crownedaimee's reviews
385 reviews

I just wanted to start of saying that I never read Macbeth or seen a stage production so I was going into this book partly blind. Nonetheless, I was looking forward to reading this but I was struggling to get through it. It had so much potential but kinda just felt a little flat. I often found myself skimming this just to get through it which is such a shame. I couldn't even really tell you anything that happened because my mind as just blanked this book out. 

Don't get me wrong the actual writing itself is beautifully written but everything else I just couldn't connect with. The pacing was off and it didn't feel like much was happening in order to keep me entertained or wanting for me to continuing reading. I forgot that was considered a fantasy because there wasn't much fantasy elements within in the book, save from the witches towards the end of the book which was it's saving grace for me. Lady Macbeth has magical powers yet barely uses them? Seriously? 

The characters were completely one dimensional and lacked any character growth whatsoever. Lady Macbeth is described to be clever, ruthless, ambitious and manipulative but yet we got none of this, she was just a highly unlikeable character. The only characters that were mildly interesting was the witches and they were barely in it. The romance was so out of place as well, I just didn't care for it at all. And on top of all of this, this version of Lady Macbeth is xenophobic where Scottish people are constantly viewed as violet brutes. Was the really necessary? No it wasn't. I don't get why any of it was added in the part. 

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review. 

I absolutely loved the first book and couldn't wait for the sequel so when I received the ARC I screamed.  This book did not disappoint, I was hooked from the start and didn't want to put it down. I need the next book in my hands right now! especially with that ending and while the conclusion did feel a little rushed, I still loved it. 

I loved the banter between Evie and The Villain. They are absolutely adorable and the tension between them! They had me laughing on so many occasions. Their slow burn, grumpy/sunshine romance is to die for. While I don't remember much of what happened in the first book, it is easy enough to pick up and follow. The characters were amazing, I am looking forward to reading more about Blade and Becky, as well Kingsley! Evie really steps into her own within this book, always speaking her up and actually standing up to The Villain. Don't even get me started on The Villain, every time we had his pov and he was voicing that he liked Evie, just had me squealing and kicking my feet. 

I did however feel myself getting a little lost with the events that was happening because there was information with it and I think that we could've gotten a little more world building and learnt more regarding the curse, but they were my only issues with the book. 

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

This gave all the slasher movie vibes that I needed and I think this would be perfect for anyone who enjoys those type of horror movies especially Fear Street and Scream, or the TV Series School Spirits. I couldn't put this book down. 

How to Survive a Horror Movies follows Charley who is sent to an all-girls boarding school on remote island. In attempt to escape her trouble past, she focuses on keep a low profile for her final year. But when her classmates start dying one by one, as the token horror movie nerd, Charley is quick to realise that a serial killer is on the loose and the classmates aren't committing suicide like they are all made to believe. Being the only one able to communicate with her dead classmates, Charley decides to take matters into her own hands. And with no way to get off the remote island, what could possibly go wrong?

This is a fast paced book that easily draws your attention, not shying away from gore at all. And all the horror references! I love how Scarlett Dunmore navigates the reader through the dos and don'ts of surviving scenarios with all of those tips. If you haven't read or watched much within the horror genre then this is quite helpful. The aspect of having the ghosts brought such an interesting element and I loved Meghan. For a ghost, she really did have the best character development. While I did think it was cliche in places (the killer I'm looking at you), it was still quite an enjoyable read. However, I do think the suspense could've been built up more if we had more stalking from the killer. 

If you're looking for a book to read for Halloween then definitely pick this up. I can't wait for the sequel next year. 

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just want to start off by saying that I love Dustin Thao's debut novel You've Reached Sam, therefore making me so excited for this book. However, it seemed that Thao was capitalising on his success and said let's copy and paste regarding the themes, only this time it just felt flat.

The characters had no development and had zero plot progression. I felt like I was reading a book full of repetition of how Eric was going out and just seeing Haru wherever he went. How could a book feel so rushed but at the same time nothing happen? There was a twist at the end that should've been obvious with the little hints of foreshadowing but I kinda feel like it was unnecessary. It just seemed like a last attempt to get the readers to feel something for these characters. I wished that the book had been more focused on this, rather than the Haru storyline.

