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mweis's reviews
985 reviews
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
2.0
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
This was marketed as an enemies to lovers romance in a Filipino inspired fantasy world, which is absolutely correct. But I think it's also important to note that this started as a Reylo fanfiction because that is so much of this story, and to be honest if I had known, I wouldn't have requested it.
Talasyn and Alaric are on opposite sides of a war and end up in an arranged marriage after years of meeting on the battlefield. There is obvious dislike with a slow realization of attraction and various political machinations that prevent them from being together. It's well written but I wish Guanzon had been able to develop this a bit more beyond it's Reylo origins. The world could be really interesting, but we don't get to see enough of it for me to care, and I couldn't read the descriptions of Talasyn or Alaric without picturing Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver and it really took me out of the story. Between that and some of the snarky dialogue, the longer the book went on the more grating I found the relationship.
I think it could be a really interesting series, but unless the sequel gets rave reviews I will be giving it a pass. I could be interested in Guanzon's next series though!
This was marketed as an enemies to lovers romance in a Filipino inspired fantasy world, which is absolutely correct. But I think it's also important to note that this started as a Reylo fanfiction because that is so much of this story, and to be honest if I had known, I wouldn't have requested it.
Talasyn and Alaric are on opposite sides of a war and end up in an arranged marriage after years of meeting on the battlefield. There is obvious dislike with a slow realization of attraction and various political machinations that prevent them from being together. It's well written but I wish Guanzon had been able to develop this a bit more beyond it's Reylo origins. The world could be really interesting, but we don't get to see enough of it for me to care, and I couldn't read the descriptions of Talasyn or Alaric without picturing Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver and it really took me out of the story. Between that and some of the snarky dialogue, the longer the book went on the more grating I found the relationship.
I think it could be a really interesting series, but unless the sequel gets rave reviews I will be giving it a pass. I could be interested in Guanzon's next series though!
The Dangerous Ones by Lauren Blackwood
1.25
*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I had really enjoyed Blackwood's debut Within These Wicked Walls, so when I saw this and read historical fantasy romance featuring vampires in Pennsylvania 1863 I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, I really did not love this.
For one, I really have no clue what was happening with the prose here. There were moments that felt like it was trying to stay in line with the Civil War era, but 99% of it was written in modern slang. Like there was a "that's rough, buddy" a la ATLA and a variety of "asses" including "stank-ass", "lazy-ass", and "a whole-ass battalion". At one point Alexei literally thinks "As beautiful as my body was, I could see how it might be distressing for a woman traveling alone." I could not handle it. I'm sure there is an audience for this, but it wasn't me.
And the romance? I have questions. There is nothing that makes me believe they actually love each other, or even like each other. I'm a hard sell on vampire/human relationships, or any kind of immortal and human relationships because of the age/maturity differences generously present, and this is no different. Alexei is 300 years old and Jerusalem is 18. And that's not even taking into account the interracial aspect of the relationship.
There's a moment early on where their talking about Confederate vampires and mention Jasper Whitlock which is when I should have DNFed because from there on I just kept thinking of this as a side story in an alternate universe Twilight fanfiction.
I had really enjoyed Blackwood's debut Within These Wicked Walls, so when I saw this and read historical fantasy romance featuring vampires in Pennsylvania 1863 I knew I had to read it. Unfortunately, I really did not love this.
For one, I really have no clue what was happening with the prose here. There were moments that felt like it was trying to stay in line with the Civil War era, but 99% of it was written in modern slang. Like there was a "that's rough, buddy" a la ATLA and a variety of "asses" including "stank-ass", "lazy-ass", and "a whole-ass battalion". At one point Alexei literally thinks "As beautiful as my body was, I could see how it might be distressing for a woman traveling alone." I could not handle it. I'm sure there is an audience for this, but it wasn't me.
And the romance? I have questions. There is nothing that makes me believe they actually love each other, or even like each other. I'm a hard sell on vampire/human relationships, or any kind of immortal and human relationships because of the age/maturity differences generously present, and this is no different. Alexei is 300 years old and Jerusalem is 18. And that's not even taking into account the interracial aspect of the relationship.
There's a moment early on where their talking about Confederate vampires and mention Jasper Whitlock which is when I should have DNFed because from there on I just kept thinking of this as a side story in an alternate universe Twilight fanfiction.
The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei
3.75
*I received an audio review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
I was impressed with Yume Kitasei's debut space thriller, The Deep Sky, so I was excited to get an audio review copy of her sophomore release.
Billed as an anti-colonial space heist, The Stardust Grail is like Indiana Jones meets Becky Chambers. I found the far future world and alien species of Kitasei's world really interesting. There are a variety of alien species and I liked seeing how they interacted and adapted to communicate with one another. I also appreciate how this book interrogates history and how its made. The commentary on colonialism and nationalism was top tier in my opinion.
This book has a slow start, especially as it's being marketed as a thriller; however, I do think the payoff is worth it. The ending pulls it all together and I found that I could not stop listening to the last ~40%.
I really enjoyed Katharine Chin's narration. She was able to create distinct voices for each of the characters and I liked her accent choices. I don't think I've listened to any other audiobooks she's narrated but I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more of her work.
I was impressed with Yume Kitasei's debut space thriller, The Deep Sky, so I was excited to get an audio review copy of her sophomore release.
Billed as an anti-colonial space heist, The Stardust Grail is like Indiana Jones meets Becky Chambers. I found the far future world and alien species of Kitasei's world really interesting. There are a variety of alien species and I liked seeing how they interacted and adapted to communicate with one another. I also appreciate how this book interrogates history and how its made. The commentary on colonialism and nationalism was top tier in my opinion.
This book has a slow start, especially as it's being marketed as a thriller; however, I do think the payoff is worth it. The ending pulls it all together and I found that I could not stop listening to the last ~40%.
I really enjoyed Katharine Chin's narration. She was able to create distinct voices for each of the characters and I liked her accent choices. I don't think I've listened to any other audiobooks she's narrated but I will absolutely be keeping an eye out for more of her work.