en-US Wed, 02 Jul 2025 10:32:51 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 13496
Sweeping from a harsh land of cold to a summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, A Game of Thrones tells a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; a child is lost in the twilight between life and death; and a determined woman undertakes a treacherous journey to protect all she holds dear. Amid plots and counter-plots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, allies and enemies, the fate of the Starks hangs perilously in the balance, as each side endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones.]]> 835 George R.R. Martin 0553588486 Sindel 4 4.44 1996
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.44
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/07/02
shelves: currently-reading, fantasy, 2025-reread, political-fantasy
review:

]]> 68527
The story is seen through the eyes of Uhtred, a dispossessed nobleman, who is captured as a child by the Danes and then raised by them so that, by the time the Northmen begin their assault on Wessex (Alfred’s kingdom and the last territory in English hands) Uhtred almost thinks of himself as a Dane. He certainly has no love for Alfred, whom he considers a pious weakling and no match for Viking savagery, yet when Alfred unexpectedly defeats the Danes and the Danes themselves turn on Uhtred, he is finally forced to choose sides. By now he is a young man, in love, trained to fight and ready to take his place in the dreaded shield wall. Above all, though, he wishes to recover his father’s land, the enchanting fort of Bebbanburg by the wild northern sea.

This thrilling adventure—based on existing records of Bernard Cornwell’s ancestors—depicts a time when law and order were ripped violently apart by a pagan assault on Christian England, an assault that came very close to destroying England.]]> 333 Bernard Cornwell 0060887184 Sindel 4 4.27 2004
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/29
date added: 2025/06/30
shelves: historical-fiction, 2025-reread
review:

]]> 212276037 Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, practitioners of ghastly magic, and outright monsters, and the mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.

Elves lurk at our borders and hunger for our flesh, while greedy princes care for nothing but their own ambitions and comfort. With a hellish journey before him, it's a good thing Brother Diaz has the devils on his side.]]> 565 Joe Abercrombie Sindel 0 to-read 4.30 2025
author: Joe Abercrombie
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219520711 American heiress Eliza Dove was resigned to a polite marriage of convenience...until she spent one wicked night with the Duke.

All hopeless romantic Eliza Dove asked for was one night of adventure. One glorious evening of freedom to explore the dark corners of London with a mysterious stranger before a lifetime trapped in a quiet, respectable marriage of convenience. Except now she wants more. Now she wants him.

Simon Cavell is no gentleman. Known only as ‘the Duke,’ Whitechapel’s prize boxer is one fight away from achieving his goal: to safeguard his late sister’s only treasure and leave the streets for good. He cannot allow some pretty young heiress to spill his secrets, no matter how tempting she might be. In return for her silence, Simon will give Eliza a taste of the darkness…and hope he doesn’t lose his heart in the process.

But one night together could never be enough. And now Eliza has a new plan—an even more scandalous bargain that will either land the heiress her duke or ruin them both.]]> 309 Harper St. George 0593441028 Sindel 0 to-read 3.90 2025
author: Harper St. George
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 68524 397 Bernard Cornwell Sindel 4 historical-fiction 4.40 1996
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.40
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/16
date added: 2025/06/16
shelves: historical-fiction
review:

]]> 68520 431 Bernard Cornwell Sindel 4 historical-fiction
But it was on that happy night, when peace had come at last, that Arthur broke Britain.

The framed narrative is also a trope I enjoy and it was great here ! I loved that we don't just have Derfel's retrospective comments but actual conversations in the present because he's telling this to Princess Igraine (who is a great character too !).

It was a face of kindness. That was my first impression. No, that is what Igraine wants me to write. In truth my first impression was of sweat, lots of sweat come from wearing metal armour on a summer's day, but after the sweat I noticed how kind he looked."

I'm also really intrigued by the romance promised ; I'm usually not a fan of love at first time but here it was so well written that I got invested anyway !

“Do you understand that madness?” she asked me. I was aware of nothing in the room except Ceinwyn. [...] I was aware only of Ceinwyn's large sad eyes and of my own beating heart. “I do understand that you can look into someone's eyes,” I heard myself saying, 'and suddenly know that life will be impossible without them. Know that their voice can make your heart miss a beat and that their company is all your happiness can ever desire and that their absence will leave your soul alone, bereft and lost." [...]
“Has that ever happened to you, Lord Derfel?” she asked at last. I hesitated. I knew the words my soul wanted to say and I knew the words my station should make me say, but then I told myself that a warrior did not thrive on timidity and I let my soul have government of my tongue. “It has never happened until this moment, Lady,” I said. It took more bravery to make that declaration than I had ever needed to break a shield-wall.

The touches of humour really worked for me too ! Merlin was a riot !

I stepped forward and spread my arms. Lancelot hesitated, then stepped towards me. His oiled hair smelt of violets. ”Child," he whispered in my ear after kissing my cheek. “Coward,” I whispered back, then we drew apart, smiling.

I found this book really promising, especially the second half ! So far I prefer the Last Kingdom series but the Warlord Chronicles might take the lead since it has the advantage of being a shorter series ! (I mean I've read the first books of The Last Kingdom twice but I never manage to read the entire series !)]]> 4.27 1995
author: Bernard Cornwell
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/11
date added: 2025/06/11
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
It took some time for me to get into it. In the beginning I kept comparing it to the Last Kingdom and found it lacking because I was immediatly invested in Uhtred's childhood and story but was having a hard time getting invested in Derfel. When Arthur enters the frame and Derfel begun his warrior journey I was much more invested. The characters are fascinating, and I loved the twists Cornwell took with the famous ones !

But it was on that happy night, when peace had come at last, that Arthur broke Britain.

The framed narrative is also a trope I enjoy and it was great here ! I loved that we don't just have Derfel's retrospective comments but actual conversations in the present because he's telling this to Princess Igraine (who is a great character too !).

It was a face of kindness. That was my first impression. No, that is what Igraine wants me to write. In truth my first impression was of sweat, lots of sweat come from wearing metal armour on a summer's day, but after the sweat I noticed how kind he looked."

I'm also really intrigued by the romance promised ; I'm usually not a fan of love at first time but here it was so well written that I got invested anyway !

“Do you understand that madness?” she asked me. I was aware of nothing in the room except Ceinwyn. [...] I was aware only of Ceinwyn's large sad eyes and of my own beating heart. “I do understand that you can look into someone's eyes,” I heard myself saying, 'and suddenly know that life will be impossible without them. Know that their voice can make your heart miss a beat and that their company is all your happiness can ever desire and that their absence will leave your soul alone, bereft and lost." [...]
“Has that ever happened to you, Lord Derfel?” she asked at last. I hesitated. I knew the words my soul wanted to say and I knew the words my station should make me say, but then I told myself that a warrior did not thrive on timidity and I let my soul have government of my tongue. “It has never happened until this moment, Lady,” I said. It took more bravery to make that declaration than I had ever needed to break a shield-wall.

The touches of humour really worked for me too ! Merlin was a riot !

I stepped forward and spread my arms. Lancelot hesitated, then stepped towards me. His oiled hair smelt of violets. ”Child," he whispered in my ear after kissing my cheek. “Coward,” I whispered back, then we drew apart, smiling.

I found this book really promising, especially the second half ! So far I prefer the Last Kingdom series but the Warlord Chronicles might take the lead since it has the advantage of being a shorter series ! (I mean I've read the first books of The Last Kingdom twice but I never manage to read the entire series !)
]]> 62342354 No one betrays the Academy. But now Euphemia must decide: break the rules for her enemy, or let the rules break her heart.

On the outskirts of London sits a seemingly innocuous institution with a secretive aim—train young women to distract, disrupt, and discredit the patriarchy. Outraged by a powerful politician’s systematic attack on women’s rights, the Academy summons its brightest—and most bitter—pupil to infiltrate the odious man’s inner circle. A deal is struck: bring down the viscount, and Miss Euphemia Flite will finally earn her freedom.

But betting shop owner Gabriel Royce has other plans. The viscount is the perfect pawn to insulate Gabriel’s underworld empire from government interference. He’s not about to let some crinoline-clad miss destroy his carefully constructed enterprise—no matter how captivating he finds her threats.

From the rookeries of St. Giles to the ballrooms of Mayfair, Euphemia and Gabriel engage in a battle of wits and wills that’s complicated by a blossoming desire. Soon Euphemia realizes it’s not the broken promises to her Academy sisters she should fear. . . . It’s the danger to her heart.]]> 364 Mimi Matthews 0593639294 Sindel 0 to-read 4.18 2025
author: Mimi Matthews
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 31833761
To many, I am little more than a myth. The Kiss of Death, a hired killer, revered by some of the greatest criminal organisations in the world. Trained by the bratva themselves, without conscience, without mercy, the perfect soldier. I’ll kill anyone… for a price. Death doesn’t discriminate, she sells to the highest bidder, but even I have a weakness.

Nero

I want one thing—power. But power is merely a game of strategy. The pieces are on the chess board. Death is my queen, and also my pawn. She’ll paint this city red in exchange for the one thing she wants. Now all I have to do is watch it all play out. She’s nothing more than a weapon, and yet, I find myself wanting to dance with death, to possess her. And I always get what I want.

A game of power. A risk that could cost her everything. An obsession that would see the world burn at their feet. A bloodied king. A broken queen. Kill me or kiss me?]]> 230 L.P. Lovell Sindel 0 to-read 4.12 2016
author: L.P. Lovell
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 10790290
Can a self-serving thief and an idealistic swordsman survive long enough to unravel the first part of an ancient mystery that has toppled kings and destroyed empires?

And so begins the first tale of treachery and adventure, sword fighting and magic, myth and legend.

When author Michael J. Sullivan self-published the first books of his Riyria Revelations, they rapidly became ebook bestsellers. Now, Orbit is pleased to present the complete series for the first time in bookstores everywhere.]]> 691 Michael J. Sullivan 0316187747 Sindel 0 to-read 4.23 2011
author: Michael J. Sullivan
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216017751 The time has come! Book seven in the bestselling Dungeon Crawler Carl series is here!

They call it Faction Wars.

The ninth floor.

Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal... It all makes for great fun and even greater television.

After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.

Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.

As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.

For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.

If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.

This is it.
This is what they’ve been fighting toward.
This is war.

This inevitable ruin.]]> 724 Matt Dinniman Sindel 3
I think we all had A LOT of expectations for this book, it was teased from book 1 and there was a lot of build up. Overall I must said that my expectations weren't met sadly, it felt pretty underwelming.
This book seems to divide people and I get it : I am myself divided and don't know how to review this. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either, I'm kind of in the middle. I do think it's been the weakest of the latest few books, but not of the series.
There were a lot of great things in this book, mainly all the things regarding the former Crawlers. But I feel like a lot of the good moments were just burried under all that was happening and some of what was happening felt kind of unecessary sometimes which is why I had to take several breaks reading this and at the end of it I feel like I forgot a lot of what happened.
My biggest issue is that I feel like we didn't get enough consequences in this book. A lot of things resolved a bit too easily and the toll wasn't that important at the end of the day at least for our characters, especially for a floor that was supposed to be really horrible since it's "war".

I'm still excited to read the next book, it's the first time I'll actually have to wait for it and some of the things teased are killing me ! ]]> 4.63 2024
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.63
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/06/06
date added: 2025/06/06
shelves: litrpg, progression-fantasy, sci-fi
review:
3.5 stars ?

I think we all had A LOT of expectations for this book, it was teased from book 1 and there was a lot of build up. Overall I must said that my expectations weren't met sadly, it felt pretty underwelming.
This book seems to divide people and I get it : I am myself divided and don't know how to review this. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either, I'm kind of in the middle. I do think it's been the weakest of the latest few books, but not of the series.
There were a lot of great things in this book, mainly all the things regarding the former Crawlers. But I feel like a lot of the good moments were just burried under all that was happening and some of what was happening felt kind of unecessary sometimes which is why I had to take several breaks reading this and at the end of it I feel like I forgot a lot of what happened.
My biggest issue is that I feel like we didn't get enough consequences in this book. A lot of things resolved a bit too easily and the toll wasn't that important at the end of the day at least for our characters, especially for a floor that was supposed to be really horrible since it's "war".

I'm still excited to read the next book, it's the first time I'll actually have to wait for it and some of the things teased are killing me !
]]> 36114743 453 J.M. Darhower 1942206240 Sindel 5
After my re-read I'm sure : forget the 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, this book IS a 5 stars to me, and here is why :

I loved the writing, the way the author waved the past to the present and how she played with the narration, especially by the end.

"Your dream has become my nightmare, and I'm begging you to let me wake up."

I thought the story was very compelling, I was pleasantly surprised by it because "Hollywood" romances are really hit or miss, sometimes it's a bit over the top, but it really wasn't the case here. It all felt real: the story, the characters and their relationships. And I LOVED those main characters ! Jonathan, Kennedy and Maddie have my heart ! You're mad at Jonathan but he's not this character you can't forgive or understand to some degree, especially because Darhower does a great job of showing how he got there and his journey to redeem himself (and it's really hard not to love him then !).

"You're on a collision course, Jonathan. You're hurling toward something none of us can see in the darkness, but whatever it is, it's going to hurt. You think you're in control, that you're soaring, but you're in free fall, and you don't hear me when I try to warn you."

You also see Kennedy grow from this naive but touching lovestruck teenage girl to this strong mother.

"Never make someone else the main character in your own story."

And Maddie, Maddie !, she's the sunshine we need in this book ! The best ! Duh ! And "she's going to steal your heart" ;)

"Hesitantly, I knock, hearing a flurry of footsteps inside before the door yanks open, the little ball of energy in front of me, grinning. “Madison Jacqueline!” Kennedy shouts, popping up in my line of sight. “What did I say about answering the door like that?”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen, and before I can say a word, she swings the door shut, slamming it in my face. I stand here for a moment before the door cracks open again, her head peeking out as she whispers, “You gots to knock.” "

I also really liked some of the side characters : Kennedy's father, Meghan, Mrs McKlesky, Jack...


Anyway, you get it, I LOVED it and totally recommend it !

It even made me want to gave another chance to the Monster in his eyes series (which I've read only the first book then stopped because, argh!, now THAT heroine was annoyingly naive !) we'll see how that goes ! (If you don't see any review or rating about it you'll know I DNFed it ahah)]]> 4.19 2017
author: J.M. Darhower
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2025/06/04
date added: 2025/06/04
shelves: contemporary-romance, 2025-reread
review:
"I love you. [...] More than anything... except for her."

After my re-read I'm sure : forget the 4.5 stars rounded up to 5, this book IS a 5 stars to me, and here is why :

I loved the writing, the way the author waved the past to the present and how she played with the narration, especially by the end.

"Your dream has become my nightmare, and I'm begging you to let me wake up."

I thought the story was very compelling, I was pleasantly surprised by it because "Hollywood" romances are really hit or miss, sometimes it's a bit over the top, but it really wasn't the case here. It all felt real: the story, the characters and their relationships. And I LOVED those main characters ! Jonathan, Kennedy and Maddie have my heart ! You're mad at Jonathan but he's not this character you can't forgive or understand to some degree, especially because Darhower does a great job of showing how he got there and his journey to redeem himself (and it's really hard not to love him then !).

"You're on a collision course, Jonathan. You're hurling toward something none of us can see in the darkness, but whatever it is, it's going to hurt. You think you're in control, that you're soaring, but you're in free fall, and you don't hear me when I try to warn you."

You also see Kennedy grow from this naive but touching lovestruck teenage girl to this strong mother.

"Never make someone else the main character in your own story."

And Maddie, Maddie !, she's the sunshine we need in this book ! The best ! Duh ! And "she's going to steal your heart" ;)

"Hesitantly, I knock, hearing a flurry of footsteps inside before the door yanks open, the little ball of energy in front of me, grinning. “Madison Jacqueline!” Kennedy shouts, popping up in my line of sight. “What did I say about answering the door like that?”
“Oh.” Her eyes widen, and before I can say a word, she swings the door shut, slamming it in my face. I stand here for a moment before the door cracks open again, her head peeking out as she whispers, “You gots to knock.” "

I also really liked some of the side characters : Kennedy's father, Meghan, Mrs McKlesky, Jack...


Anyway, you get it, I LOVED it and totally recommend it !

It even made me want to gave another chance to the Monster in his eyes series (which I've read only the first book then stopped because, argh!, now THAT heroine was annoyingly naive !) we'll see how that goes ! (If you don't see any review or rating about it you'll know I DNFed it ahah)
]]> 220525868 THE EMPEROR IS HERE. AND SHE MADE HIM WORSE.

Rae is a fantasy reader who's been transported to her favourite fictional world of swords and sorcery, castles and monsters. Playing the villainess, she thought she could change the narrative, but this version of the plot is far much more deadly than the one she knew.

Her friends are on the run: the Cobra shelters in an eerie manor haunted by dark secrets, while Emer and Lia stoke a revolution in the gutters. Undead armies roam the kingdom, raiders camp at the city gates, and the irresistible emperor - Rae's favourite character ever, now possibly the greatest monster in the land - wants her to be his evil queen.

What's a villainess to do? It's time for wicked bargains and fake engagements, in a fantasy where the most dangerous thing you can do is believe in someone.

All Hail Chaos is Sarah Rees Brennan's wicked, unmissable sequel to the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling Long Live Evil ('delicious, subversive' Leigh Bardugo).]]> Sarah Rees Brennan 0356522105 Sindel 0 to-read 4.93 2026
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.93
book published: 2026
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/06/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58664900 that world, the mafia world.

There was nothing soft or glamorous about it.

Who you were before no longer mattered. Names didn’t exist.

I joined anyway. I had no other choice because they took my sister.

Join. Find her. Try and make it out alive.

Then he won me in a poker game.

I hated him instantly, thinking he was like my other bosses before him.

He wasn’t. He was worse.

He wasn’t just cold. He was dead inside.

It didn’t matter that he was gorgeous.

He was the most lethal thing I’d ever met.

He was also the only person who could keep me alive, if he didn’t kill me himself.


A/N This is a 102k mafia/cartel standalone.

This is the most violent book Tijan has ever written.

