mspilesofpaper's reviews
889 reviews

Truth to be told, I was a bit reluctant to pick up Bride because my experience with Ali Hazelwood's books is a mixed batch but it's a fun, relatively fast-spaced romantasy/paranormal romance that pokes fun at plenty of stereotypes that can be typically found with vampires and werewolves (e.g., garlic, requiring an invitation to enter a house, ...). I did enjoy it more than I thought and it made me laugh often enough. The focus is on the romance, so don't expect in-depth world-building, but the book serves well as a summer read due to it.

The world-building is relatively straightforward and the story is set in a fictional city in the USA, with mentions of other places like California or Zurich (Switzerland), and happens mostly within a very limited area. I would have liked more information about the city's politics and why certain habits were picked up in comparison to other places were the human - were - vampyres populations don't seem to require such politics/behaviour.

The romance is built on several tropes (arranged marriage, hostage exchange, forced proximity, fated mates) and while it has a touch of insta love (due to the fated mates trope), Misery and Lowe still have enough chemistry to work on their own without the trope. While I'm still sure that it's still Reylo fanfiction (like all her other books), I found it less noticeable and both characters are more enjoyable than her typical "He is so big and she is so quirky" characters, which tend to get onto my nerves very quickly. I could do without the spice because it was cringy but it's relatively mild in relation to her previous books (and other romantasy books).

My main issue with the book is the predictability of everything that happens in the last third of the book. There is the typical third-act conflict for the relationship (my biggest romance ick and she forgave him too quickly at the end), there are betrayals and mild plot twists, ... but if you paid attention in the previous two-thirds, it was very predictable. My second biggest issue with the book is Hazelwood's vocab. I have no idea how intelligent she is (or what her educational background is) but please stop using unusual vocabulary in a fucking romance novel. I don't know how native speakers view it but as a non-native speaker, I found it exhausting and I had to look up a few words to get their meaning.

There's a hint for a second book - as a possibility - at the end and I think I would read it as well because I was entertained enough by Bride. Please, don't expect a literary masterpiece but just something to entertain you on a hot summer's day. 

 A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking starts as a murder mystery and becomes a coming-of-age story in a fantasy setting where the political landscape is unstable. While partly very humourful, I found it a tad too long and I didn't vibe with the protagonist all the time. The idea behind being a baker wizard is fun and enjoyed the parts where she played with her magic, and discovered how far she can push it, ... - the gingerbread man and Bob were certainly my favourite side characters.

As fun as the book is as an audiobook: I think I will stick with Kingfisher's adult books because Mona, who is just 14 years old, was not my favourite character due to her young age. She acts like a 14-year-old girl (including the timidness etc) but I'm at the point where I prefer older protagonists. If you are looking for a book for your child/grandchild/nibling: point them towards A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking because I think it's age-appropriate for teenagers. 

DNF @ 29% (Chapter 8)

The book is by far too long (500+ pages) for a secondary chance monster romance, especially since they are already together by ~30%. What is supposed to happen for the next 400 pages aside from non-stop sex and the Fae issue? 🥲 I would have expected more grovelling from him (and actually explain early on why he was an arse) but no ... she runs scared to him and sex happens relatively shortly afterwards. If I'm in shock, sex would be the last thing on my mind. It is also so extremely cringy. When they aren't fucking, one of them is crying (often her) and sometimes both at the same time. Concerning the sex: it is too much. It's "porn without plot" because he's constantly knotting her (I think four times just in one night and then in the morning again). 

Also, I wouldn't really consider the male love interest a monster. He is a werewolf/wolf-shifter hybrid (yes, both) and that's it. It's paranormal romance at best.

Further: all the fucking inner monologue. God, I hate them. The author mentions that she had beta readers, a professional editor and an ARC team but I think all of them forgot to tell her that less is more in terms of inner monologue. 

The premise of A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic is basically "The Great British Bake Off as romantasy", which is an incredible premise for any cosy fantasy/romance book! I thought, when I borrowed the book from Kindle Unlimited, that I would give it easily 4 ⭐ or 5 ⭐! Unfortunately, the book fell utterly flat for me and lower in its rating with each chapter.

My main issues

1) The writing style and the world-building
The writing and the world-building are so clunky and underdeveloped that it hurts. Of course, I don't expect the fine-tuned world-building from an epic fantasy for a cosy romantasy but if you plan to write a book (especially a series): give your reader some information about your world aside from: "here's a map, humans are magicless and therefore at the bottom of the society, and the bake-off is an elven tournament that only opened to non-elves in the last years". Why are humans without magic (unless they are wizards and therefore, by that logic, not humans anymore)? Why did the bake-off only include elves for the majority of their 100 years of existence? Why did the elves create the bake-off in the first place? Why is it common that only magic users are included in the bake-off? What is common magic for each race and how would it help them in the tournament?

