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851 reviews by:
verypeculiarpages
4.5 stars--why god why did I read this so long before the next ebook is released WHY
**
FIRST OFF, A WARNING. The next book isn't out in digital/physical copy until September, DO NOT read this now because the cliffhanger will make you wanna die. (but! the audiobook is available on audible if you're into that! unfortunately I do not currently have the patience to pay attention to an audiobook while in quarantine, so I'll need to wait a bit until I kick my audio slump)
ANYWAY, I loved this book. It was my favorite brand of enemies to lovers, right in the vein of The Wrath and the Dawn and The Shadows Between Us, both of which I love. The relationship between Lara and Aren was intriguing from the start, and it was soooo much fun to see them deal with the obstacles of an arranged marriage. Y'all know I LOVE A DUAL POV ROMANCE and this one didn't let down. It was thrilling to see behind Lara's manipulation and also STRESSFUL because man, that girl was not too subtle. Aren's chapters were a delight, if only just to see how he was reacting to everything that Lara did. I thought they were a great pair and I liked that the plot didn't follow a super predictable structure.
The reason I rounded my 4.5 rating down to four instead of five stars was just some technicality issues. I thought the pacing of the last hundred pages felt a little rushed and there was a looot of information being thrown at you. Some of the politics went over my head and it was a little hard to follow what was happening. That being said, the ending was really great and it made me really excited for the next book (ONLY TO DISCOVER I COULD NOT READ IT AHHHH). Still, I think it sets up a fun premise and maybe if I give it a bit of time I'll be able to calm down enough to focus on the audiobook and get the sequel a little earlier. :)
**
FIRST OFF, A WARNING. The next book isn't out in digital/physical copy until September, DO NOT read this now because the cliffhanger will make you wanna die. (but! the audiobook is available on audible if you're into that! unfortunately I do not currently have the patience to pay attention to an audiobook while in quarantine, so I'll need to wait a bit until I kick my audio slump)
ANYWAY, I loved this book. It was my favorite brand of enemies to lovers, right in the vein of The Wrath and the Dawn and The Shadows Between Us, both of which I love. The relationship between Lara and Aren was intriguing from the start, and it was soooo much fun to see them deal with the obstacles of an arranged marriage. Y'all know I LOVE A DUAL POV ROMANCE and this one didn't let down. It was thrilling to see behind Lara's manipulation and also STRESSFUL because man, that girl was not too subtle. Aren's chapters were a delight, if only just to see how he was reacting to everything that Lara did. I thought they were a great pair and I liked that the plot didn't follow a super predictable structure.
The reason I rounded my 4.5 rating down to four instead of five stars was just some technicality issues. I thought the pacing of the last hundred pages felt a little rushed and there was a looot of information being thrown at you. Some of the politics went over my head and it was a little hard to follow what was happening. That being said, the ending was really great and it made me really excited for the next book (ONLY TO DISCOVER I COULD NOT READ IT AHHHH). Still, I think it sets up a fun premise and maybe if I give it a bit of time I'll be able to calm down enough to focus on the audiobook and get the sequel a little earlier. :)
“History was built by thousands of women who thought they were just housewives or just secretaries or just seamstresses until the day they got fed up and decided to fight back.”
I really enjoy this series! These books are super fun, cute, steamy reads and it’s easy to get lost and finish them in a few hours. I liked The Bromance Book Club a lot, but I was a little wary about reading Liv’s story, since I didn’t like her all that much in the first book. But she grew on me! It was cute to see her relationship with Mack blossom, and Mack’s personality got a bunch of new layers that I really enjoyed. Adams’ characters are so charming and funny that it’s hard not to root for them!
The plot was entertaining and I liked the women empowerment angle. It was fun seeing all the gang come together to fight for justice, even if some of it was just super goofy. I was hoping for a bit more interaction between Gavin and Liv, since I felt that their relationship was one that needed to be repaired or improved most from the first book, but it’s a small issue for me. I liked the friendship between Liv, Jessica and Alexis, and I’m sooo excited that the next book will be about Alexis!