Trigger warning: references to sexual violence

“Canaries sing to save lives. I sing and people die.”]]> 434 Tijan Sindel 4
This was a re-read but I had read it when it first came out a few years ago so I had forget most of it.

I still love it ! Even more than the first time actually, I almost want to round it up to a five stars. This is a very unique "mafia" romance : the heroine is fully into this world, not as a Mafia princess but she's working into it so she is in the action. The action and the plot are therefore really in the foreground and I LOVE that about this book ! The world feels really flushed out, the dynamics, the role and abilities of each character (especially Raize), everything just feels accurate which is not always the case in these books. The heroine voice is also really unique and great ! I love her, I love all the characters : main and secondary ones (Gus being the MVP of course !).
There's a bit of mystery also, which makes this book feel almost like a thriller, and again : I love it!
I don't want to say more because the blurb makes a decent job at not giving to much away and I feel like going into this book without really knowing where it's going is the best way to do it.

I loved this book, I've searched a book similar to this one, with a heroine involved like this and this type of action but failed (if you have any recommandation please share !!). If like me you like the mafia/mob part as much as the romance part when you read mafia romance then this book is for you !

Edit : I'm on my third read, it's 2025, and we STILL don't have a ROMAN BOOK ???!! That is NOT ok ! TIJAN I WANT HIS BOOK !! (Especially because I feel he'll end up with that detective and I'm dying for a cop x mobster romance !!!)]]> 4.18 2021
author: Tijan
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/06/01
date added: 2025/06/01
shelves: 2024-re-reads, mafia-romance, cartel, thriller, ku, 2025-reread
review:
4.5 stars

This was a re-read but I had read it when it first came out a few years ago so I had forget most of it.

I still love it ! Even more than the first time actually, I almost want to round it up to a five stars. This is a very unique "mafia" romance : the heroine is fully into this world, not as a Mafia princess but she's working into it so she is in the action. The action and the plot are therefore really in the foreground and I LOVE that about this book ! The world feels really flushed out, the dynamics, the role and abilities of each character (especially Raize), everything just feels accurate which is not always the case in these books. The heroine voice is also really unique and great ! I love her, I love all the characters : main and secondary ones (Gus being the MVP of course !).
There's a bit of mystery also, which makes this book feel almost like a thriller, and again : I love it!
I don't want to say more because the blurb makes a decent job at not giving to much away and I feel like going into this book without really knowing where it's going is the best way to do it.

I loved this book, I've searched a book similar to this one, with a heroine involved like this and this type of action but failed (if you have any recommandation please share !!). If like me you like the mafia/mob part as much as the romance part when you read mafia romance then this book is for you !

Edit : I'm on my third read, it's 2025, and we STILL don't have a ROMAN BOOK ???!! That is NOT ok ! TIJAN I WANT HIS BOOK !! (Especially because I feel he'll end up with that detective and I'm dying for a cop x mobster romance !!!)
]]> 44059557 CHINA, 484 A.D.

A Warrior in Disguise
All her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel.

Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan's father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man.

A War for a Dynasty
Thanks to her martial arts skills, Mulan is chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling--the royal duke's son, who is also the handsomest man she's ever seen. But the princeling has secrets of his own, which explode into Mulan's life and shake up everything she knows. As they cross the Great Wall to face the enemy beyond, Mulan and the princeling must find a way to unwind their past, unmask a traitor, and uncover the plans for the Rouran invasion . . . before it's too late.

Inspired by wuxia martial-arts dramas as well as the centuries-old ballad of Mulan, The Magnolia Sword is perfect for fans of Renee Ahdieh, Marie Lu, or Kristin Cashore--a thrilling, romantic, and sharp-edged novel that lives up to its beloved heroine.]]> 348 Sherry Thomas 1620148048 Sindel 0 to-read 4.05 2019
author: Sherry Thomas
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221042764 She’s the mayor-to-be’s perfect daughter. He’s the ruthless villain set to ruin her.I’ve spent my life putting others first. So when my father runs for New York City mayor—on a promise to take down the city’s most notorious crime family—I do what I always push my own dreams aside to help him win.

Until I wind up at the wrong party. Trapped in a bedroom with Romolo Ferraro—the dangerous, merciless youngest son of the man my father has sworn to destroy.

He terrifies me. He fascinates me. Six foot four and covered in tattoos, he’s everything I should avoid.

When he starts pursuing me, I know I’m just a pawn in his game. A means to an end. And yet… part of me wants to play along.

I tell myself it’s to protect my father’s campaign. But I’m not thinking about politics when Romolo’s rough hands slide over my skin, teaching me how good it feels to burn.

They say good girls don’t fall for the villain.

But maybe, I’m tired of being good.

~

Be With Me is book 1 in House of Ferraro, a series of interconnected standalones following the Ferraro brothers, where dark and sensual romance plays out against a backdrop of family secrets and mafia intrigue. ]]> 408 Gabrielle Sands Sindel 3 mafia-romance 4.22
author: Gabrielle Sands
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.22
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/05/26
date added: 2025/05/26
shelves: mafia-romance
review:

]]> 44615616 400 Cassandra O'Donnell 2756422002 Sindel 3 4.09 2019
author: Cassandra O'Donnell
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2025/05/25
shelves:
review:

]]> 125887685
It is bedlam on the eighth floor.
As management reels from the unexpected conclusion of the seventh level, the surviving crawlers stumble onto the eighth and find themselves scattered. It’s a map based on Earth’s final days before the collapse, where ethereal, intangible ghosts of humanity go about their lives, oblivious of the impending doom. Living amongst these ghosts are monsters based in Earth lore. “Legendary” creatures tied to the geographical location they inhabit.

Each team of crawlers is given a task: find and capture six of these beasts. The captured monsters will be turned into cards. Cards that can be summoned into battle again and again. The stronger, the deadlier, the better.

At the end of the floor, the bad guys will also have decks, and they will have some of the most powerful cards available. So it’s crucial to assemble the toughest squad possible.

But, like always, there is a catch. There’s always a catch.

As Carl and Donut know all too well, just because someone is captured, it doesn’t mean they have been tamed.

Her name is Shi Maria. She’s easily the most powerful monster in their area. If they want to survive, they must capture her. But she is no ordinary beast. She’s intelligent. She was once married to a god, a god who is now missing. Her special attack is known to drive one insane. They call her the Bedlam Bride.

“Beware, beware. Beware the Eye of the Bedlam Bride”]]> 694 Matt Dinniman Sindel 5
This might actually be my favorite floor set up ! At first I had a hard time because after the Hunt I immediately wanted to go to the Faction wars, but I really loved the card set up ! The Totems were hilarious and the Bedlam Bride was SCARY ! The set up of the floor was also made to push the crawlers against each other which added some interesting tension.
A LOT also happened on the overall plot, we learned more about Carl's past and things outside the Dungeon. That ending had me soooo excited !!!!]]> 4.67 2023
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.67
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2025/05/05
date added: 2025/05/05
shelves: litrpg, sci-fi, revenge, progression-fantasy
review:
4.5 stars

This might actually be my favorite floor set up ! At first I had a hard time because after the Hunt I immediately wanted to go to the Faction wars, but I really loved the card set up ! The Totems were hilarious and the Bedlam Bride was SCARY ! The set up of the floor was also made to push the crawlers against each other which added some interesting tension.
A LOT also happened on the overall plot, we learned more about Carl's past and things outside the Dungeon. That ending had me soooo excited !!!!
]]> 223903970 With the irresistibly compulsive quality of Fourth Wing and the rich world-building of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Thorn Season is sharp, funny, sexy and dangerous, and packed full of irresistible twists – an unforgettable novel that marks the introduction of a major new YA voice and will be the romantasy debut of 2025.

In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders – able to exert a physical power that extends beyond her visible a shimmering tendril that can pick a lock, a gentle coil that reaches out to give a loving caress, or an inexorable rope that will kill a man before he knows it is around his neck. Feared and mistrusted for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.

Alissa Paine – heiress of a noble lineage, daughter of a Hunter family – is also a Wielder. And as she approaches her eighteenth Season, Alissa knows she has escaped execution so far only through painful self-control, and the fragile efforts of her beloved father.

Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself trapped in a web of hidden intentions – and caught between two equally dangerous men. One is a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairytale prince, who would see her destroyed in an instant if the truth were known – and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.

It’s Rose Season at the palace, but Alissa knows that survival will depend on being the most vicious of the thorns…]]> 464 Kiera Azar 0063464772 Sindel 0 to-read 4.33
author: Kiera Azar
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/05/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 222376533 DELUXE EDITION―a stunning hardcover edition featuring dark crimson sprayed edges

The Godfather meets The Magicians in the sweeping adult debut from #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu. Perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab, Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star-crossed ambition, and the pursuit of perfection at any cost, set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles.

Alchemy is the hidden art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world’s elites in the form of sand, a drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves: more beautiful, more charismatic, simply more.

Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Lumines have been balanced on a razor’s edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city―and the paths of their lives―will be irrevocably transformed.

The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become a Lumines apprentice, Ari is one of the syndicates' brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever-escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them both to survive the coming war.]]> 432 Marie Lu 1250885671 Sindel 0 to-read 4.45 2025
author: Marie Lu
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60160772
No good ever comes from a red-head in a stolen dress with her worldly possessions at her feet.

I should have known she was trouble when smoke and sin followed her into my bar and she challenged me to a game.

She may have won my watch, but she started a war.

As she slipped my Breitling off my wrist and onto her own, she gleefully announced she was the luckiest girl in the world.

Yeah, lucky to everyone but me.

Because the moment her muddy boots stomped down the stairs and up my spine, my empire started to crumble.

My cashmere charm is wrinkling.

My gentlemanly facade is cracking.

My enemies are closing in.

Maybe the gypsy was right:

The Queen of Hearts will drag me down to hell.

At least it’s wonderfully warm among the flames.

DARK MAFIA ROMANCE - ENEMIES TO LOVERS - AGE GAP - SLOW BURN

***

SOMME’S NOTES:

Sinners Condemned is part one of a duet, and because of this, it ends on a cliffhanger. Rafe & Penny’s story continues in Sinners Consumed, which will be out September 7.

For a better reading experience, please read Sinners Anonymous before reading Sinners Condemned.

You should know that I write dark romance, and my stories–including this one–aren’t for the faint of heart. They contain several triggers, so aren’t suitable for everyone.]]> 316 Somme Sketcher Sindel 4 2025-reread, mafia-romance Was the writing really good ? No (but it wasn't bad either, I've read way worse in mafia !)
Was the plot satisfying ? No
Was there enough action and family drama for a mafia book in my opinion? No
Was the tension fenomenal ? YES ! (The car scene guys !!! .... )
Did I had a really good time reading it ? YES !
Did I love Penny and Rafe ? YES !

This book wasn't the best mafia book I've read but it is the best one I've read in a few months. I LOVED the tension, I loved the banter and all of Rafe and Penny's games and I was hooked ! I had a hell of a time and I will be reading part two now !


Re-read 2025 :
More of a 3 stars on re-read, I couldn't stand the repetitions anymore I must confess...]]> 4.16 2022
author: Somme Sketcher
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/21
date added: 2025/04/21
shelves: 2025-reread, mafia-romance
review:
Was it perfect ? No
Was the writing really good ? No (but it wasn't bad either, I've read way worse in mafia !)
Was the plot satisfying ? No
Was there enough action and family drama for a mafia book in my opinion? No
Was the tension fenomenal ? YES ! (The car scene guys !!! .... )
Did I had a really good time reading it ? YES !
Did I love Penny and Rafe ? YES !

This book wasn't the best mafia book I've read but it is the best one I've read in a few months. I LOVED the tension, I loved the banter and all of Rafe and Penny's games and I was hooked ! I had a hell of a time and I will be reading part two now !


Re-read 2025 :
More of a 3 stars on re-read, I couldn't stand the repetitions anymore I must confess...
]]> 52673459
Kiara always wanted a loving family she could take care of. She never thought she’d find it with the Falcones.
Nino and Kiara both lost part of themselves in their traumatic childhood. Together they’re trying to recover the missing pieces, but they aren’t the only broken souls in the Falcone mansion; Kiara fears that not all of them can be saved. Determined to protect her new family and the future of her dreams, she’s on a mission to help each of them in her own way, even if it means stacking up secrets.

Four brothers bound together by an unbreakable bond forged in their dark past. If one of them falls, will they all?]]> 349 Cora Reilly Sindel 4 2025-reread, mafia-romance 4.28 2019
author: Cora Reilly
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/15
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: 2025-reread, mafia-romance
review:

]]> 202251782 A SONG OF REBELLION. A SONG OF WAR. A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST.

In the Nine Lands, only those of noble blood can summon the spirits of their ancestors to fight in battle. But when Temi, a commoner from the slums, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she finds it could hold the key to ending a centuries-long war.

But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor. And some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

A relentlessly gripping tale of revenge and rebellion, A Song of Legends Lost is an unmissable debut from a major new voice in epic fantasy, perfect for fans of John Gwynne, Anthony Ryan and Evan Winter]]> 592 M.H. Ayinde 0356525309 Sindel 0 to-read 4.03 2025
author: M.H. Ayinde
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 43721791 As Capo of the Camorra he rules with a brutal hand over his territory – a territory the Chicago Outfit breached.
Now Remo is out for retribution.
A wedding is sacred, stealing a bride sacrilegious.
Serafina is the niece of the Boss of the Outfit, and her hand has been promised in marriage for years, but kidnapped in her wedding dress on her way to church by Remo, Serafina quickly realizes that she can’t hope for saving. Yet, even in the hands of the cruelest man she knows, she is determined to cling to her pride, and Remo soon understands that the woman at his mercy might not be as easy to break as he thought.
A ruthless man on a quest to destroy the Outfit by breaking someone they are supposed to protect.
A woman intent on bringing a monster to his knees.
Two families that will never be the same.]]> 419 Cora Reilly Sindel 5 2025-reread, mafia-romance
Yup still my favorite mafia romance book ever ! I just love them so much ! It makes me hate what she did with the next generation even more, but hey, I've decided that those books where not canon, I prefer my own head canon ! By Frenzy I Ruin? Nooope doesn't exist for me !


03/01/2022 (re-read number.... ??)

Really... I stopped counting how many times I re-read this book but after the disappointment and frustration that was By sin I rise, I needed this ! It's still a 5 stars, still my favourite from Cora, I'm still OBSESSED with this book and this couple ! I mean... they are the definition of passion and this plot !!! Argh ! I just LOVE it !

]]> 4.19 2019
author: Cora Reilly
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/13
date added: 2025/04/13
shelves: 2025-reread, mafia-romance
review:
13/04/2025

Yup still my favorite mafia romance book ever ! I just love them so much ! It makes me hate what she did with the next generation even more, but hey, I've decided that those books where not canon, I prefer my own head canon ! By Frenzy I Ruin? Nooope doesn't exist for me !


03/01/2022 (re-read number.... ??)

Really... I stopped counting how many times I re-read this book but after the disappointment and frustration that was By sin I rise, I needed this ! It's still a 5 stars, still my favourite from Cora, I'm still OBSESSED with this book and this couple ! I mean... they are the definition of passion and this plot !!! Argh ! I just LOVE it !


]]> 41460246
Leona wants to build a decent life for herself, away from her drug-addicted mother. But soon she catches the attention of a dangerous man – Fabiano Scuderi. Staying out of trouble and living a normal life are near impossible with a man like him.
Leona knows she needs to avoid Fabiano, but men like him aren’t easy to shake off. They always get what they want.

Fabiano cares about only one thing: the Camorra.
But his attraction to Leona soon puts his unwavering loyalty to the test. Is Leona worth risking everything he’s fought for, and ultimately his life?
]]> 329 Cora Reilly Sindel 4 2025-reread, mafia-romance 3.93 2018
author: Cora Reilly
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/10
date added: 2025/04/10
shelves: 2025-reread, mafia-romance
review:

]]> 43227562 Kiara Vitiello, cousin of the Capo of the New York Famiglia, is chosen to marry Nino Falcone to prevent war with the Camorra, but what she hears about Las Vegas makes her veins pulse with terror. After her father betrayed his Capo and paid with his life, her family thinks marriage is her only chance to bring honor to her name; but only Kiara knows she’s a faulty prize given in return for peace.
A man incapable of emotions and a woman scarred by the past – an arranged marriage with the potential to unite, or destroy…]]> 343 Cora Reilly Sindel 5 2025-reread, mafia-romance 4.23 2019
author: Cora Reilly
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/06
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: 2025-reread, mafia-romance
review:

]]> 344262
When my sister was found dead in a trash-filled alley in Dublin, I came over to get answers. Now all I want is revenge. And after everything I’ve learned about myself, I know I have the power to get it….

MacKayla Lane’s ordinary life underwent a complete makeover when she landed on Ireland’s shores and was plunged into a world of deadly sorcery and ancient secrets.

In her fight to stay alive, Mac must find the Sinsar Dubh–a million-year-old book of the blackest magic imaginable, which holds the key to power over both the worlds of the Fae and of Man. Pursued by Fae assassins, surrounded by mysterious figures she knows she cannot trust, Mac finds herself torn between two deadly and irresistible men: V’lane, the insatiable Fae who can turn sensual arousal into an obsession for any woman, and the ever-inscrutable Jericho Barrons, a man as alluring as he is mysterious.

For centuries the shadowy realm of the Fae has coexisted with that of humans. Now the walls between the two are coming down, and Mac is the only thing that stands between them.…]]> 303 Karen Marie Moning 038533916X Sindel 4 2025-reread, urban-fantasy
It was much better than the first book I think but still didn't age so well. I'll say it's a 3 to 3.5 stars on re-read. Barrons is still a walking red flag but I do love the banter between him and Mac, however toxic their relationship might be. And Mac is less annoying in this book. ]]> 4.25 2007
author: Karen Marie Moning
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: 2025-reread, urban-fantasy
review:
Re-read 30/03/25 :

It was much better than the first book I think but still didn't age so well. I'll say it's a 3 to 3.5 stars on re-read. Barrons is still a walking red flag but I do love the banter between him and Mac, however toxic their relationship might be. And Mac is less annoying in this book.
]]> 27838712
And once Jackal's in charge--as soon as he can unseat the Bastards' tyrannical, seemingly unkillable founder--there's a few things they'll do different. Better.

