lacrimamundi's reviews
413 reviews

I don't know what to say, those poems are AM-AZ-ING.

I found myself nodding along quite a bit, and some took me by surprise and brought back memories and feelings that hurt. That's a good thing, that's what poetry is for. That's why I love reading it.

Lou's poems? Yes, please! I need more of those!


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A lovely collection of raw and honest poetry.

I enjoyed it a lot. Will continue with reading all the other poetry from Lou.

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Another cute, funny, and heart-warming story about Darryn the Half-Orc and his best friend Karla from author Michelle Franklin. This time about celebrating Valentine's Day and Harglebargle, and the joy of friendship and making new friends.

Lovely written, relatively easy to read (or even very easy, if you are proficient in Orc), and the illustrations by Jonathan Burrello are adorable and will make you smile.

Suitable for orcs and humans of all ages.

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This story wasn't half bad. The writing itself was good, the story intriguing, and the characters interesting. After a bit of a slow start, with a bit of info dumping, the story took off and had me captivated. A witchy murder mystery in a fantasy steampunk setting? Hell yes - that's why I picked it up. And Evans delivers on all those aspects quite sufficiently.

But, there are a number of glaring issues:

1) An AI cover with a typo on it for the DRC version, as well as still for the paperback version available on Amazon. Total no-go. The typo as well as the use of AI. 

2) Subpar editing. There are quite a number of smaller typos and other editing oddities (missing quotation marks, redundant spaces, misplaced commas, the wrong book title referenced in the Thank You note at the end, etc.) left. Could be down to the fact it's an DRC, could be the published version is the same. Who knows? I am not willing to let this slide, as I have the suspicion it might as well still be, as 1. is still an issue.

3) The worldbuilding is huge - and by far too much for just one story. Which makes the initial info dump - mainly about the different species existing in this world - also a bit pointless. I assume the author might plan to build upon it in the future. Alas, due to the fact that she uses AI heavily for her book covers, as well as all over her Substack, this will sadly be the first and last story I ever read of hers.

Which is a shame, as it was a good story and quite an enjoyable read - which, as far as I can tell, has not been written by AI -, and I would love to read more of her stories. But I refuse to support authors who use AI for their books, be it covers, writing, editing - or whatever else.

Dear author, please reconsider the use of AI "art" for your books (and in general) - and I will gladly give them another chance one day.

Rating:

Story: 3.75 ★
Characters: 3.25 ★
Writing style: 3.25 ★
Editing/Proofreading: 2.0 ★
Cover: 0.00 

Final rating: 2.45 ★ 
(rounded up to 2.5 ★)

Somewhere between poetry and literary (non-)fiction sits this little collection of raw, honest, and heartfelt - and heartbreaking - poems written with a lot of soul, pain, struggle, and tears (I wager).

I would not exactly describe it as an 'enjoyable' read, but it's a read worth your time if you're willing to reflect, or find yourself - or find a friend between pages, accoutred in words.

It's not a poetry collection for the faint of heart and not one where you can read along and hide from yourself. Take that as a warning - or as in invitation. Which of those it shall be depends entirely on your personality, mindset, and current place in the world.

I found what I was looking for and can recommend this little book to everybody who loves modern 

A worthy and befitting ending for this highly entertaining and very intriguing trilogy full of so many wonderful characters and their stories. 

 Great continuation of the series. Very interesting and gripping story with some unexpected twists. 

This has been a very cute, cosy, funny, and adorable little story.

It made me laugh a lot, but also made me cry half my heart out because it's been so relatable.

The writing is wonderful, it's easy to read, and the graphics are adorable and will make you smile.

Suitable for orcs and humans of all ages.

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Can certainly compete with the 'Conspiracy of Magic', quite an intriguing story. Although it starts off a bit slow, but once it picks up it's hard to put down.

Quite an enjoyable read.