I also liked that there was WAY less of the actual book club novels included in this one. The constant romance book chapters in the first book drove me crazy, and I was thrilled to see that we mostly did away with it in the sequel. I didn’t looove Mack and Liv as much as Gavin and Thea, but they were still super cute and I was definitely rooting for them. These books are so fun and entertaining and I don’t see myself getting tired of them, so I hope Adams has a few more up her sleeve after the next book!
I really enjoy this series! These books are super fun, cute, steamy reads and it’s easy to get lost and finish them in a few hours. I liked The Bromance Book Club a lot, but I was a little wary about reading Liv’s story, since I didn’t like her all that much in the first book. But she grew on me! It was cute to see her relationship with Mack blossom, and Mack’s personality got a bunch of new layers that I really enjoyed. Adams’ characters are so charming and funny that it’s hard not to root for them!
The plot was entertaining and I liked the women empowerment angle. It was fun seeing all the gang come together to fight for justice, even if some of it was just super goofy. I was hoping for a bit more interaction between Gavin and Liv, since I felt that their relationship was one that needed to be repaired or improved most from the first book, but it’s a small issue for me. I liked the friendship between Liv, Jessica and Alexis, and I’m sooo excited that the next book will be about Alexis!
I also liked that there was WAY less of the actual book club novels included in this one. The constant romance book chapters in the first book drove me crazy, and I was thrilled to see that we mostly did away with it in the sequel. I didn’t looove Mack and Liv as much as Gavin and Thea, but they were still super cute and I was definitely rooting for them. These books are so fun and entertaining and I don’t see myself getting tired of them, so I hope Adams has a few more up her sleeve after the next book!
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Holy shit. This was INCREDIBLE.
"And because for all her supposed cleverness, she couldn't see that the dashing hero who saved her was actually its monster."
WOW. OH WOW. Where do I even begin? This book was INCREDIBLE. I enjoyed it SO MUCH MORE than the first installment and it hooked me from the very beginning. The plot, the pacing, the characters, the reveals... all so amazing. I'm SO happy that I continued on with the series, and if the finale is nearly as good as this, this trilogy will go down as one of my all-time favorites!
I'll start by addressing a couple worries I had going into this book. I was apprehensive about having Dara's POV thrown into the mix, because I was seriously not a fan of his in the first book, but it actually was fine. His chapters are sparse and even when he does have a POV come up, they were interesting enough to hold my focus, and it was valuable to get to know Manizheh. One thing that bothered me a bit about City of Brass was the constant time jumps, but although a lot of time was covered in this book (not to MENTION the five-year jump at the beginning), it didn't bother me as much! I felt that I missed less with these small skips and they were handled better.
"You don't stop fighting a war just because you're losing battles, Alizayd. You change tactics."
I was much more invested in the worldbuilding this time around. I felt I had such a better grip on the politics and hierarchies that I was able to enjoy the world so much more. The plot was super thrilling and kept me entertained throughout. There were so many fun interactions and shocking twists that I enjoyed, and the characters were even more magical. Side characters took a much more prominent role. I LOVED Zaynab in this and it was so great to see more interaction between the three royal siblings! Muntadhir… wow. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions with him throughout this book, but I'm SUPER thrilled by where his storyline went! Ghassan was as terrible as ever, I loved meeting Hatset and getting to see her and Ali's relationship. Ali's two new friends were fun, and I even loved getting to see more of Vizaresh, which was a shocking surprise!