Speaking of the characters, there was a huge disconnect with me feeling anything towards them. We know that Haru was a figment of Eric's imagination to help him cope with the grief but at least can he have some personality? Also surely it would've been better to have Daniel that he's imagining, rather than some guy he had known for two seconds? I feel like the book would've benefited from another chapter or so to actually explore Eric and Haru's relationship more, because how do we know what the real Haru is like when he's just been Eric's imagination throughout the book. Additionally, I know that Daniel was Eric's best friend but why he was so hung up on a guy that kissed him on a whim then Daniel becomes awkward with Eric and decides to just flaunted his relationships in front of him.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Business Casual is the fourth book in the ‘Lovelight Farms’ series, following Beckett’s younger sister, Nova and Stella’s half brother, Charlie. Nova is a tattoo artist who is excited to be opening her own tattoo parlour whereas Charlie works in New York, who often makes regular trips down to the charming small town of Inglewild. In a place where love is in the air, Nova and Charlie simply are looking for a good time and nothing more. With Luka and Stella away on their honeymoon, Charlie takes over in helping with the farm and is only in town for a month. They decided that a one time thing should be enough. But is it?

I think this was the perfect end to this series, I loved seeing Nova and Charlie’s characters develop throughout this book, especially the moments where they could be themselves around each other, showing off their insecurities and vulnerabilities. They really balanced each other out so well. The scene where Charlie was looking after Nova when she had a migraine had me squealing. I loved to see the ADHD and migraine representation in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Lost and Lassoed follows Gus and Teddy who have hated each other for as long as they can remember. Gus is the eldest son of the Ryder family who is having to navigate life as a single dad as Riley plans to stay with him during the summer while Cam is interning at a major law firm in the city. Between his job, other commitments and having Riley full time, he's struggling to keep up with everything, and after forgetting to pick his daughter up after soccer practice, his family decided he needed help. Enter Teddy. Teddy has also been struggling, feeling like she has no direction in her life after recently being laid off at work. So when her best friend, Emmy, suggests working with Gus to look after his daughter, Gus has no other choice but to accept. 

I fell in love with Gus and Teddy since their endless banter and tension in Done and Dusted. I knew that I would be eating this book up and for the most part I did but I felt like as soon as they started getting more involved, they lost their spark. Like where was the tension, the banter that we had in the previous books? Don't get me wrong, I still loved these two but maybe I set my expectations a little too high. But this was enemies to lovers and forced proximity at it's finest. 

I can't wait to get my hands on Wild & Wrangled, Dusty and Cam better give me all the tension. Like how do you expect me to wait until 2025? It's literally impossible at this point. 

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

so this was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I was disappointed 🫣

I know I know I love Ali Hazelwood’s books but this one just didn’t hit the same for me. I didn’t care for any of the characters and I couldn’t even begin to tell you what was happening throughout the book other than Eli lusting over Rue for the entirely this book. Like where was the chemistry? It was non existent.

And the love confessions? You’re telling me that after you having lusted after this one person, you’re going to throw in a one second love confession and expect us to believe it? 

Maybe it was just not the right time for me to read it and I may give it another go sometime in the future but for now, it’s my least favourite Ali Hazelwood book.

Dragon Rider is Taran Matharu's debut adult fantasy novel, following Jai who lives as royal hostage alongside his elder brothers in the Sabine Court as children who have to serve the empire that is responsible for the death of their father. But as the empire continues to grow, a betrothal between the emperor and Princess Erica of the Dansk Kingdom is set to take place. But with the princess, comes her dragons that only her people can bond with. However the betrothal doesn't go as planned and Jai escapes with the Princess's handmaiden and one dragon egg.

I really wanted to love this book but I was struggling, the more I read the more I wanted to dnf but I pushed through it in hopes that it would get better and it didn't. The world building was lacking, the plot was lacking and I felt no connection to the characters in any way. None of it made me invested enough to hold my attention for long and often found myself skimming through the chapters. Why did it feel like something even happened despite it being nearly 500 pages long?

The pacing was so inconsistent, it took until 30% of the way through for something to finally happening but then it went back being dull once again. And when it finally picked up again towards the end, it felt so rushed. At this point, I'm still on the fence of continuing with the series because I know I would want to know what happens next but I won't be in any rush to read it if that's what I decide to do.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.