ARC Review: Bewitched ~ Laura Thalassa

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Format I Used: Digital ARC

Pages: 441

My Rating: 3 stars

Publication Date: April 18, 2023

 Spoilers ahead baby, so read on with caution.

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Hello friends and welcome to my review. Let me just start by saying this book had me 

S T R E S S E D to the max. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it.

It was enjoyable though! I thought the whole magic system in this book was interesting! I loved how strong and resilient Selene was with all the bad things that kept hurtling themselves at her full speed. I also appreciated how determined she was.

Personally, the jury's still out on my opinion of Memnon. He's a little... ummm, extra unhinged? Which, the book explains WHY he's that way (all that power comes at a great price) but I'm still unconvinced of him as of right now.... He has potential though and he DOES get bonus points for the scene where Selene is getting chased by the wackadoodle people and he can feel how scared she is and keeps telling her to use his power, since they're connected. He's got a lot more character development he needs to go through. Maybe that's why it felt like this enemies to lovers book tilted more towards the enemies side with a hint of angry spiciness thrown in .

You want to know what I really really REALLY want to see more of? Kane. That's who. I'm not sure how that's all going to play out, but he's one of my favorite side? characters and I'm hoping that he's not going to ended brutally unalived... which is entirely possible at this point, who knows.

This was a bingeable read for sure! So make sure to check it out, especially if you've enjoyed this author's previous novels!

Thank you SO MUCH to Laura and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Did It Make Me Cry? No

ARC Review: The Enemy ~ Sarah Adams

 

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Format I Used: ARC Audiobook
Pages: 258
Running Time: 8h:12m
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date: May 10, 2022

 

 

Spoilers ahead my friends so please read on with


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I appreciate the fact that they didn't have a big blow up misunderstanding fight that led to a breakup and then a whole bunch of moping around.

I also appreciate the fact that Ryan was a little bit dishonest about what he was doing when he went to checkout the restaurant, felt real bad about it, and then TEXTED JUNE AND TOLD HER WHAT HE WAS ACTUALLY DOING and apologized for not just being straight up with her in the first place, instead of hiding it and having it revealed in some dramatic fashion. Can we get more of that please?

And when June was all overwhelmed because stupid Noah was trying to get under her skin and she was feeling insecure because she realized just what a big deal Ryan actually was and ran away... guess what happened? She realized how silly she was being and that she reallllly liked Ryan, and went back!

That was, like, a breath of fresh air to me.

Did I find their tricks on each other to be silly, especially since

1. They seemed a bit extreme and
2. because they were literally full grown adults acting like elementary school kids.

Yes. But that obviously didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel. This was a fun fake enemies to lovers book (I say fake, because although they acted liked they didn't like each other, they were both crazy about the other person and had been for quite some time.

I also loved the family dynamics of this book!

It was a fast and fun read, and I would 10 out of 10 recommend for you to give it a try.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to listen to an audio ARC

 

Review: Daughter Of The Moon Goddess ~ Sue Lynn Tan

 

 

Click on this image to learn more about this book on Goodreads 

 

 

Format I Used: Combination Audiobook/Ebook

Pages: 512
Running Time: 15h:1m
My Rating: 5 stars
Publication Date: January 11, 2022

 

I don't think I need to tell you, but beware of spoilers...

No, I don't think you understand, I am OBSESSED with this book. I did a combination of reading it and listening to it, and I was just so enchanted with the whole thing. I highlighted so many sections and made so many notes in the ebook, which hasn't happened to that extent in a while. I loved the mythology, and the character building and weapons, and the magical creatures.

I did have my doubts at first. I was worried that Xingyin was going to be a spoiled royal, and her life on the run was going to consist of her being a whiny crybaby.

But that obviously was not the case. Xingyin was very much out of her comfort zone, but she managed to hold her own quite well. She was such a strong I loved how well she could roll with the punches while still staying true to what she believed in. And her candor when she was talking to Liwei the first time they met was *Chef's kiss*

I loved Liwei. Like, LOVED him. He was my favorite character. I loved that he was so kind, and how he stood up for his friends, even if it meant going against his parents. He threw his status around, but pretty much only when he was using it to protect Xingyin. Or in that one moment that he was being a jealous little poophead and was all like rah rah rah I did not release you. I was like. BOYYYYeeeee, the AUDACITY you have.

I smelled the plot twist of Wenzhi being a love rival/bad guy from a mile away, but that's just because those are the kinds of books that I always end up gravitating towards.

This book has several major plot points that it swivels to for its duration, and every time it changed directions I was initially like ummm? What's going on? But it all worked out quite nicely. And I can't WAIT to read book 2 in order to see how things are going to play out with Wenzhi.

 

Did It Make Me Cry? No