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charliauthor's Reviews (531)
This series popped up in a IG book group and i volunteered to read it to see if there was anything triggering in it as it seemed it had been hyped that there was.
Not sure of its the following books but despite the cover promising some grade A smut, the book was pretty tame.
I enjoyed Pestilence’s personality and general way of speaking while Sara’s sarcastic attitude and therefor tone of the book was fun as its in first person.
Other than that, theres not really much to it. They travel, they talk, they dont do the nasty for ages and when they finally do, its not that smutty to be honest.
I like the religious theme as the writer makes some nice quotes about faith and the redemption of man etc was seems to be be really well thought out. Other than that, its pretty basic with nothing exceptional to mention.
Not sure of its the following books but despite the cover promising some grade A smut, the book was pretty tame.
I enjoyed Pestilence’s personality and general way of speaking while Sara’s sarcastic attitude and therefor tone of the book was fun as its in first person.
Other than that, theres not really much to it. They travel, they talk, they dont do the nasty for ages and when they finally do, its not that smutty to be honest.
I like the religious theme as the writer makes some nice quotes about faith and the redemption of man etc was seems to be be really well thought out. Other than that, its pretty basic with nothing exceptional to mention.
I love love love Malik and Karina!
They are such a breath of fresh air from the samey type couples you have in other YA books and i really appreciate that RAB was able to create two characters that have a different kind of depth to them while still being the heroes of their own making.
APOSAS picks up directly after ASOWAR obviously and is full of action from the start. Karina is on the run and Mailk is caught in Farid's clutches at the Alahari palace. Its all really fast paced which i like and they immediately head on a quest to save Ziran from destruction. Malik and Karina are connected through their powers and there are some intimate moments between them that are so sweet, i had a big grin on my face.
However, the reason i give it such a middle ground rating is that by the end, it felt rushed with two many things thrown in. The Faceless King kind of lost his purpose towards the end and there were too many 'i thought this was the end' moments, before we still had more to go which seemed a little unnecessary.
I also wasnt that satisfied with the ending. While it is a HEA which I knew it would be, i wanted more of a solid answer and turn out for Malik and of course Malik with Karina. Its implied and you can obviously work it out but i like finality in my finales and this still leaves questions which i dont like.
Lastly, RAB touches on a lot of issues that might be triggering for some people including, Self Harm, Physical and Emotional Manipulation, Suicide and general Mental Illness. It is all done exceptionally well both in the way its written and the actions that Malik goes through when dealing with them.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and am sad to leave Malik and Karina behind, i just would have wanted a little bit more confirmation on where their lives end up
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
They are such a breath of fresh air from the samey type couples you have in other YA books and i really appreciate that RAB was able to create two characters that have a different kind of depth to them while still being the heroes of their own making.
APOSAS picks up directly after ASOWAR obviously and is full of action from the start. Karina is on the run and Mailk is caught in Farid's clutches at the Alahari palace. Its all really fast paced which i like and they immediately head on a quest to save Ziran from destruction. Malik and Karina are connected through their powers and there are some intimate moments between them that are so sweet, i had a big grin on my face.
However, the reason i give it such a middle ground rating is that by the end, it felt rushed with two many things thrown in. The Faceless King kind of lost his purpose towards the end and there were too many 'i thought this was the end' moments, before we still had more to go which seemed a little unnecessary.
I also wasnt that satisfied with the ending. While it is a HEA which I knew it would be, i wanted more of a solid answer and turn out for Malik and of course Malik with Karina. Its implied and you can obviously work it out but i like finality in my finales and this still leaves questions which i dont like.
Lastly, RAB touches on a lot of issues that might be triggering for some people including, Self Harm, Physical and Emotional Manipulation, Suicide and general Mental Illness. It is all done exceptionally well both in the way its written and the actions that Malik goes through when dealing with them.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and am sad to leave Malik and Karina behind, i just would have wanted a little bit more confirmation on where their lives end up
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Hard Hitting
Astera was definitely a surprise and for the inventive formatting and hard hitting subject matter, i give it four stars.
I went into this relatively blind, expecting a paranormal/supernatural vibe but ending up reading something quite politically charged. Not one to usually read books (fiction or otherwise) around certain topics, I found the allegorical nature of the witch/vampire fight for that of racism in America unexpected but clever. My personal taste would have had some more subtlety in its approach to racial slurs and actions but in the same breath, i respect how reflective this is of American culture as opposed to British.
There is a in your face element to racism/police brutality that isnt has prevalent in the UK and so i found it a little hard to digest.
However, as an education towards racial conflicts in the US and a window into very real feelings of conversations between blacks and whites, it was really well done.
The addition of opposing propaganda magazine articles from the witches and vampires was really great. The voice of vampire sympathisers and witch supporters was great in showcasing how each side of any argument, spins things to their own ends.
The magic use was also great although some more understanding of the system and where their magic stems from would be good. I loved Sloane as the fast talking best friend and Mercury as the reluctant hero.
So, for something unexpected, thought provoking and inventive, definitely check it out.
Astera was definitely a surprise and for the inventive formatting and hard hitting subject matter, i give it four stars.
I went into this relatively blind, expecting a paranormal/supernatural vibe but ending up reading something quite politically charged. Not one to usually read books (fiction or otherwise) around certain topics, I found the allegorical nature of the witch/vampire fight for that of racism in America unexpected but clever. My personal taste would have had some more subtlety in its approach to racial slurs and actions but in the same breath, i respect how reflective this is of American culture as opposed to British.
There is a in your face element to racism/police brutality that isnt has prevalent in the UK and so i found it a little hard to digest.
However, as an education towards racial conflicts in the US and a window into very real feelings of conversations between blacks and whites, it was really well done.
The addition of opposing propaganda magazine articles from the witches and vampires was really great. The voice of vampire sympathisers and witch supporters was great in showcasing how each side of any argument, spins things to their own ends.
The magic use was also great although some more understanding of the system and where their magic stems from would be good. I loved Sloane as the fast talking best friend and Mercury as the reluctant hero.
So, for something unexpected, thought provoking and inventive, definitely check it out.
Confused…but oddly satisfied
Okay so guys, before you jump the gun let me land with this okay!
Okay so guys, before you jump the gun let me land with this okay!
