shellballenger's reviews
479 reviews

Type of read: Commuter Read

What made me pick it up: As a child of the 90s, I literally grew up with Harry Potter. I read the books, watched the movies, and diligently waited for my letter to arrive. Alas, it never did. *sigh*

Overall rating:  Before we get into the actual review, just a reminder that memoir/autobiography authors don't owe us shit, and what they choose to put on the page is their story, how they experienced it, and how they would like us to take in those experiences they had.

I think what I liked the most about 'Beyond the Wand' is how real Felton came across. Do I wish someone would have made them choose chapter titles and not use two for everything? Yes. Do I wish they didn't try to do all the different voices and just read as themselves? Yes. Am I thankful to have gotten a glimpse into the life of Felton. 100%. More than anything, it felt like Felton was writing 'Beyond the Wand' as a sort of cathartic release. Sharing stories and happenings that made them who they are, while also being reflective of times they maybe could have acted differently. I appreciate the realness of Felton in 'Beyond the Wand' but did feel that the majority of it was still just a tiiiiiiiiiiiissssshhhhh surface level. But again, we aren't owed anything, so I'm thankful for the glimpse. If you're a Harry Potter fan, and love rooting for your favorite Slytherin bad boy, 'Beyond the Wand' is a good read that doesn't ruin too much of the magic.

Reader's Note: 'Beyond the Wand' includes themes of drug and alcohol use, mentions of rehab, and discussions of mental health.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I stumbled across the Black Dagger Brotherhood in early 2024 with Darius (Book 0), and I got sucked into this crazy, cracked-out, sexy, throwback-feeling world of vampires fighting something more evil than themselves.

Overall rating: Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Rehvenge is the bad boy we all know we should avoid but he's really just the complete teddy bear. One of the things I like about Ward's writing is that they have the ability to make the characters very well-rounded - a little predictable, yes - but well-rounded. The majority of the time, the MMCs and FMCs are strong but sweet, badass but vulnerable; it really lends itself well to the complete behemoth of a storyline that is the Black Dagger Brotherhood. While 'Lover Avenged' focuses on Rehvenge and his relationship with Elhena, we also get to hear more about John, Wrath, Tohr, Xhex, and Lash. I really feel like although the books have a brother they focus on, at this point, the world has become so big, that there's always going to be something going on outside of our MMC, and I'm not mad about it. It keeps the book interesting and keeps me engaged. I do think I need to disclaimer - I finished 'Lover Avenged' in just over two days because my library loan was going to lapse and I got on a major cleaning/embroidery streak at home over the weekend. I'm not saying it wasn't that good, but I do think it's easy to judge something as a quick read when you don't have all the context. 😂 Don't be fooled; I literally listened to 'Lover Avenged' for about 10 hours a day over the weekend.

I know I've said it before in previous reviews for this series, but I feel like I just have to say it with each book, this is just a good escape read. You don't have to think too much about it, you don't have to try and keep things straight (Ward does a great job dropping little reminders at the beginning of each book and throughout so you keep the characters and their traits straight), and you can just dive into a (slightly dated) world of sexy vampire warriors. I'm here for it.

Reader's Note: 'Lover Avenged' includes themes of death, dying, consensual sexual activity, dubious consent sexual activity, death of a parent, medical content, violence, kidnapping, torture, murder, mental illness, incest (forced sexual activity between half brother/half sister), sexual assault, and character recollections of physical and sexual abuse.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: BookTok made me do it.

Overall rating: If you're looking for a smutty book that's a fairly quick read and feels a little disjointed but still has a semblance of a storyline, 'Lights Out' is for you. I got about halfway through the book before I was like, ok, where the heck is this going to go? There is no substance. Then, in the last half

, where you meet the mob part of her family and go through that whole Brad scenario

, you get a bit more storyline and substance, but it seems a bit forced. I wish it would have somehow been introduced at the beginning of the book. I think it would have made everything flow a bit better, or at least make more sense long term. But let's be honest, I didn't read 'Lights Out' for the storyline. 😂 I wasn't a huge fan of the mommy/daddy vibes that the FMC and the MMC had throughout the book, especially when they brought the cat into it. But that's more personal preference. It's not the best smut I've read, but it's far from the worst, overall, not mad.

Also, Jacob Morgan could read me the back of a soup can and I'd be all ears.

Reader's Note: Allen does a wonderful job of putting all the trigger warnings right at the front of the book (appreciated), I'm going to copy what they had on their website so I don't leave anything out: sexually explicit discussion and scenes, alcohol consumption, mention of (off-page) rape, mention of past domestic abuse, memories of experienced child abuse, medical content, blood and gore (in a hospital setting), discussion of mental health, mention of serial killers and their crimes, limited description of a mass shooting, stalking, invasion of privacy, home invasion, hidden cameras, hacking, theft, mention of unintentional cannibalism (remembered), death, desecration of a body, car accident (remembered), description of violent death (remembered), death of a parent, breath play, knife play, gun play, fear play, primal play, and mask play.

