husnaibrahim_'s Reviews (393)

I have mixed feelings about this book. While I found it enjoyable and appreciated the audiobook experience, there were several questionable aspects that left me scratching my head. For instance, why didn’t Harriet back up such an important file? It’s like the cardinal rule of handling important documents, right? And why did she start looking up the people mentioned in the tape before even reaching the halfway point? It just seemed like an odd choice. Additionally, her prolonged delay in finishing the tape was perplexing. If I had come across such an intriguing and damning piece of evidence, I would have been too curious to resist listening to it all at once. And what would Edward have done if she hadn’t completed it before the Christmas game? 

And then there’s the matter of Robert, Edward’s father. Why didn’t he handle his own son instead of dragging poor Harry into the midst of this messy situation? It felt like they were playing a twisted game of family drama.

Moreover, I couldn’t quite comprehend Harriet’s choices in matters of her relationship. While I understand the pursuit of love and finding a soulmate, her decision to date or marry someone incredibly wealthy while harboring a supposed secret seemed like a recipe for trouble. The mega-rich have connections that can make your head spin, as this family has clearly demonstrated. I can’t help but think Harriet should have known better and been more cautious if she decided to get involved. It’s honestly like she missed some very obvious warning signs.

Overall, this book had so much potential but it all just had too many turns that felt incomplete and unnecessary. It got a tad bit ridiculous, to be honest. I had hoped to enjoy it more, but it honestly fell short of my expectations.

This one is probably one of my least favourite from the series

I don’t really know how to feel about this one because it came off as quirky horror but with not enough horror. I expected it to be more chilling but it all fell short. So much could have been done with it but I understand it’s a short retelling so maybe that couldn’t have been helped. I just wished it had a more terrifying storytelling to it.

This book might have just topped purity in death for me! I never thought there would come a time where I would be so annoyed with Roarke, that I wouldn’t even want to read his part. He was so dismissive, annoying and clueless all at the same time! I think this book did exactly what was needed. With this series, we often get carried away thinking Eve and Roarke are nearly perfect in their own way. 

I really liked how we got to see Eve’s brutal and raw emotions with this one. That fear of losing something you’ve come to love and live with was shown so well. Especially because she isn’t very open when it comes to her emotions. I also loved the fact that throughout all this, she and all their friends were still very much certain that he would never cheat on her. Even when he was being naive about Magdelana and her antics, you could see he was very aware of Eve even when it didn’t seem like it. Plus Summerset and Eve uniting to take her down just made it all so much better. I’m surprised Roarke didn’t realise she was sneaky as soon as he saw them being a united front!

When it came to the murder however, that was a whole different ball game. I mean I pretty much figured out who the killer was when Eve started realising it but I wasn’t so sure because she was turning her eye on Allika also. It was such a sick and twisted situation at the end but this was a good one honestly. Even when I was annoyed with some parts of the book, I couldn’t bring myself to not continue. 

This is definitely one of the best from the series.

This was a good book but I think it’s time for me to accept that reading books with romance as it’s central theme might just not be for me. I always seem to find a lot of the things cringy and annoying and I think it wasn’t that different with this book too.

I really liked Cherisse and her personality. She was actually really cool. I also loved that she was a baker and the whole Sugar queen thing worked really well for her. I would have enjoyed it more if we saw more interactions with other people outside her circle of friends and Keiran. I mean everyone kept saying she’s so nice and sweet but Keiran seemed to not think so and he wasn’t actually completely proved wrong. All we got to see was how nice she was within her circle and nothing more. Plus she really didn’t like him and he always got on her nerves so it was justified. But I would have loved to see how he slowly saw that he was wrong about her because it all felt so rushed while the book was anything but. 

Then when it came to Keiran, he felt a bit too shallow for me. I mean he seemed nice and he also seemed to have fallen way harder than she had but I felt like we saw less of him. Maybe it’s because we got her POV’s way more than his but I felt he needed more character building. I also really wished we got to see her reaction to the song they worked on together because that was one of my favourite part of the book. 

I think the book was spot on and also very realistic in so many ways. I mean Kieran kept doing stupid shit in public and that just worked well with his gender and the whole entertainment industry thing. I also really liked that for her it was mainly physical attraction while for him it was way more than that because, that’s very realistic for many people but these type of books seem to force an emotional connection when it doesn’t always start as so for most. So it was really nice to see that this was different and that it ended with her moving towards forming that emotional connection with him as opposed already being in love. I’d actually read a second book if it was focused on them because I really liked them together and would love to see how they grow.

