mcgbreads's reviews
1125 reviews

ARC review; thanks to NetGalley and Unnamed Press for the access to this ebook. Pub date: Mar 4, 2025.

Boy do I hate when a debut novel just doesn't work for me and this really, really didn't work for me. I was excited about it because the premise is very intriguing and the cover is beautiful. However, what I got just wasn't it. Not in my opinion, anyway. 2.5 stars. 

This is about a small group of archeologists who are going to a remote cave in the Siberian wilderness to do an extensive dig in a place that's said to be "occupied." Doesn't that sound great?! So, you see, I was expecting tension, eeriness, creepiness, atmosphere, or thrills of some kind. Even a little horror! But I didn't get any of that. 

My biggest issue is the pacing. It was so bad and so not what I expected, it threw me off right away. It takes them 35% (!!!!) to even get to the cave and that 35% was incredibly boring, with the exception of maybe the first 5 or so chapters, where we get introduced to the characters and get a feel of the kind of people they are. They're not very interesting people, by the way, and they don't really like each other, a fact that's shoved down our throats throughout the book for no reason. 

After every chapter, I kept thinking, "Okay, surely they won't be on this train for much longer, right?" 

When they finally do get to the cave, things get a little more interesting and I started having hope again. There's a claustrophobic scene inside the cave that was really good and they actually dig up something unexpected, but they don't spend much time there before going back to a town or whatever, and I was shocked by that. It made no sense to interrupt their time at the cave, what the fuck?

Then, they return to the cave and it's already, like, 70 or 80%, so of course things start picking up. Weird things happen, things escalate a little, and we finally learn what's "occupying" the cave. The thing is, and this is my second biggest issue with the book, the discovery is incredibly unbelievable and zero attempt was made at making it believable within the reality of this novel, so it falls flat on its face. It just doesn't work, in my opinion. Not at all. 

And it could have worked, that's the thing!!! It could've worked and it could've been such an impactful and creepy story, but it wasn't cause it wasn't established well. And the characters' reaction to this amazing discovery was sooo... flat. You'd think they discovered something completely ordinary. None of them were in awe or terrified by some of the things that happened. I have no words for how underwhelming everything was in the end. 

One thing this does have going for it is the writing. Ella Alexander can write and I will keep an eye out for any future books, but this one is a no for me and I feel sorry about that.

ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, and The Borough Press for the access to this ebook. Pub date: Feb 13, 2025. 

Oh, man... I loved "Weyward" so I was excited for this, but it ended up feeling like a less interesting and less well-executed version of that book. This sucks to say because, according to the acknowledgments, the author spent a lot of time on it. I would still recommend this if you love historical fiction, character-driven stories, magical realism, and a bit of mystery, but don't expect anything mindblowing in the mystery department. 

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The premise sounded interesting, but the characters, the setup, how things happen, and the twists are all just so underwhelming in "The Sirens." I'm not saying this book is boring cause it's not, it holds your attention just enough to get through it, but it's simply not as exciting as it wants you to believe. It left me feeling it was "a book I read" and that's never great. 

I was able to guess the twist at 27% and that's also when the MC should've guessed it cause it's so fucking obvious. That's the most unfortunate part of this and my biggest issue cause everything after that point feels like a drag. When things finally come to light at like, idk, 80% of the book, I was already over it. There's no emotional impact or any kind of impact whatsoever cause I already knew that was coming and nothing was added to it to make it shocking. I felt absolutely nothing.

After that, everything gets resolved quickly cause women are great and men suck, which I don't disagree with. Statistically, men are the worst. My issue is that the author is heavy-handed with her man-hating sentiment but adds no valuable commentary to any kind of conversation, imo. Her evil male characters are extremely shallow and one-dimensional, they barely have any characterization beyond "domestic abuser", "groomer", or whatever reprehensible thing the author decides they are, and the same can be said about her good male characters. The female characters don't have any profound or impactful conversations/introspections about what these men in their lives have done to them. It's just "men are bad and they always victimize women," and we all know that. 

I remember seeing a few reviewers mention this issue about "Weyward" as well, even boiling it down to "We get it, Emilia Hart, you hate men." It didn't bother me in that book because the female characters were so rich and interesting, but it does stand out to me in this one, where not much was interesting to me, so I was hyperfocused on everything that wasn't working for me. 

ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and Orbit for the access to this ebook. 

As a shock to no one, I loved the hell out of this book. It's not a 5-star book because, as is the case with the rest of the series, they're not perfect to me. They can be slow and they often fall flat in certain aspects, so there's a bit of wasted potential in some corners, but they're an amazing time. 

