chaptersofmads's reviews
820 reviews

“And what was freedom worth if I still felt imprisoned?”

I had such a good time with this.

With a focus on female rage, betrayal, magic, and revenge, For She Is Wrath serves as a reminder of just how thrilling and enjoyable YA fantasy standalones can be. It was so refreshing to see a main character that is actually willing to hurt people, instead of boasting about it and then... just... not.

The romance was also so much fun. It's been awhile since I've felt any fictional couples had any chemistry but they did and I loved them for it. This is partially because lovers-to-enemies is in my top three favorite tropes of all time, but also because Emily Varga did a really good job crafting their connection and tension in a rather short space.
(The Pride and Prejudice reference was also beautifully handled.)

I'm not saying this book was perfect. It can be a bit cheesy, with a main character that sometimes felt like a cartoon villain (I love and adore her though), and a plot that happens a bit too conveniently; but these aspects are genuinely easy to overlook with everything else going on.

Overall, this is so underrated and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a unique, romantic, revenge fueled YA fantasy standalone.

Cute and humorous. I see why so many people love this story so much. I think I expected a bit more due to the hype, but I didn't mind it.

Nothing's wrong with this, I'm just incredibly bored and have no urge to keep reading. 

Easily one of my most hated books of the year.

I'm too angry about what I just read to write a coherent review right now.

Imagine, if you will, that The Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and The Infernal Devices all got together and had a baby with the magic of science. Imagine how excited everyone would be for this baby, because they really enjoy each of its parents' presences and can't wait to see the beautiful, unique little being their union has created.

Now imagine if that baby came out as a turkey with a slave kink and a tendency to bastardize its parents qualities.

Confusion! Alarm! Disgust!

Except! Everyone else really likes this turkey? They say it's even better than its beloved parents. That turkey earns a 4.16 average rating and you're left to question... am I the problem? Is there something wrong with me for not liking this turkey?

This book is that turkey.

I respect the opinions of everyone that loves the ugly little bastard, but I'm simply overjoyed to be free of it. 

“For the reckless souls who dare to love and be loved”

I never want to read the words pretend or darling ever again. :)

Powerless wasn't great, but I still saw why people enjoyed it and thought it served as a good introduction to fantasy - due to how recognizably influenced by popular YA fantasy books it was. I also think I gave it a bit of grace since it was self-published to begin with and hoped that this book would stand on its own two feet a bit better.

That did not happen.

Instead, Reckless stole feet (specifically from Dance of Thieves, Red Queen, and Tangled) and used said stolen appendages to stand on a pile of manure, into which it slowly descended through the length of the novel.

Which is to say: this was bad and I did not like it all.

Reading is subjective and I know that this was partially intended for a specific type of reader that I am not. I respect that. However! This was also objectively atrocious in literally every regard - from the writing style to the plot to the characters and their absolutely horrific attempt at romance. Holy shit.

(There were also quite a few problematic elements, particularly in regards to the descriptions/treatment of BIPOC characters. While I don't believe it was the author's intent for these lines to read that way, I'm surprised it wasn't noticed by an editor.)

I can't think of a different way to word this, so I hope my meaning won't be misunderstood: it was abundantly obvious that this book was written with TikTok in mind. And I don't mean BookTok as a whole, I mean TikTok video formats and the algorithm. The lines are written like they're all meant to be taken out of context and used to market the book, which I understand.

The problem grows when these lines don't make sense in the context, making the reader feel weirdly divorced from the situations at hand.

For example:

"I'm tired of writing from the villain's perspective."
(This is said by a royal character whilst he's writing letters/signing official documents. It is the last line of a chapter and meant to be dramatic.)


First, there is nothing.
Second, there is everything.
There is her.
"Move, and I'll sink this dagger into your heart."
No. There is hatred.


"I see none of that, because I see nothing at all.
She is no one.
I am nothing.
We are forgotten.
And this is meaningless."


But I seem him now for what he is to me---dead.


"You think so little of me, Highness."
A laugh, "No, I think so often of you."

Aside from the fact that a lot of these read like Atticus poetry on Pinterest in 2016, they also read like they're meant to have a slowed and reverbed song behind them as blurry, nondescript fantasy pictures flash in the background.

This isn't me insulting BookTok or authors that use TikTok to promote their books. I love finding new books to read through every possible platform and I can 100% vibe to some cheesy ass, dramatic fantasy edit. But the intensity of the quotes needs to exist and fit into the story, rather than exist for the purpose of having a dramatic quote.

There are a lot of other issues I have with this book, including but not limited to:

- The worldbuilding (or lack thereof.)
Why the hell did we casually mention Achilles if this takes place in a world with no resemblance to our own? And if it's supposed to be our world but millions of years in the future, that is not made clear.

- The politics.
I don't even know what to say about this, other than the fact that this is the dumbest political environment I've ever read about. The resistance is laughable and the King is... Maven but with no actual reason for being the way he is?

- The "romance".
I mentioned this earlier but it deserves repeating. I didn't like Kai and Paedyn's relationship in Powerless; I hated their banter and saw their feelings as incredibly childish. This book not only proved my point, but made me hate it even more.

There's an art to a 'will they, won't they' situation that a lot of authors don't master. In the case that it isn't done well, it just reads like characters that keep having a melodramatic internal monologue as they make out with the person they just said they were going to kill. It ends up with the same sentence being repeated five. million. times and the reader wanting to become Dobby and slam a lamp into their skull.

I didn't go into this book expecting to hate it. In fact, I really hoped to enjoy it more than the first and I'm really disappointed that the opposite happened.

