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_melrosereads's reviews
318 reviews
Confounding Oaths by Alexis Hall
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Kill Joy by Holly Jackson
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was a really fun short read! As someone who personally loves playing mystery party games, I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it had me guessing right up until the end!
Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
I absolutely recommend to anyone who is about to pick this up to go back and do a reread of assistant to the villain first! I will remind you that the first book ended on a cliffhanger! I did a reread of the 1st book and I am so glad I did because the second book jumps straight back into it with no recap so if you read the book a couple of years ago you will definitely get lost. I can clearly see in other reviews people who didn’t read the first book again gave much lower reviews then those who did.
I loved being back in this fantasy world. This series is such a fun, cozy and whimsical read :) this series has the slowest slow burn of all time!
Things I loved about this book:
- short chapters
- banter
- pining for each other
- magical creatures and elements in the book
Things that I think should have changed to make book better:
- first book only has Evie and Villian Point of view chapters whereas this book suddenly has point of views from multiple side characters. I fear this didn’t work sorry.
- the book is called apprentice to the villian but Evie is never told she is the apprentice. Even in one point the villain and herself say she is the assistant. I feel like I was expecting a book where she learns to be a villain which would have been a hilarious ride but that’s not what happens in this book
- I’m still confused if this series is YA or NA? Can anyone confirm?
I loved being back in this fantasy world. This series is such a fun, cozy and whimsical read :) this series has the slowest slow burn of all time!
Things I loved about this book:
- short chapters
- banter
- pining for each other
- magical creatures and elements in the book
Things that I think should have changed to make book better:
- first book only has Evie and Villian Point of view chapters whereas this book suddenly has point of views from multiple side characters. I fear this didn’t work sorry.
- the book is called apprentice to the villian but Evie is never told she is the apprentice. Even in one point the villain and herself say she is the assistant. I feel like I was expecting a book where she learns to be a villain which would have been a hilarious ride but that’s not what happens in this book
- I’m still confused if this series is YA or NA? Can anyone confirm?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Cooper is a damn snack and I ate this up (in one day!)
Content Warnings
Cheating
Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’ve said it before and I will say it again - if you are a fan of Alice in wonderland and enjoy never knowing where a story will go next, you will love anything Stephanie Garber writes. (Keeping in mind it is very YA).
To me this book was ok but I enjoyed caraval series more. Unsure if I will finish the series although based on reviews it seems the next book is better than the first.
To me this book was ok but I enjoyed caraval series more. Unsure if I will finish the series although based on reviews it seems the next book is better than the first.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
So first of all kudos to the author, this book would have absolutely been a labour of love to put together.
This book tried really hard to break out from alot of stereotypes typical in high fantasy and overall it was successful.
For starters the villain is the dragons themselves - also know as Wyrms - interesting concept, never read a book from that perspective before.
LGBTQIA representation is in this book but really this is a story of love and the complex relationships of past lovers,
Present lovers, future lovers, and love between friends.
I enjoyed this book but Im sad to say I didn’t love it. I question if it had been a duology I would have enjoyed it more?
Also whilst I loved Ead, I found it really hard to see what was so great about Sabran - I just didn’t connect with her so much. I think if I did that would have been higher rating from me personally.
This book tried really hard to break out from alot of stereotypes typical in high fantasy and overall it was successful.
For starters the villain is the dragons themselves - also know as Wyrms - interesting concept, never read a book from that perspective before.
LGBTQIA representation is in this book but really this is a story of love and the complex relationships of past lovers,
Present lovers, future lovers, and love between friends.
I enjoyed this book but Im sad to say I didn’t love it. I question if it had been a duology I would have enjoyed it more?
Also whilst I loved Ead, I found it really hard to see what was so great about Sabran - I just didn’t connect with her so much. I think if I did that would have been higher rating from me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Mr. & Mrs. Witch by Gwenda Bond
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.
lighthearted
slow-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? Yes
2.5
This book started off really good but I didn’t like the jumping back and forth between when they met to now. Miscommunication trope is hard to do well at the best of times and sadly this book didn’t do it for me.