For example, I feel like this one could've been darker and pushed harder to make me suffer a little more as a reader. Also, the last chapter didn't feel substantial or 100% satisfying as an ending to the story of these characters I've grown to love so much. It hurts me that there aren't more books in the series, I'm going to miss them no matter what, but that last chapter was a flat closure. 

All that said, I really, really enjoyed this. There was more of the Faerie world, more magic, more lore, and more romance. Also, the stakes felt higher, and it even made me well up a couple of times and cry once. It was such a good time! I just love being in this world and this book was no exception. 

I'm so happy to have spent so much time in Wendell's realm, it was delightful and distressing in equal measure. I understood why he loved his world so much and also why Emily needed some time to adjust to it. I was a bit annoyed whenever she left the realm to do other stuff because I immediately missed Wendell, but it made sense that she had to do that. And I guess, in a way, that's very immersive, missing Wendell like Emily does even if she's not overly expressive about it.

It's also a testament to how much I fucking loved him. Heather Fawcett did a great job with his character! I wish she had a spin-off series in store following Wendell's POV or some short stories or something because I love his voice so much. The few times he writes in Emily's journal in previous books and the letters in this one make me want more of him. So much more. 

Overall, this had more of the things that I already loved about the series while also having the same issues I found with the rest of the books, but a little toned down. Like, this is probably the fastest-paced book in the series by comparison but it still had a few lulls and pacing issues. So it was consistent but also an improvement, you know? 

Right away, I'm not sure if this is a good conclusion as a whole because that last chapter left a lot to be desired, but this book is no less than 4.5 stars. One of my favorite cozy fantasy Faerie series. 

ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Orbit, Hachette UK Audio, and Little, Brown Audio for the access to the ebook and audiobook. Pub date:  Feb 25, 2025. 

This was a delightful read. It's cozy but also very interesting because it leans on a lot of English folklore, so it's a kind of historical take on a fairy tale. I was excited about it not only because the premise sounded good and it's told from the perspective of a "monster," which is unusual, but also because it says it's for fans of T. Kingfisher and they also blurbed the book. I'm an easy mark. Thankfully, this does deliver. It's not perfect, in my opinion, but it was a good time. 

Basically, it's a quest adventure where, Jenny, a reclusive monster who lives in a lake, saves and joins forces with a witch, Temperance, who was thrown in said lake by her village and left to drown. The goal is to save the village from an evil influence and, to do so, they team up with a goblin and they're sent to find certain items. They meet a lot of magical/mythical creatures along the way and we see Jenny kind of find herself through this journey out of her comfort zone and the relationships she develops with the other characters. 

All that said, some things prevent me from giving this higher than 3.5 stars. It loses steam somewhere in the middle (the first 30 to 40% is better than the rest, IMO), not all characters are as interesting as Jenny, and it doesn't do anything exciting with the quest adventure story structure; they're sent to do or get something and they do or get it, very straightforward. 

Also, because it's all from Jenny's perspective, the writing style is kind of matter-of-fact. She's not particularly in awe of all the magical/mystical creatures they encounter or taken by the different settings they visit. I think this would've maybe benefitted from a few chapters from Temperance's POV to add some of that charm. It still had some whimsy and humor, but not as much as I'd like from a cozy fantasy. 

Where this really shines is the use of folklore. This author played with a lot of different stories and that's what made it interesting despite the issues I had with it. And I don't know many of the stories it references so, if you do, you'll enjoy this even more. Overall, a book to check out if you love quest adventures, fantasy mixed with folklore, and found family. 

I read about 60% via audiobook and then did a tandem read with the audiobook and ebook for the last 40%. The narrator did a great job with this and I enjoyed the way she voiced Jenny. It's definitely a great way to consume this story!

Do I understand what's happening in this arc? Not really, no. Do I still enjoy reading these? Absolutely.

I'm just going to let Fujimoto cook and wait to see where all this lands. Also, I really want Denji to be happy, please. Can we do that?

The flashbacks to Pochita and a younger Denji melt and break my heart every fucking time. I love them so much!

Oh, this is a tough one... 

This is a collection of short stories about the characters from CMBYN. There are 4 separate stories following Samuel (Elio's dad), Elio, Oliver, and then Elio and Oliver together. The stories themselves aren't bad, but the biggest problem with this book is that it's thought of as a sequel to CMBYN when I don't think it is and it changes or ignores things already established in CMBYN. 

I don't understand the need to retcon things that didn't need to be retconned. These stories could've been written around what was already established. It's like Aciman forgot what he already wrote and the editors didn't bring it up or something, and no one advocated for the integrity of CMBYN. I don't know. It's strange and it does a disservice not only to CMBYN but also to these stories, which could've been received better if it wasn't for that. 

