erinnicolecreads's reviews
207 reviews

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

While this book had good promise with its themes of revenge and female friendship, plus being culturally diverse, it unfortunately fell a bit flat for me. Readers are thrown right into the story with little background which threw me off - it felt as though it needed a prequel or a prologue at the very least to provide some context. The dialogue also fell flat for me. However I did like the action at the beginning of the story! Despite the issues I had with this specific book, there were a lot of aspects of the writing that I really enjoyed, like the pacing and action, so I hope to read more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! 
Fate of the Sun King by Nisha J. Tuli

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adventurous funny inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

AHHHHH the end of this book!!!! Gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for book 4 because no way I can survive not knowing what happens after that cliffhanger!!!! The middle portion of this book I found to be a little slower than the previous books, but the beginning & end (especially the end) made up for it! This book has all the best found family vibes, fated mates, a quest (I LOVE a quest) & lots of plot bombs that had me flipping the pages so fast to find out what happens next. I do wish some things were explained over more time & other things explained more briefly, but I had few complaints!! I really enjoyed this & am ecstatic for the next book!!!

Thank you to NetGalley & Forever for the eARC!!!
The Songs That Beckon by M.A. Brown

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really really enjoyed this book! I was immediately sucked into the story & I loved how unique it felt. As someone currently grieving, it was nice to feel seen & validated by watching the FMC go in & out of moments of grief throughout the story as sprung on by various reminders. This book had some nice found family & a romantic subplot. The writing was also very lyrical & poetic, which I enjoyed! My only complaints were that some things could have been explained a bit better/threaded into the story more (spoiler alert in this example, but FMC didn’t know she had powers for her whole life then suddenly masters it) & sometimes the banter felt a little forced. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed it!!! I loved the plot & I can’t wait to see where the story goes next!!! I have so so many questions that I need answered in book 2 & I don’t want to wait!!!!!

Thank you so much to the author, the publisher, and MTMC Tours for the review copy!
Tiger Chair: A Short Story by Max Brooks

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This story was well done, I just don’t think I was the target audience! This book was categorized as sci-fi, and while it was set in the future, I was expecting more sci-fi aspects. The story brings readers through correspondence from a Chinese soldier in WWIII as the Chinese army occupies Los Angeles. The story was well written and succinct, with each paragraph strategically revealing new information about the war. This story discusses war and fear of government in a very interesting way. I was occasionally confused while reading, but overall it wasn’t difficult to follow. I think someone interested in war-related literature would have enjoyed this story much more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon for the eARC!
Time's Agent by Brenda Peynado

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense 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? Yes

4.25

This was such a fascinating read! This book follows a researcher in the future working for an institution that investigates “pocket worlds”, aka parallel worlds that are connected to the present world. This story plays with theories of time and universes, while still uncovering human relationships, dealing with grief, and capitalistic societies. As a scientist myself, it was so interesting to put myself in the shoes of a researcher in the future navigating these discoveries and situations. I really enjoyed this quick read! Great representation of a wlw relationship without tokenizing the characters, & I appreciated the inclusion of an older main character. Very thought-provoking story. Well done.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
Rule of the Aurora King by Nisha J. Tuli

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was even better than book one! While I still thoroughly enjoyed book one, this one felt much more original. The slow burn was slowww and I ate it up. This was such a fun read! The ending set up book two perfectly and I’m so excited to dig into that one (SO grateful to have also received an ARC for that one because I need to read it pronto). It’s been a long time since I’ve been unable to get a cast of characters out of my head, but right now Nadir and Lor are living in it rent free! The pacing was good and while the story definitely focusses on the romance, the plot was still strong and much more unique than book one. So so excited for book two!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!
This Great Hemisphere by Mateo Askaripour

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This Great Hemisphere is an interesting read following an invisible woman living in a future world where invisibles are looked down upon - very closely resembling past/modern day racism. This story was so unique and the concept was so intriguing! The beginning of this book had me absolutely gripped, however, I felt as though it lost momentum throughout the story until the build up at the very end. At times, the skips between flashbacks to present were somewhat confusing. There were also multiple POVs to follow - I think it would’ve been helpful to have labels for each chapter stating the character from whose POV we’re reading from. The beginning & end were very strong, though! Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book & the overarching message behind it is so very important! 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!!
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Queen of Shifting Sands by Kaitlyn Carter Brown

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adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The blurb of this book sounded captivating and the cover was beautiful, so this book immediately caught my interest. While this book definitely had a ton of potential, I felt as though it fell flat for a variety of reasons. This book was very slow in pace. I also found that the conflict/purpose of this story was not very clearly defined and didn’t seem very urgent, so it was hard to capture my interest. The characters also fell a bit flat for me and weren’t very multi-dimensional, with the exception of one or two characters. What I did like about the story, though was the disability representation and the quality of the writing! The writing was well done & the scenery was beautifully described, making it easy to imagine the setting. The male main character is also a wheelchair user, and never once was it treated as a hindrance or was he discriminated against for it. I love how that showed that people with disabilities have a place in both fantasy and romance novels. 

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 
Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh did this book ever make me FEEL. While I found the plot twists/grand reveals in this one much more predictable than in book one, this book made me go through so many emotions & I fell so deeply in love with all of the characters. I loved the multi-pov in this one as well. I don’t even know how to compose a proper review about this book I just want to scream about it I loved this duology so much 
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I have not been ADDICTED to a book in so long!! I actually could not stop reading this book. I loved the characters. I loved the magic system. I loved the world building. None of it felt slow for me. There was constantly something gripping me to continue flipping me pages. I don’t even know how to write a well composed review right now I’m just so buzzing after finishing that. Starting book 2 literally as we speak