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lisashelves's Reviews (976)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 3 stars
Thank you to NBB Tours and Ukiyoto Publishing for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Shooting Star is a heartwarming book. Whereas it felt a bit like a cliché from the synopsis, it was different from other books I’ve read. Nothing about life lessons and learning to be yourself is cliché.
The setting created was beautifully written, although the pacing was rather quick. Because of this, sometimes it felt like important milestones in the relationships between characters happened off-page. Some things that happened came a bit sudden to me because I had this feeling.
The way Zoey and Jade’s group don’t like each other felt a bit unrealistic. You just have to take their words for it that the others aren’t what they seem. You don’t really see a reason for why they feel the way they do. I had a bit of a hard time believing them.
The characters are truly trying to find themselves and it is beautiful to see how the grow more confident throughout the story. Zoey has a lot of wisdom and a lot of what she said to Zach, I would’ve loved to have heard when I was in high school. The only thing that truly confused me is how I only realized halfway through the book that Zach was a boy. I don’t know exactly why, but I kept thinking Zach was a girl
Thank you to NBB Tours and Ukiyoto Publishing for gifting me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Shooting Star is a heartwarming book. Whereas it felt a bit like a cliché from the synopsis, it was different from other books I’ve read. Nothing about life lessons and learning to be yourself is cliché.
The setting created was beautifully written, although the pacing was rather quick. Because of this, sometimes it felt like important milestones in the relationships between characters happened off-page. Some things that happened came a bit sudden to me because I had this feeling.
The way Zoey and Jade’s group don’t like each other felt a bit unrealistic. You just have to take their words for it that the others aren’t what they seem. You don’t really see a reason for why they feel the way they do. I had a bit of a hard time believing them.
The characters are truly trying to find themselves and it is beautiful to see how the grow more confident throughout the story. Zoey has a lot of wisdom and a lot of what she said to Zach, I would’ve loved to have heard when I was in high school. The only thing that truly confused me is how I only realized halfway through the book that Zach was a boy. I don’t know exactly why, but I kept thinking Zach was a girl
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
From Blood and Ash is about Penallaphe, also known as the Maiden, someone who is never to be touched, forbidden to socialize and cannot live of experience anything without being reminded of her duty to the Gods. When one of her personal guards is killed Hawke Flynn comes to replace him.
This book! Honestly, in one word it is AMAZING! Just as the other books I’ve read by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I just couldn’t put this book down! It is action packed, passionate, and addicting to read.
In the beginning, the plot was a little bit slow, but not in a way that I found myself a bit bored or wanted things to speed up. It was slow because the focus was on the world-building and character-building and I loved it. This way, you really learned all that there was to learn at that moment before diving right into all the action and romance later on.
I absolutely loved Poppy! She has been held back her whole life, but in spite of that, she is smart, funny, fearless and courageous. She is a character that stays with you and feels real. Hawke was a similar character, his mysterious vibe didn’t take away from his personality as someone who was charming, sweet, bloodthirsty and cocky.
Poppy and Hawke had an immediate connection when they met and I lived for it! I just love when characters banter constantly, since it keeps the connection and relationship alive and fun. Poppy and Hawke just couldn’t stop and I loved it. Their romance developed amazingly. The instant connection was there, but the feelings had more than enough time to develop.
One thing about being “late” to a book series that everybody loves is seeing certain character names throughout Instagram constantly pop-up. Most of the character names were thus known to me, but I didn’t know who they belonged to.
Overall, I absolutely loved this book, I can’t wait to start reading the second book asap!
From Blood and Ash is about Penallaphe, also known as the Maiden, someone who is never to be touched, forbidden to socialize and cannot live of experience anything without being reminded of her duty to the Gods. When one of her personal guards is killed Hawke Flynn comes to replace him.
This book! Honestly, in one word it is AMAZING! Just as the other books I’ve read by Jennifer L. Armentrout, I just couldn’t put this book down! It is action packed, passionate, and addicting to read.