Or at least, that's the plan. Until the fallout from a deadly showdown makes Jackal start investigating the Lot Lands for himself. Soon, he's wondering if his feelings have blinded him to ugly truths about this world, and the Bastards' place in it.

In a quest for answers that takes him from decaying dungeons to the frontlines of an ancient feud, Jackal finds himself battling invading orcs, rampaging centaurs, and grubby human conspiracies alike--along with a host of dark magics so terrifying they'd give even the heartiest Bastard pause.

Finally, Jackal must ride to confront a threat that's lain in wait for generations, even as he wonders whether the Bastards can--or should--survive.]]> 529 Jonathan French Sindel 0 to-read 4.03 2015
author: Jonathan French
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 112750 "My name is MacKayla, Mac for short. I'm a sidhe-seer, one who sees the Fae, a fact I accepted only recently and very reluctantly.

My philosophy is pretty simple—any day nobody's trying to kill me is a good day in my book. I haven't had many good days lately. Not since the walls between Man and Fae came down. But then, there's not a sidhe-seer alive who's had a good day since then."

When MacKayla's sister was murdered, she left a single clue to her death, a cryptic message on Mac's cell phone. Journeying to Ireland in search of answers, Mac is soon faced with an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to master a power she had no idea she possessed—a gift that allows her to see beyond the world of man, into the dangerous realm of the Fae.

As Mac delves deeper into the mystery of her sister's death, her every move is shadowed by the dark, mysterious Jericho…while at the same time, the ruthless V'lane—an alpha Fae who makes sex an addiction for human women—closes in on her. As the boundary between worlds begins to crumble, Mac's true mission becomes clear: to find the elusive Sinsar Dubh before someone else claims the all-powerful Dark Book—because whoever gets to it first holds nothing less than complete control of both worlds in their hands.]]> 309 Karen Marie Moning 0385339151 Sindel 3 I was in the mood for Urban fantasy : this poped up and I realized I never finished the series and wanted to know how it holds up in re-read.
Turns out that book didn't age so well... (as the majority of urban fantasy books though except my favourite : Kate Daniels). Barrons is a walking red flag and I have way less patience for Mac on re-read, although I remember that the fact that she's so far from perfect is actually something I found refreshing in a way on first read and I still agree to some extend. I do like the world-building and the vengeance trope.
I stand by my policy of not lowering my ratings on re-reads so I'm leaving the 3 stars, but it's more of a 2 stars on re-read. ]]> 4.08 2006
author: Karen Marie Moning
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/16
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves:
review:
Re-read 16/03/2025 :
I was in the mood for Urban fantasy : this poped up and I realized I never finished the series and wanted to know how it holds up in re-read.
Turns out that book didn't age so well... (as the majority of urban fantasy books though except my favourite : Kate Daniels). Barrons is a walking red flag and I have way less patience for Mac on re-read, although I remember that the fact that she's so far from perfect is actually something I found refreshing in a way on first read and I still agree to some extend. I do like the world-building and the vengeance trope.
I stand by my policy of not lowering my ratings on re-reads so I'm leaving the 3 stars, but it's more of a 2 stars on re-read.
]]> 214229274 From critically acclaimed author Richard Swan, Grave Empire begins the epic tale of an empire on the verge of industrial revolution, where sorcery and arcane practices are outlawed – and where an ancient prophecy threatens the coming end of days.

Blood once turned the wheels of empire. Now it is money.

A new age of exploration and innovation has dawned, and the Empire of the Wolf stands to take its place as the foremost power in the known world. Glory and riches await.

But dark days are coming. A mysterious plague has broken out in the pagan kingdoms to the north, while in the south, the Empire’s proxy war in the lands of the wolfmen is weeks away from total collapse. 

Worse still is the message brought to the Empress by two heretic monks, who claim to have lost contact with the spirits of the afterlife. The monks believe this is the start of an ancient prophecy heralding the end of days—the Great Silence. 

It falls to Renata Rainer, a low-ranking ambassador to an enigmatic and vicious race of mermen, to seek answers from those who still practice the arcane arts. But with the road south beset by war and the Empire on the brink of supernatural catastrophe, soon there may not be a world left to save... ]]> 529 Richard Swan Sindel 0 to-read 4.10 2025
author: Richard Swan
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58423891
I’ve searched for my mom’s murderer for two years. But now I finally have a way to narrow down my suspects.

The ancient fae artifact is mine for the taking.

Well, not quite.

The artifact belongs to Samael— the scary-as-hell demon who runs this country. There’s a reason why no one would dare steal from him. But with great risk comes great reward… right?

All I need to do is get close to him, sneak past his dragon, and steal from his hoard.

Wish me luck.]]> 42 Stacia Stark Sindel 3 urban-fantasy, novella 4.08 2021
author: Stacia Stark
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/14
date added: 2025/03/14
shelves: urban-fantasy, novella
review:

]]> 58189174 I hunt demons.
I don’t work for them.

And I promised my mom one thing before she was murdered: Under no circumstances, would I ever go near the high demons.

But I’ll break that promise over and over again if it helps me avenge her death.

When my only lead winds up dead in the middle of demon territory, I’m suddenly in deep shit. Violence in Samael’s club is a death sentence… unless he can use you.

And it turns out that the scariest demon in the Triangle has a use for little ol’ me.

Demons are being slaughtered. His demons. And as a bounty hunter, it’s up to me to find out who would dare hurt his people.  

I’ve got two weeks to find the killer, and if I fail, I’m bonded to Samael. Forever.

Samael’s certain that I’ll be his, but I’m not the kinda girl who risks her freedom for a demon.

I’m the kinda girl who won’t let anyone get in the way of her vengeance— not even the Machiavellian control freak who thinks he can run my life.

The problem? I’ve pissed the wrong people off.

Now I’m the one being hunted, and someone’s coming for me with everything they have.

But I’m never more dangerous than when my back is up against the wall.

And I’m ready to come out swinging.]]> 352 Stacia Stark Sindel 0 to-read 4.22 2021
author: Stacia Stark
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 127305713
Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can't help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

Kristen Ciccarelli’s The Crimson Moth is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch… is falling in love.]]> 406 Kristen Ciccarelli 1250866901 Sindel 0 to-read 4.15 2024
author: Kristen Ciccarelli
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 26032887 The enchanting and bloodthirsty sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince.

You must be strong enough to strike and strike and strike again without tiring.

The first lesson is to make yourself strong.

After the jaw-dropping revelation that Oak is the heir to Faerie, Jude must keep her brother safe. To do so, she has bound the wicked king, Cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie would be difficult enough if Cardan were easy to control. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her even as his fascination with her remains undiminished.

When it becomes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, threatening her own life and the lives of everyone she loves, Jude must uncover the traitor and fight her own complicated feelings for Cardan to maintain control as a mortal in a Faerie world.]]> 336 Holly Black 0316310336 Sindel 5 4.27 2019
author: Holly Black
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2025/02/27
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: 2024-re-reads, ya-fantasy, fantasy-romance, 2025-reread
review:

]]> 212174157 From an electrifying new voice in epic fantasy comes The Raven Scholar, a masterfully woven and playfully inventive tale of imperial intrigue, cutthroat competition, and one scholar’s quest to uncover the truth.

Let us fly now to the empire of Orrun, where after twenty-four years of peace, Bersun the Brusque must end his reign. In the dizzying heat of mid-summer, seven contenders compete to replace him. They are exceptional warriors, thinkers, strategists—the best of the best.

Then one of them is murdered.

It falls to Neema Kraa, the emperor’s brilliant, idiosyncratic High Scholar, to find the killer before the trials end. To do so, she must untangle a web of deadly secrets that stretches back generations, all while competing against six warriors with their own dark histories and fierce ambitions. Neema believes she is alone. But we are here to help; all she has to do is let us in.

If she succeeds, she will win the throne. If she fails, death awaits her. But we won’t let that happen.

We are the Raven, and we are magnificent.]]> 656 Antonia Hodgson 152933988X Sindel 0 to-read 4.48 2025
author: Antonia Hodgson
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 45845696
He was like two different people—Eli and Dr. Paxton. While I knew the latter would turn out to be an incredible teacher, the idea of Eli being more threw me for a loop. I couldn’t separate the two, and it seemed vastly inappropriate and strangely alluring. 

The practical side of me needed to win the war inside my mind. I had to please the teacher, not the man. But once I'd cross that line, there was no turning back.

For either of us. ]]> 392 Stephie Walls Sindel 4
The thing is; unlike the others I've read the teacher doesn't take advantage of the student and/or she isn't trying to seduce him from the start. The age gap is really not that big, and she's already 18 so really the only taboo is that he is her teacher. Of course it's still a really big No-no and what I liked is that it was actually acknowledged : they actually tried to fight their feelings (and not just pretend to for a second like in most teacher romances) and it made sense that they eventually gave up : you could feel the emotional connection, the pull, so it was realistic (it wasn't a case of people putting their career/life in jeopardy just for lust). Mind you, the beggining of their relationship wasn't too quick/insta love in my opinion, but I still found some parts were (although it's a complaint I often have in romances so you might not agree, and here it did not shocked much really).

Yes, obviously, he is a bad teacher : he's having a relationship with his student so duh ! But gooosh as a boyfriend ?! THE.BEST. Their relationship was so sweet !! As I said, it wasn't just about lust (it didn't even beggun like that really, and I loved their first meeting by the way) or any student/teacher kink. They just had this great connection and supportive relationship and it all felt so natural that it really made sense that they would risk everything for their love. Don't worry, when it comes to it the physical chemistry is great too...

I should warn you though that in my opinion this book is as much about the romance as it is about Colbie's mental health : you just have to read the prologue to realize it (I think it's in the blurb but of course : BIG TRIGGER WARNING for eating disorder here !!). I personally loved that but just know coming in, that if you want to just read a book mainly focused on the romance, it's not really it.

I'll say that my main complaint is that some of the side characthers/"villains" were too one dimensional. Here I thought that I couldn't find families as hateful as some of the families of the mafia books I have read... Well : the Chapmans are a really close one ! But I wished we got a little more explanation on how things got so far. I hoped for more closure in the end regarding that even if the book would have have to be a little longer for it. The worst character is of course Chasity... You want a charicature of the mean cheerleader (well ex-cheerleader here but still) ? Here you have it : she could have come straight from Mean Girls. Same here : I thought we would have an explanation of why she acts like this but no... she's just the bitch of the book I guess.

That being said, it was still a really good read, I really liked it (4 stars) and I think I'll look into more books from this author.
If like me you want to give an other chance to a teacher-student romance and are in search of a more realistic one : I'll recommend Her Perfect ! (but again : mind the trigger warnings please).]]> 4.04 2019
author: Stephie Walls
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2021/11/29
date added: 2025/02/17
shelves: currently-reading, 2025-reread, contemporary-romance
review:
I'm really picky with teacher-student romances, I've been disapointed most of the time but I'm glad I gave this one a chance ! I think it's the first teacher-student romance taking place in high-school that I haven't dnfed so far.

The thing is; unlike the others I've read the teacher doesn't take advantage of the student and/or she isn't trying to seduce him from the start. The age gap is really not that big, and she's already 18 so really the only taboo is that he is her teacher. Of course it's still a really big No-no and what I liked is that it was actually acknowledged : they actually tried to fight their feelings (and not just pretend to for a second like in most teacher romances) and it made sense that they eventually gave up : you could feel the emotional connection, the pull, so it was realistic (it wasn't a case of people putting their career/life in jeopardy just for lust). Mind you, the beggining of their relationship wasn't too quick/insta love in my opinion, but I still found some parts were (although it's a complaint I often have in romances so you might not agree, and here it did not shocked much really).

Yes, obviously, he is a bad teacher : he's having a relationship with his student so duh ! But gooosh as a boyfriend ?! THE.BEST. Their relationship was so sweet !! As I said, it wasn't just about lust (it didn't even beggun like that really, and I loved their first meeting by the way) or any student/teacher kink. They just had this great connection and supportive relationship and it all felt so natural that it really made sense that they would risk everything for their love. Don't worry, when it comes to it the physical chemistry is great too...

I should warn you though that in my opinion this book is as much about the romance as it is about Colbie's mental health : you just have to read the prologue to realize it (I think it's in the blurb but of course : BIG TRIGGER WARNING for eating disorder here !!). I personally loved that but just know coming in, that if you want to just read a book mainly focused on the romance, it's not really it.

I'll say that my main complaint is that some of the side characthers/"villains" were too one dimensional. Here I thought that I couldn't find families as hateful as some of the families of the mafia books I have read... Well : the Chapmans are a really close one ! But I wished we got a little more explanation on how things got so far. I hoped for more closure in the end regarding that even if the book would have have to be a little longer for it. The worst character is of course Chasity... You want a charicature of the mean cheerleader (well ex-cheerleader here but still) ? Here you have it : she could have come straight from Mean Girls. Same here : I thought we would have an explanation of why she acts like this but no... she's just the bitch of the book I guess.

That being said, it was still a really good read, I really liked it (4 stars) and I think I'll look into more books from this author.
If like me you want to give an other chance to a teacher-student romance and are in search of a more realistic one : I'll recommend Her Perfect ! (but again : mind the trigger warnings please).
]]> 224056515 An underdog politician. A disgraced divorcee. A marriage of convenience that could save them both…or ruin everything.

In the cutthroat world of Roman politics, family is everything. Aelius, a freedman turned ambitious politician, knows winning his next election will require a marriage alliance with a powerful patrician family. But finding a woman who will entertain courtship from a freedman is near impossible.

Crispina is the daughter of one of Rome's oldest families, but after failing to give her husband a child, a humiliating divorce sends her back to her parents' restrictive house in shame. All she wants is the freedom to pursue her true a secret venture to educate the children of Rome's poorest.

When Aelius meets Crispina at a dinner party, he knows her powerful family name could secure his victory. Desperate for freedom, Crispina agrees to a marriage of convenience. Prickly one moment and icy the next, Crispina is determined to keep her charming husband at a distance. That is, until Aelius undertakes a campaign to win not just the city's vote, but his wife's heart.

But Crispina has an agenda of her own, and when a political rival leaks her unconventional activities, it sparks a scandal that could cost Aelius the election. Distancing himself from his wayward wife should be easy, but as the election looms, Aelius must decide which victory is truly worth fighting for.

Enjoy this steamy series-starter historical romance now!]]> 315 Jenna Bigelow Sindel 0 to-read 3.92
author: Jenna Bigelow
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.92
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55399 Vast legions of gods, mages, humans, dragons and all manner of creatures play out the fate of the Malazan Empire in this first book in a major epic fantasy series from Steven Erikson.

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.

For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.

However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand...

Conceived and written on a panoramic scale, Gardens of the Moon is epic fantasy of the highest order--an enthralling adventure by an outstanding new voice.]]> 666 Steven Erikson 0765348780 Sindel 0 to-read 3.92 1999
author: Steven Erikson
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 157000021
Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there―or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He's been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. He is her father. Her name is Mary. Or so he says.

When Lola slammed the car door and stormed off into the night, Drew thought they just needed some time to cool off. Except Lola disappeared, and the sheriff, his friends, and the whole town are convinced Drew murdered his girlfriend. Forget proving his innocence, he needs to find her before it's too late. The longer Lola is missing, the fewer leads there are to follow…and the more danger they both are in.]]> 301 Megan Lally Sindel 0 to-read 4.17 2023
author: Megan Lally
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 24468673 The Lightning-Struck Heart

Once upon a time, in an alleyway in the slums of the City of Lockes, a young and somewhat lonely boy named Sam Haversford turns a group of teenage douchebags into stone completely by accident.

Of course, this catches the attention of a higher power, and Sam's pulled from the only world he knows to become an apprentice to the King's Wizard, Morgan of Shadows.

When Sam is fourteen, he enters the Dark Woods and returns with Gary, the hornless gay unicorn, and a half-giant named Tiggy, earning the moniker Sam of Wilds.

At fifteen, Sam learns what love truly is when a new knight arrives at the castle. Sir Ryan Foxheart, the dreamiest dream to have ever been dreamed.

Naturally, it all goes to hell through the years when Ryan dates the reprehensible Prince Justin, Sam can't control his magic, a sexually aggressive dragon kidnaps the prince, and the King sends them on an epic quest to save Ryan's boyfriend, all while Sam falls more in love with someone he can never have.

Or so he thinks.]]> 405 T.J. Klune 163476367X Sindel 0 to-read 4.36 2015
author: T.J. Klune
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 176443792
The end is nigh.

It has been nearly two hundred years since Hadrian Marlowe assaulted the person of the Emperor and walked away from war. From his Empire. His duty. From the will and service of the eldritch being known only as the Quiet. The galaxy lies in the grip of a terrible plague, and worse, the Cielcin have overrun the realms of men.

A messenger has come to Jadd, bearing a summons from the Sollan Emperor for the one-time hero. A summons, a pardon, and a plea. HAPSIS, the Emperor’s secret first-contact intelligence organization, has located one of the dreadful Watchers, the immense, powerful beings worshipped by the Pale Cielcin.

Called out of retirement and exile, the old hero—accompanied by his daughter, Cassandra—must race across the galaxy and against time to accomplish one last, impossible

To kill a god.]]> 704 Christopher Ruocchio 1982193328 Sindel 0 4.58 2024
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.58
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: currently-reading, sci-fi, science-fantasy, space-opera
review:

]]> 198175881
At the Battle of Akterumu, a captain makes her valiant last stand against a vicious inhuman horde. On the pirate planet of Vorgossos, a machine rebels against her creator. On the alien battleship Echidna, an ordinary man comes face to face with a demon in all but name. And on idyllic Jadd, an apprentice to the Swordmasters of the Fire School takes her first steps out from beneath her father's legendary shadow.

Here are further tales of the Sollan Empire and of the barbarians who dwell between its stars. Here are tales of strange, far worlds. Tales of battle, of desperation, and holy law. And here, too, are tales of a man who will change the fate and future of the galaxy as a whole. Tales of the Sun Eater, of Hadrian Marlowe himself.

