baexlee's reviews
72 reviews

So I don't want to be unfair to this book or it's author - I knew what I was getting into when I began Punk 57. This book isn't looking to be the next literary classic or motivate it's audience to create their next masterworks. It's a dark and mysterious romance that isn't afraid the pull some more aggressive punches, and it comes from a romance category often known as 'p*rn without a plot'. However, the reason that I cannot find myself give this book a higher rating is because it was just so uncomfortable and toxic. I know toxic tropes can be really common in novels like this, and I probably am the fool for picking up a book that includes the tension in the description and expecting something different from the novel that I find. But I was hoping that it would at least be clever about it's toxicity. 

I tend to steer clear of the books for many reasons, mainly because I just don't personally love the tropes that are common throughout them, but I often find that the plot is lacking as well and I'm not very forgiving of 'romance without a plot' if the romance isn't very soft or romantic, or really even all that common. This book was more, bullying without a plot and then finally some fluff at the very end when the timeline for that fluff makes no sense. The epilogue describes a time skip that reasonably could occur within a span of 10-15 years but expects the readers to believe that everything happened in the span of five years while both characters were also pursuing college degrees. Of the mysteries and secrets throughout the story I found myself just not caring when it came time for the final reveal because there was no effort put into developing the motivation behind the characters actions, so each "big reveal" falls utterly flat on the page. The main characters themselves are hard to root for and in the end I was ultimately left feeling like I was probably better off having stopped somewhere halfway through. 

Lore is an inventive and thrilling modernization of Greek mythos that overall left me satisfied with its conclusions. Following the titular character, Lore, as she lives her life in New York City, debating her next move as time moves her closer and closer to the next Agon. An ancient and cruel punishment designed by Zeus for nine gods that betrayed him long ago, and an opportunity for the hero bloodlines, people like Lore, if they survived long enough to seize the opportunity that is. This is an aspect of the novel that really shines throughout, the Greek mythos is complex, but not expected or implied, and the information is revealed in a way that it carefully balances those reader expectations and subverts them without becoming too convoluted or suspending willing disbelief. 

As much as the Agon is driving the events of this novel, Lore does not remain stagnant. Her emotions and the rawness of her feelings are ripe on the page, which is another strength Bracken displays throughout. Despite the briefness of certain moments (I do prefer a bit more romance personally), throughout the novel Bracken shows her mastery of character emotion as she played with my heartstrings. Lore's history and her family background, as well as the connection between her "past" and her "present" creates really intense emotions for her as she must finally face emotions she has not dealt with for the past seven years, Bracken not only handles those emotions but does a great job at putting Lore into the right mindset for where she might have been at the time of the events occurring. 

My biggest problem with this novel was the age of the characters. From the very beginning of the book it was implied that Lore was maybe young adult, early twenties at youngest, mid-twenties at most. I'm not marking this as a spoiler because it's in the first chapter but the first chapter establishes Lore in an underground fighting ring, she then eventually goes back to her brownstone that she has inherited with no questions asked. I mention this because later in the novel there is a flashback seven years that establishes Lore to be ten years old in the flashback. There is no other definitive age establishment that i could find within the text so this means that during the Agon and the events of the book, Lore and the majority of our main characters are meant to be seventeen years old. Not only do a lot of Lore's actions now feel a bit more mature than they should, but a great deal of the flashback's also feel greatly aged up as well. Perhaps this was an intentional character choice to show the effects of this type of life and the way that Lore was raised, but it pulled me out of the story on more than one occasion and ultimately brought the star rating down because of it. 

The Traitor Queen is a satisfying follow up installment in the Bridge Kingdom series and Danielle Jensen continues to round out Lara and Aren's complex romantic entanglement. As in The Bridge Kingdom Jensen does a great job utilizing foreshadowing throughout the book, leaving hints of what is to come or the intentions or motivations of the characters. The balance of narrative perspective varies a bit more in this one that in the first, but it is fitting to the story given the circumstances that Lara and Aren initially find themselves in, and the fact that less is hidden about the kingdom of Ithicana as a whole in this novel. The pacing has also picked up, and this is likely due to the stakes being higher, Lara and Aren always had a threat to their lives hanging over their heads, but the threat is much more immediate throughout these pages and it makes for a page turner. 

