall mission of the plot

Now, the plot. I knew what was going on but at the same time had no idea what was happening. While very clever and intuitive, much of it felt a little forced and overly excessive to actually be considered fun. I struggled with a lot of the history force fed down my throat simply because it made no sense to me how teenagers would know any of this. It didn’t make sense for them to be behaving this way and it kept pushing me put of the experience. 

I love the LGBTQ and ND rep through Enrique, Hypnos and Zofia respectively. I am here for the characters above all and in true cliffhanger fashion, that ending has me wanting to continue with book 2 even if it remains confusing. 

Despite my reservations, i do recommend this book. The writing is good and the author has clearly put in the appropriate research and i respect that at the very least.

 I follow a Patreon that does NSFW art and one of the couples was from this book. So, of course, I had to read the book to see where the steam was coming from! ha!
In short, it wasn't a good one for me. It started out interesting enough with a world that just includes witches and other magical creatures, but everything in between just felt dragged out and weird.
I enjoyed the sex positive nature of the FMC but i personally didnt even really understand who or what the MMC was and i dont think i came across the scene i initially got into the book to find.
The familiars were the best, i really liked Billy who was obsessed with Supernatural which made it super cute.
Overall though, not enjoyable enough for me 

 This book was a chore without a particularly satisfying conclusion.
What saved it from being a two star or lower were the chemistry between the characters, the ambitious world building and for me, some decent dialogue littered throughout. However, it is let down by over complexity of words/names, a repetitive writing style and slow pacing.

THW is about Talasyn, a soldier in an army of rebels fighting against the Night Empire, who has some kind of light magic that she can use against the shadow magic of aforementioned empire. The prince of the night empire - Alaric - can only be thwarted by her light magic and so they come up against each other a lot, only to not kill each other cause then, we wouldnt have a story would we?

I struggled with the first 12 or so chapters simply because i couldn't establish where or when they were. Is this fantasy, sci fi, steam punk, desert adventure; what? None of it was clear and the explanations for it just flew over my head because she kept adding weird words to describe what could be something really basic.

Anyway, after some significant discoveries, it gets good because we finally get to the romance and this is where the author has some skill. I enjoyed the chemistry between Talasyn and Alaric and considering their personal backstories, it was very sweet and endearing how they were with each other. However, this then falls into weird territory again when they eventually get a little sexual and the outcome of this is basically a little childish and doesnt match up with their personalities, mostly Alaric's. (view spoiler)

Overall, there were too many characters who were largely unnecessary. The worldbuilding was too convoluted and the middle dragged so much that i started skimming at some point, knowing it was going to be another training scene, or some scene of them getting close and then pushing each other way. I'm all for a slow burn but it just became repetitive because they could have easily explained themselves to one another.

The end was a big let down because its not so much a cliffhanger as its just nothing being wrapped up. I felt like i should be turning the page for the next chapter so having to wait for 2 more books kind of annoyed me.

This sits in, you-have-to-read-this-for-yourself-to-understand territory but i personally wouldn't push someone to read it. 

 What started out as a surprisingly dark story about murder, and corrupt governments that i really enjoyed, actually tripped at the finish line for me with a largely predictable and someone what unsatisfying conclusion.

I enjoyed this sequel to Seven Faceless Saints but something about it felt less adult then then first book, which i found i missed.
I loved Damien and Roz and that he was the character who was more emotional rather than the female character and in large part, this was part of their overall arc which i liked. I didnt however, like the ending and what felt like not enough showing of the power that a disciple of chaos was really capable of.
I kept wanting there to be something a lot darker that never really came and all seemed to be wrapped up nicely in a little bow which didnt ring true for me.

The Italian inspired world was great, the idea of the saints was great, even the spooky library place was awesome but i didnt really lift off towards the darkest places it could do for me and that was a little bit of a let down.

(view spoiler)

I liked this because of the darkness but just felt it could have been darker and the stakes be a little higher

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an arc of this. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

 I have a special place in my heart for historical fiction but the way The Embroidered Book blends fantasy with historical events was something exciting and fresh that I really enjoyed.
I'm not usually one for hard literary fiction so the mash up worked for my fantasy loving heart even if the actual book was an almost 700 page monster! Because of this i opted for the audio book and it was wonderful.

TEB is about sisters and best friends, Antoin and Charlotte who are born princesses of Austria and sent to marry the heirs of France and Naples respectively. As children, they discover a book of magic spells and we follow the girls journey from childhood to adulthood as they discover the scope of this magic and how it effects their lives and relationships with one another.

Charlotte is the smarter of the two and has always known she would sort a position of power as queen rather than just be a trophy wife. Antoin is the opposite. Very flighty and concerned with how much people like her and as we all know, this plays a heavy part in her ultimate demise at the hands of the French revolutionists.

