kishab's reviews
301 reviews

Bonesmith

Nicki Pau Preto

3.5

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

The City of Stardust

Georgia Summers

3.75

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The Everly family is cursed to lose a member each generation but when Marianne Everly disappears her daughter Violet is given 10 years before she has to take her spot. Violet must uncover the magical world of Fidelis and the role of the mysterious scholars, a world that has been hidden from her her entire life, in order to break the curse or fall to it.

This book really reminded me a combination of The Golden Compass and The Night Circus. The writing is descriptive and beautiful and the magic system is intriguing but I found it just out of reach. I didn’t really get a good grasp on the world until the very end. There is a romantic subplot that I enjoyed but I would have preferred a little more focus on the magic and the fantasy world. It’s so unique and unlike any other fantasy I’ve read before. I think this is very well written and it left me wanting more, if it had been a little longer I would have really liked it. I felt the same way with The Night Circus, the magical elements are there but it’s not really the main focus of the book, so if you liked that you’ll really enjoy this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Red Hook Books and Georgia Summers for this e-ARC

Peril in Pink

Sydney Leigh

3.5

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Jess and Kat have just opened their Instagram worthy BnB, with a promising opening weekend of events bringing in a local musician and Jess’s ex. The only thing they hadn’t planned on was a murder. It’s up to Jess to help absolve her ex and save her opening weekend from disaster.

The blurb for this book describes it as Schitts creek meets Only Murders in the Building and I would say that’s pretty accurate. It’s the lightheartedness and small town vibes of schitts creek and the cozy mystery of Only Murders. Although the mystery wasn’t super complex there was enough red herrings and interesting characters to keep me guessing. I also read the whole book in one sitting so I was definitely intrigued. The vibes were cozy and there were so many fun pop culture references that I really enjoyed. Overall this is a nice, light mystery. It’s pretty fast paced and an easy read so definitely one to pick up.

Thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Sydney Leigh for this e-ARC