ellenareads's Reviews (564)

This book is just a complete step down compared to the first book. 

I absolutely hate the Jinx character, and the fact that she got even more page time definitely didn't help my enjoyment. I was even procrastinating reading it at the start because I didn't want to read her chapters. And even Quan and Kayl didn't really get great development by the end of the book. 

Plot had a really bad case of middle book syndrome. There was a lot of meandering. I felt like Quen's and Kayl's relationship suffered the most for it. The first book was focused so much more on those two. And even the plot point with her best friend at the end really rubbed me the wrong way. I just didn't find it believable. And most of the ending to be completely honest. I just think that the book completely broke my suspension of disbelief and the small fault I had with it kept pailing on and I just was able to take any of it seriously.

Also, I found the Gods communicating through the heads of the main characters less and less believable as the book when on. Throughout the whole book, I was questioning why a certain God was able to hear this thought but not some other one. 

And at last, the writing. This is where most of my issues lie. It was just so juvenile at times while trying to deeply convey some very dark themes. All the swearing was so random, and the amount of time that Jinx said 'cunt' was just baffling. I don't remember that I minded swearing in the first book or if there was any, but the fact that I noticed in this one says something.

I really wish I liked it more. The first book in the series was a 5 star read for me. But this one was just such a disappointment that I don't know if I wanna continue with the series. I will probably wait to read some reviews for it before I decide.

If I wasn't reading it for the r/fantasy bingo I would have DNFed this book halfway through. I just wanted more from it. This book is solely focused on a theme of grief and I personally struggle if there isn't at least one of the plot or character as a main focus. 
If that is something you are into, check it out.

I quite liked the plot in this one, but the characters weren't gripping me as much to give it a higher rating. Plus some of my misleading expectations about what the mystery is gonna be about led me to be confused about where the story was actually going in the first half of the book. But I really like how it all came together, even if it was a bit too neat in the end.

I'm a sucker for a second-chance romance, what can I say. Objectively, this might just come under the five-star mark, but I really connected to this book. I was so invested in Ama's wedding business and seeing what she gonna come up with for the designs. Considering its dual timeline, I didn't think this was gonna be for me, but I could not pass up a second chance trope so I still picked it up. I loved how the romance developed. The author showed really well how their lives intertwined and how they became inseparable. Also, the ending really hit for me. And for the end, let me just say there is some spice in this book. 

I just don't think I'm in the right head space for this type of story currently. I will try it at another time.

Unfortunately, the hype was just too big for me it seems. I think deep down I knew that it couldn't be as good as everyone was making it seem so I put off reading it. I finally picked it up to fulfill my r/fantasy bingo prompt.
The first 25% were really good. I really related to Murderbot's social anxiety. But that is it. The only part of the book that I cared for. The rest of the book in plot, characters, world-building I could not care less about. I'm really sad that it didn't work for me.
I might still try the 2nd book in the series to be sure and it wasn't just my mood, plus they are really short so it won't take much of my reading time.

I did not expect to like this at all. I'm really hit and miss with lyrical writing styles so I avoid any full-length novels with it but I pick up some novellas from time to time. All I knew about the book was that it was lyrical horror, that was and. But this book is so much more. 

I'm not really the most eloquent person to breakdown all of the themes and discussions in the text, so I'll leave you to read some other reviews for that. But what I can point out is just how much I cared about these characters. I was tearing up by the end of it and that never happens to me since it's really hard to make me care that much about the characters in such a small amount of time, especially in a fantasy genre since there has to be some page time used for setting up the world and/or magic system. Also, if you are intimidated by the more lyrical writing style, don't be. I found that it wasn't hard to follow the story at all. I wish I highlighted some passages and quotes that resonated with me, so I'll definitely try to re-read by the end of the year to actually do that.

There was also a short story at the end of the book that is actually the origin of this novella, and it seems to have been published in the Dark Magazine before. I think that also enhance my reading experience since it gave context for the beginning and stuff mentioned throughout the novella, so I definitely recommend you read it. 

I'll absolutely be checking out more stuff from this author in the future. 

I picked up a Darcy Coates book on a lot of recommendations from some booktubers I watch because it was pitched as cozy horror. I've wanted to try horror for the longest time but as someone that can't watch horror movies, this sounded like it would be a great starting point. 
After finishing the book I looked at some of the reviews of the booktuber mentioned and most of them gave it 3 stars, which tells me that this book is probably great for some newcomers to this genre and her style, but not really original for her avid readers.

I really enjoyed every aspect of this book. After the first few chapters, I thought this was gonna be some atmospheric(gothic) read with a lot of setup for the second half of the book, but noo... once the action started it just went like a snowball down the hill. It definitely went a bit out there in the end but it was so unique and unlike anything I've read, and it worked for me. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to read more from this author.

This book has a very slice-of-life feel. The relationships are developing very slowly, over multiple books. It's kinda just following Everly in a short period of her life but with a mystery woven in. Very entertaining and quick read. Her aunts might just be the best part of the series for me though.

The rating is not a reflection of the quality of the book but my personal feelings toward it. In terms of the plot and characters, objectively, the author did an excellent job. I just didn't really find it a very enjoyable read overall.
I really liked the first part of the book when the mystery was unfolding, but as we were finding out more about the past I kept feeling like some details were upon a reader to infer rather than actually showing it to us, and that just didn't work for me unfortunately. I didn't particularly love where the plot went in the last 15-20%. I felt like it went a bit abstract and I had some problems visualizing some scenes depicted in the end so my mind kept wandering off. I actually put my audiobook at a higher speed at that point and just tried to finish it quickly so that might have contributed. 

I will definitely check out other books from this author because I really did find the book very well written, it just didn't really work for me in terms of plot.