the_rabble's reviews
122 reviews

The narrators were so chill and good I kept listening, but the book jacket summary was sooooo far off I would have DNF'd on a different day.

Here lies copious discussion of fertility issues and closed culture society that punishes "mixed" relationships & their kids. (But make it Aussie.)

The characters (and food descriptions) are charming, but the plot and those characters' choices/internal logic is hard to recommend.

The first one was interesting bc it was heavily relationship-focused while moving the plot. This one is still good, but instead of a focus on identity and friendship/loyalty it feels a little less moored.

Which is still an interesting slice of life as a disillusioned Ancillary is handed substantial power and exists inside an injustice colonial system with predictable internal socio-economic conflicts. Worldbuilding seems to be the primary driver of continuing the series.

Sex happens in this one

(not any of the ships you'd expect)

and its intersection with power and need is an ongoing theme that felt muddier. There are moments of discomfort without resolution.

It took all of Justice to get me charmed by Seivarden (which I am and remain invested.) In Sword, Breq collects a significant number of new people, teens, and AIs Leckie is more interested in connecting surrounding her with. Felt a bit clunkier.

I liked being back in the world, but was less satisfied with this arc. I'm finishing the series out, but wouldn't blame people who stopped after Justice.

Not really my jam but has the energy of watching a Twitch streamer roll through an RPG, but in a book.

So if that's your thing, it's probably good. 

MC is a little hard to like, but runs into enough interesting people to finish the book. Has some light dude-writing-a-woman moments.

1st person, fourth wall breaker, 1 POV, mild spice, lots of pop culture references.

Story about grief and growth cosplaying as a contemporary NYCer-who-works-in-publishing romance.

Time travel (even includes Time Travel Sapphics, which is a fav subgenre) contemporary romance. Characters are mid 20s to early 30s. 1 POV 1st person past tense.

Good, has beautifully inspirational moments about change, love, risk, and careers.  The emotional intimacy with the two MCs is in flux in a way that is charming but also built to make you uncomfortable. Very crush-worthy duo, but a smidge light on [ending]

spending time with the two main characters post-time travel. It's cute, but jarring.

This is an odd one.

It has its moments, but the age/experience gap is hard to shake.

Victoria era historical romantasy about a witch and a pirate. Heisting, badass old ladies, enchanted houses, and mutual kidnapping within.

Takes the world from The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and lets a couple lovable characters run rampant among the dueling ladies' associations bent on precise manners and skullduggery.

2 POVs (w a couple one-off interludes), 3rd person past tense, medium spice, characters are early and mid 20s.

Charlotte the witch and Cecelia the pirate (from the first book) have a similar depth and starting experience with strict social structure without Holton making them feeling identical. Charlotte is also more of an Austen fangirl, which is a fun running commentary.

O'Reilly felt like more of a fleshed out protagonist than Ned, probably bc Ned stacked scams and identities, while Alex exclusively pirates and puts up fronts. And alludes to a things he's unhealthily learned to gloss over. Overall, something about letting him breathe works really well.

Holton balances character growth/acceptance and growing romantic intimacy that's silly and serious with just a full on bonkers world. It's fucking great.

Book Order: I initially tried to read this on its own- don't. You absolutely need to start at Book 1 for this series.

Narrator: Elizabeth Knowelden slaps. Her prim, rapid fire delivery makes the 19th Century British lit inspired prose light up.

Romansty adventure- very true to Kingfisher's voice- about a knitting knight paladin and a perfumer.

2 POVs, 3rd person past tense, spicy

Two funny, charming people handling some large trauma related symptoms quite literally run into each other and are pretty instantly delighted by each other. It's very cute. They're both equally and differently dorky.

There's also a few murder plots, political intrigue, legal drama, and fantasy goings-ons along the way that remind you Kingfisher's worldbuilding shant be ignored just because you're hardcore on the ship. This book has shit to do, thank you very much.

Sex scenes - I didn't know how Kingfisher would play this, but they're great and straightforward, like most of her writing.

Narrator - Joel Richards pace is a little slower than I'm used to, but he's a great fit for the masc paladins of the Saint of Steel. His delivery on both Steven and Grace's prose got me laughing out loud pretty regularly.

Two egregiously down-on-their-luck 1800s-ish British protagonists occupy a dilapidated castle on together. Shenanigans ensue.

2 POVs, spicy historical romance/home reno/proto nerd culture story. 3rd person, past tense. I think both protagonists are late 20s.

This one has a bunch of unexpected turns and fun payoffs. Dare pulls from a lot of places and topics she clearly loves. It'd be very easy to be spoiled and- as someone who loves a spoiler- it actually is more fun to just ride the ride. The stakes are stable/not outsized so the urge isn't there. Dare does a good job foreshadowing and building surprise without dread.

Ransom and Izzy are excellent. Really loved both of these characters. Both POV voices are distinct and choices are character driven and relatable. We get some late reveals, but they're fun to watch bump against each other.

Sex scenes are great.

First book of three book series. You can read them in any order. Promise of the series' premise is "woman owns castle" and the stories are independent from book to book. 

This one may be my favorite of the three.

"Splen-diiiid!"

Historical romance finding yourself love triangle (old flame naval officer w a shitty family <- timid widow previously married to said shitty family -> famous writer/lothario w a kind biracial family) in 1810s Bath, UK.

Characters are late 20s, 1 POV, 3rd person, no spice. Very funny tone with serious content (the dead husband was

not great/verbally abusive

and our heroine has severe, relatable self esteem issues that Irwin takes head on.)

This book hits. I cried a lot. (I also spoiled myself by listening to the end first about 20% through bc I was stressed out by Eliza's stress. I recommend this approach.)

The prose is great, the dialogue is fun. There is a lot of dithering and some pacing quirks towards the end, but it's one of the better love triangle stories I've read.

This one would be an excellent movie.

Narrator: exceptional voice acting by one person. The love interests and Eliza are very well voiced and I could listen to Imogen Church say "Splen-diiiid!" and "Not. The thing." for days. Fuck. So funny and charming. 

The identity death up top is disconcerting and (after jumping to the last few chapters) doesn't seem to be addressed. Then there is a lot of rankings talk that's just not my jam for an audiobook. 

Seems like good DnD inspo but doesn't seem like I need to listen to the whole thing to catch the vibe.

Narrator does a great job and is the reason I initially picked it up.