Katherine
Unfortunately 'Potent' by Tyler Wittkofsky & Kelsey Anne Lovelady fell flat and was not for me.
There was a lack of world building and character development, I didn’t feel like they were their own unique characters, rather more forgettable than memorable. I was hopeful for the Oberon and Titania retelling, but it seemed like this was more of a ‘what happened next’ type of story rather than a retelling.
The dialogue was not my favorite, it seemed almost choppy/jumpy? Moods changed, people cursed out of nowhere, and there was not a good flow to the dialogue.
Several things I think really caused me to not enjoy the read:
- While I LOVE LGBTQ+ representation, and totally love using non-standard pronouns, I felt like it was moreso added in to be added in, instead of added in a way that felt purposeful and entwined with the character. Puck didn’t have any flavor if that makes sense? I feel like it would have been better if in general for all characters, there was more character development/description/getting to know the character.
- The way Orberon’s mental health issues were portrayed. I truly love books that portray mental health struggles and help expose society to these issues, but this one personally wasn’t for me. Maybe others aligned with this type of portrayal, but it missed the mark in my opinion.
- The modern world. This is a personal thing, but I personally did not like the makeup influencer daughter angle, the references to modern actors/actresses, etc. made it seem like name dropping almost?
- The final thing I will mention is the several negative references to body size. I love representation of all body types, and would love to see more characters with larger bodies but the several mentions of “they are skinny [curse word] and need to put you down because they are threatened” was extremely cringey. If we are going to write about different body types and their struggles, I think personally I receive that better when it isn’t focused on being mean and catty. Not my vibe at all.
Overall, I feel like it had potential, but either due to the length or the writing style, it fell flat with world building, investing the readers in the characters, and portraying the semi-political issues the author was trying to portray.
**this book was gifted in exchange for an honest review**
Unfortunately 'Potent' by Tyler Wittkofsky & Kelsey Anne Lovelady fell flat and was not for me.
There was a lack of world building and character development, I didn’t feel like they were their own unique characters, rather more forgettable than memorable. I was hopeful for the Oberon and Titania retelling, but it seemed like this was more of a ‘what happened next’ type of story rather than a retelling.
The dialogue was not my favorite, it seemed almost choppy/jumpy? Moods changed, people cursed out of nowhere, and there was not a good flow to the dialogue.
Several things I think really caused me to not enjoy the read:
- While I LOVE LGBTQ+ representation, and totally love using non-standard pronouns, I felt like it was moreso added in to be added in, instead of added in a way that felt purposeful and entwined with the character. Puck didn’t have any flavor if that makes sense? I feel like it would have been better if in general for all characters, there was more character development/description/getting to know the character.
- The way Orberon’s mental health issues were portrayed. I truly love books that portray mental health struggles and help expose society to these issues, but this one personally wasn’t for me. Maybe others aligned with this type of portrayal, but it missed the mark in my opinion.
- The modern world. This is a personal thing, but I personally did not like the makeup influencer daughter angle, the references to modern actors/actresses, etc. made it seem like name dropping almost?
- The final thing I will mention is the several negative references to body size. I love representation of all body types, and would love to see more characters with larger bodies but the several mentions of “they are skinny [curse word] and need to put you down because they are threatened” was extremely cringey. If we are going to write about different body types and their struggles, I think personally I receive that better when it isn’t focused on being mean and catty. Not my vibe at all.
Overall, I feel like it had potential, but either due to the length or the writing style, it fell flat with world building, investing the readers in the characters, and portraying the semi-political issues the author was trying to portray.
**this book was gifted in exchange for an honest review**
In the Roses of Pieria by Anna Burke was a delightful academically tilted double FF romance story. The plot twists and turns in such a brilliant way that kept me guessing all through the last page, where I remained shocked and intrigued by the end and wishing for the sequel immediately.
I immensely enjoyed the double FF romance, one across history; the other forming in the present as they translate this seemingly timeless undying love. I also loved that the FMC was in her 30's - it is nice to read about a character over the age of 25!
I loved this book! It had fantasy, romance, darkness, LGBTQIAP+ themes, academia, and history all wrapped up into a riveting story about an archivist who gains access to the private historic collection of her dreams.
The story follows Clara Eden, a 30 something archivist specializing in the history of the ancient city state of Nektropolis, who accepts a mysterious dream job to work on a gorgeous estate translating and digitizing Agatha Montague's private collection of historic documents and relics. A dream come true, Clara is immersed in pieces of history never before seen by her archivist counterparts while working alongside Fidah Halloran, Agatha’s assistant. Fidah and Clara’s budding romance forms as they work to translate what seems to be a collection of ancient love letters.The catch? She can't share a single word about it anywhere, ever.