In the beginning, the plot was a little bit slow, but not in a way that I found myself a bit bored or wanted things to speed up. It was slow because the focus was on the world-building and character-building and I loved it. This way, you really learned all that there was to learn at that moment before diving right into all the action and romance later on.
I absolutely loved Poppy! She has been held back her whole life, but in spite of that, she is smart, funny, fearless and courageous. She is a character that stays with you and feels real. Hawke was a similar character, his mysterious vibe didn’t take away from his personality as someone who was charming, sweet, bloodthirsty and cocky.
Poppy and Hawke had an immediate connection when they met and I lived for it! I just love when characters banter constantly, since it keeps the connection and relationship alive and fun. Poppy and Hawke just couldn’t stop and I loved it. Their romance developed amazingly. The instant connection was there, but the feelings had more than enough time to develop.
One thing about being “late” to a book series that everybody loves is seeing certain character names throughout Instagram constantly pop-up. Most of the character names were thus known to me, but I didn’t know who they belonged to.
Spoiler
Imagine my surprise at learning that Hawke and Casteel were the same person when I always believed they were separate characters hahahahaha.Overall, I absolutely loved this book, I can’t wait to start reading the second book asap!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire sequel to From Blood and Ash. We start of where the first book ended after that cliffhanger!
Review of From Blood and Ash
The moment I finished From Blood and Ash, with that ending, I couldn’t wait one minute to start A Kingdome of Flesh and Fire! How could you not, with that cliffhanger ending, I just needed to know how it would continue and the same scene being continued in the first chapter immediately delivered. And once I started reading, I once again could not put this book down! I don’t know what Jennifer does with her writing, but it is addicting in a way that you don’t even notice the time going by while reading.
I enjoyed some aspects of this book more than I enjoyed the first! The romance was just *chef’s kiss*, the plot was amazing and kept me on my toes and I loved the developments that happened.
The beginning had once again a bit of a slower pace, as we are introduced to new and interesting characters *cough* Kieran *cough*. Starting from the second half the pacing picks up and the plot develops in truly interesting ways.
The characters all have so many layers to them, it is a treat to see them grow and see what’s behind each layer! Not one characters seems bland or boring because of this! Poppy is coming to terms with fer feelings and the relationship with Casteel and the romance only becomes better and better in this book.
Overall, I loved this book! It makes me feel so many emotions in the best way while reading and I can’t wait to start the third book. While the ending didn’t make me scream like the first book, I still can’t wait to see how this story continues.
A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire sequel to From Blood and Ash. We start of where the first book ended after that cliffhanger!
Review of From Blood and Ash
The moment I finished From Blood and Ash, with that ending, I couldn’t wait one minute to start A Kingdome of Flesh and Fire! How could you not, with that cliffhanger ending, I just needed to know how it would continue and the same scene being continued in the first chapter immediately delivered. And once I started reading, I once again could not put this book down! I don’t know what Jennifer does with her writing, but it is addicting in a way that you don’t even notice the time going by while reading.
I enjoyed some aspects of this book more than I enjoyed the first! The romance was just *chef’s kiss*, the plot was amazing and kept me on my toes and I loved the developments that happened.
The beginning had once again a bit of a slower pace, as we are introduced to new and interesting characters *cough* Kieran *cough*. Starting from the second half the pacing picks up and the plot develops in truly interesting ways.
The characters all have so many layers to them, it is a treat to see them grow and see what’s behind each layer! Not one characters seems bland or boring because of this! Poppy is coming to terms with fer feelings and the relationship with Casteel and the romance only becomes better and better in this book.
Overall, I loved this book! It makes me feel so many emotions in the best way while reading and I can’t wait to start the third book. While the ending didn’t make me scream like the first book, I still can’t wait to see how this story continues.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third book in the From Blood and Ash Series. We start this book after that ending in the second book, with Poppy, Casteel and Kieran finally arriving in Atlantia.
Review of From Blood and Ash
Review of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
This book has a lot more information and development that the other books had in the series. While the romance was still *chef’s kiss*, there were a lot of slower chapters where we just keep on learning about the world and we keep seeing the characters grow even more. It is action packed but still character driven.