Read this back in secondary school and really liked it. Can’t say the same for it this time around 

I started off by reading this book, but then I thought, why not try the audiobook too? And it was definitely an experience! Some parts were beautifully narrated, really capturing the essence of the story. But then, there were moments when it got a little too animated, Nonetheless, it was still a wonderful read.

This book delves into profound things.  We’re talking trauma, slavery, racism, and all sorts of heavy topics, and it also adds metaphysical horror into the mix.  It not only adds another layer to these unfathomable things but also empowers the descendants to reclaim their narrative. We’ve got Maryse, our protagonist, who is a force to be reckoned with. She’s the embodiment of the sword, standing strong against the  vicious butcher Clyde. It’s honestly so empowering to see her in action. Also, the fusion of real historical events with elements of fantasy, myth, horror, and folklore is done remarkably well, imbuing the story with raw power.

Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite books of the year. I mean Who wouldn’t want to read a story about Black people reclaiming their narrative, taking revenge, and kicking some serious KKK ass, accompanied by badass black women and magic swords?

I absolutely adored this book, and it’s such a shame that we might not get a sequel because it ended on such a thrilling cliffhanger! I’m a Muslim, so I grew up hearing stories about djinns, so the whole ‘half-bred djinns and humans’ fantasy concept really captivated me. It was fascinating to see the author integrate these familiar concepts with science and technology.

Now, these djinns in the book aren’t your typical ones. They’re portrayed as unique fantasy creatures with advanced technology and apparently even airships! They exude fierceness, yet it’s like there’s a melancholic undertone to their being. The setting in Bangladesh added a delightful feeling to it all, and I appreciated how the author humanized the story by exploring the relationship between djinns and their mutant human attributes. However, I must confess that I’m uncertain about where the story will go next, given the ambiguous ending for literally all the characters.

Speaking of the ending, it was truly all so sudden! There was no closure at all. It felt as if the author simply reached the end of a chapter and decided to call it a day. Just when we were reaching the high point , everything came to a halt. Like, chaos just seemed to consume everyone and everything! Indelbed spiraled, his cousin Rais spiraled, control was lost, the Givaras found itself trapped once again, Matteras also actually emerged victorious, Aunt Juny met her demise, and Kaikobad remained in a coma. It’s all bewildering, and strangely enough, some of my problems with the book and the concepts only added to its intriguing nature. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Although I did find myself struggling with the story at times due to it becoming  overwhelming at times, I came to realize that those were integral to the concept and didn’t remove from the characters. Personally, I wished for more exploration of Indelbed’s perspective, as other storylines felt somewhat untouched after his spiral. But despite these concerns, this book has an abundance of captivating things. It’s imaginative, well-written, and just full of wit. Some The characters are also really fantastic, though I must acknowledge there were a few offensive moments from them that could have been excluded.

I love Eve Dallas and this series to bits, but As an ardent fan, there were always those tiny pesky things that made me raise an eyebrow. But this book finally shed light on them in quite a spooky way.

One thing that struck me was how Eve’s American centrism gets a reality check in these short stories, and this one was no exception. It’s like a haunting reminder that she can’t always trust her gut when the supernatural creeps in. And we definitely see her trying to fight it even when it’s staring her right in the face, but seeing her question her “I’ll believe it when I see it”, beliefs and grapple with the possibility of the unexplained was so satisfying honestly. It’s a reminder that even our beloved Eve Dallas can be a bit… well, ‘typical American’ at times and It’s about time she embraces the unexplained possibilities honestly. 

Peabody and Roarke, Eve’s partners-in-crime-solving, bring the perfect balance to her skepticism honestly. They’re all like, “Hey, supernatural things happen, it’s no big deal and totally possible”. Their belief adds an extra layer of intrigue to the story. And let’s not forget the victim—a naive pop star slash superstar who sadly didn’t get enough time to reach her full potential. It’s like a captivating fusion of horror and a glimpse into the darker side of the music industry, particularly for female stars. Honestly don’t know why it took me longer to finish this particular one cause it was honestly a great one!