What makes this book great is the fact that we know what happens to Antoin - later Marie Antoinette - and the author weaves such a wonderful web of intricacies and characters and dialogue that kept me invested in the outcome. I enjoyed the POVs from both women but can admit that Antoinette's were a little more exciting simply because you could see the trainwreck before it had occurred and just had to know, how she so naively got herself into these situations.

Charlotte's political exploits were great to be able to see how a woman was able to claim power within a space that was vehemently against it. She was the most like her mother, a powerful woman in her own right even if a little flawed.

My only criticism of this is that it was just too long for me. The length was required to fit in such epic lives from the two women but it was a lot of talk rather than action/drama which is what i enjoy. It sounds silly to think an HF set in the 1700s is going to be dramatic lol its just something i enjoy to give me the full 5 star experience. If not for the audio, i probably wouldn't have got through it as quickly if at all because of the pacing which is a personal thing rather than an issue with it.

The characters are great, the magic is interesting and the price paid to use it. There is romance, there is a drama, its incredibly intelligent and i recommend if you can commit the time to it. The nature of women in the old world is wonderful to read and experience to an extent, especially when it came to the children and the demand on women's bodies to breed. Alongside their desperation to be seen as and be more than a brood mare.

I enjoyed and I think you will too. 

 A lot to unpack with this one that although the show still remains largely faithful which i will always enjoy.
The Purple Wedding, the Mountain and the Viper, Tyrion's trial, Shay's betrayal, Jaime's redemption, so much happens in this that even though it took me a little longer to listen to, had me excited when i was listening. The text is just so rich and no matter the questionable content at times, there is no denying the intensity of the work and the range of the language, descriptions, characterisation and plot.
Its shocking that even this far into the book, Sansa is still so much of an idiot.
Also, Jaime is a lot more stupid in this then he is in the show. His love for Cersei is almost child like and its a big irritant.
Minimal Daenerys in this book which was less fun but still great to see her growth despite the excessive sexual content of her chapters. Im not sure why he gives her such a sexual gaze when Sansa and the actual adult women do not. I find it very uncomfortable.

Outside of that, still a solid outing and im glad ive finally gotten this far. That ending was also epic. 

 Firstly, I really loved the idea of going back to classic sword and sorcery fantasy.

Godkiller is all taverns and ale drinking and horse riding and a small band of misfits on the road to adventure with a chosen one alongside which i really enjoyed. The writing is good with some great descriptions and worldbuilding that gives a wide scope for the rest of the series.

I enjoyed the characters as well. Kissen was a great strong woman character without losing her femininity. Elo was a wonderful depiction of a black man in fantasy with all the appropriate descriptions for his skin and hair and i was here for it!! Even Inara once she got going, had a lot going for her and i'm happy that there was some growth in her character before the very end, but that leaves it open for more.

Where i didnt connect as much with this is that there wasnt a lot going on. There was a lot of travel and dialogue without much payoff which was a little disappointing. While the worldbuilding is a good stepping stone for more as the series progresses, it was a bit murky for me as to what these Gods actually were and even why they were. I didn't really connect with the explanation of their shrines and the difference between wild and old gods. I think i understood it but it wasnt as solid as i might have wished. Whether this is through a fault of the writer or whether the pace was dragging so much i didn't pay attention enough, i'm not sure.

Even though I doubt i'll continue with the series as the pace was a tad slow for me, i do recommend the book because its really well written and the idea of the various gods and their sinister natures might very well appeal to you 

 If ACOMAF is the book that carries this series, then Chapter 55 is the chapter that carries this book.

While this is a much better outing than book 1, its actually not by much. The winning components as we all know are the inner circle but the excitement and shocks are all really condensed into that chapter and of course the end.
This isn’t to say that the book still isnt fun but its not the 5 star i’d originally thought. Rhysand however keeps it at the 4 star mark simply for how excited i was to read him whenever he wasnt on the page.

Its also funny that this book isnt actually that much smuttier than book one. Theres literally only 2 seggzy scenes of true note so its interesting that id built it up in my head as this major smut fest.

Feyre continues to be her best entitled self. Im all for strong independent woman but the fact she does this at the expense of other people’s safety really annoys me. Also, that she only has these great powers when in danger but useless pretty much any other time.
In that same vein, if everyone is soo powerful, they shouldnt need armies etc. it makes their declarations of strength seem stupid.

As ever, the worldbuilding could do with more work. Velaris is great but what about the 6 other courts? What are they like, how do they exist on a day to day basis. The point of these books might be the romance but it shouldn’t excuse basic development.

Great ending though, onto the next!