cozysabie's Reviews (183)

"Strength comes not from winning, but from rising every time you fall."
"Dreams were a gateaway to hopes, fears and a way to see loved ones when you missed them."

GENRE: Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: YES!

Long Review:
Okay, so Dream Walker ended on an amazing note for me but I'm going to be honest, it took some time to pick up for me. I think for the first 60%-65%, we were witnessing the growth and character development with Ella and she naturally shifted from a YA to an Adult character. At first, I thought this book would be a 3-3.5 stars for me, but after the mid-point, the book picked up so quickly and I ended up loving everything that happened!

Dream Walkers is based on, well, people who are dream walkers (people who have elemental powers and are descendants of astral entities). We get to know Ella in the mortal world and Ella in the Realm of Dreams. We truly watch her grow and start to become who she is meant to. We watch her try to balance two potential soulmates.

I'd recommend dream walks to those who enjoy fantasy and enjoy seeing character development and character driven story! I'm super excited about book two and cant wait to read the rest of the series!

Also, Brittany is so good at describing settings, like look at this:

"The Hall was a vision of floral, ivy and light arrangements which made her feel like they had stepped into a faerie land with soft romantic lighting. Inside was a mirror of the sky, above which showcased a multitude of stars almost as if they had broguht the heavens down to them."

Thank you to the author for the Arc in exchange for my honest review.

"Nothing eludes us forever," she said. "Not even death."

GENRE: Romantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: YESS! Why was this fairy tale retelling of beauty & the beast just so perfect?

Review:
In Deceiving the Cursed beast, we follow the journey of Isabel, who is forced to go to a castle due to being trapped by magic from her father's wrong doing. She meets the duke of Truthhold as a beast and learns he needs her help to break the curse of transforming into a beast. She is, understandably, upset & wants to find a way to bend the magical force that is forcing her to help the Duke and return to her life and job as a constable.

So this is a fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast and it gets it so right! There is a magical library, a beast MMC (who is albeit more cute beast than full on beast) & a strong FMC who learns to appreciate herself and love who is she despite what society has told her.

I think Deceiving the Cursed Beast reads as a Romantasy with elements of Cozy Fantasy/Romance. I loved how the book was written, the pace it went at and the FMC + MMC. I equally loved their banter and how their relationship develops and their interactions.

We also get to learn about the magic system and how Isabel deals with truth telling, truth listening & what role the node plays in it all. We see how Isabel begins to understand this magical system and explore it with her and Felix. Here is an example of Isabel explaining how truth works:

"Truth isn't black and white, Your Grace... I'm used to hearing more than simply if a person is lying to me. I can tell when a statement is one truth meant to distract from another, or when an uncomfortable truth is hidden behind a sarcastic comment. My power is far more subtle than your node's interpretation of the truth. Nor am I naive enough to believe that you couldn't manage to twist words around in such a way as to lie to me even if you were subjected to the truth-telling enchantment."

All in all, I'd recommend this book to others as it is a quick and lovely read with a slow burn magic and a lovely FMC & MMC who have amazing banter between them!

Thank you to the author for a copy of the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

GENRE: Dark Academia & Gothic Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: Definitely recommending it to gothic fantasy & dark academia fantasy lovers. This book is more YA though and if that isnt your vibe, then it might not be for you!

Review:
All the devils follows the adventure of Andy after finding out that her sister Violet has died. We start off the book by Andy discovering that Violet's body (in the casket) isn't actually her sister. With this information, Andy goes on a hunt to: 1) Find her sister & 2) Find out what's going on.

She goes to Ravenswood Academy, where her sister used to study and last was before she supposedly died. She begins to learn more about what Violet was part of and what Ravenswood is all about as an exclusive and elite boarding school. She finds a cryptic note from Violet and she has to help Violet.

Andy meets Jae, an alluring & dark, yet helpful MMC. She finds out that her and Jae's motive are tied together and reluctantly accepts his help. We get to see their relationship flourish and grow:

"To everyone, even Violet, and most important, myself, I've just been Andy. But to Jae, I feel like Andromeda. Hidden among the stars. Something you can only see if you look just right."

All the devils dives into multiple mythologies based on death, magic and dark magic as well. The book has two settings: Ravenswood in the human world & the underworld. I would have enjoyed a bit more depth in the knowledge of the mythologies as alot of it is written assuming we have some prior knowledge of the said myth. However, it definitely gives eerie vibe & serves its purpose in introducing multiple different Gods/Monsters that served their purposes in the plot.

