lovefromhannah's reviews
363 reviews

didn’t want to finish it, not that i couldn’t. i lost interest. 

Fleabag but on steroids and vampirism

The best memoir I have read.

Full rtc

if you want an anime romeo and juliet graphic novel that is easy to read, then this will be perfect for you. I found it a little too simple and not enough exposition for my taste.

thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for gifting me with a free review copy. all opinions are my own honest views.

THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING I DIDN'T KNOW I NEEDED

Best Hex Ever is the debut novel of ex-Waterstones employee Nadia El-Fassi. This novel revived me from my month long reading slump, which I didn't think was possible for this bisexual witch cafe owner x museum curator romance.

I don't often read contemporary novels - or romance novels, in general - but this book is making me start. I didn't feel like the magic elements were out of place (yes, there are only 4 characters with magic) in this novel: a balanced blend of witchy magic and the usual chaos of dating/relationships with the business of life in London.

However, I have seen criticism of this novel and its use of tropes, in particular the insta-love trope. Whilst yes, the characters are attracted to each other from their meet cute, neither of them act upon these feelings until much later in the novel. In fact, Dina (our witchy protagonist) spends a large chunk of the novel scared of these feelings and what they mean (in regards to a spoiler which I will not mention).

Nadia El-Fassi's debut novel is like coming home to the kettle already boiling. I will definitely be reading her next book.

You can find Nadia El-Fassi on Twitter @chronicles_of_n.

Your Blood and Bones is perfect for those wanting an enigmatic, dark fantasy story about the true identity of monsters.

The main characters are shunned for their otherness. The girl was going to be killed until the boy rescued her from the place she thought she was safe. Home.

She has lost all hope of living a normal life until her rescuer mentions a cure.

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I was pretty excited for this when I saw this novella in my dashboard. Girlhood in relation to monsters is a favourite trope/sub-genre of mine so I was expecting to adore this. However, my problem lies not with the characters and the setting but with the writing. At times, I found it hard to determine what the author was referring to; other times, Anderson would spend an entire paragraph describing something with the same metaphors and descriptions. I'm all for long, elegant description but when the first and last sentence in a three sentence paragraph describe what the character is experiencing in the same way, I'm going to furrow my brows.

This author has a lot of potential and I would be interested in reading their other work. Your Blood and Bones could have done with another round of edits.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with a free e-ARC. despite this, all opinions are my own honest views.

When I first began reading this, I wasn't particularly hooked. I enjoyed the art and the aesthetic and the themes and they are what kept me reading. I felt myself skimming through some pages whilst basking in the amazing art.

With that being said, it clearly draws narrative inspiration from anime with some of the panels having similar catharsis and similarities anime reactions. Yet despite this, it feels western. After thinking about it for a while, I think it's because the worldbuilding felt rushed. I enjoyed the opening scene but the momentum of it was lost in the next scene where the artist attempt to introduce you to the lore.

This was an ARC. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for sending me a free review copy. My review is my own, honest opinion.

Tori Bovalino is a new author to me. I bought this one as well as Not Good for Maidens and The Devil Makes Three in a quest to read more folk horror to help me with my creative projects.

I enjoyed this and the atmosphere bovalino has built however, I did find myself skimming passages. I found that this leans more towards a younger YA audience (or an actual YA audience depending on your argument lol). I also didn't like how the Lord of the Forest is sometimes abbreviated; it really brought me out of the story.

I would recommend if you're trying to get into folk horror (even though I felt the horror aspects were somewhat lacking), fantasy set in a dark forest and visceral descriptions. With that being said, I can't wait to see what her other novels have in store!

paradise rot is better

 welcome to freakslaw. it's the circus that will shatter your grey, conversative, small-town life ... and the book that will make it oh so much better.

freakslaw by Jane Flett is a debut force to be reckoned with. for fans of kirsty logan and mona awad, flett's visceral writing and characters that truly come alive drag you into the world of freakslaw with them. you will follow the arrival of this chaotic, queer and magical found family (the freakslaws) and witness as they unfurl this quiet town into chaos.

nancy was my favourite character from the get-go. she is a scorpio (like me!), opinionated and her character was very edgy tumblr inspired. her lack of care for consequences made her come off a little annoying 3/5 deep into the novel; there are literally 3 pages of other extremely unique and well written characters that it didn't irk me that much. zed and ruth were the other stand out characters and I like the way ruth's story was rounded off.

this novel is not for the faint hearted. It is true chaos and folk horror and visceral and bloody and I love it.

this will not be everyone's cuppa tea, but if it's yours, then oh boy are you going to love this.

thank you to the publisher and the author for sending me this ARC. all opinions are my own, honest views.