_isabel_'s reviews
1028 reviews

"A Power Unbound" is the most wonderful conclusion to Freya Marske's magical, historical trilogy. I've had this book on my shelf for quite a bit, but I'm so glad I got over my fear of finishing series and dove into it.

I admit, my memory wasn't precisely cooperating at the beginning: I'd read Maud and Violet's installment more than a year ago, so I couldn't remember too many details (apart from: "Maud Blyth, I love you" and "Jack Hawthorn, I'd die for your grumpy, mean ass"), but thankfully Freya did a fabulous job at dropping enough hints and recaps for my brain to catch up.

I adored this final installment so so much! The plot was absolutely MASTERFUL, freaking addictive, complex, packed with twists and enough political (and magical) machinations to make my heart happy. I adored the world-building and the atmosphere even more! I've always praised Freya Marske's ability at creating wonderfully evocative and magical world-buildings, and this trilogy was a delight from that point of view.

I also LOVED the two protagonists, even though Jack had most of my heart. 
Alan was a fabulous counterpart to Jack, angry and complicated and lovable, but Jack stole my freaking soul. Give me all the mean, angry, snarky asshole nobles hiding squishy hearts and vulnerable, damaged pasts: I'll never tire of them. 
I loved their dynamic (FREAKING FIRE), and I adored the build-up of their relationship: they made me swoon and ache and nearly cry. Ugh, they deserve happiness so freaking much!
I knew Elsie's story, and Jack's bond to her, were going to destroy me, but the reality was even worse: her death was SO DAMN UNFAIR, and my heart still hurts for poor Jack and what he was forced to hide and endure. 
The story is pretty much packed with these more bittersweet moments, so beware, but they made me fall in love with the book even more. I came out of it elated, satisfied and worryingly close to sobbig my eyes out: who would have thought?!

I loved all the side characters to bits, and I loved seeing all the gang interact and scheme, fight and plot their way into saving Britain's magic from the greedy hands of those looking for the Last Contract. A special mention to Maud for being FABULOUS, to Robin for being an absolute dreamboat (and a rugby icon), to Edwin for breaking my heart, to Violet for being a badass (and a wonderfully dramatic actress) and to Adelaide for being a competent queen.

Ugh, I'm going to miss these characters so much. But I'm so happy I finally gave in and finished this series. It's been a fun, emotional ride, one I won't forget anytime soon.

Well, this was a delightful, kinky gem. I've had this book on my radar for ages: I'm so glad I gave it a go.
"Fawned" was the perfect balance between kink and romance, light-hearted steam and angst. I managed to devour this chunky book in two days, I literally could not stop reading!
Both protagonists were wonderful, multi-layered and complex and lovable, and while I had a couple of issues with the pacing and the writing at times, I found both Gil and Barnaby so so so fabulous and relatable. It's so rare that I find myself in both characters of a romance (a kinky, new-adult, one at that!), but I found Gil and Barnaby's struggles so relatable and close to my own experience. Mental health struggles are no joke, and I so wish more authors would be brave enough to include them n their romances.

Emotional angst aside, I loved the kinky aspects of their relationship: this was my first pet play book, I believe? And while I don't think I'm too eager to look for more, I still loved how it was portrayed! I also absolutely adored how their romance developed, and I even adored the third-act break-up and all the angst it entailed. It was necessary for both MCs, and while I still wanted to kick Gil's ass for being an idiot, I adored how they managed to overcome it, how Gil let himself be in love for once (also, yep, highly relatable *imaginary high five*)

I had a few issues with the pacing (yep, the middle bit became a smidge repetitive and I started skimming a few chapters!) and the writing could have probably been more polished, but all in all I was very satisfied. The one thing that kind of bothered me the most was Seth, and the fact that his and Barnaby's (very toxic) friendship is kinda left unresolved: I spent most of the book despising Seth, and I really would have loved to see a resolution or for Gil to kick his ass for being a terrible friend. Raul, Diana, Savannah... they all had less of a chapter each, and they still managed to be so much better friends to Barnaby than Seth. UGH.

Anyway, those issues aside, I really enjoyed "Fawned". It was highly entertaining, a fun and emotional ride of a book.

TWs/CWs: suicide ideation, suicide attempts (past), self-harm (past), toxic friendship, ableism, depression, anxiety, self-loathing (because of body image) and fat-shaming (self-directed). 

Yep, that's me sobbing again.
Will Darling, the man you are ❤️

 Kim and Will own my heart. Gah, these two.