As for the writing: it does need another round or two of editing to make it smoother. An editor (or beta reader) should be included at one point because the author's choice of how to describe skin colour is ... questionable. Especially when the main characters are portrayed on the cover. The male character, Theo, is described as "ecru-skinned", which is an off-white with a slightly yellow undertone. It is commonly used to describe fabrics (especially leather) and not skin colour. The female character, Arleta, is described as "tawny beige", which is an orange-brown with ... well beige, which is generally a yellow-tinted white. If there wouldn't be cover art of the two, I would have pictured him as a sickly white elf and her as a ginger-coloured human when he's supposed to have a "golden tan" while she is "sun-skinned" (the latter is something that the author uses to describe Arleta too). Aside from the main characters, there's also "umber" and "alabaster" for side characters. While alabaster is relatively easy, umber is such a difficult colour because it ranges from orange/red (burnt umber) to a light grey-hued brown (the pale end for raw umber, which can also be a dark brown but can also have a greenish hue). Do you see my issue? There are tons of better ways to describe skin colours, and while I'm glad that it didn't end up with food comparison, the current way is awful as well.

Arleta, the main character
She has absolutely no confidence in her own abilities and whenever something (slightly) unfortunate/bad happens to her, she is like "woe is me, it is because I am human and have no magic". Yes, she suffers from occasional racism as humans are at the bottom of society (Why though? No one knows.) but on average, all her issues are tiny and are mostly in her head. Her lack of self-esteem and self-worth is exhausting to read and it gets to the point where she has several panic attacks about participating in the tournament because she believes that they will disqualify her for being a magic-less human. Despite, her love interest telling her multiple times that no rule forbids it. It is just uncommon for humans to participate because it used to be a purely elven tournament. Aside from her immense lack of self-esteem: she feels guilty for everything and everyone (even when it has nothing to do with her) to the point where she suffers a panic attack because her friend got kicked out of the tournament, which leads to Arleta being the centre of the attraction instead of being there for her friend. And when she doesn't feel guilty for shit, she allows people to push her around because she has no backbone and uses the "I am human and without magic and therefore worth nothing" excuse again. Whenever she isn't negative or letting someone push her around, she is just stupid. She's 100% the saying: "the lights are on but nobody is home". She only starts to find her backbone when her love interest backs her in one scene.

The love interest and the side characters
Underdeveloped and walking stereotypes. I cannot tell you anything about Theo aside from the fact that he's an elf who can talk to plants and animals. Please, don't get me started on the main side characters Doli and Jex. Or the "antagonists", which come out of nowhere and have no actual reason to dislike Arleta (aside from racism when it comes to one side character).

The entire romance is very insta-lust and insta-love but, of course, Arleta struggles with her confidence here as well despite being introduced to the fact that fated mates exist. Instead of believing her love interest, or even going to the library to read up on the concept, she believes everyone else and her own fears. I hate her so much.

The tournament
The bake-off is the plot point and the main premise of the book. For some reason, it starts at 40%, which is already bad enough, is only on-page a topic for 30%, and that's it. In the 30% where it should be the main premise, it is barely there as well. All rounds, where Arleta has to bake, are finished within two paragraphs. There are three rounds before the final round and that's it ... Aside from the tournament rounds, there is a masked ball but Arleta flees it after 5 minutes into it. Why include it if your main character doesn't use it to dance/find confidence or have some sweet moments with her love interest?

Also: WHY IS IT SUCH AN ISSUE THAT SHE IS A MAGIC-LESS HUMAN WHEN MAGIC HAS NO INFLUENCE ON THE TOURNAMENT!? There is only one moment, which is brushed off in two sentences, that Jex has scent magic and therefore, an incredible sense of smell (to the point of smelling emotions), which can give her an advantage. That's it. Otherwise, there's no mention of why magic is important in the tournament and why Arleta believes so much that she will be disqualified because she has no magic.



TL;DR: It could have been a sweet and cozy romantasy with The Great British Bake Off vibes but it turns sour rather quickly as the main character has pick me energy but lacks the self-esteem to pull it off while everything else is underdeveloped and cringy. Incorporates several tropes (fated mates, one bed, found family) in the attempt to carry the plot.

