galacticvampire's Reviews (366)

I was completely obsessed with the setting and world building of this story. Even if it's not the type of book that explains the mechanics behind the magic, it all felt fresh and intriguing.

The whole concept of the wood was awesome, and it really made me wish this was maybe a duology. It was so rich that I felt that you really could come up with a lot more in it.

The only flaw of this book is that its romance was very whatever. Instead of random ~sexual tension~ scenes we could've had them actually bonding and becoming friends, and I think that would've not only made more sense, but been way more unique.

Overall, it made me curious to read other books by the author and it's a great addition to my list of grim fantasy.

This book was sweet and entertaining, a great pick for anyone looking for a light-hearted romance.

Even if the plot wasn't that unique, the magic system was quite interesting, adding complexity and depth to just saying a spell. I also really enjoyed the characters .

With the overall tone of the book being more on the rom-com style, the explicit sex scenes felt really out of place, even when they weren't badly written. 

It's a fun experience, but not really remarkable.

I love everything about Tears of the Nameless. Reath and Cohmac have always been my favorite master/padawan duo, and this book only cemented that.

The addition of Amadeo and Lox to the cast was also great, and I loved seeing how Reath dealt with having someone younger to "mentor".

There are a couple decisions that are pretty silly and clearly only made to achieve a certain plot point (

while a sad moment, the plan that killed Lox made *no sense*

) but none of them really interfered on how much I enjoyed this book.

Every single conversation about doubting yourself, accepting your choices and keep trying to improve perfectly encapsulated what I personally think is the most important theme of Star Wars: hope.

I'm still here for the messiness of it all, but I can't help but feel frustrated about how stupid they are. ALL THREE OF THEM KNOW THEY ARE ALL INTO EACH OTHER WHYYY ARE THEY DOING THE CHEATING THING???

Book one was definitely better than this one, as I still struggle a lot with Isolde as a character (the whole warrior nun thing is ridiculous and she kinda just? Starts loving Mark out of nowhere?) but the tension when all three of them were dancing around each other still was deliciously written.

There were some plot-points that felt a little lackluster

like do you really want me to believe that Mark was completely blindsided by the cheating? Really? When everyone else noticed? And then Tristan chooses to help Isolde run away? Why??

like the author really wanted to make it a trilogy and had to add stuff to complicate situations. 

If I had started out with this prequel I probably wouldn't have read the rest of the series.

There's some leeway I'm willing to give for silly choices, because I know the Cool Factor helps with the whole sexy fantasy. A billionaire who's also former CIA? Sure. Said billionaire is also basically playing at shadow government because he owns a sex club that gathers the most important people in the world? Ok.

But honestly. The whole warrior nun/vatican spy/groomed virgin assassin was Too Much. You can have the girl just liking fighting, I don't know, but this whole thing made me think Isolde was not only stupid but extremely annoying.

The writing is perfectly fine but I found it really hard to do anything but cringe at both her backstory and the blushing teenager trope.

Forget whatever you think about erotica, this book is an absolute SOAP OPERA.

Yes, there's a lot of spicy scenes and they were really well written but I was absolutely enthralled by their messiness.

Picture this: man comes back from war, man's dad remarries, new step-uncle gets him a job. Step-uncle owns a kink club and needs bodyguard! Man FALLS IN LOVE with step-uncle/boss??

Proceeds to become his sub. Finds out boss is actually engaged, breakes up, FALLS IN LOVE WITH THE FIANCÉ TOO??????

Like sure the sex is great but I'm here with my popcorn for this reality-show level of drama! 

Absolute great audiobook to just turn your brain (and moral standards) off and enjoy the show.

My favorite part of this book is that it finally embraces all the silliness in Star Wars.

There are some dramatic moments, of course, but I think the Middle Grade books are the perfect space to be a little less serious in the tragedy that is The High Republic.

The cast is a little too big at times and the conclusion stretches a little too much for my taste, but the experience of following a bunch of pre teens in such a wacky planet was a delight.

I didn't know I needed a nerdy and anxious Hutt until I met Churo but now I need 10 more books of him.

I think this book suffers from my expectations going in, as it was highly recommended for me.

I do really enjoy the dark themes and the gory atmosphere. I think the characterization and setting are both really unique and well described. Every single scene in the theatre made me wish I was there to see the ballet with my own eyes.

There's something to be said about a narrative that follows someone so sheltered and manipulated. You can feel first hand the story of healing and breaking from abuse and accepting yourself.

BUT it's exactly Marlinchen's blandness that results in most of what I felt lacking. I didn't dislike her necessarily, but the world is so rich and we have to see it through the eyes of someone incredibly dull, resulting in many moments where I felt the story didn't really reach its potential and stayed superficial.

Her romance is so boring I kept waiting for any big reveal about it, but it honestly read like a juvenile YA, and the plot twist was so predictable I spent the entire time trying to figure out another possibility because there was no way it would be it. (It was)

Still, I really enjoyed the ending and the writing made for some really interesting moments, in which I could really feels the city and its surviving magic flourish.

This is probably my favourite bell hooks book so far. As expected, it is quite dense, but I think she strikes a perfect balance between not pulling her punches and being didactic .

Focusing on the exclusion of black women from feminist spaces, it's eye opening to see for how long the issues we have to this day have been ongoing.

Absolutely insane. I loved every second of it even thought I already knew the biggest plot twist.