3.5 stars The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish follows an eccentric young woman who gets her dream job, only to find out that she can see ghosts and some m3.5 stars The Haunting of Hecate Cavendish follows an eccentric young woman who gets her dream job, only to find out that she can see ghosts and some malicious spirits are following her. I had some issues with this book. For example, I found that neither Hecate as a character nor the romance really developed until the final third of the book, and the pacing felt incredibly slow at times, but there were also aspects that I loved. I really enjoyed the premise of the books and some of the darker elements it introduced (both in terms of horror and tone). Although the beginning felt slow, the end really hooked me. Overall, my main issue with this book is that I just couldn't get my brain to latch onto it and care about it. While this would normally be a red flag for me, I believe that in this case I was just in a bit of a reading slump. Additionally, this book feels like it's meant for a slightly older demographic (older women who like cozy mysteries, not young adults who want fast paced romantic fantasies). So while I did find this story slow at times and didn't form a strong connection to it, I think that is all subjective, and overall, this is a pretty solid mystery with fantasy elements. Thank you to the publisher and Macmillan Audio for the eARCs in exchange for an honest review!...more
Andddd I have a new favourite author. I love when fantasy and horror intersect, and T. Kingfisher writes in the subgenere expertly. This book has incrAndddd I have a new favourite author. I love when fantasy and horror intersect, and T. Kingfisher writes in the subgenere expertly. This book has incredible characters different from the usual archetypes, beautifully written themes of love, family, obedience, and abuse, and some great moments of horror. I really loved this story and am eager to dive into some other works by the author. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!...more
In the past, I've read a couple low-stakes, cozy fantasy books and come to the conclusion that the genre isn't for me. However, The Spellshop drew me In the past, I've read a couple low-stakes, cozy fantasy books and come to the conclusion that the genre isn't for me. However, The Spellshop drew me in with its cover and promise of a talking spider plant. And overall, I'm really glad I picked it up! Yes, this book can be slow at times, a part of the genre that I don't love, but the plot is still interesting and I loved the world of this book. The world building and setting are really cute, but not overly complicated. And I really liked the main character and her plant companions. I do wish there were a few more scenes of romantic development, but other than that I have no complaints. Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!...more
While I didn't love Icon and Inferno quite as much as I did Stars and Smoke, I still had a really good time with this story. I love Marie Lu's writingWhile I didn't love Icon and Inferno quite as much as I did Stars and Smoke, I still had a really good time with this story. I love Marie Lu's writing style, and this series has a maturity that isn't seen in all of her earlier work. I did find the plot twists in this book a little more predictable than in the first, and the plot didn't grab me quite the same, but the pacing was still really solid and I loved the romance. And finally, the story wrapped up quite neatly, but if Marie Lu ever adds more onto this series, I will be reading it. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!...more
I hadn't looked into this author's controversies or reviews of her other books before picking up The Deer and the Dragon, and I wish I had, because ifI hadn't looked into this author's controversies or reviews of her other books before picking up The Deer and the Dragon, and I wish I had, because if I did, I never would have given this book a chance. I really wanted to like this book, but I knew almost immediately that the writing style was not going to work for me. I had hoped that the plot could redeem the book, but it just didn't.
The premise of this book is alright. Marlow has been friends/lovers with the prince of hell for years, but thought he was a figment of her imagination. Now, she knows the truth and is drawn into a celestial war. Unfortunately, not much of this book explores any of that lore or the war between different classes of gods and religions. Instead, we follow Marlow, one of the most insufferable protagonists I have ever met, in her day-to-day routine.
Let me introduce you to Marlow. She's incredibly hot, like physically perfect. She's rich, but still unfilled. She's a quippy feminist (but in a Buzzfeed "we paint with our period blood" type of woke millennial way). She's a sex worker, and the process of her becoming a sex worker is incredibly easy. Hey, did you guys know that sex work is really fun, well-paying, easy to get into, and safe? (please sense my sarcasm). The way this book depicts sex work is incredibly harmful, as it practically encourages girls to jump blindly into an incredibly dangerous industry. And most of all, Marlow is dumb as a rock. She gives gods who can bind her to do anything her full name, she breaks into a supposed serial killers house for fun, and oh yah, she is physically touching and having sex with a demon every night for YEARS, but doesn't believe he's real until like the 40% mark of the book. But don't worry. Despite all the faults, multiple men are in love with her. Her demon beau even calls her incredibly gifted and refers to her as smarter than him. You know what she did to wow him? She acted like a snotty rich person all day. The explanation we're given is that you have to be really good at reading people to pretend to be rich, therefore, Marlow is a genius.