As I'm saying all of this, I want to add: I've followed Lauren Roberts since before she began writing Powerless. I've enjoyed her content and have cheered for her successes along with everyone else. I'm truly happy that she's gotten to pursue her dream and has found such a loving audience for her works. This review is in no way meant as an insult to her as a person.

With all of that being said, I wanted to love this and I'm really sad that I disliked it as much as I did. I hope that Lauren Roberts continues to find readers that love and support her work, even if it doesn't work for me.

“I was my past and my present—and I would forge my own future.”

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Oh, how I missed Sue Lynn Tan's writing style.

Atmospheric and romantic, Immortal reads like a fairytale, leaving the reader caught up in a haze of enchanting descriptions and dramatic conflicts. Between the lush world-building and the whimsical prose, Sue Lynn Tan's novels are always as beautiful as their covers - this one being no different.

Despite my eventual enjoyment, there was a moment when I was worried I wasn't enjoying this as much as I'd hoped. This was because I struggled to connect with the book at first, due to a few elements I can't discuss here because of spoilers. What I can say is that if you're struggling with the beginning of the book, (most likely) those aspects have a purpose and will be explained.

Like Daughter of the Moon Goddess this book was a fantastical experience, transporting me to the events taking place and leaving me feeling the way a beautiful movie score does. I loved being back in this world.

Overall, I had a fantastic time reading this and I'm still so incredibly grateful for chance to read an ARC. While I don't think this book will work for every reader, I recommend it to anyone that loves romantic fairytales and books that feel like magic. 

I don't know how to rate or review this, because my opinions are terribly conflicted.

Many of the problems I had with this book have already been touched on in other reviews far more eloquently than I ever could, but to name a major one very briefly: this book was incredibly misogynistic to black women.

Despite seeing the potential that this story had and appreciating it for everything it was, the issues I had with this book overshadowed any positive opinions.

“All that is good comes from the Gods. All that is evil comes from men.”

I have already spent too long with this book and I don't want to spend even more writing a long, in-depth review.

So, to put it briefly: reading Sword Catcher was like talking to a really hot person only to find out that they're actually very terrible and dull.

It has one of the most beautiful covers (don't get me started on the Illumicrate special edition) that I have ever seen and one of the worst interiors I've witnessed in quite awhile.

I didn't go into this expecting perfection. I have enjoyed most of the Shadowhunters books, even though I think they're mostly messes. But this was... just horrendous on so many fronts.

This had all of the aspects that people think make YA books weak, but with brothels and a main character (/main love interest???) that has a book his friend commissioned with portraits of his possible marriage choices completely nude (without their knowledge, based on the imagination of the artist).

It was also really, really boring.

Sword Catcher's only redeeming quality (aside from its gorgeous cover) were the moments that I found myself engaged in the political drama/magic system, but those moments were fleeting and didn't make up for the hundreds of pages of nothing.

Overall, if it wasn't clear, this wasn't for me. In fact, the only other positive thing I can say about it is how pleased I am to be finished with it.

"You have to decide what matters most: your humanity or your survival."

I am incredibly conflicted on how to review this.

Blood Scion was one of the most difficult reads I've experienced in quite awhile. Opening with a paragraph informing you that this story was inspired by the real life horrors endured by child soldiers, you know what you're getting yourself into. And yet, I don't think you can fully prepare yourself for reading about the terrible things our MC experiences.

With subject matter like this, it's impossible to review the story the same way I would other fantasy novels.

I will say that there are lot of really well-done things about this book. There's never a moment where it's unclear how much this story and its lessons meant to the author. Her meaning is palpable on every page and I admire that.

Despite that, there were so many things I struggled with.

To just name some:
The plotting/world-building/military structures are really, really inconsistent and illogical. For how incredibly violent, present, and terrifying the authorities are, none of the main character's successes make sense. Much of the dialogue is melodramatic to the point of lessening the intensity of the situations, particularly when it's an antagonist speaking. The romance is also between a 15 year old and a 22 year old. (This may have been intentionally uncomfortable, but since his age is never actually stated and the reader has to do the math, this is still a bit odd.)

I don't want to sit here and make it sound like I'm trying to bash this, especially because I can see what it wanted to be and I know a lot of other people really connected with its execution. But - for me - beyond the extremely poignant, powerful messaging, the rest of the book kind of just falls apart.

I don't know if this review made any sense because my thoughts truly feel really incoherent about this. I'm thankful I read it and I admire the author's ability to weave real-world horrors with a fantastical setting, but it didn't work for me.

Don't let this review turn you off of reading it. If it still sounds like something you want to read, please give it a try. I can't overstate how much I appreciate the messaging of this book, even if the rest of it didn't work for me. 

"At this precise moment, I can genuinely say that my only wish is to remain here with you."

I'm incredibly pleased to say that I found this a drastic improvement on book 1.

To be clear, I didn't dislike book 1. I actually enjoyed quite a bit of it, but my feelings were also conflicted due to some personal and technical complaints (particularly in the treatment/abuse of the changling fae child and the ableist narrative it perpetuated) but also... I didn't really care for the romance.

This book was practically a 180. It maintained everything I appreciated about the first book, while improving on every single aspect that I had struggled with. The romance? Spectacular. The pacing? I couldn't put it down. This was magical and dark and romantic, without any of the aspects that made me question if I even enjoyed the first book.

That isn't to say this book was perfect, more just that it was perfect for what I needed right now. It still has some rocky moments in terms of plotting, but I had such a great time reading that they were easy to overlook.

I won't say that it was entirely unproblematic as I'm sure there could be something I missed/overlooked, but from my perspective, I didn't notice anything that was nearly as devastating or offensive as some of the plot-points in its predecessor.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Whether you loved book 1 or felt neutral about it, I'm here to join with the majority in saying that this is much better.