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Review #134
Title- King of Battle and Blood Author- Scarlett St. Clair Series- Adrian X Isolde Rating- 4.2/5 Genre- dark fantasy romance/borderline erotica POV- first person Trope- enemies to lovers, vampire Steam level- 5/5 spice Cover- eye catching, but seemed like a duplicate...
Review #133
Title- TimeKeeper Author- Tara Sim Series- The sequel is “Chainbreaker,” and the third is “Firestarter.” Rating- 4.5/5 Genre- Historical fiction mixed with whimsical fantasy POV- third person, past tense, mostly in Danny’s POV but there were a few random, short...
Review #132
Title- The Girl Who Reads on the Metro Author- Christine Feret-Fleury This is the first novel I’d read translated from French. Series- standalone Rating- 3.8/5 Genre- contemporary women’s fiction POV- third person Trope- whimsical Steam level- 0/5 spice Cover-...
Review #131
Title- Spellmaker Author- Charlie N. Holmberg Series- Spellbreaker is the first in this duology Rating- 4.1/5 Genre- historical fiction mixed with whimsical fantasy POV- third person, past tense. The point of view switches to Bacchus Kelsey mid chapter at scene breaks...
Review #130
Title- Skin of the Sea Author- Natasha Brown Series- Possible sequel coming out later in 2022, unsure of name Rating- 4.3/5 Genre- YA fantasy POV- first person, present tense Trope- mermaid Comps- mix of “Fable,” “A Nature of Witches” and “The Keeper of Night.” Steam...
DNF List #4
These are some of the novels I did not finish over the last month. See below for the different reasons why. And check out my blog for 130+ reviews on finished novels. The Idea of You by Robinee Lee I stopped at page 43. It had an intriguing premise, but I felt...
Review #129
Title- Love and Gelato Author- Jenna Evans Welch Series- the sequel is called Love and Luck and the third is Love and Olives Rating- 4.0/5.0 Genre- YA contemporary romance POV- first person, past tense Trope- coming of age, family drama Steam level- 0/5 (clean) Cover-...
Review #128
Title- Magnolia Palace January 2022 Book of the Month Selection Author- Fiona Davis Rating- 4.1/5 Genre- historical fiction (with duo time period) POV- There were two different time periods. 1919 and 1966. For those who are super great at math like me, that’s 47 years...
Review #127
I did not finish this book, made it to page 300/425. Usually when I DNF, I don't write a review but just add it to my DNF list, however I made it through enough of this one, that I feel it is appropriate to comment. This was a big disappointment for me because of how...
Review #126
Title- An Ember in the Ashes Author- Sabaa Tahir Series- the second is “A Torch Against the Night,” the third is “A Reaper at the Gates,” the fourth is “A Sky Beyond the Storm.” Rating- 4.8/5 Genre- YA fantasy, though the violence feels like new adult POV- two...
Review #125
Title- It Ends With Us Author- Colleen Hoover Rating- 3.9/5 Series- standalone contemporary POV- first person, present tense Trope- trauma, abuse Steam level- 2/5 sex scenes. See trigger warnings Cover- a bit mysterious, inconspicuous for genre Plot/Blurb- Lily hasn’t...
Review #124
First review of 2022!!!!! Title- The Hating Game Author- Sally Thorne Series- standalone- turned into a movie Rating- 5/5 Genre- contemporary romance POV- first person, present tense, one POV Trope- office romance, happily ever after Steam level- 2/5 spice Cover-...
2021 Wrap-up
This is a LOOSE ranking of every book I finished in 2021. Some have been accidentally flip-flopped, but overall, the highest rating novels are at the top. I think there’s about a dozen missing or forgotten about so check my reviews page under Cassie Swindon’s blog to...
December Top 10
10. The Violent Delights 9. Much Ado About You 8. A History of Wild Places 7. A Vow so Bold and Deadly 6. Ugly Love 5. Sisters of the Stars 4. A Heart so Fierce and Broken 3. Daughter of the Deep 2. The Book of Lost Names 1. A Curse so Dark and Lonely See individual...
Review #123
Title- Our Violent Ends Author- Chloe Gong Series- this is the sequel to Our Violent Delights Rating- 4/5 Genre- YA Dark fantasy/historical fiction crossover POV- Multiple, all over the place, chaotic, both present and past tense, head hopping, many POV within...