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booksalacarte's reviews
695 reviews
The Beast Takes a Bride by Julie Anne Long
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3⭐️3🌶️
Historical Romance
Multi pov
Beauty and the beast retelling
He fell first
Troubled marriage
Second chance romance
Forced proximity
Slow burn
There are 8 books in this series. I did not read the previous before starting this one. Generally it isn’t necessarily required when it comes to historical romance. With this series I felt a little out of place because there was a lot of missing context due to me not reading the previous books in this interconnected series.
One of the tropes I consider a spoiler is one that I absolutely hate. The use of the trope made this a harder book to enjoy, with it being the main trope of this couple. It was never made clear if he was just a big hypocrite (as men of the time generally were) or justifiably upset. The slow burn timing was really well done.
Some of the transitions from POV shifts or scene changes were fairly abrupt, making the scenes not as seamless as it could have been.
Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Vouager for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
A Proposal They Can't Refuse by Natalie Caña
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
5.0
5⭐️2.75🌶️
Rom com
Multicultural romance
Friends to enemies to lovers
Marriage of convenience
Chef FMC
Brew Master MMC
Older Main Characters
He fell first
Forced proximity
Chicago setting
Barely open door romance
Tw: cancer, death of a family member
The side characters are so vibrant and adorable. I loved all of them. The family dynamics are top tier and so relatable!
Pop cultural references, but I didn’t mind.
The spice was there, but it was more liked a cracked door into the on page romance rather than open door. Things get hot and heavy, but the sex itself is off page.
As someone who only speaks English, the use of Spanish was a lot, but not overwhelming due to the wonderful way that it was used and expressed throughout the book. It lent such a rich texture to the family and story.
I adored this book so dang much!
Rom com
Multicultural romance
Friends to enemies to lovers
Marriage of convenience
Chef FMC
Brew Master MMC
Older Main Characters
He fell first
Forced proximity
Chicago setting
Barely open door romance
Tw: cancer, death of a family member
The side characters are so vibrant and adorable. I loved all of them. The family dynamics are top tier and so relatable!
Pop cultural references, but I didn’t mind.
The spice was there, but it was more liked a cracked door into the on page romance rather than open door. Things get hot and heavy, but the sex itself is off page.
As someone who only speaks English, the use of Spanish was a lot, but not overwhelming due to the wonderful way that it was used and expressed throughout the book. It lent such a rich texture to the family and story.
I adored this book so dang much!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Bull Moon Rising by Ruby Dixon
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
3⭐️3.5🌶️
First person
Present tense
Romantic Fantasy
Grumpy/sunshine
Mythical creatures
Marriage of convenience
Forced proximity
Guilds
Patriarchy
Training
The book cover is beautiful!
I went in completely blind with this being my first Ruby Dixon book. I know, I know… how is that possible? I’m not too sure. But here I am.
The plot was decent. There aren’t many archeological rom coms out there, so it was definitely unique. But I found things a little too repetitive in descriptions and internal dialogue. But the world building was well done and I found the setting to be engaging. Interconnected standalones in this would will be interesting.
The main characters were fine, but nothing to write home about. Nerdy/Curvy woman (who refuses to wear her glasses) is attracted to big and burly/grumpy minotaur. She seemed a bit too naive and immature for her age. And he didn’t have much of a personality at all.
The discussion about this looming Minotaur mating moon, overshadowed the plot just by how often it was mentioned. The spicy scenes that were present were fine, but lacked a level of intimacy due to the lack of kissing… because Minotaurs don’t have lips/can’t kiss… which makes sense… but still. There was knotting, but meh. I guess I need the romantic lead to have lips. I learn something new about myself every day.