I do think that All the devils is fast paced and focuses more on the event of what is happening rather than building a world and understanding the characters in depth. However, I did feel we had a good understanding of Jae, Violet and Andy. I think overall, we get the idea of what they want, their goals & how it contributes to the story. I also think that the author did a really good job in building the mystery in the story and unraveling it bit by bit.

I quite enjoyed it and enjoyed the dark academia/gothic vibes in it. I'd recommend it to people who enjoy fast paced stories and these sub-genres. Thank you to the Netgalley for sending me an eArc in exchange for my honest opinion and reviews.

"Those closest to me have always said my imagination would be my downfall. They might be right if it wasn't also the very reason I'm here. I was invited to the isle of Faerwyvae because of my imagination. Or, more accurately, the books it helps me produce."

"I hate being misunderstood and struggle not to defend myself. Yet I've learned time and time again that I'm better off being patient and expressing myself clearly, slowly and concisely."

"The smell of books is universally loved and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise."

GENRE: Cozy Fantasy with Romance
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eArc from the Nerd Fam
Would I recommend to others?: YES! This is another automatic 5 star for me as a mixture of cozy fantasy & romance!

Review:
AHH, A Rivalry of Hearts truly had me giggling and checking in excitement throughout the book! I was initially super excited about this book as I love Gaslamp Fantasy and it looked like the perfect book for me. I'm so glad I wasn't wrong about that.

In this book, we follow Edwina & Will throughout their book tour in Faerwyvae and get to learn more about them and more about the romance that sparks between them. I loved Edwina as the FMC as she was bold and strong, while still stubborn and held on to her pride. She is different than the others in her community as she prefers her work over people who do not understand her.

And Will, our MMC is just a perfect Fae who is a gentlemen. Even though we started off with him acting as an arrogant Fae, I quickly came to love him even before we fully get to know him and know his background and what makes him, him.

And the combination of the FMC x MMC here reminds me so much of another roman empire book of mine: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and there is no wondering that A Rivalry of Hearts has became a roman empire novel of mine. I think Odette includes a good amount of background stories of both the FMC & MMC, while introducing us to the Fae world of Faerwyvae and making me want to pack my backs and move there. I loved getting to know about the Seelie vs Unseelie forms and seeing how Daphne is much more comfortable in her unseelie form.

This story also delves into how we continue to act and pretend to be people we arent because society does not accept us for who we are very easily. You can see both the FMC and the MMC go through this in the book. There is an interesting twist on Fae deception in the book with Will, which I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how he unwinds from acting and becoming the real him.

Also, Edwina is horrible at being on time, which is so like me and the author quoted this and this is legit how I feel for the days I am on time LOL:

"Being on time is -unsurprisingly- a rather serene experience. There's no rushing. No running. No pleading with fate to turn back the hands of time."

All in all, I loved this book and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves romantasy & cozy fantasy. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!

Thank you to Nerd Family, NetGalley & the author for a copy of the eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

GENRE: Cozy Fantasy (to me at least)
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
FORMAT: eBook Arc
Would I recommend to others?: YESS! Minor Works of Meda has made it to my roman empire books list and I honestly loved this book. I loved everything about it, from the characters to the vibe to the story to every plot twist. So, yes, read it please

Review:
Minor Works of Meda is a fantasy book in which we follow the journey of Meda & Kalcedon and them attempting to fix the ward-spell faltering before their world is gone due to cruel faes. We get to know Meda as a witch and one who is clever but does not have the required power to achieve her dreams. However, her companion and rival, Kalcedon, has all the power she could ever wish but no desire to hone it and learn powerful skills.

We follow their journey and we get to know Meda more. Meda is a neurodivergent FMC who is a mixture of grumpy x sunshine. Kalcedon is also grumpy as well. This is one of my favourite trope (grumpy/sunshine x grumpy). Throughout the book, I could 100% relate to Meda and found myself thinking things like "I do that too Meda!!". I honestly loved getting to know Meda and thought that she was ambitious and never gave up on her goal. Kalcedon, on the other hand, is grumpy and is meant to be her rival. However, you can tell that he feels for Meda and she doesnt quite realise it (Come on MEDA!! He clearly has feelings for you).

Minor Works of Meda is a journey and a story in which we see character development and watch the characters begin to learn to trust themselves and learn how to find love & friendship in a world that has cast them away and labelled them as "different". We come to love Meda & Kalcedon and come to understand the world from their view.

While I do label this book as cozy fantasy, it is filled with adventures and we go through many plot twists throughout the book and reach a satisfying ending. I would have loved to learn a bit more about the world that Minor Work of Meda is based in but most of my questions were answered by the end of the book.

Thank you to the author for allowing me to beta read this book in exchange for my honest opinion and reviews.