Ria

This was brutal, honest, and based on historical facts so it hurt even worse in reading. The author did a damn good job, drawing the reader in. TW for starvation, graphic violence, language and death.
5 ⭐ RTC.

Fuck this book and fuck transphobes. If I could give this negative a billion stars, I would. And here I thought that the books praising Donald Trump was bad, this is outright trash.

Okay, the writing is so good and I was drawn in. However I was angry the entire time that a sixteen year old girl is married to a forty year old widower. Her parents pawned her off and she obeyed. Cue sexual assault and worse. I know this is normal for the time period but this shouldn't be fucking normal at all. 3.5 ⭐

This was a slow burn but turned into an adventure filled portal fantasy for a middle grade novel that I know many will love. It's fun, with plenty of characters to get attached to, and an interesting idea of a portal fantasy. It starts off with a missing boy, but slowly builds from there. There's lots of adventures, danger, and even a war going on.

I read this in one sitting and spent a few days pondering on this one as it was that sunk into my head. It was very good writing, and a believable magic system, yet it also definitely felt out of my age range. I've read a lot of portal fantasies over the years, and I think I'd have loved this more if I was the right age group.

Olivia Cole and her batch of friends are searching for her brother, Tyler, who went missing a couple years ago in the book. There's plenty of mystery and magic surrounding this book, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Highly recommend this for all portal fantasy enthusiasts!

Rated: 4 ⭐!

(Also posted on my blog!)

Dnf. Not for me. 2 ⭐

This was a satisfying trilogy. Each book has its own unique set of characters, all striving to find real love and that perfect someone. 5 ⭐

It starts with a quote by Dana Scully, and I feel I'm going to love this, but oof, the triggers in the book. Y'all are going to need tissues. I had to stop at the brutal death of a cat.

TW: sexual assault, rape, child abuse, language, graphic scenes, death of a beloved cat

This was fun, adventurous and with a bit of suspense and mystery tossed in. Also has the trope of lady with knife against her lover, and a missing brother, murder, revenge all the good stuff. It dragged a bit towards the end and had a light cliffhanger. Otherwise this was a good romantic suspense, marriage of convenience novel. 4 ⭐

Dnf'd. Couldn't stand most of the characters. 2 ⭐

You either really loved this or you were bored to tears. Sadly, I'm the second option. I managed about 40% and just couldn't stand the Major. Clara was meh. Maybe it's just me. 1 ⭐

I'm not religious and this was christian fiction. Didn't realize. I thought it was straight up historical fiction. My mistake. The writing is very good, but I just wasn't impressed with all the religious chatter. 2 ⭐

This was very good! Read in one day sort of good! RTC

This was super slow, and I didn't really connect with the characters. Were I much younger, I might have liked this fantasy historical better, but this one dragged out. The writing was good, I was just bored. I did like Thea, and eventually grew to liking Jehan and Alf. Alun was intriguing. But overall, I just wasn't interested in the whole of it. 3 ⭐.

God I used to love Twilight as a teenage girl. I must have been an absolute idiot back then. Then again, this is one of the first vampire books I ever read and it felt so new and fresh. Ha! Reading it now, I lost track of the amount of eye rolls that I did. Though I'll keep the books because it's a family book set, not just mine, I'm not going to bother rereading the entire series. I'm scared to even go near them! I'll confess, the memories of this as a teenager will always have a soft spot for me, but otherwise? These books are a dumpster fire. I'm out. 1 ⭐.

I gave it my best shot, and I couldn't stand it. I did like the writing style but the characters and the plot were absolutely not for me. I read about 100 pages before I dnf'd. 2.5 ⭐ rounded up.

I'll start off this review by saying that I know next to nothing about Strongbow or Irish history. It's still a relatively new field of historical fiction for me to learn about. I was intrigued enough by both the beautiful cover and the storyline to get into this book. And while it started off strong, it slowly began to make my interest wane towards the halfway point. I'm glad I read it; however, I think I need to read and research more about these characters to give a fully honest opinion about this version of the story. From my point of view, it was good writing, believable characters, and a fairly quick read, aside from the middle, which slowed me down with the political intrigue. 

I mainly chose this for the Irish historical readathon going on in March, and I wasn't disappointed. This was a good read, and I have a new bit of history to look into. This was book one of, I believe, a trilogy. I'm definitely going to be continuing on with the trilogy, and I have added this author to my ‘to-watch' list for when the next books come out. 

I wish that I could write more without giving away spoilers, but as this was less than three hundred pages and I honestly don't know much about this subject, all I can say is that this was entertaining.

I suggest that fans of historical fiction, Irish literature, and history based on true events; you would enjoy this one. 

(Also posted on my blog and Bookmory).

Tried it, not for me. 2 ⭐

A sad, melancholy book of magical realism, grief, and sisterhood. Made me think vaguely of a monster calls by Patrick Ness. That same sort of grief but wildly different plot. This was captivating from beginning to end. 5 ⭐!

Dnf'd, regretfully. The story had promise but the writing was just not working for me. It felt like one long rambling sentence. I wish I'd liked it more, but I just couldn't get into the writing style. 2.5 ⭐

Delightful, creepy, and full of fungi. 5 ⭐!

This was delightful! So glad I picked this at random on KU. 5 ⭐!

Good, but sad at parts, and alternates between four characters. Sally was easily my favorite character of the four. This had been on my radar for ages, I'm so glad I finally got to it. I'm going to hopefully get a physical copy at some point to add it to my collection. 4.5 ⭐ rounded up!

I didn't love this as much as everyone else, far too depressing, but it was beautiful writing and I cannot deny how this got such hype. I'm sad that the author is gone, along with her family. Still, great writing and I'm glad I finally got around to reading this one. 3.5 ⭐

I managed about half before giving up. While I loved the Alaskan setting, I did not connect with any of the characters. The writing was good but I just don't think I was in a thriller mood. 3 ⭐

Not for me. 3 ⭐.