The secondary characters were fun and a good diverse group of personalities. It was a good found family trope.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
A Reign of Rose by Kate Golden
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Reign of Rose
3.75⭐️3🌶️
Third book
Dual POV
Fantasy Romance
Healer FMC
Magic
War
Dragons
Mythical beasts
Betrayal
Imprisonment, self harm, Death, War
The book picks up nicely a few weeks after the end of book 2. There is some time jumping at the beginning that I feel lessened the impact of the kidnapping/imprisonment. It did introduce new characters that I loved.
The pacing was decent, but there were definite lulls where it just felt like the same plotting from previous books.
With how much plot happened off page, this should have been a multi pov book. Maintaining the dual pov and having side characters just show up with problem solving items/ideas/people in tow made it a bit too clean of a resolution to specific plot holes for my taste.
There was a lot of action/fighting/war but at times it was hard to follow clearly. So much felt jumbled up, especially in the pov shifts.
I feel like sometimes the character choices were very abnormal. They serve the plot, but they’re not consistent with who the characters are in previous books. But then they would have a moment that was very lined up with the character development.
I guess I don’t mind loose ends, if the Author admits that they are loose ends. It felt like a definite set up for expanding this series by at least 2 possible couples, but I don’t know if they would be compelling or high enough stakes after the villain of this story is defeated. I don’t think I would read further in this world.
Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
The Sacred Stones Series- 3.75⭐️3🌶️
A Dawn of Onyx- 4⭐️3🌶️
A Promise of Peridot-3.5⭐️3🌶️
Reign of Rose-4⭐️3🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
3.5⭐️.5🌶️
A great middle grade fantasy. The characters were good, but the plot was slow.
A great middle grade fantasy. The characters were good, but the plot was slow.
A Promise of Peridot by Kate Golden
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? No
3.5
A Dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Court of Talons by Jennifer Chance
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.0
4⭐️2.75🌶️
NA Post Apocalyptic Fantasy
Coming of age
Patriarchal society
Twelfth night reimagining
Warrior FMC
Magical beasts/familiars
Secret identity
House government system
Tournaments
I just wish there had been a world map in my eARC.
This was an amazingly unique magic system. I immediately was drawn into the world where men ruled with iron fist. I haven’t read many twelfth night/mulan reimagining, so I was pleasantly surprised by this fierce FMC. Talia witnessing her little brother being killed, takes up his identity to find the murderer and bring honor and vengeance to her house was a great background story for the FMC.
I enjoyed the Divh and look forward to the back story and further worldbuilding when it comes to understanding them better. The side characters were well conceived and brought so much heart to the story. I find it still unclear the structure of the world outside of the tournament, but I’m sure that the next book will widen the lense of the book to give us a fuller picture.
Modern language and phrases at times, but the writing style was easy to read and get drawn into.
The love story was a little too insta for me. Claiming an intense connection with very little interactions or knowledge of each other.
I’m excited to see where this story goes.
Thank you NetGalley and Oliver Herber Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
NA Post Apocalyptic Fantasy
Coming of age
Patriarchal society
Twelfth night reimagining
Warrior FMC
Magical beasts/familiars
Secret identity
House government system
Tournaments
I just wish there had been a world map in my eARC.
This was an amazingly unique magic system. I immediately was drawn into the world where men ruled with iron fist. I haven’t read many twelfth night/mulan reimagining, so I was pleasantly surprised by this fierce FMC. Talia witnessing her little brother being killed, takes up his identity to find the murderer and bring honor and vengeance to her house was a great background story for the FMC.
I enjoyed the Divh and look forward to the back story and further worldbuilding when it comes to understanding them better. The side characters were well conceived and brought so much heart to the story. I find it still unclear the structure of the world outside of the tournament, but I’m sure that the next book will widen the lense of the book to give us a fuller picture.
Modern language and phrases at times, but the writing style was easy to read and get drawn into.
The love story was a little too insta for me. Claiming an intense connection with very little interactions or knowledge of each other.
I’m excited to see where this story goes.
Thank you NetGalley and Oliver Herber Books for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
You, Again by Kate Goldbeck
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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
Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.75⭐️ 2.75🌶️