The guilt of both Lara and Aren is portrayed well throughout, delving into the complexities and the volatility of their emotions as they work to free Ithicana and deal with their consequences of their choices, their relationship and the lingering feelings that they may have for each other. I think that Jensen explores Aren's guilt especially well through the expanding of his perspective. Not only is he a king who's kingdom has suffered because of his choices, but he cannot seem to help himself from continuing to make those damning choices that made his people suffer those losses in the first place. All of this is done however, without over complicating (or perhaps bloating is a better word) the narration. 

The primary reason that I cannot rate this 5 stars like I did the initial installment is the ending. Perhaps it just felt too rushed when it was all said it done, and I can tell that while Lara and Aren's story has predominately come to a close, Keris and Zarrah's story will be taking off in the third book and the political entanglements have certainly not come to a close, especially not after it was revealed that

Keris is Lara's full brother rather than half brother, and now he sit's on one throne and she sits on another

. So we'll see Lara and Aren again I'm sure I just wanted something a little more for the final chapter between the two of them, and I guess I'll leave it at that, we'll see what happens in the third book. 

I picked this up on a whim because of a recommendation I saw on tiktok, and I won't lie, I initially was a bit skeptical, but wow did Danielle Jensen absolutely steal my heart with The Bridge Kingdom. I think this is what I have been missing in my search for adult fantasy. Jensen doesn't pull any punches and from the very first chapter I was hooked.

Now I thought about this a lot and it almost doesn't feel fair, but I cannot help but to compare this to my recent rereads of a few other notable adult fantasy novels. I decided I will mention it though because the reviews and recommendations everywhere compare this work to those series and frankly this is a disservice to Danielle Jensen and The Bridge Kingdom. Both of those series left me frustrated at their conclusion (or current end point) because there are so many loose ends, randomly thrown in tidbits of information that feel important when you are reading them and then are just tossed aside, or inconsistently motivated characters but The Bridge Kingdom does not under any circumstances suffer from this same failure. Jensen masterfully foreshadows and builds a complex and unique fantasy world that acknowledges the intelligence of both the characters and the reader themselves. Lara and Aren do not feel any less than the capable, competent and deadly rulers that they are written to be and the politics and dealings of Ithicana are nuanced and realistic.

In a time when I am enjoying reading, but still struggling to find those really stunning reads that stick long after I close the page, this was a welcome reprieve that left me laughing out loud, cheering and gasping at Lara's journey and excitedly relaying the plot back to my husband (who was happy to listen even though he didn't really know what I was talking about). If you are looking for a happy ending, or even hope for one in the second novel, The Bridge Kingdom will not deliver on that front. But if you are seeking something that brings you into it's world, seduces you with it's brilliantly balanced characters and complexities, then I cannot recommend this book more.  

We Hunt the Flame is spell binding and magical and despite my initial challenges to adjust to Faizal's unique writing style I really enjoyed Zafira's journey. The story is told through Zafira and Nasir's third person limited point of view which allows Faizal to introduce the larger world and Nasir's complex character despite Zafira's rather limited experience beyond her own village and the Arz. Some of the things that I struggled with were related to my own preference with writing style, I just found that the shorter chapters and short sentences made it hard to motivate myself to read when I was picking up and putting it down constantly. If you don't like long winded writing then you will love this book.

