Book Review: Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Hunting Adeline

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Hunting Adeline 〰️

Small side rant before I get into my thoughts on the book as a whole. (Okay, not super small).

I think I mentioned this in my review of the first book, but this issue has been ramped up in the second book. Zade is the most hypocritical character I've ever read. Yes, he loves Addie, and I see his love and he can be a genuinely great guy to have as your boyfriend (if you look past all his "bad" stuff). But for someone who kills people for a living, because those people raped and tortured other people, you'd think he'd take his own advice. Yes, those people he killed were monsters and this isn't the type of story where we judge a character for taking the law into their own hands. But he does the exact same things to Addie, someone who has now been a victim of extreme trauma herself. (Also, I don't care how much the book tries to make it seem not so, but Addie 100% was kidnapped and put into human trafficking because of Zade and his obsession over her). Zade is always saying she is safe with him and that she's not with the monsters anymore, yet he still screws her without her consent (although she's into it, so I guess it's consensual?). He stalked her. He forced her to love him. He marked her with a knife. He's done basically everything her captors did to her, but because he loves her, it's now okay? Yeah, sure.

Not to mention he kills people just for even looking at her wrong. (Granted, it's "justified" now because those people end up being bad people, but still). Yes, she loves him in the end, but he leaves her no choice. Stockholm syndrome, much? I know he wanted her to love him as he is (which she does), but he didn't treat her better than the people who raped her most of the time. She was basically his personal human sex toy.

I know a lot of people like Zade, and as a character, I do too, but he's not a good guy and if he were real, he should be in jail and not someone to root for. I feel like I have more to say but it's probably going to be repetitive, so I'll end my rant here.

That being said, I really did enjoy this book. It's problematic af, but we knew that going in. Was it as good as the first book and Satan's Affair? No. But the part one of the book was a gripping read. I really felt like I was held captive in a human trafficking ring. Part two, however, was just okay. I'm glad Addie survived and, over months, was able to deal a bit more with her PTSD. But the search for the bad guys in the book dragged a bit.

Not going to lie; Sibby was the best part of part two. I genuinely enjoyed it every time she was on screen. Even had a few good chuckles.

Speaking of Sibby, I don't like how this book ended. It ended on a weird cliffhanger by introducing a new character right in the last chapter, and in the epilogue that follows, she's been gone with this random character that we still don't know much about. Zade was looking for her for like a page or so and then it's just smut with Addie until the end. I feel like I'm missing something. Does this mean a third book is in the works or another spinoff with Sibby? Who knows.

All in all, though this book has its faults (we knew this going into it), I still enjoyed the read. I just wish Zade thought more with his heart and not his dick.

Book review: Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Haunting Adeline

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Haunting Adeline 〰️

Well, this book made me see things in a way I didn't think I ever would. I picked it up because a friend told me about it, and it sounded interesting. I read Satan's Affair first, and I love that we get to see that mini-story again, but from Zade's perspective. It was short but cool. You don't need to have read Satan's Affair in order to understand this story, especially as it was such a small part of the grand scheme of things, but I will admit it enhanced the reading experience. (Plus, I enjoyed the little novella).

There were basically two stories going on at once. Well, three, if you count the stalking part before Adeline and Zade made contact. We have Adeline trying to solve the murder of her great-grandma, Gigi. While interesting, this plot point wasn't the main focus, in my opinion. The really interesting part was Zade's storyline. He truly is a hero for what he does, even if he goes about it in, let's say, an interesting way.

At first, you wonder how Zade can be so passionate about saving women and children from the horrors of sex trafficking and not wanting to do anything to them other than get them to safety, yet at the same time be willing to stalk and assault Adeline because he's super attracted to her. I mean, yes, it's sort of consensual as she's into the non-consensual stuff, so in a way, it does make it consensual? I dunno. It's weird. But when we read from Zade's perfection, somehow it all makes sense and we root for him even though he's the bad guy (yet also the good guy?) This book really makes you question your own morals.

Side note, though I don't mind reading smut so smutty it may as well be porn, I do wish the author stopped using the word "juices" so often. That was kind of a turn-off for me; not gonna lie. Took away any sexiness the scene had as it was more gross than anything.