Also: KJ Charles is a gift to the romance genre, and to literature in general. 

This was such a ride!
I've been looking forward to Sam and Rufus's next adventure since I devoured the previous books a few years back, and "A Friend in the Glass" didn't disappoint, at all!
It's fast-paced, action-packed, fueled by twists and turns and a tangled mystery that left me guessing up until the very end. There are still quite a few threads that need to untangled though, and let me tell you, I cannot wait to get to the bottom of it.
Amidst a mystery involving Sam's military past, a government cover-up and a boatload of suspicious murders, the two protagonist, as usual, shine. Rufus and Sam have SUCH distinctive voices, and both of them are fabulous characters: complicated, messed-up, each of them, slowly but surely, healing from the wounds in their past. Their dynamic was freaking fire! Sam's dry humour, Rufus's brand of crazy, the obvious love between them, the fact that they care for each other SO FREAKING MUCH... I was obsessed with them. I loved seeing their romance in a slightly more secure place, and I cannot wait to see what will happen with them next, as a couple, especially after that (very abrupt, but on par with these two authors, I think!) ending.
C.S. Poe and Gregory Ashe are a fantastic writing duo. I can't wait to see what they'll deliver with book four!

TWs/CWs: death, violence, depression, PTSD.

Many thanks to the authors for the ARC. This is my honest review.

"The Crack at the Heart of Everything" is an impressive, magical debut by Fiona Fenn. I don't think I've read anything quite like it in my life.

It's the story of a reluctant villain turned equally reluctant hero, who suddenly discovers the world isn't what he's been led to believe, and most importantly, he also discovers he's actually deserving of a happy ending.

It's the story of an unrepentant sunshine general with a penchant for recklessly charging into danger (and towards prickly, dark mages), with so much self-confidence he could actually fire up a new apocalypse all by himself.

Finally, it's the story of a world, our world, turned into hellish, post-apocalyptic nightmare, where dark magic and technology, desperate, war-torn humans and scary hell creatures live side by side.

And I'll start from there... The world-building is IMPRESSIVE. It's unraveled, shown to us, layer by layer, through Orpheus's eyes as he slowly discovers that the world is much bigger (and much darker) (and much more different) than what he was led to believe. The whole book is a peculiar mixture of fantasy, high fantasy and dystopian, a post-apocalyptic hellscape featuring reanimated corpses and hell creatures, political coups, wars and power hungry tyrants, dark mages and dark magic and even, dragons. It shouldn't work, but it TOTALLY does. Everything has it's place and it's meaning, and as a fan of this kind of complex world-building and plotting, I can't tell you how happy I was to read this book. It scratched an itch inside my brain only fantasy can scratch, and I'm so glad I decided to give this book a go.

The plot was MARVELOUS! Like with the world-building, it unravels a piece at a time, and the neck-breaking pace it sets from the start left me feeling both thoroughly addicted and absolutely wrecked. I loved the story, and I absolutely freaking loved Orpheus's, our ex-villain turned reluctant hero protagonist, arc as a character.
It was truly impressive what the author managed to do with Orpheus. His development as a character was masterful: the way he changes throughout the story, the way he grows, the way he learns to trust both himself and the people around him, was freaking wonderful to witness. I also LOVED seeing Lore's manipulation slowly show itself for what it is: her true character slowly unravels as well, and as the true meaning of it, of her hungry grab for power, is slowly shown to both Orpheus and the reader, and I. COULD. NOT. LOOK. AWAY.

This book is also a romance. I've read a few review stating otherwise, but for my standards it totally is: yeah, the steam is non-existent and closed-doors (and this made me very happy, surprisingly!), and in general, it's a plot-oriented novel, but the romance between Orpheus and Fenrir, his rival, the sunshine general with penchant for charging towards danger, is very, very prominent.
I'd say, alongside Orpheus's character development, it's the thing that drives most of the plot. Fenrir shows Orpheus what actual friendship and care means, he shows him kindness and trust and gentleness and love, and he also shows him (but Orpheus does most of the work there! He shows himself, more like) that there's a world outside worth fighting for.
Also, most importantly, there's a HEA.
I adored their relationship to freaking bits. The slow-burn, the one-sided enemies to lovers going on between them, their dynamic, the fact that they're constantly saving each other... Gah, I'm so in love with their romance.