PRAISE FOR CHRISTOPHER

"Empire of Silence is epic science fiction at its most genuinely epic. Ruocchio has made something fascinating here, and I can't wait to see what he does next." —James S.A. Corey, New York Times-bestselling author of The Expanse]]> 216 Christopher Ruocchio Sindel 3 novella, sci-fi The Daughter of Swords was a 4 stars itself though. I love when we see the protagonist through the eyes of other characters, it always brings something more about them, and here the descriptions of Hadrian were great !

"The mask he wore could not be seen, though every time he smiled, Cassandra thought she could see the straps of it hidden in his hair. For just a moment, [he] had forgotten to fix that smile back in place. That crooked smile, the one that always looked like it was on the verge of sliding off his face. It had fallen off then, revealing a frozen fury in [hi]s eyes Cassandra hoped never to see there again. He had exploded at Hydarnes then, unleashed a flurry of blows that sent the Maeskolos’s sword flying into the pond to float among the azure nenuphars. Cassandra had seen the real him in that moment. [..]. The one they called Mad Marlowe, and Al Brutan, the brute. The Black Devil himself."]]> 4.31
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/28
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: novella, sci-fi
review:
I loved the Daughter of Swords novella. I confess I skipped through the others. it was nice to have Corvo's POV too but ultimately it dragged on a bit for me.
The Daughter of Swords was a 4 stars itself though. I love when we see the protagonist through the eyes of other characters, it always brings something more about them, and here the descriptions of Hadrian were great !

"The mask he wore could not be seen, though every time he smiled, Cassandra thought she could see the straps of it hidden in his hair. For just a moment, [he] had forgotten to fix that smile back in place. That crooked smile, the one that always looked like it was on the verge of sliding off his face. It had fallen off then, revealing a frozen fury in [hi]s eyes Cassandra hoped never to see there again. He had exploded at Hydarnes then, unleashed a flurry of blows that sent the Maeskolos’s sword flying into the pond to float among the azure nenuphars. Cassandra had seen the real him in that moment. [..]. The one they called Mad Marlowe, and Al Brutan, the brute. The Black Devil himself."
]]> 219551319 A woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.

Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job gone awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards-a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.

Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy's enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape-for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.

In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.

Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world-and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?]]> 576 Elise Kova 0593726340 Sindel 0 to-read 4.30 2025
author: Elise Kova
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 19090384
And now, something with wicked claws and deepwater teeth has begun to hunt at night....Feeling responsible for her neighbors, Dina decides to get involved. Before long, she has to juggle dealing with the annoyingly attractive, ex-military, new neighbor, Sean Evans—an alpha-strain werewolf—and the equally arresting cosmic vampire soldier, Arland, while trying to keep her inn and its guests safe. But the enemy she’s facing is unlike anything she’s ever encountered. It’s smart, vicious, and lethal, and putting herself between this creature and her neighbors might just cost her everything.]]> 225 Ilona Andrews 1625173431 Sindel 3
I'm still in love with Ilona Andrews' writting and humor. Their worlds are always so original. I loved the myth of vampires and werewolves here. I must say I actually really wanted a book from one of the vampire perspective because their politics seemed so interesting ! And the problem is that I found that even if it was really original, the Inkeepers are the one I'm less interested in. I liked the book, it was a really fun read and it's still a pleasure to go back to these writters but I must say the story didn't have that big of a pull for me, or high enough stakes. I'll read the next book because I still really liked it and I want to know how the story evolves but I might not do it now.]]> 4.10 2013
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/18
date added: 2025/01/18
shelves: 2025-reread, sci-fi, urban-fantasy, fantasy-romance
review:
3.5 stars

I'm still in love with Ilona Andrews' writting and humor. Their worlds are always so original. I loved the myth of vampires and werewolves here. I must say I actually really wanted a book from one of the vampire perspective because their politics seemed so interesting ! And the problem is that I found that even if it was really original, the Inkeepers are the one I'm less interested in. I liked the book, it was a really fun read and it's still a pleasure to go back to these writters but I must say the story didn't have that big of a pull for me, or high enough stakes. I'll read the next book because I still really liked it and I want to know how the story evolves but I might not do it now.
]]> 7935521 9780553564945.

To the forest on the shore of the Kingdom of the Isles, the orphan Pug came to study with the master magician Kulgan. But though his courage won him a place at court and the heart of a lovely Princess, he was ill at ease with the normal ways of wizardry.

Yet Pug's strange sort of magic would one day change forever the fates of two worlds. For dark beings from another world had opened a rift in the fabric of spacetime to being again the age-old battle between the forces of Order and Chaos.]]> 485 Raymond E. Feist Sindel 0 to-read 3.95 1982
author: Raymond E. Feist
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57905101 New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.

You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that’s talent.

A floating fortress occupied by warrior gnomes. A castle made of sand. A derelict submarine guarded by malfunctioning machines. A haunted crypt surrounded by lethal traps.

It was supposed to be easy. One bubble. Four castles. Fifteen days. Capture each one, and the stairwell is unlocked.

Here's the thing. It's never easy. Carl and his team can't go it alone. Not this time. They must rely on the help of the low-level, I-can't-believe-these-idiots-are-still-alive crawlers trapped in the bubble with them. But can they be trusted?

Welcome, Crawler. Welcome to the fifth floor of the dungeon.]]> 586 Matt Dinniman Sindel 4
THIS WAS AMAZING ! I LOVED this book !! It's my favorite of the series so far, although maybe even with book 1 because book 1 was our introduction to this world and its amazing characters so it has a special place but... WOW ! This book ! And CAAARL ! Carl my amazing crazy little anarchist I love you ! My baby decided to let all hell break loose and I was here for it !

Like I said in the previous reviews the characters are great in this series, and that continues more than ever in this book. I'll include the AI in the characters and my guy is becoming more and more unhinged and it is hilarious/scary ! That's the other thing : the whole series is very funny but I find that the last two books weren't as funny as the first, whereas this book definetely level up again for me ! (For those who know cats : the Donut VS water running joke was everything !)
Same thing for the plot : I wasn't always engaged with it in the last two books but here it was much more entertainiing for me, especially because we got a looot of moments about the politics outside of the Crawl or of plans for other levels and I LOVED IT !

I've been saying again and again in my last reviews that the endings were insane but this one takes the cake ! How not to jump into the next one after this ? I don't know !]]> 4.57 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/01
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: litrpg, progression-fantasy, dystopian, revolt, 2025-favorites
review:
4.5 stars

THIS WAS AMAZING ! I LOVED this book !! It's my favorite of the series so far, although maybe even with book 1 because book 1 was our introduction to this world and its amazing characters so it has a special place but... WOW ! This book ! And CAAARL ! Carl my amazing crazy little anarchist I love you ! My baby decided to let all hell break loose and I was here for it !

Like I said in the previous reviews the characters are great in this series, and that continues more than ever in this book. I'll include the AI in the characters and my guy is becoming more and more unhinged and it is hilarious/scary ! That's the other thing : the whole series is very funny but I find that the last two books weren't as funny as the first, whereas this book definetely level up again for me ! (For those who know cats : the Donut VS water running joke was everything !)
Same thing for the plot : I wasn't always engaged with it in the last two books but here it was much more entertainiing for me, especially because we got a looot of moments about the politics outside of the Crawl or of plans for other levels and I LOVED IT !

I've been saying again and again in my last reviews that the endings were insane but this one takes the cake ! How not to jump into the next one after this ? I don't know !
]]> 60233239 Attention. Attention. The gates are down. The hunters are loose. Run, Run, Run.

A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”

The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.

As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.

But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.

Dungeon Crawler Carl and Princess Donut return in book five of the acclaimed litrpg series.]]> 732 Matt Dinniman Sindel 5
Noooooo that ending !!

It was an amazing book but aargh !

(A real review is coming ! ... maybe)

--------------------------------

Okay the little review :

I had high expectations for this book, it has been set up since the beginning and I was down for the "Let's hunt the hunters !". I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint ! It was everything I hoped and more !
The last books were already amazing and this book still had all the great things I loved in the series but where sometimes I lost interest in some parts of the plot, here I never lost interest ! I was in for every part of the plot and the pace was near perfection ! It had some real emotional moments too ! It's one of the things I love about this series : it's fun but also very deep sometimes, the author combines the two perfectly and in this book more than ever. ]]> 4.69 2022
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/08
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: dystopian, progression-fantasy, sci-fi, litrpg, 2025-favorites
review:
4.75 stars

Noooooo that ending !!

It was an amazing book but aargh !

(A real review is coming ! ... maybe)

--------------------------------

Okay the little review :

I had high expectations for this book, it has been set up since the beginning and I was down for the "Let's hunt the hunters !". I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint ! It was everything I hoped and more !
The last books were already amazing and this book still had all the great things I loved in the series but where sometimes I lost interest in some parts of the plot, here I never lost interest ! I was in for every part of the plot and the pace was near perfection ! It had some real emotional moments too ! It's one of the things I love about this series : it's fun but also very deep sometimes, the author combines the two perfectly and in this book more than ever.
]]> 210872835 Guaranteed a supernaturally safe stay!

A scandalous, ex-porn star demon and a morally shady, billionaire vampire walk into a bar…

But this is no joke. It’s opening day at the SOS Hotel, and that lust demon? He’s my business partner. I know. What was I thinking? The sexy, suave vampire however? He’s something else…

Creating a sanctuary for the supernaturals left here when the tear in the veil sealed was always going to be difficult, but it’s all I have, and I’m going to make it work. Despite the murders, the missing humans, and the psychotic real estate mogul who wants to bulldoze the hotel…

The SOS Hotel must thrive whatever the cost. Because if it fails, I’ll lose everything. Including my life.

My name is Adam. I’m just the boring human who works here, and I absolutely, definitely do not have any secrets.

Welcome to the SOS Hotel. What can possibly go wrong?

SOS Hotel contains content that some readers may find uncomfortable. For full content warnings, please see the author's website. ]]> 174 Adam Vex Sindel 2 I couldn't help but compare it to The Innkeeper Chronicles because the set up is very similar, but everything pales in comparison to Ilona Andrews for me, and to Dungeon Crawler Carl since I'm reading this series right now but it does the "fun but deep characters" so well ! These comparisons didn't help...
I might still continue the series though because there's a "Secret Identity" trope and I'm always down for that ! I'm pretty confident about my theory and since the books are short and fast I might just finish the series to know if I'm right !]]> 4.22 2024
author: Adam Vex
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: lgbtq, paranormal-romance, urban-fantasy, novella
review:
I was a bit disappointed : the worldbuilding, writing, plot and characters didn't really work for me.
I couldn't help but compare it to The Innkeeper Chronicles because the set up is very similar, but everything pales in comparison to Ilona Andrews for me, and to Dungeon Crawler Carl since I'm reading this series right now but it does the "fun but deep characters" so well ! These comparisons didn't help...
I might still continue the series though because there's a "Secret Identity" trope and I'm always down for that ! I'm pretty confident about my theory and since the books are short and fast I might just finish the series to know if I'm right !
]]> 211399784
Until a shocking incident at the Olympic Games brings their partnership to a sudden end.

As the ten-year anniversary of their final skate approaches, an unauthorized documentary reignites the public fascination with Shaw and Rocha, claiming to uncover the “real story” through interviews with their closest friends and fiercest rivals. Kat wants nothing to do with the documentary, but she can’t stand the thought of someone else defining her legacy. So, after a decade of silence, she’s telling her story: from the childhood tragedies that created her all-consuming bond with Heath to the clash of desires that tore them apart. Sensational rumors have haunted their every step for years, but the truth may be even more shocking than the headlines.]]> 437 Layne Fargo 0593732049 Sindel 0 to-read 4.12 2025
author: Layne Fargo
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56269205 From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hand sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order could not stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.

From author Jay Kristoff comes Empire of the Vampire, the first illustrated volume of an astonishing new dark fantasy saga.]]> 739 Jay Kristoff 1250245281 Sindel 0 to-read 4.28 2021
author: Jay Kristoff
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61273858 From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring and redemptive novel set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.]]> 384 Sadeqa Johnson 1982197366 Sindel 0 to-read 4.23 2023
author: Sadeqa Johnson
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 57001971 Welcome to the Gun Show!

The top ten list is populated. The sponsorship program is open. The difficulty is ramping up. The first three floors were nothing compared to what Carl and Donut now face.

The Iron Tangle. An impossibly-complicated subway system built out of the world's subterranean railway systems, all combined and then tied together into a knot. Up is down. Down is up. Close is far. The cars are filled with monsters, the railway stations are less than safe, and the exit is always just a few stops away.

But there is hope. For the first time, the crawlers are all working together. The loot is better than ever. And the secret to unraveling it all may be hidden in the pages of a seemingly-useless book. Welcome, crawlers. Welcome to the fourth floor of the dungeon.]]> 534 Matt Dinniman Sindel 3 progression-fantasy
My review will be very similar to the previous one ! I feel basically the same way but stronger on the positive AND the negative, which explains why the rating is also the same.

The characters are still the strongest part of the series for me. And in this book the character work was even better ! We learn more about Carl and Donut's past, they become more complex and more endearing. They officially join my list of favorite book characters with Kate Daniels, Darrow and co ! There were some very touching and emotional scenes with them, and Donut showed more and more her "humanity" for lack of a better world ! But what shows the incredible character work is that the side characters also shine. I did a complete 180 on Katia ! Even some of the NPCs that we'll just see in this book and never after make their mark. I have my complains about the plot, I'll get to it in a moment, but at least it allowed our main characters to interact with a lot of the other crawlers and it was amazing !

Now the plot. I still love the overall series plot and I'm still very intrigued and interested. But the plot of this book/floor, ended up being too tiresome and made me lose interest sometimes. The author tells you "Yes I know it's complicated but just go with it" but at some point you can't just do that and it didn't work well for me. Once again, just like in the previous book, the very end was reallyyy great though !

That will be all for now because I have to jump into the next book to know what happens to our favorite Princess' Court !]]> 4.48 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/25
date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: progression-fantasy
review:
3.5 stars

My review will be very similar to the previous one ! I feel basically the same way but stronger on the positive AND the negative, which explains why the rating is also the same.

The characters are still the strongest part of the series for me. And in this book the character work was even better ! We learn more about Carl and Donut's past, they become more complex and more endearing. They officially join my list of favorite book characters with Kate Daniels, Darrow and co ! There were some very touching and emotional scenes with them, and Donut showed more and more her "humanity" for lack of a better world ! But what shows the incredible character work is that the side characters also shine. I did a complete 180 on Katia ! Even some of the NPCs that we'll just see in this book and never after make their mark. I have my complains about the plot, I'll get to it in a moment, but at least it allowed our main characters to interact with a lot of the other crawlers and it was amazing !

Now the plot. I still love the overall series plot and I'm still very intrigued and interested. But the plot of this book/floor, ended up being too tiresome and made me lose interest sometimes. The author tells you "Yes I know it's complicated but just go with it" but at some point you can't just do that and it didn't work well for me. Once again, just like in the previous book, the very end was reallyyy great though !

That will be all for now because I have to jump into the next book to know what happens to our favorite Princess' Court !
]]> 23524779 The first casualty of war is truth . . .

First, Denland's revolutionaries assassinated their king, launching a wave of bloodshed after generations of peace. Next they clashed with Lascanne, their royalist neighbour, pitching war-machines against warlocks in a fiercely fought conflict.

Genteel Emily Marshwic watched as the hostilities stole her family's young men. But then came the call for yet more Lascanne soldiers in a ravaged kingdom with none left to give. Emily must join the ranks of conscripted women and march toward the front lines.

With barely enough training to hold a musket, Emily braves the savage reality of warfare.
But she begins to doubt her country's cause, and those doubts become critical. For her choices will determine her own future and that of two nations locked in battle.]]> 658 Adrian Tchaikovsky 1447272676 Sindel 0 to-read 4.11 2015
author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 56377548
The ratings and views are off the chart. The fans just can't get enough. The dungeon gets more dangerous each day. But in a grinder designed to chew up and spit out crawlers by the millions, Carl and Princess Donut need to work harder than ever just to survive.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered prostitutes rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose.

Carl still has no pants.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. For Carl and Donut, it's anything but a game.]]> 364 Matt Dinniman Sindel 3
I still LOVE the hell out of Carl and Donut ! The main characters really make this series, they keep getting better and better ! It's also still unhinged and hilarious, the AI is incredible !
The format of this series was bound to become a bit repetitive though and since I didn't really care about the quests in this book it annoyed me more than in the first book : I enjoyed it a bit less and that's why I rated it a bit lower. The side crawler characthers were also less interesting than in the first one : I didn't like the dynamic with Katia, especially compared to the group we had in book 1. Mongo is great though !
The ending was great ! I've already jumped into the next one "Mind the gap !"]]> 4.54 2021
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2024/12/20
date added: 2024/12/21
shelves: dystopian, progression-fantasy, sci-fi, litrpg
review:
3.5 stars

I still LOVE the hell out of Carl and Donut ! The main characters really make this series, they keep getting better and better ! It's also still unhinged and hilarious, the AI is incredible !
The format of this series was bound to become a bit repetitive though and since I didn't really care about the quests in this book it annoyed me more than in the first book : I enjoyed it a bit less and that's why I rated it a bit lower. The side crawler characthers were also less interesting than in the first one : I didn't like the dynamic with Katia, especially compared to the group we had in book 1. Mongo is great though !
The ending was great ! I've already jumped into the next one "Mind the gap !"
]]> 56791389 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B08BKGYQXW


The apocalypse will be televised!

A man. His ex-girlfriend's cat. A sadistic game show unlike anything in the universe: a dungeon crawl where survival depends on killing your prey in the most entertaining way possible.

In a flash, every human-erected construction on Earth—from Buckingham Palace to the tiniest of sheds—collapses in a heap, sinking into the ground.

The buildings and all the people inside have all been atomized and transformed into the dungeon: an 18-level labyrinth filled with traps, monsters, and loot. A dungeon so enormous, it circles the entire globe.

Only a few dare venture inside. But once you're in, you can't get out. And what's worse, each level has a time limit. You have but days to find a staircase to the next level down, or it's game over. In this game, it's not about your strength or your dexterity. It's about your followers, your views. Your clout. It's about building an audience and killing those goblins with style.