Despite my qualms with the style, the overall story is beautifully told and the pacing builds Zafira into a stunning and compassionate heroine that is complex and multifaceted. This is not to say that Nasir falls flat in comparison to her in any way either, as their tale and the adventure the ultimately brings them together takes care to equally develop and pay attention to each of them as it builds. The thing that holds me back from rating this anything higher than four stars is that there were many times where I felt battles, conflicts or other challenges were resolved with a bit too little detail for my taste, some of them felt a bit too non-descript or fade-to-black so to speak. Now my opinion could very well be colored by the fact the last book I read was extremely over detailed in it's battle scene's, so take that with a grain of salt, but I believe my rating to be fair. 

I had really high hopes for this book. When I first got it delivered I actually waited until I finished my re-read of the first two books in the series before I started because I enjoyed those so much. While overall I enjoyed reading this and it was a continuation of the story, it felt like a downgrade from what I had been enjoying previously. Perhaps it was the mindset that I was going into it with, but overall the plot feels convoluted and confusing and some of the character choices are difficult to reconcile with the idea of them I had from previous installments

like Casteel deciding to Ascend Poppy, risks be damned, when she was killed being freed from the Unseen, and he despite his hatred for the Ascended he would kill anyone who tried to kill her even if she was no longer the same? It felt so out of character and it is explained away with Heartmates which is also weakly explained and followed through with. The impact just isn't there.

 

Nothing feels planned out at all, and the twists feel like they were decided as they were happening and it really just leaves me wanting more. There are some glaring editing errors that just made me feel like the entire thing was rushed (if you want an example of what I'm talking about look at the contradiction that is written one sentence after something is stated on page 639) This installment honestly feels almost wholly separate from the other installments in the series in some ways. It does manage to shine in other regards though. 

The main reason that I don't give this a rating lower than a 2 is that the romance is still steamy and Poppy and Casteel still manage to steal my breath away, which is always a redeeming factor, and in addition to that the relationship between Poppy and the wolven is interesting and developed. There was enough that reminded me of the previous installments, well planted call backs and genuinely laugh out loud heart warming moments that I have hope the story can be redeemed in later installments, but as it currently stands I'm nervous to see where Poppy's Crown will take her. 

The Shadow Wand is an entirely different entry into the Black Witch Chronicles than either of the previous installments. Where the two previous novels only gave Elloren's perspective The Shadow Wand does not shy away for jumping through the perspectives of many different characters, including some new introductions. The world that Laurie Forest has crafted is complex, and in previous installments Elloren's viewpoint alone was enough to navigate that narrative as she began to really experience the world on her own for the first time and be exposed to people beyond her protected bubble. I appreciated that Forest recognized the limitations of Elloren's perspective in this particular installment and provided us more insight into characters like Tierney and Wynter.

This series is not afraid to shy away from it's characters dealing with difficult subject matter, and The Shadow Wand is no exception to that. Things do not simply happen to these characters, they are not passively accepting the events of their narrative, rather they are critically thinking about the events of their story and emotionally unpacking them on the page, which can only help serve to deepen our connection to a character as readers.

Fair warning to anyone with an aversion to love triangles - this series is likely not for you. Since this is the third installment we are well into the romantic plotlines, but Forest does not make any predictable choices and the only thing that I can be certain of is that I cannot be certain of anything when it comes to Elloren, Yvan and Lukas. As far as my personal opinions, i thought I had made my mind up, and then I had a lot of opinions changed by the events of this novel, only the be left feeling confused, frustrated and grief stricken by the end. 

Finale ends the Caraval series in a way that is satisfying, engaging and unpredictable. Deviating from the structure of the previous novels Finale is not set inside one of Legend's famous Caraval games, but rather in the city of Valenda in the aftermath of the events of Legendary. Once again we get a shift in the narrative structure, but now the chapters switch between Scarlett and Donatella, with no particular pattern that can be discerned. It's clear as the story progresses why this narrative structure was chosen, but after the whirlwind romance of Legendary I was a bit disappointed to go back to Scarlett's perspective. Ultimately my opinion changes as Scarlett's character certainly takes on a more active role in the events of this novel. 