The Stars Undying is the first instalment in a series (?) and a space opera retelling of Cleopatra's and Caesar's lives and loves, which takes place in a queer-normative society and a couple of gender-bent characters (e.g., Marcus Antonius, Ptolemy XIII, Cassius). It is extremely slow-paced with a dual POV that is told as a story - by Gracia, the story's Cleopatra - to a third party.

As interesting as the premise of the story is, the confusing world-building and the sentence structure let me down. While the world-building isn't too complex, the majority of planets sound relatively alike (due to their ending of -yet) and many characters have similar names as well. Of course, while Ceirran (the story's Caesar) is happily conquering the planets, the conquering doesn't play a massive part as the story plays mostly on two planets: Gracia's home planet of Szayet and Ceirran's home planet of Ceio. Here, it's just political intrigues, the entire story arc of Caesar's assassination by the story's Brutus (Jonata Barran, non-binary, and Ceirran considers them as his closest friend) and Cassius (Cátia Lançan) and, of course the love story between Gracia and Ceirran. Players of Assassin's Creed: Origins will remember the famous carpet scene, which the author implemented as well. 

Political intrigues aside, I think the most interesting part of the story is the highly developed AI that is considered as "The Undying God" by Gracia and her people, and for whom Gracia acts as his Oracle. The AI character is based on Alexander the Great as his general/friend founded the Ptolemaic dynasty. 
In the book, Alexander the Great became the AI/God while his closest friend (partly it is hinted that they were lovers) founded the dynasty that Gracia belongs to, so they would always act as the Oracle to Alectelo (Alexander the Great) and ruled through him.
I consider the AI the most interesting part because where Caesar was killed because senators feared his power and domination of the state, Ceirran was assassinated because he planned to become a God through the technology that Gracia (and Alectelo) hold. However, it didn't help that he seemed to be popular among the common people and, similar to the historical Caesar, initiated land reforms and gave citizenship to many residents from the conquered planets.

To sum it up: a good debut but extremely challenging due to the pacing, the writing and the confusing world-building. My overall thought process while reading was: "I have no idea what's going on". As it is the first instalment, I think the second book will feature Gracia's relationship with the book's Marcus Antonius (Anita) and the continuing grab for power/the attempt to become a sovereign planet within the Empire. 

 

Thankfully I read Tevinter Nights after we got the character announcement video and the first gameplay trailer because otherwise, my patience would be even lower than it is now.

The book is separated into 15 short stories that either introduce new characters that will play a role in Dragon Age: The Veilguard (DA:VG) or have an appearance in Dragon Age: Inquisition (DA:I), so it acts as a bridge between both games. If you want to get a glimpse at three companions from the new game, read Down Among the Dead Men (Emmerich as a side character), The Streets of Minrathous (Neve Gallus) and The Wigmaker Job (Lucanis).

The general setting of the novel is (very simplified):
⋙ the Qunari invasion is well underway (parts of Tevinter are already lost to them) but they do not act as one force as the Antaam (the military) acted on their own without the approval of the other Qunari government branches
⋙ Tevinter still suffers from the Venatori and Corypheus but in a very hush-hush way because no one says loudly that they were/are a Venatori, of course
⋙ Antiva's main defence against the Qunari are the Crows as the country has no standing army; tough luck that the Talons struggle with each other
⋙ Nevarra is on the brink of civil war as the king is close to death and has no heir; it will be Mortalitasi (and supporters) vs. Non-Mortalitasi (various noble houses)
⋙ Solas is still a fucking asshole who still believes he knows what is best for the world

The majority of the 15 short stories are a lead-in to potential side quests and the main quest of DA:VG, which makes their conclusions rather ... open-ended. The few stories that are not potential lead-ins, deal with characters from DA:I (e.g., Callback which refers a lot to what happened during the game and takes place in Skyhold), act as introductions to the new companions (especially the stories with Neve and Lucanis) or introduce us to the factions that will play a role in DA:VG (Crows, Wardens, ...).

Please do not read the following unless you have played the games because it will contain spoilers.

Three Trees to Midnight / 4 ⭐
Set in the aftermath of Ventus' invasion by the Qunari (9:44 Dragon). It highlights how the Qunari deal with the non-magical citizens and how they deal with the mages. It highlights that the Antaam acted without the allowance of the other governmental branches, which will be important for DA:VG, I believe. It highlights also the relationship between humans and elves in Tevinter as well as the different mage ranks in Tevinter.