You can't just survive here. You gotta survive big.

You gotta fight with vigor, with excitement. You gotta make them stand up and cheer. And if you do have that "it" factor, you may just find yourself with a following. That's the only way to truly survive in this game—with the help of the loot boxes dropped upon you by the generous benefactors watching from across the galaxy.

They call it Dungeon Crawler World. But for Carl, it's anything but a game.]]> 446 Matt Dinniman Sindel 4 Not really the kind of book I'm used to reading, the set up is completely absurd but once you go with the flow it's just so good and creative ! I loved Carl, Princess Donut, and the footfetishist AI and his delivery of the achievements !
The format did get a bit repetitive for me by the end though.

If you want to have a great time and laugh out loud : read this book !]]> 4.48 2020
author: Matt Dinniman
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/09
date added: 2024/12/21
shelves: sci-fi, dystopian, progression-fantasy, litrpg
review:
This book was a breath of fresh air !
Not really the kind of book I'm used to reading, the set up is completely absurd but once you go with the flow it's just so good and creative ! I loved Carl, Princess Donut, and the footfetishist AI and his delivery of the achievements !
The format did get a bit repetitive for me by the end though.

If you want to have a great time and laugh out loud : read this book !
]]> 201626991
She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.]]> 435 Sarah Rees Brennan 0316568716 Sindel 4 But there is also some serious themes under the fun that are what made me really love this book. I found Rae's story very touching, learning that the author actually had to go through that herself made so much sense ; you can feel that it comes from personal experience. And although I didn't go through that there's still some feelings Rae expressed that resonated with things I've been currently living and made this book special for me.
I also really appreciated how at first the "book" characters in the story seemed superficial, it goes with the plot and the set up, but then there's little twist and they become more real to you as they do to Rae.
The last portion of the book has very classic YA tropes though and some things became less subtle. The "big twist" at the end was obvious from the start.

This book was an amazing surprise, it's the book I needed right now and I'm very interested in reading the rest of the series.]]> 3.86 2024
author: Sarah Rees Brennan
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/14
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: ya-fantasy, fantasy-romance, lgbtq
review:
I loved the set up of this book. It was so refreshing and so much fun as a book lover ! I needed a fun easy read and this was perfect for my mood. I hadn't enjoy a YA/NA fantasy this much in a long time.
But there is also some serious themes under the fun that are what made me really love this book. I found Rae's story very touching, learning that the author actually had to go through that herself made so much sense ; you can feel that it comes from personal experience. And although I didn't go through that there's still some feelings Rae expressed that resonated with things I've been currently living and made this book special for me.
I also really appreciated how at first the "book" characters in the story seemed superficial, it goes with the plot and the set up, but then there's little twist and they become more real to you as they do to Rae.
The last portion of the book has very classic YA tropes though and some things became less subtle. The "big twist" at the end was obvious from the start.

This book was an amazing surprise, it's the book I needed right now and I'm very interested in reading the rest of the series.
]]> 214947885
Evie worked her way up from the gutter and she’s not about to abandon the life she’s built for fear of
this aristocratic dilettante. She knows his type. She sees the attraction simmering beneath his animosity, and knows how to use it to keep him off balance. They strike a bargain. He has one week to prove she’s a fake. If he fails, he has to abandon all further attempts. If he succeeds, she’ll retire and make a public statement explaining her tricks.

Neither expects to find anything in common, not to mention anything to love in the other. Both are blindsided by the blossoming tenderness between them. But even if it were possible for a lowly charlatan to live happily ever after with a duke, more is going on than either suspects. Someone else has brought them together for a sinister purpose of his own.]]> Julia Bennet Sindel 2 historical-romance 3.54 2020
author: Julia Bennet
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/17
date added: 2024/12/17
shelves: historical-romance
review:

]]> 206294753 The bestselling author of A Killer’s Wife delivers a haunting legal thriller, plunging the reader headlong into the search for a deadly stalker—and a quest to bring a young victim peace.

Far from the neon glare of the Vegas strip, attorney Piper Danes walks away from a hotshot law firm to work as a guardian ad litem (GAL). Piper was once a vulnerable youth herself, and a GAL gave her hope when she needed it most. Now she’s committed to paying it forward.

Her first case is unlike any fifteen-year-old Sophie Grace is the sole survivor of a gruesome family murder. Teaming up with the formidable Judge Hope Dawson and enigmatic Detective Lazarus Holloway, Piper delves into a world more sinister than she could have imagined.

Their hunt for the truth leads to a serial killer known only as “The Creeper,” a predator who hides in the shadows. But as the team inches closer to unveiling the murderer, they find themselves in the crosshairs. Trapped in a web of lies, Piper will do anything to protect Sophie and stop the killer…before she becomes his next victim.]]> 363 Victor Methos 1662516274 Sindel 0 to-read 4.12 2024
author: Victor Methos
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60427253
The galaxy is burning.

With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men, and worse, there are rumors...whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting.

But it is not so. Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold.

What is more, the Emperor himself is in danger. The Prophet-King has learned to track his movements as he travels along the borders of Imperial space. Now the Cielcin legions are closing in, their swords poised to strike off the head of all mankind.]]> 544 Christopher Ruocchio 0756416604 Sindel 4 sci-fi, space-opera Rage is blindness. Gibson whispered in my ear, admonishing. Grief is deep water. But I was beyond rage. Past grief. I stood upon a mountaintop in the grip of a fury cold and clear as ice, but the grip was itself my own.


Reviewing this book is hard. I might write another review if I ever re-read it. The thing is : I took a huge pause in the middle of it, which of course altered my experience of it. It was mostly a "me problem" : I'm a mood reader and sometimes what I'm in the mood for changes in the middle of a book, which is very problematic when it's long books. But it was also in part an issue with the book itself : I got a bit bored in the middle section because it felt so repetitive to moments from previous books to me... So yeah : I begun this book in August, but finished it in November, because for several months I just stopped reading it and read other books instead. As I said ; reviewing it is tricky now !

But I ended up quite enjoying this book actually ! I'll say it's my third favorite of the series so far. Once I got through the repetitive sections I mentioned, I actually really loved the last section of the book. My favorite thing in the series is the politics and the dynamic with the Emperor and his family VS Hadrian and here we had that once more. These were by far the stronguest sections of the book for me. We also see a more human side of the Emperor and I ended up actually begining to like him, even if with that human side comes some stupid decisions too.
We also have more of Jadd in this book and I LOVED it !! They are so interesting and badass, and it just adds to the complexity of the worldbuilding.
The characters themselves keep getting better : Hadrian is more and more reliable in his flaws. I'm finally enjoying his "abilities" now that they have clear limits (which was my big complaint before).

I'm really excited to read the next book but I won't read it immediately. Indeed until now I've never read the side stories but as you may know : Lorian is my favorite character so this time I WILL read the short story before Quiet Gods ! In the meantime Wind and Truth might also be out, so I might not get to Quiet Gods until next year, we'll see !]]> 4.48 2022
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/28
date added: 2024/11/28
shelves: sci-fi, space-opera
review:
Rage is blindness. Gibson whispered in my ear, admonishing. Grief is deep water. But I was beyond rage. Past grief. I stood upon a mountaintop in the grip of a fury cold and clear as ice, but the grip was itself my own.


Reviewing this book is hard. I might write another review if I ever re-read it. The thing is : I took a huge pause in the middle of it, which of course altered my experience of it. It was mostly a "me problem" : I'm a mood reader and sometimes what I'm in the mood for changes in the middle of a book, which is very problematic when it's long books. But it was also in part an issue with the book itself : I got a bit bored in the middle section because it felt so repetitive to moments from previous books to me... So yeah : I begun this book in August, but finished it in November, because for several months I just stopped reading it and read other books instead. As I said ; reviewing it is tricky now !

But I ended up quite enjoying this book actually ! I'll say it's my third favorite of the series so far. Once I got through the repetitive sections I mentioned, I actually really loved the last section of the book. My favorite thing in the series is the politics and the dynamic with the Emperor and his family VS Hadrian and here we had that once more. These were by far the stronguest sections of the book for me. We also see a more human side of the Emperor and I ended up actually begining to like him, even if with that human side comes some stupid decisions too.
We also have more of Jadd in this book and I LOVED it !! They are so interesting and badass, and it just adds to the complexity of the worldbuilding.
The characters themselves keep getting better : Hadrian is more and more reliable in his flaws. I'm finally enjoying his "abilities" now that they have clear limits (which was my big complaint before).

I'm really excited to read the next book but I won't read it immediately. Indeed until now I've never read the side stories but as you may know : Lorian is my favorite character so this time I WILL read the short story before Quiet Gods ! In the meantime Wind and Truth might also be out, so I might not get to Quiet Gods until next year, we'll see !
]]> 210670779 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author Jewel E. Ann parachutes into the burning, hazardous heart of love in a sexy yet dramatic romance set in Big Sky country.

When Jamie Andrews moves in with a house full of firefighters, things start heating up fast. Battling the wilderness of rural Montana, these guys are always charging into danger—for a living, for duty, for the rush—and since Jamie is a psychiatric nurse, they fascinate her analytic mind. She can’t help but fixate on Calvin, a grumpy, enigmatic smoke jumper ten years her senior. She makes playfully tormenting him her pet project, trying to get him to open up. It turns out he gives as good as he gets.

When something smoldering between them sparks, they’ll have to keep it quiet, which makes Jamie start to wonder about Calvin’s secret, the one he won’t explain. She’ll learn more after life pulls them apart. But as she follows the truth like a trail of flame into the dark, will it lead her to hearth and home with Calvin…or will it all go up in a blaze?
]]> 328 Jewel E. Ann 1662523688 Sindel 0 to-read 4.24 2024
author: Jewel E. Ann
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 9375 Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is a now-classic novel about two women: Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age, and gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode, who is telling her life story. Her tale includes two more women, the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, offering good coffee, southern barbecue, and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder. And as the past unfolds, the present will never be quite the same again.]]> 416 Fannie Flagg 0375508414 Sindel 0 to-read 4.28 1987
author: Fannie Flagg
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 18952341 640 Ken Liu 1481424270 Sindel 0 to-read 3.77 2015
author: Ken Liu
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 109554429 A new town, new friends, new challenges…. And a new heart-stopping adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ilona Andrews. Kate, Curran, and Conlan may have left Atlanta for Wilmington, but the usual magic mayhem has also hitched a ride!

Kate and Curran have just settled into their new home and their 'low prolife,' when a local businessman approaches them with an offer they can’t refuse. A mysterious evil has spawned in the nearby forest and is holding a defenseless town hostage. The ‘due date’ is rapidly approaching.

It’s exactly the kind of fight the Lennarts can’t resist, not for the prize the town offers, but for the people who will surely die if they ignore it. If they succeed, they’ll be rescuing an entire community and can build a strong new base for their family and the Wilmington Pack. If they fail...well, fail is a four-letter word.

Nothing comes without a price. Now Kate must decide if she has what it takes to pay it.]]> 240 Ilona Andrews Sindel 5 urban-fantasy, 2024-re-reads
We have answers and clarifications to questions I've had since Blood Heir and it was all so satifying ! The story also takes a reallyyyy exciting turn, one I've been secretly wishing for and I'm so happy about it !! The plot itself was great and gave both Curran, Kate and Conlan their time to shine and develop ! Speaking of Kate and Curran.... If they weren't already, after this book there's no doubt left that they ARE my all time favorite fictional couple ! I normally get bored after the couple actually gets together, the chase is much more fun to me, but with Kate and Curran : the married life is as much interesting than the chase ! I just love them and their relationship, they are the perfect partners !
We also have scenes with Erra and Roland and I was here for that !! Especially the Conlan/Kate/Roland scene ! I've been dreaming to have a scene with all three and it didn't disappoint ! This family relationship is still so interesting ! I LOVE them !
The growth of the characters from Magic Bites to here is so good and so realistic !
They are new side characters too, and I especially loved Owen !

I could go on forever, you get it : I LOOOOVED IT ! I've just re-read the entire series and this book made me want to read it all over again ! GO READ IT ! This new Wilmington series is going to be SPECTACULAR I can tell you that !]]> 4.69 2023
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/09
shelves: urban-fantasy, 2024-re-reads
review:
WOW ! This book left me stary eyed and soooo excited for what comes next !!! It was everything I wanted and everything I didn't know I needed !

We have answers and clarifications to questions I've had since Blood Heir and it was all so satifying ! The story also takes a reallyyyy exciting turn, one I've been secretly wishing for and I'm so happy about it !! The plot itself was great and gave both Curran, Kate and Conlan their time to shine and develop ! Speaking of Kate and Curran.... If they weren't already, after this book there's no doubt left that they ARE my all time favorite fictional couple ! I normally get bored after the couple actually gets together, the chase is much more fun to me, but with Kate and Curran : the married life is as much interesting than the chase ! I just love them and their relationship, they are the perfect partners !
We also have scenes with Erra and Roland and I was here for that !! Especially the Conlan/Kate/Roland scene ! I've been dreaming to have a scene with all three and it didn't disappoint ! This family relationship is still so interesting ! I LOVE them !
The growth of the characters from Magic Bites to here is so good and so realistic !
They are new side characters too, and I especially loved Owen !

I could go on forever, you get it : I LOOOOVED IT ! I've just re-read the entire series and this book made me want to read it all over again ! GO READ IT ! This new Wilmington series is going to be SPECTACULAR I can tell you that !
]]> 30755704
Just as she realizes she has no choice but to sell it, a mysterious man comes in after closing time and makes her an offer: He will save The Red if she agrees to submit to him for the period of one year.

The man is handsome, English, and terribly tempting...but surely her mother didn't mean for Mona to sell herself to a stranger. Then again, she did promise to do anything to save The Red...

The Red is a standalone novel of erotic fantasy from Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author of The Bourbon Thief and the Original Sinners series.]]> 235 Tiffany Reisz 1537217763 Sindel 0 And the "Mystery" part, that kept me reading because I wanted to know who Malcom was, ended up disappointing me.
Since it's really just not my thing I don't know if it would be fair for me to rate it, and I never know how to rate this kind of book anyway so I just won't. ]]> 3.71 2017
author: Tiffany Reisz
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/04
date added: 2024/11/04
shelves:
review:
Yeah no that wasn't for me... I don't know if it was sold as an Erotica Romance or if it's just how people labeled it but it's not a romance at all in my opinion.
And the "Mystery" part, that kept me reading because I wanted to know who Malcom was, ended up disappointing me.
Since it's really just not my thing I don't know if it would be fair for me to rate it, and I never know how to rate this kind of book anyway so I just won't.
]]> 31549771
Now I'm a messenger for Hermes Courier Service trying to make enough to support my ice cream habit while staying below vampire radar. When this newest job of mine goes disastrously awry, it puts me on the hook to be indentured to a sorcerer for the next fifty years unless I can find a way to fix things.

What's hidden can't stay in the shadow's forever and my life will never be the same.]]> 273 T.A. White Sindel 0 to-read 4.09 2016
author: T.A. White
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 65969788 Ilona Andrews invites you back to the #1 New York Times bestselling Kate Daniels series in this exciting new long novella featuring Kate, Curran and Conlan, some familiar faces, some new friends, and all the special brand of chaos they create!

Kate, Curran and their son, Conlan have left Atlanta, vowing to keep a low profile, and are settling into a new city and new house…but some things never change! Magical mayhem is about to erupt when Kate undertakes the rescue of a kidnapped youth, while Curran guards the homefront.

It should be a simple retrieval, but with monsters on land and sea, Kate’s got her work cut out for her. Still, she's never let her blade dull or her purpose falter. And that low profile? It’s about to wash away with the raging tides!]]> 158 Ilona Andrews Sindel 4 urban-fantasy, 2024-re-reads
Still as good ! Maybe even more on re-reread !

_____________________________________________________________

23/06/2023 :

4.5 stars

It was my first read and I loved it ! Even more than what I thought I would !

If you've followed my updates you know that the first 70% had me losing my mind every 5 minutes ! I was so giddy ! I loved the new characters and how they still managed to link them to the main series in a natural way. I LOOOVED all the cameos and references to the main series, especially the Hugh phone call ! Kate and Curran are trying to keep a low profile which allows a few call backs to the first few books of the Kate Daniels series when Kate was trying to hide her identity and I especially love the "I have an authority issue" call back to the first book ! And as you might guess, this whole "let's keep a low profile" doesn't work as planned, it's Kate and Curran after all, and it's hilarious ! Plus, not only do we have Curran's POV, but we also have a Conlan POV and I was here for it !

It's a great first installement for this new novella series ! The original series had a satisfying ending, but the world is so rich that they could continue and do a 100 spin off series if they wanted to. And that's what they're doing now, they're expanding the story and the world. They managed to stay true to how things ended and add more to the world and built the premises of new storyline that really intrigues me !]]> 4.51 2023
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/29
date added: 2024/10/29
shelves: urban-fantasy, 2024-re-reads
review:
29/10/2024 : Re-read

Still as good ! Maybe even more on re-reread !

_____________________________________________________________

23/06/2023 :

4.5 stars

It was my first read and I loved it ! Even more than what I thought I would !

If you've followed my updates you know that the first 70% had me losing my mind every 5 minutes ! I was so giddy ! I loved the new characters and how they still managed to link them to the main series in a natural way. I LOOOVED all the cameos and references to the main series, especially the Hugh phone call ! Kate and Curran are trying to keep a low profile which allows a few call backs to the first few books of the Kate Daniels series when Kate was trying to hide her identity and I especially love the "I have an authority issue" call back to the first book ! And as you might guess, this whole "let's keep a low profile" doesn't work as planned, it's Kate and Curran after all, and it's hilarious ! Plus, not only do we have Curran's POV, but we also have a Conlan POV and I was here for it !

It's a great first installement for this new novella series ! The original series had a satisfying ending, but the world is so rich that they could continue and do a 100 spin off series if they wanted to. And that's what they're doing now, they're expanding the story and the world. They managed to stay true to how things ended and add more to the world and built the premises of new storyline that really intrigues me !
]]> 54380053 Now with four original illustrations and added material!