OK, on to my favorite part, the ROMANCEEEEEEE! If you read my COB review, you'll know how much I love and adore Nahri and Ali. I love their friendship a lot, but I'm still holding out a very strong hope that they'll end up together at the end of all this. There wasn't much romance in this, since they're still pretty firmly in kinda-sorta-friendship territory, but their relationship grew so much and I was so frickin' pleased with how early their reunion happened and that they spend most of the book around each other. It was so fun and stressful and painful to see their interactions with the thought of Muntadhir in the background, but I was also pleasantly surprised with how Nahri and Muntadhir's relationship grew as well! I think Chakraborty has such a firm grasp on her characters and I love how they're portrayed. Nahri's strength is admirable, Ali's beliefs are unshakable (even tho that boy has a SERIOUS DEATH WISH, LIKE KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP, MY DUDE), and Muntadhir's last few chapters were LEGENDARY. THE LEGEND JUMPED OUT. I just love them all so much. I still don't like Dara much, but he's still a pretty interesting character and I am really looking forward to see where his story ends up!
So yeah, THANK GOD I gave this sequel the benefit of the doubt because I loved it SO MUCH. I'm already gearing up to preorder Empire of Gold so I can have it ASAP. YAY FOR DISCOVERING NEW SERIES TO LOVE!
"And because for all her supposed cleverness, she couldn't see that the dashing hero who saved her was actually its monster."
WOW. OH WOW. Where do I even begin? This book was INCREDIBLE. I enjoyed it SO MUCH MORE than the first installment and it hooked me from the very beginning. The plot, the pacing, the characters, the reveals... all so amazing. I'm SO happy that I continued on with the series, and if the finale is nearly as good as this, this trilogy will go down as one of my all-time favorites!
I'll start by addressing a couple worries I had going into this book. I was apprehensive about having Dara's POV thrown into the mix, because I was seriously not a fan of his in the first book, but it actually was fine. His chapters are sparse and even when he does have a POV come up, they were interesting enough to hold my focus, and it was valuable to get to know Manizheh. One thing that bothered me a bit about City of Brass was the constant time jumps, but although a lot of time was covered in this book (not to MENTION the five-year jump at the beginning), it didn't bother me as much! I felt that I missed less with these small skips and they were handled better.
"You don't stop fighting a war just because you're losing battles, Alizayd. You change tactics."
I was much more invested in the worldbuilding this time around. I felt I had such a better grip on the politics and hierarchies that I was able to enjoy the world so much more. The plot was super thrilling and kept me entertained throughout. There were so many fun interactions and shocking twists that I enjoyed, and the characters were even more magical. Side characters took a much more prominent role. I LOVED Zaynab in this and it was so great to see more interaction between the three royal siblings! Muntadhir… wow. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions with him throughout this book, but I'm SUPER thrilled by where his storyline went! Ghassan was as terrible as ever, I loved meeting Hatset and getting to see her and Ali's relationship. Ali's two new friends were fun, and I even loved getting to see more of Vizaresh, which was a shocking surprise!
OK, on to my favorite part, the ROMANCEEEEEEE! If you read my COB review, you'll know how much I love and adore Nahri and Ali. I love their friendship a lot, but I'm still holding out a very strong hope that they'll end up together at the end of all this. There wasn't much romance in this, since they're still pretty firmly in kinda-sorta-friendship territory, but their relationship grew so much and I was so frickin' pleased with how early their reunion happened and that they spend most of the book around each other. It was so fun and stressful and painful to see their interactions with the thought of Muntadhir in the background, but I was also pleasantly surprised with how Nahri and Muntadhir's relationship grew as well! I think Chakraborty has such a firm grasp on her characters and I love how they're portrayed. Nahri's strength is admirable, Ali's beliefs are unshakable (even tho that boy has a SERIOUS DEATH WISH, LIKE KNOW WHEN TO SHUT UP, MY DUDE), and Muntadhir's last few chapters were LEGENDARY. THE LEGEND JUMPED OUT. I just love them all so much. I still don't like Dara much, but he's still a pretty interesting character and I am really looking forward to see where his story ends up!
So yeah, THANK GOD I gave this sequel the benefit of the doubt because I loved it SO MUCH. I'm already gearing up to preorder Empire of Gold so I can have it ASAP. YAY FOR DISCOVERING NEW SERIES TO LOVE!