The amount of feeling I felt reading this book because of this made it just one big emotional roller coaster for me! The pain, the romance, the sadness, the happiness, I felt all of it! It almost felt like I was standing next to the characters while everything happened!
Poppy grew in the most amazing way in this book! She is just such an amazing character and seeing her transformation, especially in the last chapter in this book, just ticks all the boxes for me! SHE IS BASASS! She is truly someone you can aspire to be like, and of course we all dream of someone like Kieran as a best friend and we all want a Casteel in our lives!
The romance bloomed into everything I wanted it to bloom into!. I also loved how Poppy’s friendship with Kieran developed and blossomed!
Overall, I am super glad I finally read these three books and waited with reading them until I had all three! I don’t think I would’ve survived having to wait in between! Unfortunately, we now have to wait for book four…. Luckily for us we have a prequel book coming in November!
The Crown of Gilded Bones is the third book in the From Blood and Ash Series. We start this book after that ending in the second book, with Poppy, Casteel and Kieran finally arriving in Atlantia.
Review of From Blood and Ash
Review of A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire
This book has a lot more information and development that the other books had in the series. While the romance was still *chef’s kiss*, there were a lot of slower chapters where we just keep on learning about the world and we keep seeing the characters grow even more. It is action packed but still character driven.
The amount of feeling I felt reading this book because of this made it just one big emotional roller coaster for me! The pain, the romance, the sadness, the happiness, I felt all of it! It almost felt like I was standing next to the characters while everything happened!
Poppy grew in the most amazing way in this book! She is just such an amazing character and seeing her transformation, especially in the last chapter in this book, just ticks all the boxes for me! SHE IS BASASS! She is truly someone you can aspire to be like, and of course we all dream of someone like Kieran as a best friend and we all want a Casteel in our lives!
The romance bloomed into everything I wanted it to bloom into!
Spoiler
They also finally confessed their love for each other!Overall, I am super glad I finally read these three books and waited with reading them until I had all three! I don’t think I would’ve survived having to wait in between! Unfortunately, we now have to wait for book four…. Luckily for us we have a prequel book coming in November!
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 3 stars
Good Girls Die First is a mystery thriller in which ten teens are lured to an island with an abandoned carnival on it. They all came because someone knows their deepest secrets and wanted to know if they can keep it.
Reading the synopsis of this book, I knew this would be a book I wanted to read during the spooky season! The plot seemed really intriguing and it taking place in a creepy abandoned carnival was the perfect setting.
I struggled in the beginning with what was happening and who was who. You get introduced to a lot of characters from the get go and I just couldn’t keep them apart, which was confusing. I think it would’ve been better if less characters were used/introduced to us. Because there were so many, most of the characters fell flat for me, when I remember who they were.
The plot was honestly one I really looked forward to, but the further along you got in the book, the more it seemed to unravel. It almost seemed like a whole other plot suddenly came out of nowhere with the supernatural twist. It made me wish the book had ended sooner and I thus wasn’t a fan of how the book ended.
I know it is a work of fiction, but a lot of what happened just was really weird. They’ve been trapped on an island with no way out, but nobody thinks about food they need to eat or anything like that and they don’t notice anything in the days about hunger, it seems just too unrealistic. Your body can subject to starvation after a day or two, so no one noticing they haven’t been eating was just weird.
Overall, I loved the theme and the premise, but I wished it was executed a bit better.
Good Girls Die First is a mystery thriller in which ten teens are lured to an island with an abandoned carnival on it. They all came because someone knows their deepest secrets and wanted to know if they can keep it.
Reading the synopsis of this book, I knew this would be a book I wanted to read during the spooky season! The plot seemed really intriguing and it taking place in a creepy abandoned carnival was the perfect setting.
I struggled in the beginning with what was happening and who was who. You get introduced to a lot of characters from the get go and I just couldn’t keep them apart, which was confusing. I think it would’ve been better if less characters were used/introduced to us. Because there were so many, most of the characters fell flat for me, when I remember who they were.