An irresistible compilation of five previously published stories by the bestselling author of the Kate Daniels series; including Kate’s very first meeting with Saiman, some related adventures, two unforgettable ‘outside’ excursions, and new material from both Curran and Jim’s point of view.

A QUESTIONABLE CLIENT
In this ‘intro’ to the Kate Daniels world, we meet the extremely ‘shifty’ Saiman for the very first time, when Kate takes on the task of serving as his bodyguard to protect him from some very determined—and dangerous—Russian wizards.

RETRIBUTION CLAUSE
Saiman’s cousin, Adam—a frost giant and also an insurance adjuster—and his enigmatic partner, Siroun, set out on an impossible mission to enforce a client’s Retribution Clause; that is, to kill the person who killed her. But is their target even guilty? Magic and mayhem and a little personal chemistry will reveal the truth!

OF SWINE AND ROSES
A young adult story about a girl, a pig, some magic, and the worst date ever.
Chad Thurman is a thug, who carries brass knuckles in both pockets and lays magic traps for intruders into "his" neighborhood. The last thing Alena Kornov wants to do is to go on the date with him. But when her family pressures her, she can't say no. Now the ice-cream is absent, the pig is running for its life, and we won't even mention the dead guy...

GRACE OF SMALL MAGICS
Grace has always known she wasn’t like everyone else and that her family has magic abilities. After flying to meet the head of Clan Dreoch in order to fulfill her families’ “duties” as servants, Grace finds herself in the middle of a mage clan war…

MAGIC TESTS
A short story in the Kate Daniels universe. Kate recruits her teenage ward, Julie, to search out a missing student whose location spell has her hidden somewhere on campus…

Curran POV
Everybody has a point of view…especially Curran Lennart, Beast Lord of the Free People of Atlanta—and Kate Daniel’s mate. Here’s what Curran was thinking while Kate was kicking butt and taking names from Magic Bites to Magic Bleeds.]]> 338 Ilona Andrews Sindel 3 urban-fantasy 4.45 2015
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2024/10/27
shelves: urban-fantasy
review:
All this time searching for Jim's POV and I learned yesterday that I just had to get the updated version of this book *face palm*
]]> 45885495 There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.

When a woman is murdered in Blackdown, a quintessentially British village, newsreader Anna Andrews is reluctant to cover the case. Detective Jack Harper is suspicious of her involvement, until he becomes a suspect in his own murder investigation. Someone isn’t telling the truth, and some secrets are worth killing to keep.

His & Hers is a twisty, smart, psychological thriller. A gripping tale of suspense, told by expertly-drawn narrators that will keep readers guessing until the very end.]]> 304 Alice Feeney 1250266076 Sindel 0 to-read 4.03 2020
author: Alice Feeney
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 182653658 I never wanted the life my parents tried to force on me, so I vowed I’d never marry a mobster.
Yet here I am, walking down the aisle toward mobster of the century, all to save my sister.

Rafaele Messero. Cold, ruthless, and irritatingly handsome.
Not that I’ve noticed.
After all, this marriage is the end of all my hopes and dreams.
And for him, it’s nothing more than a calculated business move.

At least that’s what I think, until he snaps at the priest to hurry up so that he can kiss me.
He’s known as the ice prince, but when his lips crash down on mine, all I feel is searing heat.
That’s when I know I’m in serious trouble.

My plan was to keep my distance from Rafaele, but he’s not interested in that.
He’s interested in me.

Now that I know what he craves, I vow to never give it to him.
I will never submit to my husband, no matter how relentlessly he tries to conquer me.]]> 466 Gabrielle Sands Sindel 3 mafia-romance 4.05
author: Gabrielle Sands
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.05
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: mafia-romance
review:
I loved the beginning ! The chemistry was great ! And that's just it : I wished the "Cleo's plan for ruining Rafaele's life" phase lasted longer instead of her giving in pretty quickly and then having all this drama in the second half. Some things also turned out to be pretty mafia genre cliche, I guess I've read too much mafia romances by now ! It makes me appreciate Tijan's Canary even more !
]]> 77263943 Gentlemen don’t look at engaged women the way Ras Sorrentino looks at me.

Ras Sorrentino is the underboss of the most powerful clan in the Camorra. He’s also chaos and danger poured into a sleek Italian suit.

The first time I met him, I thought he was there to kill me. The second time, I wanted to kill him.

The third was in Ibiza, where I glared at him across the church as my sister married his boss.

It’s not his sharp tongue or his taunting smirks that I hate the most. It’s his gaze.

How it narrows when I flinch. How it hardens when he notices the bruises on my face. How he stares at my engagement ring like he wants to melt it off my finger.

I know it’s a bad idea to let him push my buttons. After all, the fate of my family rests on my upcoming marriage and my fiancé is only interested in me because of my pristine reputation.

A reputation Ras seems to have no qualms with stomping all over.

It’s a good thing him and I live on the opposite sides of the world.

Until he tells me, he’s coming back to New York with me.

And he’s staying.

~

Tropes: dark mafia romance, enemies to lovers, forbidden romance.]]> 496 Gabrielle Sands Sindel 2 mafia-romance
I actually didn't really care about Gemma and Ras or their romance ... ]]> 4.05 2023
author: Gabrielle Sands
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: mafia-romance
review:
2.5 stars

I actually didn't really care about Gemma and Ras or their romance ...
]]> 203361045
Rowan Miller isn’t used to hearing the word “no.”

I guess when you’re 6’5, gorgeously tattooed, and sculpted like a Michelangelo masterpiece, women tend to throw themselves at you. But in a small town like Darkwater Hollow, a reputation as a womanizer will catch up with you—and your business—eventually. Which is why Rowan needs a fake girlfriend to prove he’s reformed.

Enter, me.

When my house goes up in flames, I agree to Rowan’s offer in exchange for a place to stay.

After my last brutal break up, I’ve sworn off charming, smooth-talking men. But the way Rowan looks at me—hungry and possessive—makes my pulse race and my skin sizzle with heat. The longer we pretend to be in love, the more real it feels.

Just when I think I’ve broken my unlucky streak, I discover Rowan’s hiding secrets. Big ones, like his real name.

Will his dark past bring us closer together? Or will it destroy everything we’ve built?

When He Desires is book 1 of the Fallen God duet. The story continues in When He Takes.]]> 420 Gabrielle Sands Sindel 3 4.13
author: Gabrielle Sands
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.13
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/02
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: small-town-romance, mafia-romance
review:

]]> 15810910
Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.]]> 513 Django Wexler 0451465105 Sindel 0 4.03 2013
author: Django Wexler
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/17
shelves: military-fantasy, flintlock-fantasy, to-read
review:

]]> 9579634
From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

Mark Lawrence's debut novel tells a tale of blood and treachery, magic and brotherhood and paints a compelling and brutal, and sometimes beautiful, picture of an exceptional boy on his journey toward manhood and the throne.]]> 373 Mark Lawrence 0007423292 Sindel 3 revenge, grimdark-fantasy 3.83 2011
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/15
date added: 2024/09/15
shelves: revenge, grimdark-fantasy
review:

]]> 256008 Lonesome Dove, the third book in the Lonesome Dove tetralogy, is the grandest novel ever written about the last defiant wilderness of America.

Journey to the dusty little Texas town of Lonesome Dove and meet an unforgettable assortment of heroes and outlaws, whores and ladies, Indians and settlers. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove is a book to make us laugh, weep, dream, and remember.]]> 960 Larry McMurtry 067168390X Sindel 0 to-read 4.54 1985
author: Larry McMurtry
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.54
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 186491408
Ex, the youngest member of the Phi Hunters Order, has spent his life slaying the ghosts and demons of Suyoram Kingdom. While he takes great pride in his mystical trade, collecting dwindling bounties and peddling butchered spirit organs lacks the glory he craves. He’s determined to hunt down Shar-Ala, a demon of nightmares, of madness – who has eluded even Ex’s masters.

In a provincial village along the way, Arinya, a charming muay-boran champion, saves him from an ass-kicking, despite being nine months pregnant. In return, she asks him to escort her through the dangerous, spirit-filled forest, where ghosts salivate over the scent of the unborn.

But as more of Arinya’s secrets emerge, and the elusive demon nears, Ex must face dangers from both men and monsters, or lose not only the respect of the Phi Hunters, but the Hunters themselves, along with the woman he’s trying not to fall in love with.]]> 384 Salinee Goldenberg 191599814X Sindel 0 to-read 3.84 2024
author: Salinee Goldenberg
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 18693743
The Red Queen’s grandson, Prince Jalan Kendeth—drinker, gambler, seducer of women—is one who can see The Silent Sister. Tenth in line for the throne and content with his role as a minor royal, he pretends that the hideous crone is not there. But war is coming. Witnesses claim an undead army is on the march, and the Red Queen has called on her family to defend the realm. Jal thinks it’s all a rumor—nothing that will affect him—but he is wrong.

After escaping a death trap set by the Silent Sister, Jal finds his fate magically intertwined with a fierce Norse warrior. As the two undertake a journey across the Empire to undo the spell, encountering grave dangers, willing women, and an upstart prince named Jorg Ancrath along the way, Jalan gradually catches a glimmer of the truth: he and the Norseman are but pieces in a game, part of a series of moves in the long war—and the Red Queen controls the board.]]> 355 Mark Lawrence 0425268780 Sindel 0 to-read 4.03 2014
author: Mark Lawrence
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40275288
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.]]> 848 Samantha Shannon 1408883457 Sindel 0
27/08/2024 :
Sorry but I think that will be a DNF for me... Ead's POV had me pretty interested but the others are doing it less and less for me. The worldbuilding, characters and plot are not working for me, it all seems pretty superficial and I can't connect with it. Maybe I'll try again another time but I'm passed forcing myself to go through books, especially one as long as this one !
]]> 4.18 2019
author: Samantha Shannon
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: dragons, fantasy, lgbtq, dnf, to-read
review:
DNFed at 19% so no rating

27/08/2024 :
Sorry but I think that will be a DNF for me... Ead's POV had me pretty interested but the others are doing it less and less for me. The worldbuilding, characters and plot are not working for me, it all seems pretty superficial and I can't connect with it. Maybe I'll try again another time but I'm passed forcing myself to go through books, especially one as long as this one !

]]> 25972177 The New York Times bestselling Raven’s Shadow Trilogy was a perfect read for “fans of broadscale epic fantasy along the lines of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series and George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire novels.”* Now, Anthony Ryan begins a new saga, The Draconis Memoria...

Throughout the vast lands controlled by the Ironship Syndicate, nothing is more prized than the blood of drakes. Harvested from the veins of captive or hunted Reds, Green, Blues and Blacks, it can be distilled into elixirs that give fearsome powers to the rare men and women who have the ability harness them—known as the blood-blessed.

But not many know the truth: that the lines of drakes are weakening. If they fail, war with the neighboring Corvantine Empire will follow swiftly. The Syndicate's last hope resides in whispers of the existence of another breed of drake, far more powerful than the rest, and the few who have been chosen by fate to seek it.

Claydon Torcreek is a petty thief and an unregistered blood-blessed, who finds himself pressed into service by the protectorate and sent to wild, uncharted territories in search of a creature he believes is little more than legend. Lizanne Lethridge is a formidable spy and assassin, facing gravest danger on an espionage mission deep into the heart of enemy territory. And Corrick Hilemore is the second lieutenant of an ironship, whose pursuit of ruthless brigands leads him to a far greater threat at the edge of the world.

As lives and empires clash and intertwine, as the unknown and the known collide, all three must fight to turn the tide of a coming war, or drown in its wake.

*Library Journal]]> 592 Anthony Ryan 0356506398 Sindel 0 4.03 2016
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/27
shelves: currently-reading, dragons, fantasy
review:

]]> 49950349 In this stand-alone fantasy, Durst introduces an imaginative new world in which a pair of strong and determined women risk their lives battling injustice, corruption, and deadly enemies in their quest to become monster-racing champions.

Life, death, and rebirth - in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope - you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time.

Unless you can win the Races.

After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok...and a rider willing to trust her.

Raia is desperate to get away from her domineering family and cruel fiancé. As a kehok rider, she could earn enough to buy her freedom. But she needs a first-rate trainer.

Impressed by the inexperienced young woman’s determination, Tamra hires Raia and pairs her with a strange new kehok with the potential to win - if he can be tamed.

But in this sport, if you forget you’re riding on the back of a monster, you die. Tamra and Raia will work harder than they ever thought possible to win the deadly Becaran Races - and in the process, discover what makes this particular kehok so special.]]> 528 Sarah Beth Durst 0062888617 Sindel 0 to-read 4.30 2020
author: Sarah Beth Durst
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58594547
This story was included in An Apple for the Creature and Small Magics.]]> Ilona Andrews Sindel 3
Although I did re-read it for the draconathon, and that the Andrew's inclusion of various mythologies is always great, this is not what I love the most in this novella. What I loved the first time I read it and still now is how we get Julie's perspective of Kate for the first time (their banter is always great !) and we also get to see how she uses her sensate magic and how it works. Plus : it's also the first (and only) time we see how Kate's magic looks like, and of course it's so very unique !
This novella also gives us a glimpse on how school works for the magic kids of this world when they're not shapeshifters or future Knights.

A short but very enjoyable novella ! ]]> 4.05 2012
author: Ilona Andrews
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at: 2024/08/19
date added: 2024/08/19
shelves: 2024-re-reads, urban-fantasy, novella, dragons
review:
I was giving up on finding a dragon novella for the Draconathon when I remembered that we met Yu Fong in the first Julie novella !

Although I did re-read it for the draconathon, and that the Andrew's inclusion of various mythologies is always great, this is not what I love the most in this novella. What I loved the first time I read it and still now is how we get Julie's perspective of Kate for the first time (their banter is always great !) and we also get to see how she uses her sensate magic and how it works. Plus : it's also the first (and only) time we see how Kate's magic looks like, and of course it's so very unique !
This novella also gives us a glimpse on how school works for the magic kids of this world when they're not shapeshifters or future Knights.

A short but very enjoyable novella !
]]> 18333581 40 Sarah J. Maas Sindel 1 4.21 2013
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2013
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2024/08/18
shelves:
review:

]]> 29227774 Darrow returns as Pierce Brown’s New York Times bestselling Red Rising series continues in the thrilling sequel to Dark Age.

“The measure of a man is not the fear he sows in his enemies. It is the hope he gives his friends.”—Virginia au Augustus

The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.

But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.

The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow. Because after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.]]> 682 Pierce Brown 1473646804 Sindel 4
So I haven't re-read this book (yet!) but I've been rating two books 5 stars in a row just now, and I realized : yes I've had my complaints with this book, but I'm still thinking about it months later and yeah... it wasn't perfect, I prefer Dark Age, but it definetely gave me that 5 stars feeling so I'm rising my rating to a 5 stars, we'll see if it changes on re-read or not !



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06/01/2024 :

And now I have to wait for Red God... Please let it not be 4 years !

I think the main reason this book isn't a 5 stars is because I've read it just after Dark Age, and DA was such a high for me that it couldn't compete. This book was great though mind you ! It made me cry at least three times in the last 10% (Pierce Brown does love to twist the knife !) but it didn't make me feel as much as Dark Age did overall, not as many "I've got chills moments" and some parts of the plot (part 3 mainly) didn't work well for me. It's something that was introduced in DA and that I was already skeptical about but I was waiting to see how it would turn out to be and... some of it I liked, but there are still some things that don't make sense and it's still a part of the plot that doesn't work for me. There's also a tone shift in my opinion : the tone of the original trilogy is back and mixed with the new one and it translates into Darrow's character too. I have mixed feelings about this because I loved the new darker tone, but I recognize that a change was needed after DA. It just felt a bit abrupt at times. Again I think I might feel this way mainly because I've read it immediatly after DA too. I believe it's a book I'll appreciate more on re-read and after getting the full picture with Red God.

That being said I loved the plot of part 1, 2 and the second half of part 4. Those last 15% were gut wrentching ! There were also a lot of call backs to the original series, some things circling back, and also an interesting symetry between the character's situation and roles in this book and in DA in the second part that I found interesting. I also loved the main theme of this book, for me it's really about redemption for several characters and that's always a win.

But let's be honest : what made the book was a 100% Darrow and Cassius ! What a reunion ! I think I might love their relationship more than I love Sevro and Darrow's ... Here I said it ! Sorry not sorry... If we stay on the friendships theme I also loved a certain surprising but great friendship that emerges in this book, it was so sweet and brought out the best of both characters. I also love more and more the Mustang/Holliday and Mustang/Victra duos were EPIC and Mustang's POVs in general were my favorites ex aequo with Darrow's.
Coming back to Cassius : what a character ! It was so good having him back ! His character arc through all the series is one of the best, and he's definetly earned his place in my favorite characters of the series. Plus : he brought the comedic relief we needed, his exchanges with Darrow were amazing !
Other characters also have quite an interesting arc but I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say more.
I think we could have had one more POV : Pax or Volga maybe, but I can understand why we didn't. I also felt that Lyria's POV was less useful in this book, even if I love her more than ever !

In terms of action, although it was not on the same level as DA, nor was it meant to be, there were still some great moments and two/three epic confrontations in particular come to me.


I can't wait for Red God to come ! I have many theories and I love where we left off in this book : we're going to focus on the part of the plot that interests me the most and I can't wait ! I'm going to have a massive book hangover now... part of me wants to immediatly re-read the whole series ! Yes... that's how addicted to it I am and how good it is !]]> 4.75 2023
author: Pierce Brown
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.75
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2024/01/06
date added: 2024/08/18
shelves: military-fantasy, space-opera, sci-fi, science-fantasy, 2024-favorites
review:
04/06/2024 :

So I haven't re-read this book (yet!) but I've been rating two books 5 stars in a row just now, and I realized : yes I've had my complaints with this book, but I'm still thinking about it months later and yeah... it wasn't perfect, I prefer Dark Age, but it definetely gave me that 5 stars feeling so I'm rising my rating to a 5 stars, we'll see if it changes on re-read or not !



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
06/01/2024 :

And now I have to wait for Red God... Please let it not be 4 years !

