elpisgalaxy's reviews
419 reviews

The Prince of Starlight by Lou Wilham

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adventurous dark funny 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

4.75

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book ended up completely blowing me away. It started off slow and I had a hard time getting into it at first but once Cricket and Ignaccia left the castle I started to enjoy it a lot more and once I reached the halfway point, I was literally reading it non stop. Cricket, Ignaccia and Yoshi all had a good dynamic when working with each other trying to solve the curses plaguing their kingdom. Cricket was a bit of an irritating character at times but Ignaccia and Yoshi did a good job keeping him and each other in check while dealing with dangerous situations. I also enjoyed how action packed it was and how while romantic elements between Cricket and Yoshi were certainly there it didn't take over the whole book.

The worldbuilding and character development felt a bit weird at times for me, but we learned more about the characters and the world throughout the book so I'm not complaining too much. I did find the beginning of the book to be a bit slow and I had a hard time keeping track of who was who.

Overall 4.75/5 stars

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Spells by Aprilynne Pike

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adventurous mysterious slow-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

3.5

Much like the last book, I have mixed feelings about this one. A lot went on it and the book took place over the span of six months or so. This is my second time reading this book and it's probably been about 8 years since I've read it and my opinion on things have changed. I enjoyed the parts of the book that took place in Avalon as it was interesting to learn about that realm and the culture there. However, parts of it definitely haven't aged well for myself. The caste system among different types of faeries felt very forced at times and honestly made me uncomfortable with how spring faeries were treated in relation to other faeries. Off the top of my head I can think of a few different ways to improve upon the idea while still having faeries being specialized in different skills but I'm guessing it was done this way to play up the forbidden romance aspect that was popular for books of its time.

I'm also not a being fan of Tamani or David. I actually find David to be a far more likeable character this time around but at the same time beyond just helping Laurel with Faerie stuff in book 1 it didn't really feel like they had much in common other than he was the first guy who really talked to her. Tamani is honestly even worse. Sure they had a long history before she was transplanted into the human world but he doesn't really seem to take Laurel's feelings into consideration a lot of the time. I am proud of Laurel for finally setting some boundaries at the end of the book but I suppose we can see if they actually stay that way. 

Honestly though, Laurel is clearly into both of these guys and this love triangle stuff just feels very forced when there is obviously another choice there. As much as this book bothered me at times, it was a genuine page turner and there was a lot of thought put into description of places. 
Wings by Aprilynne Pike

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adventurous mysterious slow-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

3.5

Mixed feelings about the book. I read it many years ago and I’m just now revisiting it. I like the concepts presented in it especially surrounding Faeries but I think it could’ve been executed a lot better than it actually was. The characters felt a bit shallow and all the main characters felt a bit too perfect. Especially for the Faerie characters but I’m assuming that was kind of the point. I also don’t really like the fact that there’s a love triangle presenting itself already but I suppose I’ll have to see what happens. 

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Illuminator Witch by Ashley McLeo

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adventurous emotional medium-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

4.0

I’ve been looking forward to this book for months now but I had a hard time getting into the book at first. It started out fairly slow paced but did rapidly pick up speed. There was a lot of action in this book but it was also mixed in well with slower moments. I do wish the book and series as a whole focused a bit more on the other siblings as well. At the same time though the dual perspectives of Lana and Finn did offer a lot to the story especially with both people going different ways throughout the book. There was also a lot of thought and world building put into the world in general which especially became prevalent in the beast realms. Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the book and I enjoyed the ending to this series. 

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The Wounded World by Ariele Sieling

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adventurous slow-paced

2.5

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wanted desperately to like this book especially since I've liked all the other series this author has written but this book just wasn't doing it for me. I had a hard time getting into the story and keeping track of what was happening. There were a bunch of characters and places but I had a hard to conceptualizing and getting really attached or remembering them. I kept waiting for the book to get more interesting but it just wasn't happening for me. If you like other books that the author has written and Sci-fi you'll probably end up liking this.
My Heart to Find by Elin Annalise

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dark emotional informative slow-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? Yes

4.5

My Heart to Find follows Cara, someone with Lyme Disease and OCD resulting from the Lyme disease who recently reconnects with Damien someone who she met a few years ago on a retreat for asexuals. The book follows them getting to know each other again while also trying to solve a disappearance of a young woman in their town.

This has definitely been my favorite Aces in Love book I've read so far in the series. There was some aphobia much like two of the other books but it wasn't really the center focus as ableism from medical professionals was. I enjoyed watching Cara and Damien get to know each other and I also liked Cara having another ace friend and the different perspective she brought along too.

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In My Dreams by Elin Annalise

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

I enjoyed this book a lot. I found Polly to be a deeply relatable character even though asexuality is a bit different for me, I found a lot of similarities and it was an engaging plot. I did find the characters to be a bit frustrating at times with their struggles to communicate but that’s probably just a way I differ. I did find the infantilization of Polly and asexuality from her friends to be frustrating to read. I also just wish more of the characters actually got developed since it was hard to tell why Polly was even friends with them. But at the same time it is nice to read a romance story where it feels like I’m actually somewhat represented.

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