The plot was honestly one I really looked forward to, but the further along you got in the book, the more it seemed to unravel. It almost seemed like a whole other plot suddenly came out of nowhere with the supernatural twist. It made me wish the book had ended sooner and I thus wasn’t a fan of how the book ended.
I know it is a work of fiction, but a lot of what happened just was really weird. They’ve been trapped on an island with no way out, but nobody thinks about food they need to eat or anything like that and they don’t notice anything in the days about hunger, it seems just too unrealistic. Your body can subject to starvation after a day or two, so no one noticing they haven’t been eating was just weird.
Overall, I loved the theme and the premise, but I wished it was executed a bit better.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
Wings of Shadow is the third and last book in the Crown of Feathers trilogy. It is the conclusion to the war fought between sisters/aunt and niece Avalkyra and Veronyka.
This book is a bit like most third books in series, building up to the big battle at the end of the book and thus the beginning is a bit slower paced. While some events still happen to make you excited for finally finding out how the book is going to end.
The first book we learned about animages, the second we delved into shadow magic and this book was just a great combination of both. I loved how this book took the magic we thought we knew and made it even better. We also learn about the strixes and see how they played a role in the past and how they’ll be part of everything now. They were truly an unexpected surprise at the end of Heart of Flames and I loved seeing the role they played.
I loved how the bond between Val and Veronyka became more interesting in this book. It steadily developed during the first two books, but this book is the cherry on top! Also, the other characters really grew. Reading chapters from Sparrow’s POV really gave me insight in her head, and she is such an interesting character. I also really loved Sev’s development this book. He is such a raw, emotional and powerful character and it really showed this book.
The breaks between the chapters were still very fun to read about, but sometimes I didn’t really see the connection to what I’d read before and the information given in that break. Even though I didn’t always see this connection, I still loved reading them.
Overall, I loved how this book finished off the series on a very high note. I can’t believe this series has ended, but the way it did end was just perfect! I loved this series and will always keep recommending it to other to read!
Wings of Shadow is the third and last book in the Crown of Feathers trilogy. It is the conclusion to the war fought between sisters/aunt and niece Avalkyra and Veronyka.
This book is a bit like most third books in series, building up to the big battle at the end of the book and thus the beginning is a bit slower paced. While some events still happen to make you excited for finally finding out how the book is going to end.
The first book we learned about animages, the second we delved into shadow magic and this book was just a great combination of both. I loved how this book took the magic we thought we knew and made it even better. We also learn about the strixes and see how they played a role in the past and how they’ll be part of everything now. They were truly an unexpected surprise at the end of Heart of Flames and I loved seeing the role they played.
I loved how the bond between Val and Veronyka became more interesting in this book. It steadily developed during the first two books, but this book is the cherry on top! Also, the other characters really grew. Reading chapters from Sparrow’s POV really gave me insight in her head, and she is such an interesting character. I also really loved Sev’s development this book. He is such a raw, emotional and powerful character and it really showed this book.
The breaks between the chapters were still very fun to read about, but sometimes I didn’t really see the connection to what I’d read before and the information given in that break. Even though I didn’t always see this connection, I still loved reading them.
Overall, I loved how this book finished off the series on a very high note. I can’t believe this series has ended, but the way it did end was just perfect! I loved this series and will always keep recommending it to other to read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Little Thieves is a retelling of The Goose Girl, a story about stolen lives, thorny truths and wicked girls.
I was familiar with The Goose Girl prior to reading Little Thieves, but couldn’t really recollect what it was about. While reading Little Thieves I started to recognize the premise of this story but it was so much better than from the little I remembered from reading the original when I was younger!
From the very first sentence your attention was grabbed and oh my it didn’t let you go. The way the whole story was written was just perfect and it fit so good with the words, characters and the world build. The world was super vivid to image, while hardly anything about it was explained or giving via info-dump!
You read everything from Vanja’s POV and the little jabs, sarcastic thoughts and everything make it so much fun to read! It was almost as if Vanja was telling you her story of what happened instead of reading it as it happens. Also, the way the seven “Tales” are told throughout the story with important backstory information was really impressive how they added so much to the present timeline and plot line. By those tales being written in third-person it almost seemed detached from the main plot, and it fitted really well with how the story flowed.