I think the main reason this book isn't a 5 stars is because I've read it just after Dark Age, and DA was such a high for me that it couldn't compete. This book was great though mind you ! It made me cry at least three times in the last 10% (Pierce Brown does love to twist the knife !) but it didn't make me feel as much as Dark Age did overall, not as many "I've got chills moments" and some parts of the plot (part 3 mainly) didn't work well for me. It's something that was introduced in DA and that I was already skeptical about but I was waiting to see how it would turn out to be and... some of it I liked, but there are still some things that don't make sense and it's still a part of the plot that doesn't work for me. There's also a tone shift in my opinion : the tone of the original trilogy is back and mixed with the new one and it translates into Darrow's character too. I have mixed feelings about this because I loved the new darker tone, but I recognize that a change was needed after DA. It just felt a bit abrupt at times. Again I think I might feel this way mainly because I've read it immediatly after DA too. I believe it's a book I'll appreciate more on re-read and after getting the full picture with Red God.

That being said I loved the plot of part 1, 2 and the second half of part 4. Those last 15% were gut wrentching ! There were also a lot of call backs to the original series, some things circling back, and also an interesting symetry between the character's situation and roles in this book and in DA in the second part that I found interesting. I also loved the main theme of this book, for me it's really about redemption for several characters and that's always a win.

But let's be honest : what made the book was a 100% Darrow and Cassius ! What a reunion ! I think I might love their relationship more than I love Sevro and Darrow's ... Here I said it ! Sorry not sorry... If we stay on the friendships theme I also loved a certain surprising but great friendship that emerges in this book, it was so sweet and brought out the best of both characters. I also love more and more the Mustang/Holliday and Mustang/Victra duos were EPIC and Mustang's POVs in general were my favorites ex aequo with Darrow's.
Coming back to Cassius : what a character ! It was so good having him back ! His character arc through all the series is one of the best, and he's definetly earned his place in my favorite characters of the series. Plus : he brought the comedic relief we needed, his exchanges with Darrow were amazing !
Other characters also have quite an interesting arc but I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say more.
I think we could have had one more POV : Pax or Volga maybe, but I can understand why we didn't. I also felt that Lyria's POV was less useful in this book, even if I love her more than ever !

In terms of action, although it was not on the same level as DA, nor was it meant to be, there were still some great moments and two/three epic confrontations in particular come to me.


I can't wait for Red God to come ! I have many theories and I love where we left off in this book : we're going to focus on the part of the plot that interests me the most and I can't wait ! I'm going to have a massive book hangover now... part of me wants to immediatly re-read the whole series ! Yes... that's how addicted to it I am and how good it is !
]]> 61937038
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.

Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.

Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.]]> 511 Moniquill Blackgoose 0593498283 Sindel 0 to-read 4.10 2023
author: Moniquill Blackgoose
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40204505 In this explosive conclusion to the epic trilogy that began with Fireborne, Annie and Lee are fighting for their lives—and for each other—as invading dragonfire threatens to burn their home to the ground.

A new revolution is underway, and nobody will emerge unscathed.

In New Pythos, Griff is facing an execution by the dragonborn, who are furious at his betrayal. He has allies on both sides seeking to defy his fate, but the price of his freedom might come at a dear cost. And Delo will have to make a choice: follow his family, or finally surrender to his conscience.

Meanwhile, Annie must race home to hatch a plan to save her Guardians and their dragons. With Callipolis on the brink of collapse and the triarchy set to be reinstated, she may be the one person who can save the city—if she can overcome her own doubts about her future.

Lee is a revolutionary at heart, but now he’ll have to find a way to fight with diplomacy. Going up against the dragonborn court and a foreign princess, he faces a test of loyalty that sets his head against his heart.

As the fate of Callipolis darkens, Annie and Lee must determine what they are willing to sacrifice in order to save each other, defeat their enemies, and reclaim their home.]]> 486 Rosaria Munda 0525518274 Sindel 5
This was a magnificient conclusion to a magnificient series !

It still has the strenghs of the first two books and it takes it to another level. Especially with the characters' arcs and your emotions in my opinion (and still with a lot of action and politics do not fret !).
I LOVE these characters ! I fell even more in love with them, and that includes the dragons !
I felt that this ending made sense, it was coherent with the series and it had the wins/losses balance that I like in this kind of story.
I felt that by saying more I would be spoiling you, I feel like you have to go in as blind as you can so I'll just conclude by saying :

I LOVE this, I will re-read this, 5 stars all the way ! It joins my favorite of the year and I can only recommand you to read it !

Can't wait to read more of Rosaria Munda !]]> 4.38 2022
author: Rosaria Munda
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/16
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: 2024-re-reads, ya-fantasy, dragons, lgbtq, political-fantasy, revolt
review:
Did I drop everything, including the book I was currently reading, to devour this one as soon as it got out ? In one day ? YES !

This was a magnificient conclusion to a magnificient series !

It still has the strenghs of the first two books and it takes it to another level. Especially with the characters' arcs and your emotions in my opinion (and still with a lot of action and politics do not fret !).
I LOVE these characters ! I fell even more in love with them, and that includes the dragons !
I felt that this ending made sense, it was coherent with the series and it had the wins/losses balance that I like in this kind of story.
I felt that by saying more I would be spoiling you, I feel like you have to go in as blind as you can so I'll just conclude by saying :

I LOVE this, I will re-read this, 5 stars all the way ! It joins my favorite of the year and I can only recommand you to read it !

Can't wait to read more of Rosaria Munda !
]]> 54316667 Revolutionary flames ignite around Annie, Lee, and a brand new POV character in the second book of the Fireborne trilogy.

After fleeing the revolution and settling into the craggy cliffs of New Pythos, the Dragonlords are eager to punish their usurpers--and reclaim their city. Their first order of business was destroying the Callipolan food supply. Now they're coming for the Dragonriders.

Annie is Callipolis's new Firstrider, and while her goal has always been to protect the people, being the government's enforcer has turned her into public enemy number one.

Lee struggles to find his place after killing kin to prove himself to a leader who betrayed him. He can support Annie and the other Guardians . . . or join the radicals who look to topple the new regime.

Griff, a lowborn dragonrider who serves New Pythos, knows he has no future. And now that Julia, the Firstrider who had protected him, is dead, he is called on to sacrifice everything for the lords that oppress his people--or to forge a new path with the Callipolan Firstrider seeking his help.

With famine tearing Callipolis apart and the Pythians determined to take back what they lost, it will be up to Annie, Lee, and Griff to decide what to fight for--and who to love.]]> 496 Rosaria Munda 052551824X Sindel 5 Okay so... rating and reviewing this book is HARD ! It sure made me feel A LOT of emotions, I've grown so attached to some characters that I want to dive in the book and just defend them! So much so that I hate the characters who wronged them so much that my anger kind of turns against the book sometimes I guess. So here comes the catch : even if the very last chapters cooled me down a bit, I'm still emotional and don't know if this book is a 5 or a 4 stars because of some characters...

The writing, the worldbuilding, the action, the politics are still awesome, even more so than in the first book sometimes. The politics especially and the dilemas around them get even more complex and you can see the reflexion of our real history, but also of what's happening today.
We also have a new POV that I LOVED ! Griff is awesome ! Plus he brings with him an LGBT representation and some insight on what's going on in New Pythion. The world broadens, and I really loved all of it.
Now now... I love Griff, sure!... But Annie ? SHE IS MY NEW QUEEN !! ALL HAIL ANTIGONE !! Her character arc in this book is amazing ! I've fallen in love with her ! She goes through so much, has to take really hard decisions with hard consequences (most of the times for herself) but she just keeps going, she keeps doing her duty, protecting everyone the best she can and she does all of that with such dignity, honor and selflessness... AAAWW I told you : she just joins the list of my favorite characters ever! And yes, she makes mistakes, she's human (which makes her even more loveable to me), but I her "mistakes" make sense, we can relate to her and personally I don't believe I would have done differently given the circonstances. I was also glad to see that I was right about Power : I really loved him in this book and loved the dynamic between him and Annie. I also still loooove Crissa ! (Especially when she tells characters exactely what I've been shouting at them for pages ! Thank you Crissa !). For them, Griff and his love interest, and the politics and how it perfectly reflects reality : I want to put a 5 stars.

Now where it hurts... LEE !!! Lee... dude ! I want to shake you so hard ! He upset me sooooo much in this book. Of course I get his motives, I completely agree with his goal. But damn the way he is trying to achieve it... Argh ! He, more than anyone, should know better ! He should realize this is not the way, especially now, and he keeps seeing proofs and realizing sometimes that maybe something is wrong but 5 minutes later he is back to making bad, DUMB!, decisions. Unlike what I said for Annie, I think most of his mistakes could have been avoided and I don't understand his reasoning sometimes. The worst is his treatment of Annie. She stood by him in book 1, and boy does he lets her down ! (after my gushing of Annie you can guess this is a SOOOORE spot for me). He judges her so fast, and is so hypocrite in my opinion about it...
And don't get me started on Cor and Megara ! Yes I understand where Cor comes from but as he says himself : he is not the only one in pain and it's not an excuse for me. And Megara... I hope she dies ! I hope a dragon burns her alive ! Yeah... sorry but I hate her that much yes ! And it's not just some character that you "love to hate", which would be great. The thing is, I really don't understand her character : we get her alleged motivations but it doesn't explains all that she does, and some of it, in my opinion, really comes from pettiness... And I don't feel any of those last 3 characters have learned from their mistakes enough in this book, which leaves me with a bitter taste and is the reason why I'm thinking maybe more of a 4 stars and not 5.
The thing is, maybe it will make more sense with the third book, when their arc is complete, maybe I just need to take a step back from it all.

So don't be surprised if I change my rating after reading the next one (which I can wait for !!!) or on re-read or even before just after a few days to calm down. But obviously if a book makes you feel and think so much : it's a great book ! I've read it in one day ! I recommend it all the way ! This series is a gem -> READ IT !]]> 4.21 2021
author: Rosaria Munda
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/15
date added: 2024/08/16
shelves: 2024-re-reads, dragons, political-fantasy, revolt, ya-fantasy, lgbtq
review:
4.5 stars ?
Okay so... rating and reviewing this book is HARD ! It sure made me feel A LOT of emotions, I've grown so attached to some characters that I want to dive in the book and just defend them! So much so that I hate the characters who wronged them so much that my anger kind of turns against the book sometimes I guess. So here comes the catch : even if the very last chapters cooled me down a bit, I'm still emotional and don't know if this book is a 5 or a 4 stars because of some characters...

The writing, the worldbuilding, the action, the politics are still awesome, even more so than in the first book sometimes. The politics especially and the dilemas around them get even more complex and you can see the reflexion of our real history, but also of what's happening today.
We also have a new POV that I LOVED ! Griff is awesome ! Plus he brings with him an LGBT representation and some insight on what's going on in New Pythion. The world broadens, and I really loved all of it.
Now now... I love Griff, sure!... But Annie ? SHE IS MY NEW QUEEN !! ALL HAIL ANTIGONE !! Her character arc in this book is amazing ! I've fallen in love with her ! She goes through so much, has to take really hard decisions with hard consequences (most of the times for herself) but she just keeps going, she keeps doing her duty, protecting everyone the best she can and she does all of that with such dignity, honor and selflessness... AAAWW I told you : she just joins the list of my favorite characters ever! And yes, she makes mistakes, she's human (which makes her even more loveable to me), but I her "mistakes" make sense, we can relate to her and personally I don't believe I would have done differently given the circonstances. I was also glad to see that I was right about Power : I really loved him in this book and loved the dynamic between him and Annie. I also still loooove Crissa ! (Especially when she tells characters exactely what I've been shouting at them for pages ! Thank you Crissa !). For them, Griff and his love interest, and the politics and how it perfectly reflects reality : I want to put a 5 stars.

Now where it hurts... LEE !!! Lee... dude ! I want to shake you so hard ! He upset me sooooo much in this book. Of course I get his motives, I completely agree with his goal. But damn the way he is trying to achieve it... Argh ! He, more than anyone, should know better ! He should realize this is not the way, especially now, and he keeps seeing proofs and realizing sometimes that maybe something is wrong but 5 minutes later he is back to making bad, DUMB!, decisions. Unlike what I said for Annie, I think most of his mistakes could have been avoided and I don't understand his reasoning sometimes. The worst is his treatment of Annie. She stood by him in book 1, and boy does he lets her down ! (after my gushing of Annie you can guess this is a SOOOORE spot for me). He judges her so fast, and is so hypocrite in my opinion about it...
And don't get me started on Cor and Megara ! Yes I understand where Cor comes from but as he says himself : he is not the only one in pain and it's not an excuse for me. And Megara... I hope she dies ! I hope a dragon burns her alive ! Yeah... sorry but I hate her that much yes ! And it's not just some character that you "love to hate", which would be great. The thing is, I really don't understand her character : we get her alleged motivations but it doesn't explains all that she does, and some of it, in my opinion, really comes from pettiness... And I don't feel any of those last 3 characters have learned from their mistakes enough in this book, which leaves me with a bitter taste and is the reason why I'm thinking maybe more of a 4 stars and not 5.
The thing is, maybe it will make more sense with the third book, when their arc is complete, maybe I just need to take a step back from it all.

So don't be surprised if I change my rating after reading the next one (which I can wait for !!!) or on re-read or even before just after a few days to calm down. But obviously if a book makes you feel and think so much : it's a great book ! I've read it in one day ! I recommend it all the way ! This series is a gem -> READ IT !
]]> 56339556 A Sociopathic Assassin.

The NYPD Chief Commissioner. 

What could go wrong?


Bianca Ashby was sixteen when she first saw Theodore Hastings, then a young man with a bright future in criminal justice. Her obsession was immediate, as was her desire to own him. But between her job as a freelance assassin and her cover as a shy socialite, there was no way to attract his attention. 

Enter Pink. The persona she invented just so she could get closer to him. Yet even that disguise has a shelf life.

So what can an obsessed woman do to get a man, and keep him too?



My Name Is Pink is the prequel to Morally Corrupt. It ends on a cliffhanger. Please be advised that it contains mature themes and triggers that might upset some readers. ]]> Veronica Lancet Sindel 2 dark-romance It has the same vibe has the Mindf*ck series, with the MFC being the sociopath and huntress, but here she's truly a sociopath and she doesn't conveniently just goes after bad people : here comes the "leave your morals at the door". I almost DNFed at the first chapter, because the scene was a bit much even for me but I'm curious where this is going.]]> 3.75
author: Veronica Lancet
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.75
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2024/08/11
date added: 2024/08/11
shelves: dark-romance
review:
Well this was bat shit crazy ! But if you don't take it too seriously, leave some of your comon sense and morals at the door and have a dark sense of humour this can be a fun ride and easy and quick read.
It has the same vibe has the Mindf*ck series, with the MFC being the sociopath and huntress, but here she's truly a sociopath and she doesn't conveniently just goes after bad people : here comes the "leave your morals at the door". I almost DNFed at the first chapter, because the scene was a bit much even for me but I'm curious where this is going.
]]> 25946985 In this special eBook version, experience OBSIDIAN, ONYX, and OPAL as told by Daemon Black…

This book is enhanced with exclusive content—two original songs inspired by the novel—resulting in a large file that may take longer to download than expected.

I knew the moment Katy Swartz moved in next door, there was going to be trouble. Lots of it.

And trouble’s the last thing I need, since I’m not exactly from around here. My people arrived on Earth from Lux, a planet thirteen billion light years away. Plus, if there’s one thing I know, it’s that humans can’t be trusted. We scare them. We can do things they only dream about, and honestly, we make them look weak as hell. ‘Cuz they are.

But Kat is getting to me in ways no one else has, and I can't stop myself from wanting her—or wanting to use my powers to protect her. She makes me weak, and I’m the strongest of our kind, tasked with protecting us all. So this one simple girl…she can mean the end for us. Because the Luxen have an even bigger enemy—the Arum, and I need to stay on my game.

Falling for Katy—a human—won't just place her in danger. It could get us all killed, and that’s one thing I’ll never let happen...]]> 1005 Jennifer L. Armentrout Sindel 0 4.52 2015
author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 36578543
Now they are both rising stars in the new regime, despite backgrounds that couldn't be more different. Annie's lowborn family was executed by dragonfire, while Lee's aristocratic family was murdered by revolutionaries. Growing up in the same orphanage forged their friendship, and seven years of training have made them rivals for the top position in the dragonriding fleet.

But everything changes when survivors from the old regime surface, bent on reclaiming the city.

With war on the horizon and his relationship with Annie changing fast, Lee must choose to kill the only family he has left or to betray everything he's come to believe in. And Annie must decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.]]> 432 Rosaria Munda 0525518215 Sindel 4 (01/08/2022) First read review :

4.5 stars

I always think that promoting a book by comparing it to others such as saying "it's a mix between Red Rising and Game of Thrones" never serves the book because it's always an exageration.
In the first part of this book I really didn't understand why this comparison was made at all. It's a really good book, I loved it and I'm going to tell you why, but don't go in expecting the writing and worldbuilding you have in Red Rising and Game of Thrones. The writing is good, and the worldbuilding is great too : I'll say it's at the Red Rising's first three books level but not as rich as GRR's.
Now that being said, there are similarities. With Game of Thrones I think it's mostly about the dragons and the old system with dragonlords and the way they ruled that has a Targaryan vibe. The more I read, the more I understood where the Red Rising reference came from. There are similar thematics : the price of a revolution, what comes after, how hard it is to really have a fair regime right away and some characters have moral dilemas reminiscent of those in Red Rising but I won't say more about that because I don't want to spoil either series.

Now that we got that out of the way, why did I like this book ? Well, first for what I just listed as similarities with the other series that I also loved : I loved these political thematics, even more when, like here, it's really conflicting for the characters and that emotions are tangled in it all.

“I had meant to add more, to explain myself, but I realize now there’s no need. She does not agree with me; she will not. We’ve reached the bounds of reason and have come to the threshold of belief. I would not do her the dishonor of imagining that her beliefs have been any less hard-won than mine.”

