kishab's reviews
301 reviews

If the walking dead was a YA fantasy book, it would be this book. Sid Spencer is an average teenage girl, in a small town that used to be filled with magic. That magic is now locked away and kept safe by guardians to prevent people from using and abusing it. Until one of the guardians is killed and the magic is released. Sid has to join forces with the remaining guardians and a few survivors to lock up the magic and find her missing brother. I really enjoyed this, I loved the found family aspect and Sid’s growth throughout this book. I listed to the audiobook and Eunice Wong did such a great job narrating and bringing so much life to each of the characters. I was so so immersed while listening. The characters are all high school aged and the awkward teenage feelings are captured perfectly. My favourite example of this is when the FMC is describing what she thinks being hugged would be like as being engulfed by a phagocyte. I really enjoyed the premise and the overall message of the book but I found it a little long in places. It didn’t take away from my enjoyment though. This is mostly character driven which I don’t usually like but I found the ideas were original enough to keep me interested. 

Thanks to netgalley, dreamscape media and Robin Wasley for this ALC 

Reading this felt like watching She’s the Man but through a nerdier filter. The early 2000’s Shakespeare retelling movie vibes are strong. Overall it was a little predictable but I like that about the book. There was also enough originality in the FMC that I really enjoyed. I think Viola is someone I would have wanted to be friends with in high school but I would have been to scared to actually approach her. In a way it was reminiscent of being back in high school, where is everyone is just trying to be someone they’re not. I also like the exploration of gender roles in the gaming/RPG world, it’s not something I’ve experienced myself in my little experience with DnD but it was a good intro. I really felt for her when when those situations came up. Overall, It’s a light fun read that I think most people would enjoy. 

Freya has spent her whole life in service to her family, from marrying a horrible man for wealth to hiding her magic and true desires for herself. Once she is discovered to be the shield maiden her has to learn to tap into her own power and who she can actually trust to be on her side. I simply gobbled this up, it was such a great time. There’s a great slow burn romance, betrayals, battles, gods and magic. I feel like a Viking fantasy was a new and needed change for me. The pacing is pretty quick and there’s a lot of action but it’s easy to follow. Each character has their own unique motives and schemes so the reveals just kept getting better. I really enjoyed Freya’s character development throughout the book, she does make some really bad decisions but it’s all part of her growth. I’m so excited to see what happens in the next book. 

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Danielle Jensen for this e-ARC

Intense Feelings is described as a paranormal soap opera and nothing has ever been so accurate. If you’ve ever enjoyed any kind of soap opera this is the book for you. Each page brought either a new character or a new twist and it got more and more outrageous as I read on. The beginning of the book gives you a multi page list of all the characters and it was a super useful list to refer back to. There are generation family feuds, forbidden love, secret twins and resurrections. Also witches, vampires and demons, maybe more. This is a fast paced and addictive read, not something I would have usually picked up but I’m so glad I did. 

Intense Feelings is available on February 13th. Thanks to Sunny Babe PR and Nomi Palmer for the opportunity to read and review this e-ARC 

Honestly this is a 5 star read for me, I’m only knocking it down because I hate cliffhangers! In her post audiobook interview Hafsah Faizal says she loves to cause suffering and here I am suffering!! I love a good heist story and I’m in my vampire era so this really fit the bill for me. Arthie is such a great headstrong and complex character, I love seeing her thoughts and reading her POV was great but all the POVs in this were so good. There was never a time where I was bored or thought “ugh, I can’t wait for this chapter to be over” because of a POV change. I really love the found family aspect and how each of the characters brought something unique to the story. I cannot wait for the second book to come out.