Things are not quite as they seem, and life for Clara quickly takes several surprising turns, leading to a world she never thought existed.
I really enjoyed the uniqueness to how Anna created the workings of the fantasy world. A unique perspective on fae, it was unlike anything on fae I had read before. Fungal Fairies? Heck yes!
I'm so glad Anna included the translators notes at the end of the book, I enjoyed reading through those and referring back to the letters throughout the book to gain more understanding on what was going through Clara's head. It added another level of academia, and I truly appreciated it.
Overall, this was a 5/5 read for me. I would recommend In the Roses of Pieria to anyone who enjoys academic, romantic, and sometimes dark fantasy.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review*
In the Roses of Pieria by Anna Burke was a delightful academically tilted double FF romance story. The plot twists and turns in such a brilliant way that kept me guessing all through the last page, where I remained shocked and intrigued by the end and wishing for the sequel immediately.
I immensely enjoyed the double FF romance, one across history; the other forming in the present as they translate this seemingly timeless undying love. I also loved that the FMC was in her 30's - it is nice to read about a character over the age of 25!
I loved this book! It had fantasy, romance, darkness, LGBTQIAP+ themes, academia, and history all wrapped up into a riveting story about an archivist who gains access to the private historic collection of her dreams.
The story follows Clara Eden, a 30 something archivist specializing in the history of the ancient city state of Nektropolis, who accepts a mysterious dream job to work on a gorgeous estate translating and digitizing Agatha Montague's private collection of historic documents and relics. A dream come true, Clara is immersed in pieces of history never before seen by her archivist counterparts while working alongside Fidah Halloran, Agatha’s assistant. Fidah and Clara’s budding romance forms as they work to translate what seems to be a collection of ancient love letters.The catch? She can't share a single word about it anywhere, ever.
Things are not quite as they seem, and life for Clara quickly takes several surprising turns, leading to a world she never thought existed.
I really enjoyed the uniqueness to how Anna created the workings of the fantasy world. A unique perspective on fae, it was unlike anything on fae I had read before. Fungal Fairies? Heck yes!
I'm so glad Anna included the translators notes at the end of the book, I enjoyed reading through those and referring back to the letters throughout the book to gain more understanding on what was going through Clara's head. It added another level of academia, and I truly appreciated it.
Overall, this was a 5/5 read for me. I would recommend In the Roses of Pieria to anyone who enjoys academic, romantic, and sometimes dark fantasy.
*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review*
ACOTAR follows Feyre, a young woman who cares for her family until she kills a wolf (fae) and is captured by a beast who turns out to be an incredibly handsome but moody/grumpy fae named Tamlin. As she goes through her new life in the Spring Court, she begins to fall for Tamlin, while also realizing things around Spring Court are a bit off - something isn't right. Romance blossoms, problems grow, and she must figure out both what she can do to help and what she is truly feeling for Tamlin.
This was my first dip into fantasy-romance books and it ended with me diving full force into the deep end. I could not put it down, it was fantastic!
I really enjoyed the strong, stubborn, feisty FMC Feyre, she was great! I loved going along with her through her journey. Sarah J. Maas did a great job with world building and descriptions of everything, I felt like I was in the spring court and could visualize it perfectly, as if I was part of the book itself. Tension grew and I was sucked into the story, dying to know what happened next!
Reading ACOTAR opened me up to a whole world of books I never considered and I am so glad I gave it a chance.
If you like world building, fae, heated romance, strong FMC, and general fantasy, this is a must-read!
ACOTAR follows Feyre, a young woman who cares for her family until she kills a wolf (fae) and is captured by a beast who turns out to be an incredibly handsome but moody/grumpy fae named Tamlin. As she goes through her new life in the Spring Court, she begins to fall for Tamlin, while also realizing things around Spring Court are a bit off - something isn't right. Romance blossoms, problems grow, and she must figure out both what she can do to help and what she is truly feeling for Tamlin.
This was my first dip into fantasy-romance books and it ended with me diving full force into the deep end. I could not put it down, it was fantastic!
I really enjoyed the strong, stubborn, feisty FMC Feyre, she was great! I loved going along with her through her journey. Sarah J. Maas did a great job with world building and descriptions of everything, I felt like I was in the spring court and could visualize it perfectly, as if I was part of the book itself. Tension grew and I was sucked into the story, dying to know what happened next!
