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578 reviews by:
secondhandbookshelves
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The entire book is lead up to book two.
There's chapters of info dumping, which I basically skimmed.
Lots of characters were introduced but only three of them are memorable & I found myself flipping back to figure out who people were more than once.
Once again the lead character is underage and is - even for a short amount of time - in a relationship with a vampire. In this case he's 21 (or 26?) and not hundreds of years old, but still. Not my jam.
She's in high-school and going to classes, the dance, and working at a bar that she cant even serve alcohol at.
It is Twilight meets Buffy but worse than both.
She pines after multiple boys and the author is obsessed with eyes. (Every time she looks at a male character his eyes are described a different way)
Thus truly is a Wicker Basket meme book.
There's also lots of questionable phrases, like "He offered another smile—a delicious crooked grin that made the water pool inside my mouth—and then he walked away without saying another word, leaving me standing in a puddle of my own drool."
the second love interest can read minds. And he hears her gushing about how perfect and handsome and beautiful he is frequently. the secondhand embarrassment is real bad for lots of their interactions.
There's chapters of info dumping, which I basically skimmed.
Lots of characters were introduced but only three of them are memorable & I found myself flipping back to figure out who people were more than once.
Once again the lead character is underage and is - even for a short amount of time - in a relationship with a vampire. In this case he's 21 (or 26?) and not hundreds of years old, but still. Not my jam.
She's in high-school and going to classes, the dance, and working at a bar that she cant even serve alcohol at.
It is Twilight meets Buffy but worse than both.
She pines after multiple boys and the author is obsessed with eyes. (Every time she looks at a male character his eyes are described a different way)
Thus truly is a Wicker Basket meme book.
There's also lots of questionable phrases, like "He offered another smile—a delicious crooked grin that made the water pool inside my mouth—and then he walked away without saying another word, leaving me standing in a puddle of my own drool."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, Blood
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you are looking for big character building, background, literally any story about their careers or other friendships, skip this one.
If you're looking for fluff, pining & some smut then this is a decent way to spend a couple of hours.
Not a big fan of insta love or miscommunication which there was a lot of in this book.
While Sidney was built out & had background, Jax really wasn't.
She bites her lip A LOT!
the other characters introduced seemed like they should have have a bigger role in the story but after the first third of it they were barely mentioned again
Same with their mutual losses, mentioned once and swept under the rug
He left his best friends & team without a second thought & no one said anything.....
It did bring back some sweet memories of my college boyfriend who i met at a hockey game so I certainly enjoyed that part of the story.
If you're looking for fluff, pining & some smut then this is a decent way to spend a couple of hours.
Not a big fan of insta love or miscommunication which there was a lot of in this book.
While Sidney was built out & had background, Jax really wasn't.
She bites her lip A LOT!
the other characters introduced seemed like they should have have a bigger role in the story but after the first third of it they were barely mentioned again
Same with their mutual losses, mentioned once and swept under the rug
He left his best friends & team without a second thought & no one said anything.....
It did bring back some sweet memories of my college boyfriend who i met at a hockey game so I certainly enjoyed that part of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol
Minor: Death, Car accident, Death of parent
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
First of all, I cannot get over the fact that they met and fell in love when she was 14 and he was 5 years older.
Second, everyone either monologues or speaks in paragraphs. Even as teenagers the characters have very long speeches with extremely proper grammar & formal tones.
No one talks like that.
I guess it's cute that they reconnect when she's 23 and he's rich but there was so much trauma and weird vibes throughout the book that I could not get over & enjoy the story.
ALSO - not ONCE did the girl give herself a Google. Five years of no memory but a driver's license and she didn't think to check out a single thing.
There were some cute lines & nice notes about grief, but not enough for me to overlook the rest of the disappointment I found here.
Will not be rereading & probably won't check out more from this author.
I hate that Amy ended up with Ryan. The author made such a big deal out of how much Amy didn't trust him, how she had such good intuition and then with one line, boom, they're dating. He has almost no personality and I doubt he would change from the scornful baby he was SO quickly.
Second, everyone either monologues or speaks in paragraphs. Even as teenagers the characters have very long speeches with extremely proper grammar & formal tones.
No one talks like that.
I guess it's cute that they reconnect when she's 23 and he's rich but there was so much trauma and weird vibes throughout the book that I could not get over & enjoy the story.
ALSO - not ONCE did the girl give herself a Google. Five years of no memory but a driver's license and she didn't think to check out a single thing.