Also, don't get me started on both MCs having a major cliffhanger. Guess I need to get reading on book two now because what can I say? This may be a dark read, but it's a helluva interesting one.

Book Review: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Silver Flames

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A Court of Silver Flames 〰️

Not gonna lie, when I heard that this story was to be told from Nestsa and Cassians POV (and in third person, a switch from the other books), I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I didn't really want a book about the side characters, y'know? But having read this book, I can say for a fact that I want more of Nesta and Cassian. I can also say that this story was meant to be told for them. I think the first three books in this series were meant to be a trilogy as they ended perfectly. The fourth book was a nice little bridge and gave us our last farewell of Feyre's POV. And this final book, well now we're starting new stories in this universe and I for one am all here for me. (I head there is going to be a sixth book. No word yet on whose POV it will be from, but I do hope for more Nesta).

Actually, I really enjoyed Feyre. But I 100% enjoyed Nesta's story more. This story was about healing and self-discovery (with lots of spicy romance in between. Not gonna lie, when I read the spicy bits I was at work during a downtime and was glad this was in written form and not something I was watching on Netflix because it was basically porn in written form).

Nesta was such an interesting character. I didn't care much for her before in other books, but seeing her POV, I understand her now. I see why she acted the way she did and I empathized with her. I enjoyed watching her grow a character and I can't wait to see more. (Cassian was great, too, but now Nesta is my new favourite. They're super cute together, too).

I absolutely loved watching her become such close friends with Emerie and Gwyn (and the House, too, if I'm being honest). They all trauma bonded, but also helped heal each other. Are they all truly okay after what happened to them? Not at all. But they will get through it together. Found family is awesome.

I felt all the emotions reading this book. It had me feel the debts of Nesta's depression as if it were my own. It had me grin wildly when Nesta found joy over friendship and love. From low to high I felt it all and I love that.

All in all, if this series truly ended with this book, I will be happy for it had the perfect ending. If it continues, I won't be mad. Unless Maas ruins it somehow. But if you loved the ACOTAR series, you'll be sure to thoroughly this book.

Book Review: A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Frost and Starlight

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A Court of Frost and Starlight 〰️

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. I enjoyed it. But if it wasn't part of the ACOTAR series, I'm not sure I would have. (Or even cared to read it). It was nice to read a lighthearted story after all that happened in the first three books. But still, this fourth book read like it was a made-for-TV Christmas movie. It was clearly a filler to tie us over until the fifth book. Probably also a cash grab. This book didn't need to be written. But again, I still enjoyed it for what it was. It wasn't my favourite read of this series.

I didn't care for how random chapters weren't told by Feyre (or even Rhys) and that chapters not in their POV were in the third person. I dunno; it just felt like a weird writing/stylistic choice. Other have it all in be first person or third person. And the random chapters in between Feyre and Rhys felt like filler within the filler. Especially Mor's chapters. Cassian's made sense. But Mor's could have been taken out, and nothing would have been missed.

But for those flaws, it was still sweet and charming and a nice little break from all the darkness. A friend told me she feels like it was Maas's way of writing from Feyre (and Rhys, I guess) and telling their story one last time before completely changing POV (and perspective) in the fifth book.

If you're a die-hard fan of ACOTAR (as I now am), I think you'll still enjoy this very short read. If not, you could skip this book and probably be just fine in going straight into the fifth. A few things may be mentioned in the fifth book that was in the fourth, but I think you'd pick up what's missing from context. After all, this book was super short (and a larger font) than its chonkier mates.

Book review: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Wings and Ruin

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A Court of Wings and Ruin 〰️

I mentioned in my review of the second book in this series that it outshined the first one. And while I still stand by that statement, I would also now like to say the third book is even better than the first two. This book had me going through all the emotions, and I'm here for it. Loved it right from the start and was gripping the pages right until the end.

It was interesting to see Ferye back with Tamlin in the Spring Court again. Tamlin is now kinda the villain (as well as others), but he's so resentful of what Fyere did to him that I understand his motives. He made lots of bad decisions thought the series so far, but I can see he tried to redeem himself in the end. Was it enough? No, but it's a start. He was hurt and desperate, and while his choices that lead him down the path to siding with Hybern were clouded, I can see how he made those decisions. I can also see him growing from this and trying to regain his good standing with his court and with the rest of Prythian as the books go on.