The cast of characters we are introduced to in this book are vastly different form each other but they fit together like clockwork! Vanja is an anti-heroine that I loved loved loved! Her personality, everything she did was just amazing. Ragne was just the perfect best friend and side-kick to Vanja and being a shapeshifter and seeing her come to live and learning about life was delightful. Emeric seemed like a timid, shy person but he is such an amazing shapen character who will surprise you every turn of the page!
The ending did feel a little bit weaker than the rest of the story, might’ve been because it was a little rushed? I don’t know why exactly I got that feeling, because I still greatly enjoyed the ending.
Overall, I absolutely adored reading this story. It felt like such a complete book with everything you want from a fantasy in it!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Little Thieves is a retelling of The Goose Girl, a story about stolen lives, thorny truths and wicked girls.
I was familiar with The Goose Girl prior to reading Little Thieves, but couldn’t really recollect what it was about. While reading Little Thieves I started to recognize the premise of this story but it was so much better than from the little I remembered from reading the original when I was younger!
From the very first sentence your attention was grabbed and oh my it didn’t let you go. The way the whole story was written was just perfect and it fit so good with the words, characters and the world build. The world was super vivid to image, while hardly anything about it was explained or giving via info-dump!
You read everything from Vanja’s POV and the little jabs, sarcastic thoughts and everything make it so much fun to read! It was almost as if Vanja was telling you her story of what happened instead of reading it as it happens. Also, the way the seven “Tales” are told throughout the story with important backstory information was really impressive how they added so much to the present timeline and plot line. By those tales being written in third-person it almost seemed detached from the main plot, and it fitted really well with how the story flowed.
The cast of characters we are introduced to in this book are vastly different form each other but they fit together like clockwork! Vanja is an anti-heroine that I loved loved loved! Her personality, everything she did was just amazing. Ragne was just the perfect best friend and side-kick to Vanja and being a shapeshifter and seeing her come to live and learning about life was delightful. Emeric seemed like a timid, shy person but he is such an amazing shapen character who will surprise you every turn of the page!
The ending did feel a little bit weaker than the rest of the story, might’ve been because it was a little rushed? I don’t know why exactly I got that feeling, because I still greatly enjoyed the ending.
Overall, I absolutely adored reading this story. It felt like such a complete book with everything you want from a fantasy in it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 stars
Little Thieves is a retelling of The Goose Girl a story about stolen lives, thorny truths and wicked girls.
I was familiar with The Goose Girl prior to reading Little Thieves, but couldn’t really recollect what it was about. While reading Little Thieves I started to recognize the premise of this story but it was so much better than from the little I remembered from reading the original when I was younger!
From the very first sentence your attention was grabbed and oh my it didn’t let you go. The way the whole story was written was just perfect and it fit so good with the words, characters and the world build. The world was super vivid to image, while hardly anything about it was explained or giving via info-dump!
You read everything from Vanja’s POV and the little jabs, sarcastic thoughts and everything make it so much fun to read! It was almost as if Vanja was telling you her story of what happened instead of reading it as it happens. Also, the way the seven “Tales” are told throughout the story with important backstory information was really impressive how they added so much to the present timeline and plot line. By those tales being written in third-person it almost seemed detached from the main plot, and it fitted really well with how the story flowed.
The cast of characters we are introduced to in this book are vastly different form each other but they fit together like clockwork! Vanja is an anti-heroine that I loved loved loved! Her personality, everything she did was just amazing. Ragne was just the perfect best friend and side-kick to Vanja and being a shapeshifter and seeing her come to live and learning about life was delightful. Emeric seemed like a timid, shy person but he is such an amazing shapen character who will surprise you every turn of the page!
The ending did feel a little bit weaker than the rest of the story, might’ve been because it was a little rushed? I don’t know why exactly I got that feeling, because I still greatly enjoyed the ending.
Overall, I absolutely adored reading this story. It felt like such a complete book with everything you want from a fantasy in it!
