Phantasma was an absolutely addicting story! After losing her mother our FMC Ophelia inherits her necroThis was FANTASTIC- perfect spooky season read!
Phantasma was an absolutely addicting story! After losing her mother our FMC Ophelia inherits her necromancy powers and a special locket she can never take off. The family unfortunately also inherits her mother's debt and Ophelia's sister runs away to a legendary game called Phantasma with hopes of winning to free their family.
Ophelia follows her to it and enters herself to stop her sister from making a huge mistake. People who enter don't always come back out, and those who do are never the same. There are very few rules in Phantasma, the biggest being don't fall in love. In Phantasma, the competitor has to go through trials based on the 9 layers of hell, while facing all manner of deadly sins. But the prize being a wish granted from the prince of devils makes it all worth it.
It has a bit of the same ambiance as Kingdom of the Feared (not wicked) or Throne of the Fallen and a bunch of spice. It's dark and gruesome with a sizzling romance I couldn't get enough of!...more
I am living a teenage dream right now! When I was in school I loved Sophie Jordan’s firelight series and now she wrote this new adult dragon shifter rI am living a teenage dream right now! When I was in school I loved Sophie Jordan’s firelight series and now she wrote this new adult dragon shifter romance?! This was everything I wanted it to be! Arranged marriage, touch her and die vibes, brute of a man, and a woman who’s more than she seems. I loved this!!!!...more
UPDATE: Ok now that I’m not rambling off a review at 2am… this book absolutely had issues. I hated the ending. But I still read a 450ish page book in oUPDATE: Ok now that I’m not rambling off a review at 2am… this book absolutely had issues. I hated the ending. But I still read a 450ish page book in one sitting because it kept me entertained. Was this original? Not at all. Did I care? Nope. It’s angsty, it has no world building, but the characters were messy and fun. A friend compared my feelings to watching a silly movie and that’s basically what this was. It was a good time if you don’t think too hard and just enjoy it for what it is!
****
It’s uh… 2am. 5stars.
Was this perfect? No absolutely not. Did I care? Not a single bit.
It was somehow The Serpent and the Wings of Night meets the hunger games meets fourth wing (for the academy) with a sprinkle of crescent city. There were definitely things taken from other books but not in a way that was bad? If that makes sense?
It was addicting and I obviously couldn’t put it down to have read the entire thing tonight into the early hours of the morning. Idk maybe I’ll feel different in the morning but for now it remains 5stars....more
In a world full of monsters, a thief is doing her best to survive. She takes a job to steal a ring from a wealthy home, but it was much more than it sIn a world full of monsters, a thief is doing her best to survive. She takes a job to steal a ring from a wealthy home, but it was much more than it seemed. She was caught by a monster who needed up offering her a job instead of something worse. He needed her particular set of skills to obtain something he wanted. A business relationship turned something more over the course of the story.
The Wren in the Holly Library has a promising start but quickly ran into issues. From the flow of a scene, to plain typos, to plot holes… it was messy. When did they learn to do that “skill”? They were just doing jobs for a couple thousand dollars because of their worth and suddenly they’re negotiating for millions… the magic didn’t make sense, and just so much more could have been done better.
Example: character gets into a fight that dislocates their shoulder, gets it put back in and can suddenly fight with that arm without hindrance or mention of the injury. In the same like, hour. Example: character is standing having a conversation, next paragraph they’re suddenly sitting and in a different set up.
So on, and so forth… over and over again.
I couldn’t figure out what timeframe this was set in either. It read like a 1920-1940s mob-ish New York. But they had cell phones and computer technology. It was strange.
Unfortunately this is another case of a much needed editor. I WISH Red Tower put funding into getting books edited rather than just making them look pretty. Granted, they are gorgeous books… It needed a line editor. Hell, it needed another draft.
The base of the story had huge potential it just fell flat. 2⭐️ *ARC provided by red tower, clearly all thoughts are my own....more
Ehhh. I didn’t think this was anything special. It was an almost too predictable beauty and the beast retelling with crow shifters for beasts.
The autEhhh. I didn’t think this was anything special. It was an almost too predictable beauty and the beast retelling with crow shifters for beasts.
The author definitely got the monster part down because I didn’t care for how they were described physically at all… unfortunately that also hindered trying to see one as a romantic interest.
I also really didn’t care for the FMC the entire book and, well, I gotta like the main POV.
I really enjoyed this one! There are things I loved and things I could see irritating people.
The good: Easy to follow world building 4.5 rounding up.
I really enjoyed this one! There are things I loved and things I could see irritating people.