Individually, they're both absolutely freaking great. Like I said, I adored Orpheus's character arc, and I loved seeing him slowly gain self-confidence and recognizing his right to happiness and security and love. He's a snarky, prickly, exhausted asshole of a mage, but he's so lovable and so adorable he made me want to jump into the book to protect him from everything. And Fenrir! Despite not having his POVs, he's also as complex and delightful as Orpheus: strong and headfast, wickedly funny and optimistic, recklessly confident (bordering on suicidal, mind!) with a hidden vulnerable side. I loved them both, SO MUCH.

I adored the side characters, and I adored, LOVED, the whole thing going on with Lore. Lore, the power-hungry, manipulative despot, is also pretty freaking impressive as a character too: through Orpheus's words, his past, and her own decisions and scenes, she emerges as a complex, scary, terrifying villain, who I couldn't also help but feel a smidge of sympathy for. Like Orpheus, she's been wronged. Unlike him, she'll burn the world down just to feel whole and safe and in control, again. And let me tell you...

I LOVED her ending. Killing her off would have been too easy, and I LOVED that she ended up in Hell, creating her own kingdom with her ghostly, massive consort. Go and live your power-hungry, tyrannical, monster-fucking dreams, Lore <3

Anyway, the ending was absolutely freaking perfect: the twists kept on coming, and they were all so freaking impressive. I'm seriously in awe with Fiona Fenn's writing: I cannot wait for whatever comes next. I'm REALLY hoping it will be a sequel of some kind; a proper epilogue novella about these two wouldn't go amiss too.. I would have loved a few more (happier) chapters at the end, because Orpheus deserved it, but gah, I still adored the ending.

I think I need at least a month to get over this book: my heart is still in overdrive. Heart-wrenching, action-packed, romantic, emotional, absolutely freaking epic. I couldn't recommend it enough!

TW/CWs: child abuse (torture, experiments, confinement, starvation), gaslighting, emotional manipulation and toxic friendship, death, war and war crimes, injury, self-harm, death of an animal.
 

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This was great. What a delicious morsel of a novella!
Marina Vivancos is one of my favourite authors: I've loved every single romance of hers, and "Spy On Me" is no exception.

Short, but surprisingly packed with both action and romance, and it also had a very satisfying emotional arc too. I loved both protagonists to bits! Their dynamic was absolutely fire

I'm usually not the biggest fan of short stories or novellas, but:
1) this is free today.
2) it's Tavia Lark, who's quite possibly one of favourites MM authors.
3) I need to read more of these 'cause I'm VERY VERY behind my 2024 reading challenge. Ugh.

Anyway, this was delightful, smutty and fun! Also who do I need to bribe to get Tavia to write a shifter (OR EVEN OMEGAVERSE) series? That would be the dream.

 What a wonderful installment in this feel-good, light-hearted, magic-packed series. "Harbor" was precisely what I needed!

I've always been a huge fan of redemption arcs, and Tybalt was always the kind of character that absolutely deserved one: you could already see he was hiding depth and a vulnerable heart behind his flirty, no-thoughts-just-sex façade.
I loved him, and Orestes, so much! Orestes is a huge (literally!) sweetheart, a gentle giant with an equally vulnerable side and so much gentleness and kindness and strength he made me want to weep. Tybalt was the perfect counterpart to Orestes: he's flirty and quick-witted, quietly clever with hidden strength and resilience. He was absolutely lovely, and I loved seeing him slowly regain his confidence thanks to Orestes's brand of care and love.
The plot was fabulous, the side characters equally so (are we getting Mercutio's story? I HOPE SO) and I adored the world-building as usual.
The only thing that was missing was a chance for Paris and the others to meet up with this new and improved version of Tybalt. I would have loved to see them together on scene once again.

I wholly recommend this series!

TWs/CWs: death of a parent, grief, child abuse and emotional abuse, child mistreatment, homophobia.


Many thanks to the authors for the ARC. This is my honest review. 

"Pansies" is officially in my top three favourite Alexis Hall novels. Right behind "Glitterland" and "Waiting for the Flood": all of them Spires novels, yes, I know.
I think this series, this kind of romance, is where Alexis Hall truly shines for me: their words, the character building, the relationship and emotional arcs... I love everything about the Spires world, and despite truly loving only 3/5 of the Spires novels and novellas now out in the world (yeah, I wasn't keen on "For Real" and "Chasing the Light" was despicable), I'm OBSESSED with this series as a whole. There's something truly magical about it, and I'll be forever grateful I finally decided to take the plunge and dive into this wonderful, emotional, interconnected universe.

