menage_a_livre's reviews
58 reviews

These Hollow Vows by Lexi Ryan

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

Starting 2025 out strong with a terrible book. I love that for me. Anyways, whoever decided to recommend this to people who liked Barbie: Fairytopia, I’m coming for your kneecaps and is frankly making me reconsider reading any of the other books on your list. This book is ACOTAR but a little to the left with barely enough changed. The one unique world-building thing this book has is library pixies, otherwise it’s just an ACOTAR/ACOSF remake but somehow worse in every way. Also ‘Grimoricon’ should NEVER have gotten past an editor. That is a terrible name. The prose of this novel is inconsistent: at times it struggles to emulate high fantasy prose works, like Lord of the Rings, and at others, it is glaringly contemporary (one of the characters says ‘Thatta girl’). Every character had little personality that was unique to them with anything interesting being chalked up to a rip off of other fae romantasy novels out there.
Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
Icarus by K. Ancrum

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Icarus wasn’t a bad book. I really enjoyed the premise of the book and thought that Ancrum’s premise of a modern retelling of Icarus was really cool. Frankly, I don’t remember placing a hold on the audiobook off of Libby but here we are. I started the audiobook and the narration was fine but ultimately the book didn’t grab me and my loan ended up lapsing and I don’t feel the need to take it out again. I’m sure this is someone’s favourite flavour but it wasn’t mine. 
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Man holy shit. WSGL has been on my TBR and I think I borrowed it on Libby in the spring but I just didn't get into it so I was thrilled to give it another chance with the Booktwt Book Club. I started reading the book while high and got SUCKED in and spent the next like 24 hours (after doing readings for school) just inhaling the book. I finally finished it late last night and there were so many twists and turns that I had to refrain from yelling out loud because my partner was sleeping next to me. There were so many little clues that Àbíké-Íyímídé kept laying down and there were moments when something happened that I was like "oh this is going to be relevant later" and IT WAS and it felt so nice to be rewarded for noticing those details. I also really loved the anagram and puzzle that was put in, I just wish that the ebook version had those blown up so I could analyze them more. Anyways fuck Jude, fuck August and I'm so glad Muffin is okay. 
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Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli

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emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Rose Bride: A Retelling of The White Bride and the Black Bride by Nancy Holder

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Before Midnight: A Retelling of Cinderella by Cameron Dokey

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Midnight Pearls by Debbie Viguié

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

youthjuice by E.K. Sathue

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This is apparently the year for Indigenous fantasy for me. Elatsoe was a little difficult for me to get into but once I was into it, I was in. The way Little Badger writes is just so immersive and fluid that I could see everything playing out in my head. While I have a good imagination, the way she describes certain things (especially Ellie calling ghosts to her) had a little bit more added realism for how I pictured the narrative playing out. I initially thought Elatsoe would be like...dystopian futuristic sci fi but boy was I wrong. The book is like if magical realism, urban fantasy, and murder mystery had a baby. If you're looking to read more Indigenous voices this year, I would absolutely recommend this book.