art_books_chemistry's reviews
521 reviews

Lady Luck: Fate Unbinding by Ralynn Kimie

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ralynn Kimie has built an expansive intricate world with her Infernal Artifacts Collection and it just keeps getting better. Each book so far is the start of it's own storyline so although they are best read in chronological (and publishing) order to get the full experience, each can be read separately. I do recommend reading Dioscuri before Lady Luck because it's almost a direct follow-up and there are lots of references to the events in that book.

Firstly, Friday (the FMC) feels so *real*. Every emotion, struggle, and heartbreak she has and does feel is written out on these pages and I could totally imagine myself looking into a mirror and seeing a nine-tailed fox, that's how connected with her I was able to be. And when the story focuses on her becoming who she is supposed to be, having that connection is so important. But dam, I will say a decent part of this book is so depressing. Don't get me wrong, it's supposed to be for the storyline, and the lesson is to *not* give up on life. The pace of this book is actually pretty fast though, there's not really a slow point in the plot since every time you think there's going to be a break for Friday something else blows up.

I love how Ralynn is able to weave together so many types of mythos together coherently. She has clearly put a lot of thought into her world-building and I can't wait to see what else she does with it. The portrait "world" of the dead elves is really fascinating and I'm curious if that goes anywhere further in the future.

Content Warnings

A Spark of Trouble by Lucy Limón

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emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

Well, it's about time poor ol' Chad got his happy ending. He's still not my favorite person, though, f*cking Chad. He was still far too frustrating and cringey for most of this book for me to fall in love with him. And outdoorsy in a uniform is absolutely my type; it's the desperate and trying to hard that makes him hard to love. But hey, rabbits still need to hunt....right? Or he just needs to find the right demon to bring out his inner hunter while he sets her ablaze (sometimes literally...).
I stopped being able to track the number of terrible and to be honest fake contracts Iggy and Chad made together; negotiating in bed never results in proper clear decision making. *LOL* Iggy is a hilarious edition to Chad's normally rigid life and really help him grow while finding herself at the same time.
Pretty classic Hallmark-y tale, though if everyone keeps moving back to Winter Bliss it's going to start getting crowded....

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Christmas on the Island by Jenny Colgan

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

To be fully transparent, I never would have chosen to read this book myself, so if this is your normal genre this review isn't really for you; it's really for myself and those that read the same things as me but might be thinking about branching out. This was a book for my bookclub and a couple of people did in fact love it, I just wasn't one of them.

This story was so incredibly boring. I found the characters to be boring, I didn't think all of the character development in the books was logical (or romantic for that matter) for one thing. How does one go from furious at a teacher for culturally appropriating your Muslim children for a Christian Nativity play to wild and crazy bedroom fun with her within the same hour? At least the turn around of regret afterward made sense.

I also found nearly the entire book to be absolutely and positively depressing. Nearly every single person was whining, fighting, leaving, or dying. There was the tiniest bit of happy news near the very end but it didn't make up for the rest of the book being as gray and depressing as the Scottish weather they kept describing.

As usual this reaffirms my belief that contemporary romance (though I hesitate to use that term for this book) is not at all for me. I just don't understand it.

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My Feral Romance by Tessonja Odette

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

There's nothing better than a cozy fantasy romcom when it's snowing and you're sitting in front of a nice warm fire. Daphne and Monty bring the fire that will also make sure to keep you warm on a cold night...if you know what I mean. *wink**wink* The mirror scene, folks; it's artistic perfection.

But Feral makes you feel all the emotions, including the ripping your hair out type or the slap-Monty-across-his-stupid-fibbing-face type of emotion. I'm so glad we have chapters from Monty's point of view or else I would have thrown my kindle for how ridiculous he was being sometimes. But that was one heck of a redemption arc for our favorite boxing rake.

It was really cool how Tessonja wrote this book as a continuation of Rivalry of Hearts but still as it's own standalone. You'd definitely miss out on some of the references if you've skipped Rivalry but it's still a wonderful love story by itself. I can't wait to continue with Araminta's story in the 3rd book; I'm not quite as attached to her character as I was to Daphne with her introduction in Rivalry but she's pretty funny so far and definitely a different personality.

I really just love everything Tessonja has written and don't think anyone would regret entering the world of Faerwyvae whether with one of these Fae Flings or with the Fair Isle Trilogy.

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A Frenemy in Need by Catrina Bell

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

Welcome back to Winter Bliss and Perchaz Brother No.2. While Rom gets his HEA, it's time for the misfit to...get arrested?

Bell weaves a slightly more convoluted version of the classic Hallmark woman-returns-to-small-town-to-find-old-crush-burly-and-running-a-christmas-tree-farm. Hers just might also involve a runaway demon horse, an ornery probation officer, and a gifted shower head. But don't worry, it all ties together perfectly in the end. After all, I said this was a Hallmark movie with demons, right?

In all seriousness, character development is spot on for both the main characters and they are just the right amount of predictable. Shower scene is 🥵 and well worth the mid book slow burn. I also appreciate the curvy characters in their 30s vs the skinny "perfect" 20-somethings so many romances are about. This story is also about re-finding your "fire" for yourself instead of settling for someone else's.

All around perfectly funny and cozy holiday read... with demons!

Content Warnings