mathildur's reviews
1055 reviews

This was... not for me, I suppose. I never really connected with the story, each main character felt like two-three different characters just smushed into one, instead of being one coherent character. It also took me all the way until the end of the book before I understood how the "game" (or rather, games) they were playing actually worked. The time frame of the book also kept throwing me for a loop. I felt like I missed out on so much of the actual progress their relationship made, because we were just told that they stayed in touch for months and talked every day, rather than getting to witness this happening. I wasn't a big fan of the smut either. It was supposed to be a dark, romantic comedy, but I found it neither dark, romantic nor all that funny. All in all, a let-down.

I loved this! I was so looking forward to Gus and Teddy's story, and I was not disappointed. I also loved how mature everybody acted, even in the middle of arguments. Excited for the next one now! 

Second time reading:
Me and my boyfriend reread this book together by listening to the audiobook together. 10/10 recommend, it was a wonderful experience. Bumping to 5 stars.

First time reading:
It's done, I did it! For the first time in my 22 years on this planet, I read the first Lord of the Rings book!! I tried reading this many years ago, but I stopped because I was bored by it and I felt like nothing happened. Now, I feel like I'm advanced enough to properly enjoy it and to actually appreciate all the amazing world-building that is going on. 

I went into this book almost expecting to find it mediocre. I ended up really liking it! I had a lot of fun reading it, the story captured me around halfway through and I enjoyed seeing all the parts of the world they're traveling through in the novel! A lot can be said about these books; a lot has already been said about them. I'll leave it at this: I truly understand why this series is so epic. It's not a full 5-star rating for me, because I did struggle with it in the beginning and during some parts, but it's a strong 4. Really excited to read the next one! 

I am honestly a little surprised at how much I loved this. It was really cool! I loved the story, the atmosphere was very spooky season, and I was shocked at several of the plot twists (most notably the last one)!! I am really excited for the sequel now.

Gonna read this later, don't want it on my "currently reading" lol.

This was cute! Dramatic and cozy at the same time. I feel like the story as a whole tried to do more than it could within the frame of itself, if that makes sense lol. There were too many important storylines with side characters that I feel like we didn't get to delve deep enough into. Gold star for not having a stupid third act breakup though! Enjoyable, even if it took a long time for them to actually get snowed in lol.

I am a huge fan of Holton's writing style. It never fails to bring a smile to my face, I just find it so entertaining! I liked the romance in this one as well. However, it felt a little too similar to Wisteria Society, which I found disappointing. I didn't expect there to be the same amount of chaotic magic and general criminal activity in this one as in the series with pirates and witches, but oh well. All in all, I had a wonderful time reading this and I can't wait for the next one! 

Every year, I reread Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and it is always just as wonderful as the year before. It is always an easy 5 star rating. This year, I decided to read the entire collection in this volume. The so-called Other Christmas Writings were also enjoyable, but none of them quite had the magic that I keep coming back to A Christmas Carol for. 

The E-Arc of Bespelled was kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has not altered my opinion of the book.

I had some reservations about this book, because I struggled a little with the first one. Without going into too much detail, the mmc Memnon did some things to the fmc Selene that I just could not forgive. This led to me not shipping them anymore, so I was rooting for the romance to fall apart, lol. And again, without going into too much detail, all is now forgiven. In the same way that Warner, in the Shatter Me series, can be forgiven after reading further into the series, Memnon can be forgiven after reading Bespelled.

I really enjoyed this book! Selene grew a lot as a person and as a witch, and her connection to Memnon became clearer and a lot more romantic throughout the book. Similarly to the first one, I loved the way the magic worked in this one as well. Also, I am a sucker for magical bonds between people, so Bespelled definitely hit the spot on that one. The book has intrigue, mystery, drama, action, and romance. I enjoyed it a lot!

If you’re into romantasy as a genre, or you love reading about witches, werewolves, anti-heroes getting the girl, and suspenseful drama, then definitely give this series a go! 

I loved how the Armenian culture and history was woven into the story, I definitely learned a lot from it! I also think the writing was very funny at times (helped by the narrator of the audiobook, she made it incredible!). However, the romance really fell flat for me. I was into it at first, but the god-awful third act breakup followed by how the main character was thinking and acting both during and afterwards left me hoping they would not get back together... Nar could've done with some proper character growth at the end, it just didn't work for me. I'll keep an eye out for future works by Voskuni, the addition of Armenian culture into her books sounds promising!