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sarai0410's Reviews (404)
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Master of Sorrows is a strong debut and an even stronger start to an epic fantasy tetralogy, with 12 total books planned in The Silent Gods universe. While the book started off slow, I appreciated that Call chose to slowly introduce us to the world and lore in the same way that our main character Annev was learning about the world outside the village he's never left. Picking this up, I assumed that the book was an Adult fantasy, but there were moments that it read more along the lines of Young Adult (especially in the romance), however, it didn't detract from the story. Although I would have loved to see more in terms of characterization in Annev and the main side characters (personality, motivations, history between one another, etc.), the story's action packed, quick pace kept me interested and wanted to see the plot forward.
Couple spoilery things:
Couple spoilery things:
- There are a lot of moment where Annev's actions and decisions felt immature, especially in his interactions with Sodar and Myjun. BUT he's a 17 year old boy that has been living in an extremely isolating environment that watches his every move, so the immature aspects of his personality and actions is 100% expected and makes his character more believable as a teenage boy.
- Sodar was an awesome character and his death is going to greatly impact how Annev interacts with the world, his magic, and his destiny. While the character himself may be gone (who knows..he's supposedly ageless - maybe deathless too?), I hope we learn more about him either through his companions or flashback scenarios.
- Fyn and Kenton...Oh what to say about them. I like Fyn but don't understand his 180 degree switch around with Annev. I'm assuming we'll get more of his development and thoughts in the next book. At this moment, Kenton is a great character to dislike - his motivations for hating Annev are developed and well founded considering his losing Myjun and possessing magic. I'm very curious to see if he stays along the antagonist line or if he moves away from it with time.
- Myjun...my Gods I hate her. Her father, Tosan (who also sucks), absolutely poisoned his daughter and created a prejudiced brat. I predict that she'll be a long term antagonist and honestly looking forward to seeing how Annev handles this when it eventually comes to light (hopefully more maturely..).
- I love Titus - that's literally all. He's a sweet boy.
Master of Sorrows had been sitting on my TBR for far too long and I'm happy that I finally took the plunge into a new epic fantasy. Master Artificer is up next and I'm excited to see where Call takes us.
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When I tell you I absolutely devoured this story. I went into this novel strictly based on the cover without any inkling to look at the synopsis prior to starting, and I'm so happy that I did. Discovering this was a multi-POV and (loosely) multiple timeline story with a sentient home as a prominent character, I was instantly drawn into the plot, but what really made it for me was the characters. Hulda and Merritt are absolutely enchanting with strong personalities, quirks, and deep traumas that effect their interactions with those around them, including each other. Combined with their banter and awkwardness with one another both highlights the time period (mid to late 1800s) and how their histories have shaped the way in which they develop relationships (platonic and romantic).
The only thing I wish we had seen more of was the villain's past timeline POV with a focus on how dangerous of an individual he really could be.
This was wonderful - both a cozy magical realism read with hints of darkness and a dash of sweet romance. A recipe for perfection in my books. I'm beyond excited to move onto the sequel.
"Some people prefer women who look like their mothers, and some prefer women who look like their fathers. Beauty is just like a book. Some will not bother to look beyond the cover; others will find the entire tome utterly captivating."
The only thing I wish we had seen more of was the villain's past timeline POV with a focus on how dangerous of an individual he really could be.
This was wonderful - both a cozy magical realism read with hints of darkness and a dash of sweet romance. A recipe for perfection in my books. I'm beyond excited to move onto the sequel.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
4.25 ⭐ This was such a wonderful follow up to Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries. The journal entry writing style (footnotes included) is one of my personal favorites and I love that we got to watch Emily's motivations surrounding the plot change from academic to personal. Emily and Wendell's relationship (and Wendell's wonder of her) was beautiful and I can't wait to see it more in the next book 💚I loved the tiny bit of dual POV within the journal entries that we go towards the end and I so hope that we can see more of that in the 3rd book.
He does not understand you as I do, Em, but as you seem to consider him a friend now, I told him the truth: in order to be surprised, I could not have known already that you are capable of anything.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Going into this knowing that the book is quite beloved on social media, I was really expecting more from this. The premise was interesting and the beginning was promising but good lord it went downhill quickly. How long of a time period did this even cover? A week? Two? I get that Wendy has extremely apparent daddy issues, but dang girl - pure love after one date and a sleepover with a willingness to kill your father? Delulu really is the solulu in this case..
Regardless of how quickly the 'romance' (and I use the term loosely) progressed, the plot of lacking and it really could have been quite good. McIntire wrote in plenty that she could have worked with to build off of, but didn't bother to enhance the story - making everything incredibly unbelievable.
The smut was good though 🤷🏻
Regardless of how quickly the 'romance' (and I use the term loosely) progressed, the plot of lacking and it really could have been quite good. McIntire wrote in plenty that she could have worked with to build off of, but didn't bother to enhance the story - making everything incredibly unbelievable.
