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discardeddustjacket's reviews
316 reviews
Hook Shot by Kennedy Ryan
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
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? No
4.25
I just KNEW as soon as we met Kenan and Lotus in the first book, that I wanted to read their story as soon as I finished. And this book did not disappoint; I liked it even better than Long Shot.
As always, Ms. Ryan breaks our heart but she puts it back together. I cried so many times during this book, and the love story is so beautiful (the Song of Solomon quotes? Are you kidding me?? *sobs*)
As always, Ms. Ryan breaks our heart but she puts it back together. I cried so many times during this book, and the love story is so beautiful (the Song of Solomon quotes? Are you kidding me?? *sobs*)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Pregnancy
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Car accident
Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This solidifies my belief that Kennedy Ryan has a real talent for writing love stories that are truly devastating (and I mean that as a compliment). Her books evoke such powerful emotion; they’re always memorable. Her characters (especially the women she writes) are nuanced, and read like real people with real flaws, but most importantly, with deep wells of strength.
This one is no different. Be gentle with yourself and do not read this book if you are triggered by graphic depictions of domestic violence, physical, and/or sexual abuse. There are multiple instance of r*pe on page.
This one is no different. Be gentle with yourself and do not read this book if you are triggered by graphic depictions of domestic violence, physical, and/or sexual abuse. There are multiple instance of r*pe on page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death and Infidelity
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I don’t know how to explain it but it took me a while to get the “hang” of this book. For the first ~40%, I couldn’t really tell what sort of book I was reading. The tone of the first half (“You’ve Got Mail”?) feels very different than the tone of the second half (war drama), but once I reached that halfway mark, I felt like the story found its stride and I began to really enjoy it.
This surprised me, considering how much I loved “A River Enchanted” which got an easy 5-star rating from me when I read it last year (still haven’t got around to the sequel). I felt like the writing in this one was wasn’t as strong, either. I still liked reading it, but it didn’t necessarily blow me away like I was expecting it to (and maybe that right there is the problem: I had my expectations way too high).
This surprised me, considering how much I loved “A River Enchanted” which got an easy 5-star rating from me when I read it last year (still haven’t got around to the sequel). I felt like the writing in this one was wasn’t as strong, either. I still liked reading it, but it didn’t necessarily blow me away like I was expecting it to (and maybe that right there is the problem: I had my expectations way too high).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is what restored my love for reading as an adult. It’s truly remarkable in every possible way: the characters, the world-building, the story, all of it. I will never shut up about how much I love this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Murder
How to Be a Better Adult by Jacque Aye
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I’m so sorry, I wanted to like this book really badly because I’ve seen so many people talking about how it’s got that off-beat, fourth-wall-breaking, “Sorry to Bother You,” sort of vibe, but it just wasn’t for me.
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
It’s unusual for me to prefer the sequel in a duology, but good heavens, this book wrecked me in the best way. It had me laughing, it had me sobbing so hard my head hurt, and it had me wanting to toss it across the room in frustration. It ran me through the full gambit of human emotion.
Typically, in a story with such a large cast and divided amongst so many POVs, there’s at least ONE character that I don’t like as much as the rest and when it gets to their POV I have to kind of force myself to push through, but that never happened in this case, even with six separate POVs. Every single chapter only served to endear me to each of these characters even more. I love all of them so much.
Even though I read it in three sittings, if I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it. I was distracted going about my day because at all times, half of my conscious brain was still inside of the story, worrying about my friends. For me, that’s the mark of truly remarkable fiction.
Typically, in a story with such a large cast and divided amongst so many POVs, there’s at least ONE character that I don’t like as much as the rest and when it gets to their POV I have to kind of force myself to push through, but that never happened in this case, even with six separate POVs. Every single chapter only served to endear me to each of these characters even more. I love all of them so much.
Even though I read it in three sittings, if I wasn’t reading this book, I was thinking about it. I was distracted going about my day because at all times, half of my conscious brain was still inside of the story, worrying about my friends. For me, that’s the mark of truly remarkable fiction.