There were some cute lines & nice notes about grief, but not enough for me to overlook the rest of the disappointment I found here.
Will not be rereading & probably won't check out more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder
Minor: Bullying, Suicide, Terminal illness, Stalking, Car accident
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was surprised how much I liked this one.
I picked it up on a whim & read it in one sitting.
I enjoyed all the characters, the house is enchanting, and I do hope there are more books in this series in the future.
It is a very cozy, simple story & a lovely break between thrillers & super long fantasy stories.
I picked it up on a whim & read it in one sitting.
I enjoyed all the characters, the house is enchanting, and I do hope there are more books in this series in the future.
It is a very cozy, simple story & a lovely break between thrillers & super long fantasy stories.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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
I enjoyed this book. It was pretty cute.
Gabe finally opened up about his past, Sylvia meets a few new people, Alex & Daisy are still drawn to each other, Willie is still Willie!
There was another mystery & this time Sylvia did a great job putting the pieces together.
Gabe is dealing with some things - his engagement, his magic, three attempted kidnappings, reporters.....
I'm interested in seeing what happens next.
Gabe finally opened up about his past, Sylvia meets a few new people, Alex & Daisy are still drawn to each other, Willie is still Willie!
There was another mystery & this time Sylvia did a great job putting the pieces together.
Gabe is dealing with some things - his engagement, his magic, three attempted kidnappings, reporters.....
I'm interested in seeing what happens next.
Content Warnings
Minor: Kidnapping, War, Injury/Injury detail
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This ended just as abruptly as book one did and once again, I feel like a whole lot of nothing happened.
The entire 276 pages is the trio getting from the ship the ended the last book on to the Cursewoods.
There is no romance
There is barely a plot
I skimmed the entire second half of the book because n o t h i n g was happening.
Also none of the characters have a personality anymore.
Amira is suddenly soft and shy and young
Dain ignores everyone besides her & calls her "love" but everyone feels cardboard and flat.
I will not be continuing.
Here's am actual passage from the book - a conversation between a murderer and a demon.
“People like us, we were born to rule. We have a duty to rule.”
“To save people from themselves?” Daindreth sighed.
“If need be.”
The entire 276 pages is the trio getting from the ship the ended the last book on to the Cursewoods.
There is no romance
There is barely a plot
I skimmed the entire second half of the book because n o t h i n g was happening.
Also none of the characters have a personality anymore.
Amira is suddenly soft and shy and young
Dain ignores everyone besides her & calls her "love" but everyone feels cardboard and flat.
I will not be continuing.
Here's am actual passage from the book - a conversation between a murderer and a demon.
“People like us, we were born to rule. We have a duty to rule.”
“To save people from themselves?” Daindreth sighed.
“If need be.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mystery! Intrigue!!! Assassination attempts, sorcery, kidnapping, demons, and fencing.
And a fantastically snarky kick ass strong female character (who only softens a little when the MMC shows up but hey. She's still snarky at least.)
A shorter book than I'm used to - I feel like so much and nothing happened at the same time.
It's a great build, a decent ending, an interesting story line, and has some intriguing characters in a crummy situation.
I'm excited to read more.
And a fantastically snarky kick ass strong female character (who only softens a little when the MMC shows up but hey. She's still snarky at least.)
A shorter book than I'm used to - I feel like so much and nothing happened at the same time.
It's a great build, a decent ending, an interesting story line, and has some intriguing characters in a crummy situation.
I'm excited to read more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, Classism
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Another quick Kestrel mystery.
The main character is 18 and one month but hardly acts it.
No idea how old any of the other characters are.
One of main ones from the first two books begins to be pushed away in this story and I'm unsure if I care. Lady Abigail taught Sera how to behave in society but Sera has no interest in doing so, so it is not unnatural for them to grow apart.
Two new characters, both Unnaturals, are introduced, and the story is tied up on a neat little bow with happiness all around.
Not sure if I'm going to continue the series because it does not feel like anything really happened in this story.
The main character is 18 and one month but hardly acts it.
No idea how old any of the other characters are.
One of main ones from the first two books begins to be pushed away in this story and I'm unsure if I care. Lady Abigail taught Sera how to behave in society but Sera has no interest in doing so, so it is not unnatural for them to grow apart.
Two new characters, both Unnaturals, are introduced, and the story is tied up on a neat little bow with happiness all around.
Not sure if I'm going to continue the series because it does not feel like anything really happened in this story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual harassment