The good: Easy to follow world building and magic! A great plot from the start and the pacing was done really well! The trial of the gods was not overly done and really created a starting point for the real meat of this story. The relationships and romance were done really well! A delicious SSLLOOOWWWWW burn that pays off! A lot spicier than I initially thought it was going to be haha
The ehhh: This story is VERY clearly inspired by many of our favorite books/series. While nothing is out right copied you can tell where the inspiration came from and at times it seems a bit too close. This is where it might irk some people but ultimately it is its own story. I just hope it stays that way, keeping its own direction and doesn’t fall down the pit that many others do....more
3.5 rounding up. It has potential. I wouldn’t be surprised if book two takes off!
It was very predictable but a good time nonetheless. Nothing complic3.5 rounding up. It has potential. I wouldn’t be surprised if book two takes off!
It was very predictable but a good time nonetheless. Nothing complicated here folks, just fantasy + some spice with booktok tropes thrown in for funzies. This somehow felt like a filler book and its book one. Attempted world building but ultimately not much. The last 80 pages are where the book really started! Very interested to see where book 2 goes. ...more
2.5 rounding up. Unfortunately I feel like this series just went downhill after the first book.
Book 1: absolutely addicting, loved every freaking mom2.5 rounding up. Unfortunately I feel like this series just went downhill after the first book.
Book 1: absolutely addicting, loved every freaking moment of it and wanted more! Book 2: it was fine but still pretty boring Book 3: what are we doing… oh, nothing just smut. Book 4: literal filler book with one last anticlimactic war scene that was a re written SJM battle.
I was not a fan of how this series progressed and it makes me so sad. ...more
This book is a great example of what happens when you get a bad narrator.
I want to be clear here, the female narrator is amazing. She did the first tThis book is a great example of what happens when you get a bad narrator.
I want to be clear here, the female narrator is amazing. She did the first two books single narration and I loved them. This is book 3 in the series and they went dual. The male narrator literally killed the story for me.
If book 4 is dual narrated I definitely won’t get the audio. I’ll have to just physically read it (which is fine and I might do it anyway.) but yeah, authors, be careful. A narrator can make or break your books. ...more
Kingdom of the Wicked meets Caraval with a heaping dose of tension and spice! I was obsessed from start to finish.
The world barely survived the wrathKingdom of the Wicked meets Caraval with a heaping dose of tension and spice! I was obsessed from start to finish.
The world barely survived the wrath of warring Gods. As a sort of apology to humans, the Gods gifted them with semi-immortality. Everyone would live to see 100 years unless taken early by the Death Maiden.
The Maiden is cursed by Death himself to end those who he brands into her skin. Every mark takes more and more of a toll. Until one day the name marked on her skin is that of a rival kingdom. Having no other choice, she makes her move. Her father is the current king of her own kingdom and tries to salvage the situation and avoid war by arranging a marriage. Only it doesn't quite go as planned. When a handsome stranger offers the Maiden a choice- she takes it.
Kingdoms will fall and underground powers will rise. One man, a burlesque show runner collects his performers by trapping them in deals- delivering sinful shows every night, at a price. A shady magic dealer who binds people with contracts and Gods who never strayed too far from the world. Some are worse than others, dealing out their own form of chaos.
The Maiden bites off more than she can chew as the world tumbles into ruin. A musician, a huntress and handful of people will become her salvation and her weakness. They will teach her what it means to live and love when all she has ever known is death.
A deliciously sinful experience centered around the show of life and death at the hands of the Maiden. Huge thank you to the author for letting me read this WAY early. I appreciate you. All thoughts and opinions are my own....more
This series continues to be like crack. Messy as hell forbidden relationship. Body guard trope extended from the first book but with extra steps. I loThis series continues to be like crack. Messy as hell forbidden relationship. Body guard trope extended from the first book but with extra steps. I loved the story and how much it built off of the first book!
I read this in one day while traveling for a work trip and it did exactly what I needed it to do. Let me escape into a world.
The only reason this is getting 4 stars instead of 5 is because it ends (literally the last like 5 pages) with a trope I just CANNOT STAND. 99.9% of a book being phenomenal can still end up a 4 star read for me personally if this trope is included.
It’s a spoiler so I can’t say it here and most people don’t mind it. It’s a me thing. Read for yourself and enjoy! ...more
I’m very unsure how to feel about this one right now. I’m sitting somewhere between a 3-4star rating. The book is good but I need to like a main charaI’m very unsure how to feel about this one right now. I’m sitting somewhere between a 3-4star rating. The book is good but I need to like a main character or it’s just a slog.
The world was great, the lore was good, the dragons were awesome. Love interest… 10/10! But the main character irked me to no end.
This is a very tough review for me for a few reasons. Overall the book is great and worth the read. It’s a solid pick after fourth wing/iron flame. HOWEVER, I hated the FMC for the entire 700 pages of this book. I understand and acknowledge that the reasons I hated her, will be the same reasons many others will love her. So I just suggest reading this one for yourself and forming your own opinion. ...more