spellbindingtomes's reviews
347 reviews

A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson

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emotional slow-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

4.25


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The Ravaged Dark by Allison Carr Waechter

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Maybe This Time by Cara Bastone

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funny lighthearted fast-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

4.0

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

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dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

 ๐˜๐˜ง ๐˜ฃ๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ตโ€”๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฏ.

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๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜บ.

๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐’๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
In 1506 Joseon Korea, 17-year old Iseul's privileged life shatters when her sister becomes one of tyrannical King Yeonsan's victims, forcing her to venture into forbidden territory to rescue her. Her path crosses with Prince Daehyun, the king's half-brother, who secretly plots to overthrow his brutal sibling. Despite their initial mistrust, Iseul and Daehyun forge an alliance, combining her family connections and his royal access in a dangerous gambit to free both Iseul's sister and the kingdom from Yeonsan's reign of terror.
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I don't read many historical fictions, but when I do I always end up loving them & this was no exception. June's writing was an exquisite blend of darkness & light. The story itself was so heart wrenching and I got emotionally attached to all of the characters.

June brilliantly captures the sharp edges of sisterly devotion in this tale of sisterhood - there's something deeply honest about how even life-or-death circumstances can't instantly heal years of tension.

Iseul was a bit frustrating at first, but watching her character evolve from her pampered roots while navigating the treacherous court alongside the guarded Prince Daehyun made this such a captivating story.

June also paints such a vivid picture of what times were like in 1506 Korea, focusing on intimate struggles within the shadow of tyranny. While the murder mystery subplot was at times hard to follow, I didn't mind it as much. At its core, this is about bringing someone home against impossible odds. 

My first June Hur book and definitely not my last! I listened to the audiobook, and the narrators were outstanding. Highly recommend!

Read if you love: 
  • historical fiction
  • murder mystery
  • Korean history (Joseon)
  • enemies to allies to lovers 

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True North by Carina Gaskell

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Heat of the Everflame by Penn Cole

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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The Ex Vows by Jessica Joyce

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funny lighthearted 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

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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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? No

4.5

 ๐˜š๐˜ฐ ๐˜ ๐˜ซ๐˜ถ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต, ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ, ๐˜ ๐˜ด๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ซ๐˜ฐ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต. ๐˜'๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ท๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ. ๐™‘๐™–๐™˜๐™–๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™จ ๐™–๐™ก๐™ฌ๐™–๐™ฎ๐™จ ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™™.

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๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ณ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ˆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜น ๐˜•๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ. ๐˜ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต, ๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜บ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ.

๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐’๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
Poppy and Alex are two best friends with contrasting personalities who have vacationed together every summer for a decade. After a falling out two years ago, they haven't spoken. Feeling unfulfilled, Poppy convinces Alex to take one last trip together, hoping to repair their relationship. However, an unspoken truth complicates their connection.
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Something I appreciate about Emily's writing, after reading four of her books, is that she doesn't follow a single formula. The premise of each of her books are so different from the other which is probably why everyone seems to have their own favorite. 

The same goes for all her FMCs. I always end up finding a piece of myself, however small, in each one. Poppy is someone who is flawed yet endearing in her genuineness. She's a vibrant extrovert grappling with a world that often misunderstands her exuberance. This leads to feelings of isolation and loneliness that fuels her personal journey to find the one person who truly appreciates her for who she is and places her at the center of their world, unaware that this perfect match has been by her side all along.

I LOVED Poppy and Alex! The combo of these two's clashing personalities was perfect! The delightful contrast between Poppy's sunny disposition and Alex's grumpiness created such an irresistible chemistry between them which led to witty exchanges and heartwarming moments.

Emily's ingenious storytelling alternates between past and present, weaving a narrative of memorable vacations that shows us the strong friendship Poppy and Alex have and the mounting tension. I wasn't much of a fan of the 3rd act breakup here, which is why this isn't a full 5-star, but the ending was really sweet.

PWMOV is a story that reminds us that sometimes what we're searching for is closer than we think.

Read if you love:
๐ŸŒดfriends to lovers
๐Ÿงณopposites attract
๐ŸŒดforced proximity
๐Ÿงณonly one bed
๐ŸŒดtravel romance
๐Ÿงณdual timelines

EmHen rankings:
1. Funny Story
2. Book Lovers 
3. PWMOV 
4. Beach Read 

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