Reading ACOTAR opened me up to a whole world of books I never considered and I am so glad I gave it a chance.
If you like world building, fae, heated romance, strong FMC, and general fantasy, this is a must-read!
If you enjoy Greek mythology you will enjoy Circe!
Circe feels like an intricately written poem and character study, and it truly feels like you are reading from the perspective of a goddess versus a mortal. The way she thinks about things, how she feels and endures; it isn’t how a mortal would think and feel but rather those of being that’s more.
The writing was truly poetic and while some parts were a little slow for me, I appreciated them by the end. From a character-study perspective, the loneliness during her time alone on the island added immensely to how we as the reader see her character as a whole.
Loved the weaving together of many Greek stories and characters into one that is totally different while also keeping the integrity of each character alive.
This was a bit of a different read for me but was immensely enjoyable. Miller’s writing has that classic feel mixed with something new to intrigue the reader and keep us wondering how the story will pan out.
If you enjoy Greek mythology you will enjoy Circe!
Circe feels like an intricately written poem and character study, and it truly feels like you are reading from the perspective of a goddess versus a mortal. The way she thinks about things, how she feels and endures; it isn’t how a mortal would think and feel but rather those of being that’s more.
The writing was truly poetic and while some parts were a little slow for me, I appreciated them by the end. From a character-study perspective, the loneliness during her time alone on the island added immensely to how we as the reader see her character as a whole.
Loved the weaving together of many Greek stories and characters into one that is totally different while also keeping the integrity of each character alive.
This was a bit of a different read for me but was immensely enjoyable. Miller’s writing has that classic feel mixed with something new to intrigue the reader and keep us wondering how the story will pan out.
While the writing is still jarring/ choppy in places (especially the spicy scenes), the plot line was really interesting.
With the introduction of chakoa and the rising feelings between clarice and Julius, things are getting interesting.
The whole way the scenes with Valentina having magnar and Eric under her spell were so f’d up but written in a really interesting way! I was horrified but dying to know what happened next.
i cannot deal with the fact that miles and warren died 😭😭 I loved them so much
While the writing is still jarring/ choppy in places (especially the spicy scenes), the plot line was really interesting.
With the introduction of chakoa and the rising feelings between clarice and Julius, things are getting interesting.
The whole way the scenes with Valentina having magnar and Eric under her spell were so f’d up but written in a really interesting way! I was horrified but dying to know what happened next.
i cannot deal with the fact that miles and warren died 😭😭 I loved them so much
Giving the last book in this series a 3/5. Again, it was good but not great. There was a lot that happened at the end that I feel like was wrapped up very quickly. I didn't mind that Montana and Callie had to die because it was really impactful, but then Eric and Magnar died to find them in the afterlife, and THEN they all came back to life? It just wasn't my favorite. Either have a happy ending or have a bittersweet ending, you can't really do both.
Overall I enjoyed the series, but wish the writing was less choppy, and that there was more depth to the relationships. Going from hating each other to loving each other quickly, to feeling like you have to die because they don't exist was a little quick when you think about how it happened in a span of a couple months.
Giving the last book in this series a 3/5. Again, it was good but not great. There was a lot that happened at the end that I feel like was wrapped up very quickly. I didn't mind that Montana and Callie had to die because it was really impactful, but then Eric and Magnar died to find them in the afterlife, and THEN they all came back to life? It just wasn't my favorite. Either have a happy ending or have a bittersweet ending, you can't really do both.
Overall I enjoyed the series, but wish the writing was less choppy, and that there was more depth to the relationships. Going from hating each other to loving each other quickly, to feeling like you have to die because they don't exist was a little quick when you think about how it happened in a span of a couple months.
While the writing is still jarring/ choppy in places (especially the spicy scenes), the plot line was really interesting.
With the introduction of chakoa and the rising feelings between clarice and Julius, things are getting interesting.
The whole way the scenes with Valentina having magnar and Eric under her spell were so f’d up but written in a really interesting way! I was horrified but dying to know what happened next.
i cannot deal with the fact that miles and warren died 😭😭 I loved them so much
While the writing is still jarring/ choppy in places (especially the spicy scenes), the plot line was really interesting.
With the introduction of chakoa and the rising feelings between clarice and Julius, things are getting interesting.
The whole way the scenes with Valentina having magnar and Eric under her spell were so f’d up but written in a really interesting way! I was horrified but dying to know what happened next.
i cannot deal with the fact that miles and warren died 😭😭 I loved them so much
