cielosiluminado's Reviews (443)

i will never emotionally recover from this and i am (proudly) now forever stuck with tristanmorana brain rot

silent, brooding men and smart, headstrong women just do it for me.

from the beginning, tristian and morana’s chemistry was hot as fuck and so intense. i loved it. they may acknowledged, and acted on, their physical attraction early on, but emotionally, this was a slow burn romance. and i devoured it.

their first kiss? it was so horrifying, and immensely beautiful. it literally happened in the rain while he held a gun to her heart. the scene brought tears to my eyes. it was one of the most memorable kissing scenes i’ve ever read.

like i know the series is called “dark verse”, but this book was dark, way darker than i was expecting if i’m being honest. and my heart hurts for tristan and morana. for the innocent children that they were, and the adults they had to become to survive.

all in all, there are so many theories i have, and unanswered questions, when it comes to the tenebrae and shadow point outfits – and this mysterious Alliance that collapsed – and it all has me hooked for the next book in the series.

considering how much i loved gothikana and fell in love with runyx’s writing, i can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read her first series!

the second – and final – installment of the story of the wolf of verkhoyansk, aleksandr “sasha” vassiliev, and his sunshine, roan “solnyshko” sinclair <3

this was a rollercoaster of emotions and i’m so glad i was able to experience it 

the first installment of the story of the wolf of verkhoyansk, aleksandr “sasha” vassiliev, and his sunshine, roan “solnyshko” sinclair; my beloveds <3

i absolutely loved this book. this dark, twisted world and characters captivated me from the first page. there wasn’t even a single page where i felt the need to put it down. i only paused to get some sleep but immediately picked it back up when i woke up.

P.S. PLEASE READ TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING. THIS IS A DARK ROMANCE.

people told me this book would make me cry. it didn’t, it made me livid. so fucking angry. i’m also glad her mom died. i cannot even begin to describe how proud i am of jennette’s growth and her progress. so fucking proud. wishing her nothing but health, happiness, and peace. forever.

protect child stars.

this would’ve easily been a 5 star read if it was at least 250 pages shorter. don’t get wrong, the plot was interesting and zenodarla were swoon-worthy and served boy-and-girl-obsessed x100 BUT! it felt too drawn out and i was underwhelmed that i figured out the plot twist when i was barely on page 200 and then in disbelief when i realized that i still had 350+ pages left. when i got 60% in, i had to push myself to continue the story because i’d already read 350+ pages and i’m too stupid stubborn to dnf. also, if i had to guess, approximately 100+ pages of this was just zeno and darla going at it like rabid dogs and it got so tiring very quickly.

overall, even with this being a hot retelling of hades and persephone, it makes me sad how underwhelming this was because i really tried to love this. but it just wasn’t for me.

zeno gianni de la croix, the man that you are. when is it my turn?

i truly cannot believe it’s taken me this long to read rafe and penny, truly. i’m so obsessed with them now, i cannot. i wish there was more of them, it’s not even funny.

this book was everything. it had the laughs, the spice, the banter, the angst, the tension, the drama, the groveling. like she brought him to his knees, literally. and he wasn’t even mad about it.

penelope price is one of the best fmc’s i’ve ever read. she’s so smart, badass and headstrong, and she has men wrapped around her finger, including the “gentleman” rafael visconti. she’s an icon! i love her. she knew what she wanted and didn’t quit when faced with obstacles. not only that, she knew she deserved better and demanded it. she made rafe work for it.

rafael visconti, the notorious gentleman... except when it comes to penny price. he became the world’s biggest simp for her, and it’s incredible. he’d literally pay her $100 + VAT + tip just to kiss her. every. single. time. the character arc this man went through and hoops he had to navigate to get the woman he loves back... *chefs kiss*

not only was their chemistry so hot, but they were both really funny. i’m the type of reader who really enjoys jokes and banter in books and this one delivered in all aspects.

all in all, rafe and penny are two souls who were destined to be together. it was fate. written in the stars, ya-di-da-da, all that shit. their story may have complicated, but beautiful nonetheless.

i also really enjoyed the appearances of rory and angelo, my psycho baby gabe, sweetheart wren, mysterious tayce (like really, who is she? what is she running from!?), and all the visconti cuginos from the cove and the hollow, even the backstabbing ones.

lastly, after all the breadcrumbs we got, i need gabewren now. please, somme. please.

the hot-headed heroine and the obsessed hero. what more is there to say?

-1 for the stupid nickname “magpie”
-1 for rory refusing to curse and saying bird puns instead
+1/2 for small town mafia. i’ll admit, that’s a new one for me and i didn’t hate it but still found it odd?
+1 for forbidden slow burn romance and tension down right *chefs kiss*
+1 for angelo going to war with his family for her (“you’re worth starting a war for.”)
+1 for rory carter being fucking smart, snarky and witty, even after all the shit that was thrown at her
+1 for raphael visconti
+1 for gabriel visconti

¿¡hot take!? ok so i really hate comparing books, especially when they’re written by different authors. i can’t even believe i’m saying this, but this might even be better than TSO… people often compare the two and claim how this one is a copy of it, but i don’t really agree. like as someone who loved TSO, i can acknowledge the similarities but still, those characters (in TSO) lacked depth and that story barely had a plot, while this book was very plot-driven and unique with detailed characters. that being said, i enjoyed both and won’t dismiss either because they both won my heart in their own separate ways. 

i had no idea what i was getting into when i started this but the biggest takeaway for me was that this was a FORBIDDEN ROMANCE BETWEEN A MAGICAL COMMONER AND A MAGICAL PRINCE AND THEY’RE BOTH QUEER. WHAT A SCANDAL!