pages_and_procrastination's Reviews (1.6k)

The Accidental Alchemist

Gigi Pandian

4.0

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Windborn

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

5.0

adventurous emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

Little Red Riding Hood retelling. Time passed. When I finally picked it up I was excited and certain that I was going to enjoy it. And then. . . I got further into the story and found that I was enjoying it less and less. For two main reasons -the action scene that hooked me in the beginning? That was the only action scene and I stopped 55-60% into the book. After that action scene it goes back 3 years to show what led up to that point. And the werewolf/witch lore was interesting -don't get me wrong. But it made the story kind of stagnant. The second thing was that I was fairly certain what was going to happen . Yes, I know I may be wrong. But this wasn't an "oooh I want to see if I'm right" kind of certainty. This isn't to say that there weren't interesting things happening. The dilemma between witches and werewolves has to have a solution. Mark and Oriana were good together. But, those thing were not strong enough to carry the story. So I gave it up, and I don't feel like I am missing anything.

Among Thieves

M.J. Kuhn

3.75

adventurous dark funny hopeful medium-paced

I was given a digital copy of this title, free. All opinions are my own.
This was an incredible debut. And it was not what I expected, but I still enjoyed it. Except for the epilogue. I would have preferred to find out that part in the next book. The title is very fitting. I enjoy heist stories - more and more lately. The found family trope is one of my favorites. And while it shifts into a found family in the end (sort of -it could just be a love triangle) that's not how it begins. They're thieves, and while they work together on the heist, they each have their own end game. But the betrayals begin-one betrayal after another- you see their bond is deeper than they are willing to admit. Ryia and Evelyn were my favorite two characters, probably because we see the most change in them. You see it also a bit in Nash and Ivan, but they fell back under Clem a little too easily for my taste. But we'll see if they stay when they discover the full weight of the power they've given. Something else that must be discussed is the world building. The smells and sounds made each place unique. There are so many things that I'm hoping happens in book 2. But I am also looking forward to being surprised.

Won't Go Home Without You

Cheris Hodges

2.25

emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

I was given a digital copy of this book, free. All opinions are my own.
This is the second book int he Richardson Sisters series. And oh, how I really wanted to like this. But to be honest, I found both Robin and Logan annoying and the overall situation was irritating. Don't get me wrong, I understand. I don't get the back and forth every 5 minutes. Or the constant "I don't knows". Or the "this doesn't make any sense" without any further investigating. I get being angry and wanting to leave. And I also understand wanting to stay and fight for your marriage. But you can't do both. Of course they had their issues to work on. And honestly? They were good together. But this book proved to be overly dramatic for dramatic's sake. Especially since the ending was extremely disappointing. It made the entire book seem pointless. If I had not been listening to this one, I would have dbf'd this. But it's an easy listen.

Wash Day Diaries

Jamila Rowser

3.0

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

This was a graphic novel e-galley that I received. So, I can't say how all of the images worked together because something was off with the formatting. There are some things that I appreciated and some thing s that irritated me. I appreciate that this highlights 4 different women with 4 different hair journeys. I like that we got to see a variety of textures, styles, and life situations. But what irritates me was the reactions of one character had when her friend told her that she was struggling with depression and may go on antidepressants. The character's response is to hang out with friends and to try Citrine (what the hell is citrine?!) Since it is not brought up again, that's a very flippant response to something that's serious. I just wish that there had been either a better response or more opinions.