I actually really liked the dynamics between these characters, especially the complex relationship between the two protagonists. I love difficult and angsty romances but there has to be a good, believable reason for it and here I totally understand both characters and why being together felt impossible. The side characters are also well developed. I am particularly curious to see where things are going with Power (who I hated but sometimes kind of liked... I just feel there's a lot more to him) and Atreus. I loved the dragons, the whole system around them, the dragon fighting scenes and their bounds with the riders.

“Bring what fury you have and I will answer it with ours.”

“And as she turned, it was revealed by her tread that she was fireborne.”

I was having a really good time reading this book, it was a 4 stars for me but then it begun to be a five stars towards the 60-70% when we got more and more moral dilemas and especially with Lee's story arc, and that ending totally sold it ! And there's a twist at the end of the book that I didn't see coming and loved !

Needless to say : I absolutely recommand this book, if you're not convinced with the begining just trust me and keep going : it gets way better ! I can't wait to read the next one !

_____________________________________________________________

Re-read 06/08/2024

I did find it a bit less impressive on re-read (more a real 4 stars than a 4.5stars this time), I think because I've matured and having read the second part of the Red Rising series in between I did find some of the similar themes better handled in Red Rising buuut it's still a great book that more people should read, especially if they love dragons, complex characters and politics ! And just like in my first read I FLEW through the second part of the book.

____________________________________________________________]]> 3.88 2019
author: Rosaria Munda
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/06
date added: 2024/08/06
shelves: 2024-re-reads, academia, ya-fantasy, political-fantasy, revolt, dragons
review:

(01/08/2022) First read review :

4.5 stars

I always think that promoting a book by comparing it to others such as saying "it's a mix between Red Rising and Game of Thrones" never serves the book because it's always an exageration.
In the first part of this book I really didn't understand why this comparison was made at all. It's a really good book, I loved it and I'm going to tell you why, but don't go in expecting the writing and worldbuilding you have in Red Rising and Game of Thrones. The writing is good, and the worldbuilding is great too : I'll say it's at the Red Rising's first three books level but not as rich as GRR's.
Now that being said, there are similarities. With Game of Thrones I think it's mostly about the dragons and the old system with dragonlords and the way they ruled that has a Targaryan vibe. The more I read, the more I understood where the Red Rising reference came from. There are similar thematics : the price of a revolution, what comes after, how hard it is to really have a fair regime right away and some characters have moral dilemas reminiscent of those in Red Rising but I won't say more about that because I don't want to spoil either series.

Now that we got that out of the way, why did I like this book ? Well, first for what I just listed as similarities with the other series that I also loved : I loved these political thematics, even more when, like here, it's really conflicting for the characters and that emotions are tangled in it all.

“I had meant to add more, to explain myself, but I realize now there’s no need. She does not agree with me; she will not. We’ve reached the bounds of reason and have come to the threshold of belief. I would not do her the dishonor of imagining that her beliefs have been any less hard-won than mine.”

I actually really liked the dynamics between these characters, especially the complex relationship between the two protagonists. I love difficult and angsty romances but there has to be a good, believable reason for it and here I totally understand both characters and why being together felt impossible. The side characters are also well developed. I am particularly curious to see where things are going with Power (who I hated but sometimes kind of liked... I just feel there's a lot more to him) and Atreus. I loved the dragons, the whole system around them, the dragon fighting scenes and their bounds with the riders.

“Bring what fury you have and I will answer it with ours.”

“And as she turned, it was revealed by her tread that she was fireborne.”

I was having a really good time reading this book, it was a 4 stars for me but then it begun to be a five stars towards the 60-70% when we got more and more moral dilemas and especially with Lee's story arc, and that ending totally sold it ! And there's a twist at the end of the book that I didn't see coming and loved !

Needless to say : I absolutely recommand this book, if you're not convinced with the begining just trust me and keep going : it gets way better ! I can't wait to read the next one !

_____________________________________________________________

Re-read 06/08/2024

I did find it a bit less impressive on re-read (more a real 4 stars than a 4.5stars this time), I think because I've matured and having read the second part of the Red Rising series in between I did find some of the similar themes better handled in Red Rising buuut it's still a great book that more people should read, especially if they love dragons, complex characters and politics ! And just like in my first read I FLEW through the second part of the book.

____________________________________________________________
]]> 58420375
Hadrian Marlowe is trapped.

For nearly a century, he has been a guest of the Emperor, forced into the role of advisor, a prisoner of his own legend. But the war is changing. Mankind is losing.

The Cielcin are spilling into human space from the fringes, picking their targets with cunning precision. The Great Prince Syriani Dorayaica is uniting their clans, forging them into an army and threat the likes of which mankind has never seen.

And the Empire stands alone.

Now the Emperor has no choice but to give Hadrian Marlowe—once his favorite knight—one more impossible task: journey across the galaxy to the Lothrian Commonwealth and convince them to join the war. But not all is as it seems, and Hadrian’s journey will take him far beyond the Empire, beyond the Commonwealth, impossibly deep behind enemy lines.]]> 912 Christopher Ruocchio 0756413117 Sindel 4 sci-fi, space-opera, horror
Reviewing this book is tricky so I'll be brief !

I loved the beginning and the end. The culture we discover in the beginning was really interesting (if a bit on the nose sometimes) and the last 30% were great even if they didn't hit me as hard as they should have.
The big thing that happens in the middle was too stretched out to for me. I can see why Ruocchio wrote it that way, but it had the opposite effect on me.

Overall it's still a great book, I like it less than Howling Dark and Demon in White but it's way above Empire of Silence for me. Ruocchio's took risks with this book and I respect it, it's not an easy book to write or read but a necessary one. It did make me want to continue the series and see where we go from here. ]]> 4.53 2022
author: Christopher Ruocchio
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/04
date added: 2024/08/04
shelves: sci-fi, space-opera, horror
review:
3.75 stars

Reviewing this book is tricky so I'll be brief !

I loved the beginning and the end. The culture we discover in the beginning was really interesting (if a bit on the nose sometimes) and the last 30% were great even if they didn't hit me as hard as they should have.
The big thing that happens in the middle was too stretched out to for me. I can see why Ruocchio wrote it that way, but it had the opposite effect on me.

Overall it's still a great book, I like it less than Howling Dark and Demon in White but it's way above Empire of Silence for me. Ruocchio's took risks with this book and I respect it, it's not an easy book to write or read but a necessary one. It did make me want to continue the series and see where we go from here.
]]> 35662096
Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.

When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous a fortune if he helps her escape.

But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .]]> 448 Jessie Mihalik 0062802402 Sindel 0 to-read 3.88 2019
author: Jessie Mihalik
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199358003
It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.]]> 432 Tigest Girma 1444974378 Sindel 0 to-read 3.75 2024
author: Tigest Girma
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 34859192 338 Lisa Edmonds 1944728341 Sindel 0 to-read 4.00 2017
author: Lisa Edmonds
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 26032912 He will be destruction of the crown and the ruination of the throne.

Power is much easier to acquire than it is to hold onto. Jude learned this lesson when she released her control over the wicked king, Cardan, in exchange for immeasurable power.

Now as the exiled mortal Queen of Faerie, Jude is powerless and left reeling from Cardan’s betrayal. She bides her time determined to reclaim everything he took from her. Opportunity arrives in the form of her deceptive twin sister, Taryn, whose mortal life is in peril.

Jude must risk venturing back into the treacherous Faerie Court, and confront her lingering feelings for Cardan, if she wishes to save her sister. But Elfhame is not as she left it. War is brewing. As Jude slips deep within enemy lines she becomes ensnared in the conflict’s bloody politics.

And, when a dormant yet powerful curse is unleashed, panic spreads throughout the land, forcing her to choose between her ambition and her humanity…

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black, comes the highly anticipated and jaw-dropping finale to The Folk of the Air trilogy.]]> 321 Holly Black 0316310409 Sindel 3 4.33 2019
author: Holly Black
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/19
date added: 2024/07/19
shelves: 2024-re-reads, fantasy-romance, ya-fantasy
review:

]]> 62601344 Rosaria Munda Sindel 0 to-read 4.50
author: Rosaria Munda
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51169341
The new season of Rachel's podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?]]> 341 Megan Goldin 125021968X Sindel 0 to-read 4.02 2020
author: Megan Goldin
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 26032825 Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.

Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.]]> 370 Holly Black 0316310271 Sindel 4 2024-re-reads, ya-fantasy 4.01 2018
author: Holly Black
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/14
date added: 2024/07/14
shelves: 2024-re-reads, ya-fantasy
review:

]]> 180633984 June Hur, bestselling author of The Red Palace, crafts a devastating and pulse-pounding tale that will feel all-too-relevant in today’s world, based on a true story from Korean history.

Hope is dangerous. Love is deadly.

1506, Joseon. The people suffer under the cruel reign of the tyrant King Yeonsan, powerless to stop him from commandeering their land for his recreational use, banning and burning books, and kidnapping and horrifically abusing women and girls as his personal playthings.

Seventeen-year-old Iseul has lived a sheltered, privileged life despite the kingdom’s turmoil. When her older sister, Suyeon, becomes the king’s latest prey, Iseul leaves the relative safety of her village, traveling through forbidden territory to reach the capital in hopes of stealing her sister back. But she soon discovers the king’s power is absolute, and to challenge his rule is to court certain death.

Prince Daehyun has lived his whole life in the terrifying shadow of his despicable half-brother, the king. Forced to watch King Yeonsan flaunt his predation through executions and rampant abuse of the common folk, Daehyun aches to find a way to dethrone his half-brother once and for all. When staging a coup, failure is fatal, and he’ll need help to pull it off—but there’s no way to know who he can trust.

When Iseul's and Daehyun's fates collide, their contempt for each other is transcended only by their mutual hate for the king. Armed with Iseul’s family connections and Daehyun’s royal access, they reluctantly join forces to launch the riskiest gamble the kingdom has ever

Save her sister. Free the people. Destroy a tyrant.

Also by June
The Silence of Bones
The Forest of Stolen Girls
The Red Palace]]> 363 June Hur 1250858100 Sindel 0 to-read 3.96 2024
author: June Hur
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 40772063 Sometimes the difference between a love story and a horror story is where the ending comes...

While Jude fought for power in the Court of Elfhame against the cruel Prince Cardan, her sister Taryn began to fall in love with the trickster, Locke.

Half-apology and half-explanation, it turns out that Taryn has some secrets of her own to reveal.

The Lost Sisters is a companion e-novella to the New York Times bestselling novel The Cruel Prince by master writer Holly Black.]]> 50 Holly Black Sindel 3
3.5 stars

This review might spoil The Cruel Prince a bit so if you haven't read it proceed with caution ! Or as taryn would say :

BE BOLD, BE BOLD, BUT NOT TOO BOLD, LEST THAT YOUR HEART’S BLOOD SHOULD RUN COLD.

I remember not reading this novella until after the second or third book when I first read them all. The thing is : Taryn is a character I hated so much in book one and two that I wasn't sure I could manage reading a novella about her. But when I learnt it gave her POV of the "betrayal" in book 1 my curiosity won. And I'm really happy it did because I really enjoy this novella !
It didn't make me like Taryn, but it did manage to make me understand her : I still don't agree with her (having a sister myself, being a bad sister is not something I can ever understand or forgive sorry!) but I do get where she comes from. Fairie shaped her as much as it shaped Jude but in a completly different way and it makes the character so interesting. I also appreciate that she (mostly) doesn't shy away from the terrible things she does even if she can't help herself from trying to justify it.

Be bold, be bold, but not too bold. Be good, but not too good. Be pretty, but not too pretty. Be honest, but not too honest. Maybe no one got lucky. Maybe it was too hard.

“You’re awful .” He said it as though he was delighted. “And the worst part is that you believe otherwise.”

Most of all : I love the writing in this book. One thing I love in the series in general is how it immerses you in the Fairyworld, but here with Taryn it's completly a Fairytale : the tone changes completly from Jude's and it shows once again the differences between the twins.

Let’s start with a love story. Or maybe it’s another horror story. It seems like the difference is mostly in where the ending comes. ]]> 3.33 2018
author: Holly Black
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2018
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/09
date added: 2024/07/09
shelves: 2024-re-reads, ya-fantasy, novella
review:
Re-read (10/07/2024)

3.5 stars

This review might spoil The Cruel Prince a bit so if you haven't read it proceed with caution ! Or as taryn would say :

BE BOLD, BE BOLD, BUT NOT TOO BOLD, LEST THAT YOUR HEART’S BLOOD SHOULD RUN COLD.

I remember not reading this novella until after the second or third book when I first read them all. The thing is : Taryn is a character I hated so much in book one and two that I wasn't sure I could manage reading a novella about her. But when I learnt it gave her POV of the "betrayal" in book 1 my curiosity won. And I'm really happy it did because I really enjoy this novella !
It didn't make me like Taryn, but it did manage to make me understand her : I still don't agree with her (having a sister myself, being a bad sister is not something I can ever understand or forgive sorry!) but I do get where she comes from. Fairie shaped her as much as it shaped Jude but in a completly different way and it makes the character so interesting. I also appreciate that she (mostly) doesn't shy away from the terrible things she does even if she can't help herself from trying to justify it.

Be bold, be bold, but not too bold. Be good, but not too good. Be pretty, but not too pretty. Be honest, but not too honest. Maybe no one got lucky. Maybe it was too hard.

“You’re awful .” He said it as though he was delighted. “And the worst part is that you believe otherwise.”

Most of all : I love the writing in this book. One thing I love in the series in general is how it immerses you in the Fairyworld, but here with Taryn it's completly a Fairytale : the tone changes completly from Jude's and it shows once again the differences between the twins.

Let’s start with a love story. Or maybe it’s another horror story. It seems like the difference is mostly in where the ending comes.
]]> 49021976 The eagerly awaited sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling Oathbringer, from epic fantasy author Brandon Sanderson

After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar's crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin's scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength.

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.]]> 1232 Brandon Sanderson 0765326388 Sindel 4 epic-fantasy, fantasy
I loved this book ! I wanted so much for it to be a 5 stars and it had the potential to be one. There's a lot I loved in this book : Kaladin's arc first and foremost. He has been my favorite character since the first book and he still is, his journey through this book was incredible and brought out all the emotions. I also loved Adolin's arc, this book has made him my second favorite character : he's just so great and earnest in all the relationships he is in. That being said, something at the end of the book kind of made me feel like all his plot in this book ended up being useless which makes me mad, but we'll see ! Some of the side characters also get amazing arcs in this book and I loved seing more of them.
There's also some new characters we get introduced to on the Fused side and two in particular were outstanding, especially their relationships with some of the main characters : it was so interesting and complex !
Nevertheless I do feel like the book was too long... I've been feeling this way since book 2 and certainly in book 3. In RoW it really was my main complain : I felt like all the emotional impact and the tension was hurt by the length of the book. It could all have been much more impactfull if it was just shorter. And again : I feel like it could easily have been shorter. The flashbacks for instance : I've seen people complain about them, and I have to say I actually don't find them bad on their own, but the issue is that they don't work in this book. In all the other books, the flashbacks had some element of mystery and they allowed us to learn more about the characters in the present, but here we already had all the great lines of what happened and we already had been through the impact of it in the present. So I really don't think the flashbacks had their place in this book, they just cut the flow of the story and added pages in an already too-long book... It would have been better as a side novella or something, it just didn't fit.

I loved this book, it had all the emotions. It actually might be my second favorite of the series, ex-aequo with WoR or just above, but it was just too long to be as impactful as it should be. ]]> 4.57 2020
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/06
shelves: epic-fantasy, fantasy
review:
4.25 stars

I loved this book ! I wanted so much for it to be a 5 stars and it had the potential to be one. There's a lot I loved in this book : Kaladin's arc first and foremost. He has been my favorite character since the first book and he still is, his journey through this book was incredible and brought out all the emotions. I also loved Adolin's arc, this book has made him my second favorite character : he's just so great and earnest in all the relationships he is in. That being said, something at the end of the book kind of made me feel like all his plot in this book ended up being useless which makes me mad, but we'll see ! Some of the side characters also get amazing arcs in this book and I loved seing more of them.
There's also some new characters we get introduced to on the Fused side and two in particular were outstanding, especially their relationships with some of the main characters : it was so interesting and complex !
Nevertheless I do feel like the book was too long... I've been feeling this way since book 2 and certainly in book 3. In RoW it really was my main complain : I felt like all the emotional impact and the tension was hurt by the length of the book. It could all have been much more impactfull if it was just shorter. And again : I feel like it could easily have been shorter. The flashbacks for instance : I've seen people complain about them, and I have to say I actually don't find them bad on their own, but the issue is that they don't work in this book. In all the other books, the flashbacks had some element of mystery and they allowed us to learn more about the characters in the present, but here we already had all the great lines of what happened and we already had been through the impact of it in the present. So I really don't think the flashbacks had their place in this book, they just cut the flow of the story and added pages in an already too-long book... It would have been better as a side novella or something, it just didn't fit.

I loved this book, it had all the emotions. It actually might be my second favorite of the series, ex-aequo with WoR or just above, but it was just too long to be as impactful as it should be.
]]> 197821747
Meet Kavithri. Outcast. Underdog. Survivor.

Kavi is a Taemu. Her people, once feared berserkers and the spearhead of a continent-spanning invasion, are the dregs of Raayan society. Their spirits crushed. Their swords broken. Their history erased.

But Kavi has a dream and a plan. She will do whatever it takes to earn a place at the secretive mage academy, face the Jinn within its walls, and gain the power to rise above her station and drag her people out of the darkness.

Except power and knowledge come at a cost, and the world no longer needs a Taemu who can fight. So they will break her. Beat her down to her knees. And make her bleed.

But if blood is what they want, Kavi will give them blood. She will give them violence. She will show them a berserker's fury.

And she will make them remember her name.]]> 448 Aman J. Bedi 1399609858 Sindel 0 to-read 4.21 2024
author: Aman J. Bedi
name: Sindel
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 31076583
Feyre, Rhysand, and their close-knit circle of friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly-changed world beyond. But Winter Solstice is finally near, and with it, a hard-earned reprieve. Yet even the festive atmosphere can't keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, she finds that those dearest to her have more wounds than she anticipated -- scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their Court.]]> 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X Sindel 3 3.77 2019
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Sindel
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves:
review:

]]>