Down Among the Dead Men / 5 ⭐
Rather short but a good introduction to Nevarra and the Mortalitasi/Mourn Watch. Acts as an introduction to Emmerich and Manfred (Emmerich is such a typical professor). Here, a corpse is possessed by a spirit during its funeral and attacks a guardsman who then is tasked to help the Mourn Watch to deal with the corpse. The story makes me want to have some quests set in Nevarra.

The Horror of Hormak / 3.5 ⭐
A true horror story, do not read at night or if you are queasy. Involves body horror!
The story follows two Wardens who try to find a lost squad and stumble upon mysteries and horrors in the dwarven city of Hormak. I think it will hint at what we will see in DA:VG because "The mountain he’d brought down, the one that buried that nightmare under thousands of tons of rock, was not the only one to which the aravels brought their prey. There had been, before the images repeated, eleven others."

Callback / 4 ⭐
A bunch of side characters from DA:I are tasked to find out what is happening in Skyhold, which was left as a shrine to pilgrims after the Inquisition was disbanded. Very charming to see some old faces again but also to see the effect that Solas had on Skyhold. I think it acts as a good bridge between both games.

Luck in the Gardens / 4 ⭐
DORIAN, MY SWEETHEART! I hope we will get to see him again in DA:VG because the game starts in Minrathous. The description of the city makes it understandable why Dorian was so exhausted with the South. I bet they have running water in Minrathous/Tevinter.

Hunger / 3.5 ⭐
Creepy as it involves werewolves. I didn't miss those in DA:2 and DA:I but I fear that they will bring them back in DA:VG because here, two Wardens are on their way to a village when they get drawn into what is happening in Eichweill.

Murder by Death Mages / 3.5 ⭐
The main character is Sidony whom you can play in the multiplayer version of DA:I. She is a Necromancer and was meant to become a Mortalitasi as she was taken in by Lord Henrik after her mother had cast her out. She left Nevarra before she became one, has no love for her country and people (but respect for Cassandra) and feels no kinship with other mages. The story is a murder mystery but rather predictable (even for a short story). Shines a light into Nevarra and its politics though.

The Streets of Minrathous / 3.5 ⭐
It introduces Neve Gallus who is a mage and private investigator. I found her vibe in the book different from the short introduction of her in the released gameplay trailer. Overall, the story shows that a cult doesn't need to have its figurehead alive to continue as Corypheus is gone but the Venatori still persist and try to restore Minrathous to its former glory. It highlights how different Templars are in Tevinter in comparison to the Southern ones.

The Wigmaker Job / 5 ⭐
I love Lucanis already and I hope we will meet his cousin in DA:VG as part of a side quest. Shines some light into the Crows as a faction. The overall story is funny but still creepy. Good introduction to Lucanis though (who is such a softie and just needs someone to love him).

Genitivi Dies in the End / 4 ⭐
It took me a moment to realise that it switches between story retelling and present. I think all players have heard of Genitivi at some point. It's rather light-hearted, compared to some other stories, and made me laugh. For some reason, the story gave me the feeling that we will go back into the Deep Roads in DA:VG.

Herold Had the Plan / 3 ⭐
Ehh ... A robbery went wrong at a tournament in Starkhaven and the story deals with the thieves fleeing. For some reason, I always expected that Sebastian would appear on the next page but it never happened. A Prince of Starkhaven is mentioned but has no name, so it could be him but it can be someone else too. I think we will see the artefact in DA:VG in a side quest or will find it as loot.

An Old Crow's Old Tricks / 5 ⭐
More Crow antics! Extremely fun to read and I love to see that Crows have morals. The story is about how an old Crow takes out the first soldiers of a Tevinter legion who slaughtered and abused the nearby Dalish clan. Each murder is a copy of what the Tevinter soldiers did to the Dalish.

Eight Little Talos / 5 ⭐
Introduction into the Crows as a faction. The Talons meet on a remote island to discuss how they will deal with the Qunari threat as the Crows are Antiva's only defence in case the country gets invaded (which is something that the Antivan king expects). Lovely little side ship, and I hope we meet those two in a side quest, and an off-handed mention of Zevran! Plus, some Crows history with famous murders, which was interesting. 

Half Up Front / 4 ⭐
A disgraced daughter of a Magister lives with her elven girlfriend as thieves and gets hired by someone to steal Dumat's Folly (an artefact) back but gets drawn into something that neither wanted. Lots of Tevinter and Qunari politics as it highlights that the Antaam acted without allowance of the other Qunari governmental branches, which resulted in the Ben-Hassrath acting as a neutral party. Do you remember the quest Demands of the Qun where the Inquisitor meets Gatt who offers an alliance between the Ben-Hassrath and the Inquisition? The quest where the Chargers can die if you pick the wrong option? Yes? Good, you will meet Gatt here again.

