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smalltown_smutlover's reviews
281 reviews
Fourth Wing (Part 2 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) by Rebecca Yarros
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
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
5.0
Fourth Wing (Part 1 of 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
funny
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? No
5.0
The Storm King by Sheila Masterson
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
ALC Review
Release Date 1/14/25
Hi Iโm here to once again tell you that if you arenโt reading this series with your eyeballs or your ear holes you are wasting precious moments of your life. And no, I do not care if that is dramatic; I never claimed to be demure ๐
The Storm King is probably my second favorite of the series (no I will not be telling you my favorite at this time). The yearning is exquisite, the story is heartbreaking and mysterious, and the spice is HAWT. There are so many lovable charactersโฆand a few very hateable villains. I can promise that you will be kept on the edge of your seat waiting to see what is coming around the corner next.
Seriously, just read it yโall. I love to yap about it, so we can trauma bond when you do.
Beasts of Briar by Tee Harlowe
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
Fate & Furies by Helen Scheuerer
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ตโ๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.โ
This series has been such a wild ride and I canโt believe it took me this long to rescue it from my TBR. I love the characters, and the story just keeps getting better and better as the series progresses. And my obsession with Wilder Hawthorne knows no bounds. I support his rights and also his wrongs.
Watching Thea grow in badassery and vulnerability is everything. I want so badly for her to succeed in everything she has set out to do, and I just know she will make me proud. Her found family with Cal and Kipp is also an endless source of joy. They are so loyal and funny and kindโฆthey perfectly balance Thea and her seriousness. I am equal parts excited and sad for the conclusion of the series. I want my precious baby angels to have their hard-earned HEA, but I also donโt want to let them go ๐ญ
๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
โ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ตโ๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.โ
This series has been such a wild ride and I canโt believe it took me this long to rescue it from my TBR. I love the characters, and the story just keeps getting better and better as the series progresses. And my obsession with Wilder Hawthorne knows no bounds. I support his rights and also his wrongs.
Watching Thea grow in badassery and vulnerability is everything. I want so badly for her to succeed in everything she has set out to do, and I just know she will make me proud. Her found family with Cal and Kipp is also an endless source of joy. They are so loyal and funny and kindโฆthey perfectly balance Thea and her seriousness. I am equal parts excited and sad for the conclusion of the series. I want my precious baby angels to have their hard-earned HEA, but I also donโt want to let them go ๐ญ
๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.
The Curse of Ophelia by Nicole Platania
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.5
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ซ
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
โ๐๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐จ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ
After just one book I can tell that this series has the opportunity to be one of my favorites of the year. The found family? The yearning? The stubborn and fierce FMC? Immaculate. Ophelia nearly gave me a stroke with all her secret keeping and refusal to accept help, but I understand the desire she has to protect everyone she loves. Sheโs been training her whole life to be a warrior and second in command of their people, itโs no wonder she feels the weight of the world on her shoulders.
After all the twists and turns and the epilogueโฆI have no idea what is going to happen next and I canโt wait to find out. Based on reviews and reactions Iโve seen from friends who have read the series so far, itโs sure to destroy meโฆand that is just fine.
โ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ข. ๐๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ.โ
The Dead Guy Next Door: A Riley Thorn Novel by Lucy Score
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Slaying the Shadow Prince by Helen Scheuerer
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
โ๐๐ด ๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ, ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ.โ
โ๐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ.โ
Two words: Talemir Starling. Good lord this man is everything. He has been mentioned through out Blood & Steel and Vows & Ruins and I was immensely intrigued so I couldnโt wait to meet him. He did not disappoint. Drue is also immensely delightful. Sheโs stabby and sassy while also being vulnerable. I absolutely love them both.
I also loved learning more about the shadow-touched and what is going in on Naarva. I still have so many questions and am so ready to jump back into the main Thezmarr series! โ๏ธ
โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด.โ
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
โ๐๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถโ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐บ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ
I went into this book fully expecting Christmas puns and nonsense and, while those elements are there, thereโs also a surprisingly poignant story of finding Christmas joy after loss. I spent most of my time laughing and shaking my head at the banter between Storee and Cole. Max is also an absolute delight who lowkey stole the show on more than one occasion, so I was very excited to learn that he is getting a book next year!
Overall I really enjoyed this book, but there were a couple of elements that made me drop from 4.5โญ๏ธ to just 4โญ๏ธ. The biggest one is an unnecessary (to me) plot twist in the last 10 pages that made me roll my eyes and felt out of place since we already had our big conflictโฆwhy did we need this too? I also enjoyed the little poems at the start of each chapter, but I didnโt really care for the narrator breaking the fourth wall several times. It was more distracting than entertaining for me. Despite those two things, I am 100000% going to read Maxโs story next year, and Cole Black holds a special place in my heart. This was a funny, sweet story that was perfect for my last holiday read of the season.
โ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ, ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ.โ
Holly's Grizzly by Leigh Miller
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ - ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ.
OMG this book is an absolute delight! I was in the mood for something sweet and spicy, and Hollyโs Grizzly delivered. Irving is the absolute gooiest of cinnamon rolls and I LOVE him. Hollyโs struggles to find and love herself again amidst burn out and the end of a terrible relationship are very relatable, and I loved how Irving helps her work through some of her insecurities.
This novella has holiday vibes without being overly Christmassy, so if youโre looking for a holiday story minus the Santa puns, this is the one for you. ๐ป
โ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต. ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ?โ
๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ๐ถ๏ธ
๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ฆ๐น๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ - ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ.
OMG this book is an absolute delight! I was in the mood for something sweet and spicy, and Hollyโs Grizzly delivered. Irving is the absolute gooiest of cinnamon rolls and I LOVE him. Hollyโs struggles to find and love herself again amidst burn out and the end of a terrible relationship are very relatable, and I loved how Irving helps her work through some of her insecurities.
This novella has holiday vibes without being overly Christmassy, so if youโre looking for a holiday story minus the Santa puns, this is the one for you. ๐ป
โ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฏโ๐ต ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต. ๐๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฏ?โ