Little Thieves is a retelling of The Goose Girl a story about stolen lives, thorny truths and wicked girls.
I was familiar with The Goose Girl prior to reading Little Thieves, but couldn’t really recollect what it was about. While reading Little Thieves I started to recognize the premise of this story but it was so much better than from the little I remembered from reading the original when I was younger!
From the very first sentence your attention was grabbed and oh my it didn’t let you go. The way the whole story was written was just perfect and it fit so good with the words, characters and the world build. The world was super vivid to image, while hardly anything about it was explained or giving via info-dump!
You read everything from Vanja’s POV and the little jabs, sarcastic thoughts and everything make it so much fun to read! It was almost as if Vanja was telling you her story of what happened instead of reading it as it happens. Also, the way the seven “Tales” are told throughout the story with important backstory information was really impressive how they added so much to the present timeline and plot line. By those tales being written in third-person it almost seemed detached from the main plot, and it fitted really well with how the story flowed.
The cast of characters we are introduced to in this book are vastly different form each other but they fit together like clockwork! Vanja is an anti-heroine that I loved loved loved! Her personality, everything she did was just amazing. Ragne was just the perfect best friend and side-kick to Vanja and being a shapeshifter and seeing her come to live and learning about life was delightful. Emeric seemed like a timid, shy person but he is such an amazing shapen character who will surprise you every turn of the page!
The ending did feel a little bit weaker than the rest of the story, might’ve been because it was a little rushed? I don’t know why exactly I got that feeling, because I still greatly enjoyed the ending.
Overall, I absolutely adored reading this story. It felt like such a complete book with everything you want from a fantasy in it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 4 stars
Luna is an urban fantasy story where we follow Jess, who wakes up one night covered in blood and no memory of what happened and gets accused of murdering her foster sister.
The cover is what first drew me to this book, as it is absolutely stunning and hinted at something to do with wolf shifters, something I always enjoy in books. There aren’t only wolf shifters, but an array of paranormal creatures like witches, fae, vampires and many more. I really liked how broad the characters and species were with the lore and everything that came with it.
We follow Jess in this story but sometimes the chapters were told from another’s POV, Matteo’s, which gave more insight and dept to the story. I really liked the switch between these chapters. Even though it was interesting, the pacing in the middle of the book slowed a bit. I wished that it had kept the same pacing throughout the book.
Jess is a very interesting and strong character. Her being a shifter and finding out about where she came from and everything was exciting to read. I also really like Matteo, also a shifter but from the rivaling clan. Of course, there are the other characters, Theo, Rune, Astra and Lea. I didn’t really like all of them and it felt all very convenient how each wanted to help Jess.
There is a hint of a love triangle, which I hope won’t really be explored as I’m not the biggest fan of that.
Overall, it was a promising start to a series with unexpected twists and turns. I look forward to the rest.
Luna is an urban fantasy story where we follow Jess, who wakes up one night covered in blood and no memory of what happened and gets accused of murdering her foster sister.
The cover is what first drew me to this book, as it is absolutely stunning and hinted at something to do with wolf shifters, something I always enjoy in books. There aren’t only wolf shifters, but an array of paranormal creatures like witches, fae, vampires and many more. I really liked how broad the characters and species were with the lore and everything that came with it.
We follow Jess in this story but sometimes the chapters were told from another’s POV, Matteo’s, which gave more insight and dept to the story. I really liked the switch between these chapters. Even though it was interesting, the pacing in the middle of the book slowed a bit. I wished that it had kept the same pacing throughout the book.
Jess is a very interesting and strong character. Her being a shifter and finding out about where she came from and everything was exciting to read. I also really like Matteo, also a shifter but from the rivaling clan. Of course, there are the other characters, Theo, Rune, Astra and Lea. I didn’t really like all of them and it felt all very convenient how each wanted to help Jess.
There is a hint of a love triangle, which I hope won’t really be explored as I’m not the biggest fan of that.
Overall, it was a promising start to a series with unexpected twists and turns. I look forward to the rest.