Type of read: Weekend/Lunchtime Read.

What made me pick it up: One of the TN R.E.A.D.S prompts for December is to reread your favorite holiday story. I decided to go a bit rogue on this prompt and read a book that has similar vibes/settings as one of my favorite holiday stories (The Nutcracker).

Overall rating: There are a few minor sentence structure and grammatical mishaps that should have been caught in editing, but overall, it's a well-put-together book. There is a heavy vein of faith throughout 'Dancing Through It,' so if that isn't your vibe, this might not be the book for you. I'm glad that I took the TN R.E.A.D.S prompt for the month and twisted it into something that suited my tastes and interests. I'm always thankful when individuals share their stories, and Ringer's telling of her life and love for ballet was beautiful.

It's been a while since I've read a book based on the author's experiences, so I'll say it for those who are new here: Memoir/autobiography authors don't owe us shit and what they choose to put on the page is their story, how they experienced it, and how they would like us to take in those experiences they had.

Reader's Note: 'Dancing Through It' obviously is very focused on the author's personal struggle with their eating disorder, dancing, and how they work through to come out the other side. If you are not at a good place in your recovery, I highly recommend that you do not read this book yet. There were many descriptions, thought processes, and explanations of day-to-day activities that could be incredibly triggering. I'm 17 years into my recovery for EDNOS and it was still a hard read because so many of the things Ringer brings up were essential habits in my life for so long.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I was scouring Spotify for an audiobook that I would be able to finish before I ran out of reading hours.

Overall rating: I have mixed feelings about 'The Asylum Confessions.' To start, it's absolutely not written as a bingeable read. The end of each chapter is the exact same, 'if you figured out who I am, you probably know where I'm drinking, come find me for more stories.' I know the premise of the book is that they are going through and talking with different patients and getting their stories, but the way that it's being presented is just horrible. What was a feeble attempt at conversational comes across as segmented, choppy, and repetitive. I'm not sure if these were all originally written as short stories and then put together into a larger publication, but I wish that there was some editing to make it all flow a lot better. The chapters don't have to be connected, but for pete's sake, don't write the same thing four times and expect it to keep my attention.

On top of all that, these are some of the most boring serial killers I've ever met in my life. Some of their stories had a few cringe moments, and there are definitely parts that make you think and react, but overall, 'The Asylum Confessions' is a try-hard that needed to try just a bit harder. I also hate it when the authors tell me how I'm supposed to feel (ex., books saying something is hard to read, or something would make me cringe, or anything along those lines) and don't just write it in a way that MAKES me feel like that. So maybe I'm not really mixed on my feelings...I'm disappointed with 'The Asylum Confessions' because I feel like it had such potential but it was just absolutely squandered. I wanted to like this one so badly!

Reader's Note:  'The Asylum Confessions' includes themes of cannibalism, medical content, BDSM, death, murder, rape, physical assault, sexual assault, pregnancy, stillbirth, child loss, and religious trauma.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: Reread. I have a Hemingway obsession, and I won't apologize for it.

Overall rating: I will not apologize for my 100% biased opinion that Hemingway is wonderful (as a writer, we won't get into him as a human). While 'A Farewell to Arms' isn't my favorite of his, it's so easy to get lost in the cadence and tone of the story. For me, it's always going to be the beautiful mundanity of Hemingway's writing that pulls me in. It's raw. It's real. It's not over the top or extravagant. He has a way of making the everyday of someone else something I want to peek in on and be a part of. Again, I fully acknowledge my bias and absolutely don't give a shit. I'm very happy to have reread 'A Farewell to Arms.'

Reader's Note: John Slattery's narration is absolute perfection. 'A Farewell to Arms' does include themes of war, death, dying, injury - including injury detail, and blood. It should also be noted that the original publication year of the book was 1929. Times have changed from 1929 to 2024 and certain phrases, terms, and imagery that were once unquestioned may have a different response as we have grown and learned as people.

Type of read: Weekend/Lunchtime Read.

What made me pick it up: '25 Days' was a suggested read in my Book Club for the month of December. It's set up with 25 chapters, so you can read one chapter a day until Christmas. I enjoyed that style of reading last year when I did the Dracula Daily reading challenge and thought this could be another fun one.

Overall rating: Is '25 Days' great? No. Is it horribly bad? Also no. (Just kind of a little bit bad, but it's short so it's nearly forgivable.) Here's the thing: I ended up reading as quickly as I could because I was annoyed by the one-chapter-a-day mentality. There's not enough substance in the chapters to make it worth it to string this one along until Christmas. I do think that Jacobsen planned too much to have people read a chapter a day because the flow felt a bit choppy. I wondered if that was the writing or if it was the translation. I did like that the story followed multiple perspectives (mom, dad, and two kids), and I thought - at least for the length of the book - they did a great job of giving enough background but not making it too complicated. But at the end of the read, it kind of felt like something that was created in a college creative writing course where you're given a different prompt or requirement each week and then expected to make everything come together to make one finalized story in the end.