Throughout the series it was apparent that Garber paid close attention to her plot lines and does not leave a clue without the intent to tie that piece of the story up neatly at some point later on. She left enough clues that the mystery was solvable, but it wasn't so obvious that you are not surprised by the reveals and twists and turns of the plot. Additionally, something that really shines throughout the entire series is the romantic relationships between all the characters. I personally don't love a romantic love triangle. I prefer a cut and dry relationship with it's own challenges along the way that don't necessarily involve another person, but I found myself really enjoying the complex relationship between

Tella, Legend and Jacks

. I wasn't sure who I was rooting for in the end and honestly that really surprised me, because I'm usually quite opinionated when it comes to things like that. 

Overall I think that this series had a rough start as far as my personal taste, but the ending is so strong and enchanting that I have to recommend it. 

Going into Legendary I wasn't sure how I was going to feel, I enjoyed the world of Caraval in the previous installment, but I hadn't been particularly attached to Scarlett, the focus of the narrative, until the very end. Finally when I felt like I was enjoying Scarlett's story, Legendary switches the focus to Donatella, which I was nervous about, I decided to take a break before reading the rest of the series, and I am glad I did as I think it lessened the impact of the narrative shift. I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I liked Donatella. 

Tella is confident, bold and vivacious. She is a daring leading lady who isn't afraid to take risks. Meanwhile the world of Valenda is much more developed than the original town and estate of Tella and Scarlett's father and the island of the Caraval game in the first novel. Sometimes the second novel in a series can be difficult to get through, as well as rather limiting in what it develops in the characters relationships and the backstory but Legendary does not have that same issue. The set up and reveal moments are satisfying and delightful. I was genuinely surprised with a few of the big reveals in moments when I had thought I really had things figured out, and then I did have things figured out in other moments. Overall it was a splendid second installment and provides great momentum for the Finale. 

The reveal at the Fated Ball was so beautifully done - simultaneously so many layered reveals and then the devastating kiss that ultimately ends up starting some very interesting romantic tensions in a lot of different ways. I loved the way the romance with Dante was done, it really shows how a different narrative can change your perspective on a character. 

Super spoiler - 

I wasn't surprised that Dante was Legend, but it does raise some questions for me that I'm not sure about.

For a long time I thought I was going to DNF this book. I had read about 50 pages, put it on the shelf and just completely lost interest. But I had already marked it as currently reading and wanted to get it off my TBR so I powered through and... I have regrets. Blood & Honey was disappointing. Serpent & Dove certainly wasn't my favorite read of the year, but it was enjoyable enough to get through and made at least a small bit of sense.

The plot is convoluted and confusing and there and the pacing just feels off. The stakes didn't really feel all that high for me to be honest and I will dig into this especially in the spoilers section. Most of all, the relationships between characters were incredibly frustrating and communication was so poor. I can understand poor communication or lying as a plot driver in some instances but not when it starts nearly every conflict between a character. Big payoff moments just fell flat because I felt like there wasn't any build up to earn them or the actual build up didn't match the interaction that was written for the characters afterwards. Everyone just feels like they act out of character 50% of the time and it's unnerving. 

One of the most frustrating things to me was the sense of urgency that was both present and not present throughout. Like the threat was there whenever it was plot convenient but if the characters needed to be in a clearing in the woods with no concerns for their surroundings despite having previously spent three paragraphs describing the lengths they needed to go to conceal themselves while they hid in a different clearing in the woods, then it was no problem, and that just really takes me out of a story. 

The relationship between Lou and Reid is SO TOXIC and that's why I can't give this any higher of a rating even if I wanted to. There is literally a line in the book where Reid inner monologues something along the lines of "I need to fix her", and that's not even mentioning the whole "I killed my father figured to revive you and now you basically continue to lie and slap me in the face with it constantly." I just didn't even want to root for this relationship because it is so unhealthy and they do not communicate at ALL. But hey maybe that's just me...