Also, I never thought we'd see Feyre's sisters or family again after she turned High Fae in the first book, but they not only came back in the second book but played major roles in the third book. At first, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy their characters, but the more I read about them, the more interesting they are. I really want to know the extent of Nesta's powers, and it's cool that Elain is a seer now. It's interesting to see what the Cauldron did to them and how they still remained the same characters as they were when they were human, yet also different from High Fae.

I loved that we got to know more about the other characters in Rhysand's court. We learned a lot last book, but it was expanded even more. And it was great learning about the other courts as well. I loved watching them all come together, in the end, to fight what seemed like a losing battle against Hybern.

I also enjoyed the military stuff in this book. It normally goes over my head, but Maas managed to write it in simpler terms and in a fun enough way that I enjoyed all the military talk. Also, Fyere learning to fly was information I never thought about before when it comes to using wings. I never thought about how someone would probably use terrain and different parts of their bodies to get to fly. I'm sure it's obvious to some people, but I felt like I was learning to fly right alongside Fyere, and that was cool.

Not sure how I feel about Rhys dying and then immediately coming back. Like, it hit me hard when he died. And I would have hated to see him gone from the story for good. But having him get revived almost immediately kind of cheapened his death. It's the one part of the story I don't think needed to be there.

There were flaws, yes, but all in all, this book captivated me from start to finish, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the series progresses.

Book Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses

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A Court of Thorns and Roses 〰️

There was so much talk about this book (and series), and while some didn't like it (as with any book), most talk I've heard was not only positive but bragging about its praise. And I gotta say, after all, my friends (mostly my best friend in particular) raving about this book series, I finally got myself the box set, and I was not disappointed.

It's been a while since I delved back into fantasy books, and this was a great start. I was hooked from the first chapter, and it was hard to put the book down. I'm enchanted by this world and its characters. I love the world-building in this book. Every bit of info we needed was delivered at the right time. The pacing was well done, and Feyre's character was believable.

I will admit, I both saw the ending coming and not all at the same time. When Feyre died (didn't see it coming because we all know there are more books), I instantly knew they would revive her. What I didn't foresee, however, was that they'd turn her Fae. But it makes sense since she's going to be around the fae for a while, and growing old would take away from the spiciness I'm told is coming in later books. I love how not once throughout the book, despite later falling in love with Tamlin, it never once crosses Feyre's mind that she'd want to be fae in order to stay with Tamlin. She knew she was human and was fine with that. Even without knowing she could become fae, she never once wished, "Oh, I wish there was a way to become immortal." I love that about her. Looking at you, Twilight, lol. (I still enjoyed reading Twilight, however).

The only thing I could see an issue with is the age gap. Cause ho, boy, if people thought the age gap in Twilight was bad, that has nothing on Tamlin and friends. But they look young, and their story is great, and it's fantasy, so I can suspend my disbelief that someone who is many centuries old can fall in love with a nineteen-year-old human (which is still young by human standards). Feyre must be like a seconds-old newborn baby to Tamlin.

Aside from that, I'm hooked and can't wait to dive into the rest of the books.

Book Review: Living Dead Girl by Rachel Vincent

Living Dead Girl

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Living Dead Girl 〰️

Holy hell, what a ride! Seeing as this was one of her earlier works put on the back burner for a hot min, it's safe to say Vincent always knew how to tell a good story.

My only concern is since this was written many years ago, I wonder if she also wrote a sequel. The ending was great, but if this was a standalone book, it was also not satisfying at all. In fact, it's the type of ending that demands a sequel, and I worry we will never get one. I sure hope we do. There were so many unanswered questions.

That being said, I'm glad to see another adult book back in her urban fantasy roots. Don't get me wrong; she writes the best YA. (though I may be biased since literally anything of any genre Vincent writes is literary gold for me). But she also writes amazing adult, and I feel like we haven't seen that in a while. And technically still haven't since this was originally written years ago, only now to resurface and polish up for modern times.

This story had me right from the start. Vincent knows how to give a good chapter cliffhanger that keeps you reading straight until the very end. If you are a fan of Vincent's earlier works, like the Shifters series (a great series, by the way), you'll also love this book. I will never stop recommending Vincent's books to anyone who will listen to me.