So back to the plot. Marlow finds out her Prince of Hell is real (a lot of "w-w-w-what?" moments follow) and decides to save him because she loves him. Here's the thing: we never get to see this couple fall in love. They are declaring their love and having sex on page one. The excuse for this is that Marlow has been reincarnated many times and he has fallen in love with her in other lives. But like, could we not even see them fall in love in one of those lives? Or see some scenes of them doing anything other than having sex in this life? No? Alright, whatever. We just jump straight to the marketable declarations of love and smut, bypassing any romantic or emotional growth.
And as I mentioned early, aside from issues with the plot or characters, I really hated this writing style. It was so shallow, and at times felt very dumb. It felt like the author was trying to be edgy and sexy, but nothing about this book was clever. Every joke annoyed me, and every attempt at depth had me rolling my eyes. And my last point - I just finished this book and yet I have no idea why it's titled The Deer and the Dragon. I hate to be so negative with ARC reviews, but this book truly didn't have any solid features I could latch onto for some positivity.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review!...more
07/19/2024: I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Rebel Witch for months, and now that I've finally read it, I'm so sad it's over. While this seq07/19/2024: I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Rebel Witch for months, and now that I've finally read it, I'm so sad it's over. While this sequel wasn't 100% what I was hoping for, I loved it all the same. I'm absolutely enamoured by Kristen Ciccarelli's written voice. This book has such stunning quotes and themes, and I earnestly love both Rune and Gideon. That being said, this duology is downright stressful at times. Everything is very intentionally tense. All the secrets and misunderstandings are spun into a complex web that I cannot help but admire. And even though I was constantly rooting for Rune and Gideon to drop the facades and talk to each other, I also completely understood why they both thought and acted as they did. That being said, as this is a duology and not a trilogy, I thought their romantic conflict would resolve a bit sooner than it did. On that note, I found with this book that while the main fantasy plot was always progressing in a smooth arc, Rune and Gideon's relationship was always flip-flopping. Any time I thought they were settling and accepting truths, there was another misunderstanding. And again, every misunderstanding made sense in the setting of this world, but sometimes I just wanted a bit longer of a moment of levity. That being said, I really did enjoy this book and the last 10% was some expert-level writing. Gideon and Rune's emotional development towards the end of this story was touching. My only real complaint with this novel is that as the two of them (view spoiler)[ worked to create a new peaceful world, they seemed to equate the actions of a few lone witches like Cressida to the collect actions of the witch hunting society they'd been living in. So while I do think all the political conflict between Rune and Gideon was very cleverly crafted, I didn't like that at its resolution, this book implied that all bad actions by opposing parties cancel each other out. But still, I really enjoyed this conclusion to the series and loved seeing Rune and Gideon get their happy ending. (hide spoiler)] I'm really going to miss this world! If Kristen Cicarelli ever writes a spin off novel or epilogue novella, I will be the first in line to read it! Thank you to the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
07/18/2024: i actually have no idea how i managed to get my hands on an arc of this so far out from it’s release date ...more
I love being gay. We have such good books. I absolutely adored Andie Burke's debut novel, and because of that, I went into this book with very high expI love being gay. We have such good books. I absolutely adored Andie Burke's debut novel, and because of that, I went into this book with very high expectations. I also immediately loved the premise of this story, so those expectations got raised even higher. I've beyond happy to say that not only were my expectations met, but they were exceeded. Andie Burke's writing style is so uniquely perfect for the romance genre. She creates such well-rounded and loveable characters, the romance she writes is so earnest and touching, and she manages to include so much genuine humour in her stories. But most of all, she writes in her themes so well. This book, although incredibly fun, also contains a lot of conflict. Some of it is the contrived type of conflict that any story needs to create tension, such as the roof falling in, the meddling neighbour, and the Jake plot. However, there were also a lot of deeper conflicts in this book as well, and while it sometimes became a lot to keep track of, I understood why they were all included. This book explores so many complex, but realistic themes, such as the intersections of queer identity, family values, grief, and mental health. Yes, all these themes explored simultaneously can get messy, but these are also all subjects that people have to deal with in real life and don't always have the luxury of tackling one by one. Overall, I was impressed by how expertly and considerately Andie Burke explored all these themes through Dylan and Derek. While there were some heartbreaking moments, this book also has so many moments of comedy, levity, and romance. I can't recommend it enough! Thank you to the publisher and Macmillan Audio for the ARCs in exchange for an honest review!...more
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