Keep Me Close by R.M. Virtues
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
First off: I really like R.M. Virtues and I think he’s a very talented writer. I think this book is really strong in a number of areas. I loveddddd Hephaestus’ character especially, and his and Aphrodite’s relationship was what kept me pushing.
The bodyguard romance trope is one of my personal favorites, and the disability representation here is top notch. Heph’s condition is never handled like a weakness or a flaw, but simply a part of who he is, and it’s also not glossed over. It’s addressed with the appropriate neutrality.
I also really liked the plot arc that revolved around Heph’s family and his place in it. That tugged at my heart something fierce.
The reason I struggled with this book was more a matter of personal taste and pacing. I have a tough time pushing through super action-packed stories unless I’m already thoroughly invested in the characters, and this book drops us right in the action from the very first page. I’d say the entire first half of this book is mostly a crime drama heavy on the investigations, interrogations, security sweeps, stakeouts, shootouts, etc. The emotional/romantic aspect of the plot between the main characters doesn’t really feel like it becomes a driving part of the story until the midway mark, and that made it hard for me to want to push through all the action since I didn’t really care about the characters yet, does that make sense?
But like, I also get that it’s supposed to be enemies-to-lovers (or something like it) so I understand that the relationship has to take time to evolve. It’s more like, my issue was that the relationship felt kind of sidelined or stunted in the first half.
But speaking of characters, there’s soooooooo many. Even though I read the first book in this series, I still had a lot of trouble keeping all the characters straight—who’s related to who, how old they’re supposed to be, etc. It might be easier if you already have a lot of background knowledge of Greek mythology for context, but mine is limited to only very basic stuff, so I was lost.
I really really wanted to like this book more than I did, especially with how much I loved the main characters. I’m still gonna keep reading books in this series, I just think I was a bit disappointed by this one, and that’s ok!
The bodyguard romance trope is one of my personal favorites, and the disability representation here is top notch. Heph’s condition is never handled like a weakness or a flaw, but simply a part of who he is, and it’s also not glossed over. It’s addressed with the appropriate neutrality.
I also really liked the plot arc that revolved around Heph’s family and his place in it. That tugged at my heart something fierce.
The reason I struggled with this book was more a matter of personal taste and pacing. I have a tough time pushing through super action-packed stories unless I’m already thoroughly invested in the characters, and this book drops us right in the action from the very first page. I’d say the entire first half of this book is mostly a crime drama heavy on the investigations, interrogations, security sweeps, stakeouts, shootouts, etc. The emotional/romantic aspect of the plot between the main characters doesn’t really feel like it becomes a driving part of the story until the midway mark, and that made it hard for me to want to push through all the action since I didn’t really care about the characters yet, does that make sense?
But like, I also get that it’s supposed to be enemies-to-lovers (or something like it) so I understand that the relationship has to take time to evolve. It’s more like, my issue was that the relationship felt kind of sidelined or stunted in the first half.
But speaking of characters, there’s soooooooo many. Even though I read the first book in this series, I still had a lot of trouble keeping all the characters straight—who’s related to who, how old they’re supposed to be, etc. It might be easier if you already have a lot of background knowledge of Greek mythology for context, but mine is limited to only very basic stuff, so I was lost.
I really really wanted to like this book more than I did, especially with how much I loved the main characters. I’m still gonna keep reading books in this series, I just think I was a bit disappointed by this one, and that’s ok!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Listen did I have any idea what was going on half the time? Absolutely not. But I still enjoyed the hell out of this book. The characters are really well-written and the pacing is just right.
A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
This was a solid, well-written, dark fantasy. I loved the magic system (as someone who grow up obsessed with Cardcaptor Sakura, card-based magic systems hold a special place in my heart). I can’t wait to read the next installment of the series because there’s so much more i want to know about the characters and how they’ll development.