Back to "Pansies"... I was a bit worried initially, because like I said, "For Real" wasn't that great for me, and because AH is always a bit of mixed bag: some things they write manage to change the course of my damn life; other things make me want to become a banshee or smash my bedroom in rage/frustration. I think its mainly because their brand of humour is slightly too mean for my liking, so when we finally get an MC like Alfie, who's an idiot, yes, a trying-to-redeem-himself ex-bully idiot, who's also, most importantly, real and relatable and messy and flawed and precious and human and loving and gentle, I definitely don't stand a chance.
Alfie's a walking contradiction of messiness, internalized homophobia and emotional suppression, but he's also a work-in-progress and while he, also, still does hurtful, shitty things at times, he isn't mean and that makes a difference to me, in terms of loving a book and its protagonist.
Or, I think, he's held accountable for the hurtful stuff he says, by his author yes, but also, by Fen and mainly himself, and that makes a world of difference to me from, say, Luc *seething noises* (okay, yes, maybe I shouldn't constantly bring up the BM/HM world, but this is my review and I'll do as I please lol) (also, I'm still bitter about HM, can't you tell? lol)

Anyway, back to "Pansies"... I loved it. It's a magical, emotional chunk of a book, and it flows like a goddamn dream. I wasn't ready to leave Alfie nor Fen anytime soon: I loved them so, so, so much, and I adored seeing their relationship blossom.
I never know what to think of a bully/victim romance: in theory, it should make me uncomfortable (and this one did, in the sense that it made me think really hard about accountability and the way people can change, and also about the fact that I've never forgiven my childhood bully, and I probably never will, and that's okay too!), but in practice, I love a good grovel in my romances and an MC trying really hard to earn back trust is what I live for. Yes, I'm an angst girlie.
I think Hall did a MARVELOUS job at portraying this particular dynamic, and at portraying Alfie and Fen trying to navigate the world of hurt Alfie inflicted on Fen when they were children: it's realistic and very human, packed with contradictions (and unapologetic at that; humans are wonderfully complicated and messy, and romances SHOULD reflect that too), ups-and-downs, and a boatload of "I'm trying, I'm not sure it will be enough, but I'll try anyway". I loved that aspect of their relationship, and I loved seeing how human both Fen and Alfie were in their struggles to overcome their shared past.

Their romance was fabulous: I was obsessed with how obsessed they were for each other from the very beginning. I love two characters who are absolutely WHIPPED for one another, and that's both Fen and Alfie. They made me swoon and blush and sigh and growl in frustration and then swoon some more. I loved their conversations and I loved seeing them slowly open up to each other: everything about their dynamic never felt forced nor unrealistic; it just felt very human, but also, very, very magical too.

As individuals, both of them shine so much. I loved Fen: I felt really close to him, despite not having his POV chapters, and it was kinda hard seeing myself in him, in his grief, in the fact that he doesn't seem to recognize himself anymore and he's kinda stuck and he really doesn't know how to move past loss and get a semblance of a life back, and it was also kind of cathartic and very emotional to do so too. He's more on the spectrum of Hall's "mean, prickly characters" I was describing before, but he also holds himself accountable and he definitely knows when he's lashing out out of anger/spite/hurt, and that makes a world of difference as well. Anyway, I really loved him.
I also adored Alfie with my whole heart: he's that special kind of character that ALWAYS manages to burrow themselves in my heart. Stubborn, quietly clever, competent but also a freaking mess too, a walking contradiction of confidence, delusion and crippling insecurity; like Fen, he also lashes out, but he's also, so freaking gentle he made me want to tear my hair out; and squeal in my pillow. He's trying, so so so hard, and UGHHHHH, I loved that so much.
I don't know what to do with myself now: I mess being in Alfie's head.

I think this book would have been a full five-star rating, if only a couple of things had been addressed a smidge more: mainly, Alfie's own pain and past. I was waiting for the moment he and Fen finally addressed the big elephant in the room (the fact that Alfie's been practically, quietly, shamefully disowned by his parents, and he's hurting so much because of it), but that moment never came, and it made me sad. Lots of Alfie's own internalized homophobia, his relationship with his parents, his brother, his town, hell, even his exes, is left unsaid (or, actually, Alfie does say it, but in his head, and it's never touched upon with Fen) and that was a shame. I kept waiting for that moment, but it never came.

Oh well, like I said, this is a small niggle I had, and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book: I still don't know what to do with myself now that it's finished. I'll probably spend the next few years until Dom the Dom's book and Niall's book (I'm very, very curious about that one, knowing

his love interest is Fen's ex, David

) re-reading these books. I cann0t wait (also, where do I sign a petition to get Greg's book too?).

Many thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.