As I said, the stories themselves aren't bad, but they're not great either. Samuel's story is the longest one and we follow him as he falls instantly in love with a younger woman he met on a train and starts a relationship with her. It was boring, it felt implausible in many ways, and the female character was poorly written. 

Elio's story was a bit better though not super compelling overall. We follow him as he meets a man 30 years older and falls instantly in love as well. This relationship makes Elio think about Oliver and how the relationships he has always pale in comparison to what he feels for him, even after all the years they've been apart and even if he does love the person. 

Oliver's story is the one I liked the most. It takes place during his going away party (he's moving out of New York) and we learn about two people (a man and a woman) he's been very attracted to since he met them. The tension between the three of them throughout the party is very sexy in a platonic way and well-written. At one point, the man takes to the piano and ends up playing the piece Elio once played for him. That's where the thoughts about Elio and the love they share begin, and we learn that Oliver has always been yearning for Elio and he hasn't been happy. 

Then, we have the shortest story, Elio and Oliver's. If you plucked it out of this book and published it on a blog or something as a little treat for fans, we would've begged for it to be expanded into a full book, and that's what Aciman should've done. In this collection, because it's coming after these other stories that retconned so many things, it loses impact. Yes, it's lovely to see Elio and Oliver finally back together, but we spend so little time with them that it almost doesn't matter. It felt like the beginning of a second part in a sequel about them if that makes any sense. 

Overall, I didn't hate this, but it's not particularly good and I agree with a lot of the criticisms. It just wasn't the best way to bring these characters back and write more about them, so it was very disappointing. 

This was stupid in a way that I couldn't have fun with or enjoy, and it made me feel nothing at all. There was no kicking my feet, no cozy feelings. Everything you think will happen happens, and that's not a problem if the story still makes me feel something. Not the case here. 

Nothing much happens except one-dimensional, adult characters acting like teenagers and making stupid, immature decisions so there could be some drama. And it was boring drama, the worst kind. It went by fast, it was something to listen to while I was working, and the narrator was very good; that's it.

It's a 1-star not because I passionately hate it, or I think it's the worst book ever written, or I had an awful time with it, it's a 1-star because it gave me absolutely nothing. It made my head feel empty and that kind of reading experience is a sin in my book. 

I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, there's truly no anger or any other kind of emotion behind my words, it's just my honest-to-God impressions and feelings. 

This is a romance if we agree that love is obsession, co-dependency, neglecting every other relationship in your life because you’re literally addicted to your partner, compulsively needing sex as reassurance, and not taking care of your mental health. And I don’t agree with that. 

The writing is beautiful and, yes, very romantic, there are so many quotes to gush over, but this relationship isn’t swoon-worthy and it’s not something I’d strive for. It felt unhealthy and, frankly, unsettling to me. I disliked them together so much, I feel like I read a completely different book from most people and I’m not sure what to do with that.

In reading the acknowledgments, I understand this is a personal work for this author. But while she says that it’s not a book about how pills are bad, that’s exactly what it reads like. Is that my fault as a reader? Or is the message simply contradicting the author’s intentions? I don’t know. All I know is that however beautiful the prose was, I can’t sit here and say that I think this is a beautiful love story. It wasn't. 

That said, I found the characters very interesting even if I didn’t like them all the time and certainly wasn’t rooting for them to be together. They felt very fleshed out and real, something I always enjoy. And they had to be because this is very much a character study, so there's really no plot. 

This book had me for the first 2 or 3 parts. Granted, I’m not ever thrilled about cheating that can and should be easily avoided, but I let that slide. It still lost me when I started realizing how unhealthy they both were together and it just kept getting worse. Once the glass breaks, it’s over. I finished it because the writing is truly fantastic, I just wish I actually liked the story... 

My first romantasy of 2025! And it was just fine. 

This was a silly goofy time, there’s really not much more to it than that. She gets drunk, loves cheese, accidentally saves a demon, they fall in love while they’re on a little adventure, and they f*ck. Absolutely nothing unexpected. 

It’s the perfect read for when you want something quick, fun, and spicy. 

I really liked the FMC, she was spunkyyy. Overall, this was extremely self-aware about all the tropes it dips into and it’s tongue-in-cheek about it. I respect that and it’s always better (to me) than when the author chooses to be serious about it.

I appreciate this for being an example of early psychological horror and I like that it can be interpreted in at least two different ways. However, this was very tedious to get through and not super enjoyable or even frightening. I wish it was creepier or made me feel unease, but honestly, it was just kind of boring.