The smut was good though 🤷🏻
informative
fast-paced
I'm not a true crime fan, but I was interested in seeing a different side of such a popular topic. From the historical perspective, I thought it was pretty interesting - I'd never heard of any of the women discussed in this book, and with how old some of the information is, it's fascinating to think about the events in comparison to how serial killers are discussed now.
Overall, it was good. Still not a true crime fan though.
Overall, it was good. Still not a true crime fan though.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Bloodsinger - that's all ❤️
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm still on the fence for my rating but I know it's somewhere around a 4 ⭐ for me.
It had been at least 8 months since I read the first in the series, so jumping into this without a refresher on the story was very confusing - but I also loved that Broadbent chose not to use the first 50+ pages for scene-by-scene recapping of Serpent (one of my biggest pet peeves in reading). After the first 20ish pages, I chose to go backwards and read the novella Six Scorched Roses and I'm so happy I did because it pulled me back into the world and made me excited to see where the story was going next.
While I loved the story of Oraya and Raihn, my favorite part of this book was the exploration of Oraya and Vincent's relationship and the complexity that was Vincent's love for her. My final breaking point (sob session activated) was when Oraya had the opportunity to view Vincent's memory of seeing her for the first time and realizing that he couldn't lose her. Vincent was a someone that never learned how to love, and when it was forced into his heart, it terrified him. No matter how badly he wanted to make things different for her (and in many ways succeeded) he didn't have enough knowledge on how to love her the way he truly wanted to. Personally, I loved Vincent's character and I'm happy we got to learn more about him and his true feelings as a father that never learned how to love until it was too late.
<blockquote>"But what I [Vincent] was not expecting was to love you so devastatingly much."</blockquote>
I felt like this was a good rounding out of Oraya and Raihn's journeys through separation, anger, acceptance, and the power they have to change the kingdom, not alone, but together.
Overall, I loved the story and the characters. I'm not sure if I'll continue into the 3rd of the series when it comes out as we'll be switching characters, but it's possible. I do always enjoy a good vampire love story.
It had been at least 8 months since I read the first in the series, so jumping into this without a refresher on the story was very confusing - but I also loved that Broadbent chose not to use the first 50+ pages for scene-by-scene recapping of Serpent (one of my biggest pet peeves in reading). After the first 20ish pages, I chose to go backwards and read the novella Six Scorched Roses and I'm so happy I did because it pulled me back into the world and made me excited to see where the story was going next.
<blockquote>"But what I [Vincent] was not expecting was to love you so devastatingly much."</blockquote>
I felt like this was a good rounding out of Oraya and Raihn's journeys through separation, anger, acceptance, and the power they have to change the kingdom, not alone, but together.
Overall, I loved the story and the characters. I'm not sure if I'll continue into the 3rd of the series when it comes out as we'll be switching characters, but it's possible. I do always enjoy a good vampire love story.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Having previous listened to Pandora's Jar on audiobook (and loving it), I had a very strong feeling I was going to enjoy Divine Might via audiobook as well - and I was correct. Haynes has a way about her storytelling that makes you feel like you are there with her and the Goddesses as she recounts their tales. I am admittedly no expert in Greek Mythology, other than the big ones (mostly revolving around the men..) so I always appreciate a female-centered focus. While I loved the analysis of each Goddess Haynes chose to examine, I felt especially connected to Demeter and have found a new appreciation for her strength, determination, and brutality in her quest to get her daughter back from the clutches of Hades.
<blockquote>"We don't need them [jokes] when times are going well...The jokes which reach us when we are at the bottom of a dark pit, the ones that make us give a reluctant half-smile at the absurdity of it all, even as we're struggling to climb back up to normality - those are the ones we need."</blockquote>
The only thing that I found disappointing was the end of the book - it felt very abrupt moving straight from the Furies to the acknowledgements. I would have loved a mini-chapter to wrap everything up. But overall, another exceptional book by Haynes.
<blockquote>"We don't need them [jokes] when times are going well...The jokes which reach us when we are at the bottom of a dark pit, the ones that make us give a reluctant half-smile at the absurdity of it all, even as we're struggling to climb back up to normality - those are the ones we need."</blockquote>
The only thing that I found disappointing was the end of the book - it felt very abrupt moving straight from the Furies to the acknowledgements. I would have loved a mini-chapter to wrap everything up. But overall, another exceptional book by Haynes.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I absolutely devoured this. I was starting second in the series when I realized I hadn't picked this up yet and I'm so glad I did! This is exactly what I love about vampires - complicated, timeless, romantic, and devastating.
I was struggling with the beginning of the Ashes, but I'm so excited to continue now.
I was struggling with the beginning of the Ashes, but I'm so excited to continue now.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Doughty always gets 5 ⭐ from me. Her mix of humor and the serious nature of death allows for a seamless way to think about death and mortality.