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hann_cant_read's reviews
468 reviews
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake is about a Vampire real estate agent trying to sell a haunted house. Except, not at all, really. It’s actually layers and layers of what it means to be mortal, what makes life worth living, and the human condition as seen through the eyes of humans and celestial beings alike.
I loved this book. But I can see why it’s not for everyone. While there is an overarching plot, it is the characters ultimately that drive the story forward, which usually is not my cup of tea! But these characters? Their morals and motivations and interpersonal dynamics? I couldn’t get enough.
The writing felt very Shakespearean, with lyrical banter and descriptions. It’s very theme focused, so at times it was a little tricky to follow along, and I found myself having to re-read a passage or two to try and decipher all the subtext. Like a lot of fantasy, there are certain elements that you just have to know will click at some point if you keep going - which in a weird inception / breaking the 4th wall kind of way ties back to her reoccurring theme of what it means to be mortal in an immortal world.
This was my first Olivie Blake book, so I don’t know if that style is consistent across the board with her, but I’ll find out soon.
I loved this book. But I can see why it’s not for everyone. While there is an overarching plot, it is the characters ultimately that drive the story forward, which usually is not my cup of tea! But these characters? Their morals and motivations and interpersonal dynamics? I couldn’t get enough.
The writing felt very Shakespearean, with lyrical banter and descriptions. It’s very theme focused, so at times it was a little tricky to follow along, and I found myself having to re-read a passage or two to try and decipher all the subtext. Like a lot of fantasy, there are certain elements that you just have to know will click at some point if you keep going - which in a weird inception / breaking the 4th wall kind of way ties back to her reoccurring theme of what it means to be mortal in an immortal world.
This was my first Olivie Blake book, so I don’t know if that style is consistent across the board with her, but I’ll find out soon.
The Blood Orchid by Kylie Lee Baker
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved the Scarlet Alchemist, this one took me a little longer to get into. Once I hit about 50% though I breezed through the remaining half.
I really really loved the conclusion of the Empress' story, but the way the two story lines ended separately felt kind of disconnected. The Alchemy/Penglai Island conclusion felt like it was an extended epilogue more than an actual conclusion of the entire story.
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Wicked King by Holly Black
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Foxglove by Adalyn Grace
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I had tried to read this traditionally and ended up dnfing because I wasn't in the right headspace for it. I just re-picked it up, but went with the audio this time and it was a game changer. I ended up falling in love with the story, and I actually liked it better than the first one by the end.
Some points were predictable (but I'm a firm believer that predictable doesn't always mean bad - better a predictable storyline than a wild twist that makes no sense...aka my issue with the first book)
Some plot points I didn't predict and I was pleasantly surprised with the reveals. They were set up so nicely!!
All in all, I recommend the audio version and that's definitely how I will be reading Wisteria when it comes out.
Some points were predictable (but I'm a firm believer that predictable doesn't always mean bad - better a predictable storyline than a wild twist that makes no sense...aka my issue with the first book)
Some plot points I didn't predict and I was pleasantly surprised with the reveals. They were set up so nicely!!
All in all, I recommend the audio version and that's definitely how I will be reading Wisteria when it comes out.
Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I was really excited about getting this arc with where the first one left off, and while ultimately I did enjoy it, it took me a while to get into it / get through it.
In defense of the actual book vs the arc, the formatting for the arc was terrible. Sentences would be broken into multiple paragraphs, words between two lines would be mixed up, it was rough and choppy and didn't help me get into the story when I was trying to figure out the sentence structure.
That being said, I think the beginning was still a little slow. Once I got to about 30-40% through I sped through it muuuuch quicker.
I think the characterization seems a little two dimensional - Io tries to see Thais and Ava as multi-faceted people when they aren't directly in front of her, but the minute she's interacting with them they fall back into their specific archetypes (not just how Io sees them, but literally in how they act.)
The ending, however, picked up really really well. I was getting extremely frustrated with Io and how long it took her to realize thatthat she needed to use her fate thread to kill the gods but I absolutely loved the callback to the fate thread existing "outside time" and so not only was it able to kill the god's of time, but also immediately grow back
Thank you to netgalley for the e-arc.
In defense of the actual book vs the arc, the formatting for the arc was terrible. Sentences would be broken into multiple paragraphs, words between two lines would be mixed up, it was rough and choppy and didn't help me get into the story when I was trying to figure out the sentence structure.
That being said, I think the beginning was still a little slow. Once I got to about 30-40% through I sped through it muuuuch quicker.
I think the characterization seems a little two dimensional - Io tries to see Thais and Ava as multi-faceted people when they aren't directly in front of her, but the minute she's interacting with them they fall back into their specific archetypes (not just how Io sees them, but literally in how they act.)
The ending, however, picked up really really well. I was getting extremely frustrated with Io and how long it took her to realize that
Thank you to netgalley for the e-arc.
The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is marketed as an enemies to lovers story, but all the enemies happened off page before we met them. There were flashbacks, but they really did more to mess with the flow of the story than provide any real context. It almost felt like I was reading a sequel, like I has missed something.
The pacing was choppy. We kept switching pov's but the reasoning felt arbitrary. We weren't learning anything new from these people - Alexi just kept repeating how obsessed she was with Jerusalem, and Jerusalem just kept repeating all the people she was angry at and how much she liked killing.
I had a hard time with the language use. Jerusalem was previously a slave and her verbiage that mimicked that made a lot of sense, but it wasn't consistent - especially in her narration voice. It was very jarring having her voice bounce around the way it did. On top of that there were weirdly modern phrases being used. With the amount of dialogue in this story it really became an annoyance that wasn't easy to ignore.
I really wanted to like this book - the premise sounds amazing. But our main characters were just so one dimensional I couldn't invest in them.
This is marketed as an enemies to lovers story, but all the enemies happened off page before we met them. There were flashbacks, but they really did more to mess with the flow of the story than provide any real context. It almost felt like I was reading a sequel, like I has missed something.
The pacing was choppy. We kept switching pov's but the reasoning felt arbitrary. We weren't learning anything new from these people - Alexi just kept repeating how obsessed she was with Jerusalem, and Jerusalem just kept repeating all the people she was angry at and how much she liked killing.
I had a hard time with the language use. Jerusalem was previously a slave and her verbiage that mimicked that made a lot of sense, but it wasn't consistent - especially in her narration voice. It was very jarring having her voice bounce around the way it did. On top of that there were weirdly modern phrases being used. With the amount of dialogue in this story it really became an annoyance that wasn't easy to ignore.
I really wanted to like this book - the premise sounds amazing. But our main characters were just so one dimensional I couldn't invest in them.
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
Thank you to Netgalley for the audio arc.
This felt like I was re-reading Legends and Lattes but with Tea this time instead of Coffee.
And I love healthy communication, but this just felt like they were explaining WHY their communication was so healthy the whole time. You don't have to keep telling me, just have them communicate.
I did actually really enjoy the narrator though! I would absolutely listen to other books she's narrated.
This felt like I was re-reading Legends and Lattes but with Tea this time instead of Coffee.
And I love healthy communication, but this just felt like they were explaining WHY their communication was so healthy the whole time. You don't have to keep telling me, just have them communicate.
I did actually really enjoy the narrator though! I would absolutely listen to other books she's narrated.