The Dread Wolf Take You / 4 ⭐
Solas, you fucking idiot.
Do you remember Varric's idiotic brother and the red lyrium idol, which is (more or less) responsible for the shitshow that happened in DA:2? Good, because you will learn in the last story what happened to it after DA:2 is over. Fucking Solas. Fucking red lyrium. I'm 100% certain that we will see it in DA:VG again.

 

All tell, no show and clunky writing. Such a shame because the idea of the book sounds amazing.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me an eARC via NetGalley.

DNF @ 25% (Chapter 9)

I liked the premise of the book (sapphic, cottagecore vibes, bee/honey magic) but the entire execution fell flat for me. Plus, I think I went into it with the wrong expectations as I thought that it would be adult fantasy while it is more a coming-of-age story with a young adult main character as Marigold is only 21 years old. (Given the very young feeling of the story, I have the feeling that the author's claims of 'it will be spicy' are not fulfilled either. The entire marketing seems to be so unfitting.)

I did struggle with the main character a lot because to become a honey witch is to give up love (or well, they have to give up love due to a curse), which is something that isn't an issue for Marigold as she constantly fights against society and their expectations of young women (aka marrying and becoming mothers). Unfortunately, as soon as she learns about a soul mate spell, she is obsessed with love and I think it stems from her constant feeling of being unloved by her family. The latter is certainly just imagined by her because she is loved by her parents and siblings, her mother just had hoped that her eldest would follow another path instead of becoming a witch. Aside from this issue, she is so fucking judgemental of those who aspire to become wives and mothers. I can understand if it isn't what she wants for herself but acting like she is better than others? Hell no. Her grandmother calls her out on it in chapter 8 but I don't think that it did stick. The constant anti-marriage, anti-men, anti-children, ... phrases annoyed me rather quickly. I don't want children either but I don't begrudge anyone who wants to have them. (Also, and then I will end my rant about her: she has no development. A potion and some mediocre training are all that is required to become a strong witch. I would have loved to see experiments, a learning curve, interactions with the nearby village, creating a bond with the community, ... as the two last points would also add to the cosiness and the 'found family' trope.)

My second issue with the book is the writing style. It reads extremely juvenile and unfinished as if it had been pulled directly from Wattpad. Of course, you can find good fanfictions that will read as if they have been traditionally published but The Honey Witch would fall into the 'poorly written' category. Everything is 'telling and not showing', which results in an overdescriptive style where the sky isn't just red, it is maroon-coloured, the clouds are steel-grey and the dresses are yellow like honey (despite honey having various hues). In addition, the entire writing is very clunky and reads partly as if someone took bullet points and tried to rewrite them into sentences.

Aside from these two issues, there are a few more issues that I have with the book:
1) I found the book rather predictive and despite meeting Lottie just once, it is clear who she is related to as it is supposed to add some tension.
2) All the side characters up to the point where I gave up are so stereotypical and underdeveloped. Marigold's childhood best friend? A ray of sunshine. His partner? Arrogant and snobby. His female best friend (who is Lottie)? Grumpy, rude and mean. 
3) The world-building is so flawed. Honey magic and Ash magic are supposed to be opposites although they should exist together as the grandmother explains that both rely on each other (aka it's a thinly veiled play on Life & Death and how life can happen after death). The author is extremely inconsistent with the kind of magic that Marigold can perform as well, which just adds to the flawed world-building. And please, do not get me started on the fucking curse. The curse was created to stop the Honey witch line from falling in love and from having children. A few sentences later the grandmother explains how she had Marigold's mother without a man and states that Marigold will be able to have a child of her own without a man as well. Why do you implement the curse if there's a workaround? That's so stupid, I'm sorry. Also, the inconsistency in the world-building of the entire setting (~1870) ... They have coffee, and everyone in Marigold's village expects women to have children & marry but queerness in the village that's protected by the witches is ok? (And they are openly queer as in "he is my partner" as an introduction.)


TL;DR: A bland and boring book that lacks world-building, character development, a cosy atmosphere and an actual plot with good pacing (because there's neither). 

Just no.

Lack of plot (nothing truly happens even at nearly 50%). The female MC is a horrible character who is extremely erratic and goes back on her own upbringing/morals/... because she never thinks anything through and lets her emotions rule her. I'm sure that the drugs that she had to take to suppress her magic erased her ability to think. Enemies-to-Lovers where she doesn't want him but is instantly attracted to him.

I'm tired of these YA books that exist more on tropes than actual plot and character development.