Reader's Note: '25 Days' includes themes of death, murder, assault, kidnapping, stalking, torture, and general fear/anxiety.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: Seemed oddly fitting for our world today. Additionally, I'm using it as my book for the TN R.E.A.D.S prompt of reading a book by or about a medical professional. I know I'm taking some liberties with the medical professional piece of things, but mental health is important, and I can read what I want. 😝

Overall rating: I'm not normally a big self-help book girl, but something about 'Languishing' stuck out to me, causing me to rent it from my local library. Like with any self help book, I don't think what the author writes on the page is the end all be all. If we could all be 'cured' by a single book, what a world it would be. I do, however, think it's up to us as readers to take the little nuggets that we read and apply them to our own lives to be the best person we can be - to ourselves and others. There's a lot to slog through with 'Languishing' but I do think that Keyes has a few golden nuggets that I will take and apply to myself. While I'm not sure that I agree with Keyes that if you're not flourishing, you're languishing, I do see why Keyes put it on a spectrum like that, and I think I could use that spectrum for a more focused self-check-in. But realistically, I don't think emotional, mental, and physical well-being are great on a limited linear spectrum.

Overall, I felt like 'Languishing' was dense and a little short-sighted with the approach that being a good human and working on your own languishing/flourishing cycle is as simple as changing your mindset and being aware of your surroundings and the reaction to those. As Keyes should know, for some individuals, that is simply not chemically possible without the assistance of outside help (drugs - prescribed or otherwise, counseling, therapy, meditation, etc.)

As I saw some other reviewers say - please do not take your health advice, especially that of what medications you should or should not be taking - from a random self-help book you picked up to read. Only you and your doctor can make the decisions on what is working for your body. As an individual who actively takes store-bought serotonin, I fully know I'm much better of a person when I take that little pill than I am when I don't. <b> Do not let a random author tell you what to do with your medical needs simply based on an overgeneralization that selfishly supports their own research and viewpoint. </b> I do have to add, for some of the research and studies Keyes included in 'Languishing,' I found myself wondering what the control was, what the length of the study was, if long-term studies had taken place, and how measurements - specifically for things that are as obtuse as feelings and emotions - where scaled and weighted.

Reader's Note: 'Languishing' is a "self-help" book that openly talks about mental health, mental health struggles, and the various side effects of poor and/or untreated mental health including things like self-harm, negative self-talk, or suicidal ideations, suicide, etc.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I read 'The Never King' and was not a huge fan, but my book club has convinced me to give St. Crowe another chance with 'The Dark One.'

Overall rating: Nope. Just nope. I can't do it. I can't do another one of the books in this series. I feel like St. Crowe needed an editor, beta readers, and just a whole lot of help to make these books make sense. There's truly a great baseline story here, but it's so garbled and full of dick that there's no substance.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good spicy story, but when it's 95% spice, 3% reliant on a childhood favorite tale, and 2% actual writing (that seems like the first draft of a creative writing paper), I just can't get behind it. The only reason I'm thankful to have spent time reading 'The Dark One' is because it was a super quick read and is helping me get one step closer to 100 books for the year.

Reader's Note: 'The Dark One' includes themes of sex, assault, kidnapping, light bondage, choking, injury - including injury detail, and death.

Type of read: Commuter Read.

What made me pick it up: I stumbled across the Black Dagger Brotherhood in early 2024 with Darius (Book 0), and I got sucked into this crazy, cracked-out, sexy, throwback-feeling world of vampires fighting something more evil than themselves.

Overall rating: Zsadist's story was one of my favorite of the series so far ('Lover Awakened') and I'm happy that Ward wrote a novella to help bridge the gap between what's happening in the series and what's happening in the Zsadist/Bella saga. I had wondered after reading 'Lover Enshrined' with them talking so much about Bella's pregnancy how they would connect that to the world but not make it a main focus of 'Lover Avenged.' 'Father Mine' was an easy, quick read that further builds the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and I'm all here for it.

I know I've said it before in previous reviews for this series, but I feel like I just have to say it with each book, this is just a good escape read. You don't have to think too much about it, you don't have to try and keep things straight (Ward does a great job dropping little reminders at the beginning of each book and throughout so you keep the characters and their traits straight), and you can just dive into a (slightly dated) world of sexy vampire warriors. I'm here for it.

Reader's Note: 'Father Mine' includes themes of death; dying; consensual sexual activity; violence; kidnapping; torture; murder; sexual assault; and character recollections of physical and sexual abuse. I also have to add that there are some audio narration inconsistencies between this and previous books.