Category: Reviews

Reviews

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Review

*SPOILERY!*

Set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia was a great perspective throughout the course of the storyline. She undergoes such a transformation and even though some of her actions are questionable there is no doubt that she is highly entertaining. She’s a proud, dedicated, resolute woman and even though James did his best to undermine and gaslight Patricia at every turn but she stuck to her guns and did whatever she thought was necessary to protect her children.

James’ character was definitely intriguing! I liked how we get a bit of context about his character from Miss Anna and her explanation about what happened with her daddy and how James inevitable killed him. I would of appreciated if we were given a more comprehensive history of James and how he came to be. He boasted at the end how he was one of a kind and there was no one who could compare to him, but I want to know why. Why is he the only ‘vampire’ out there and who created him?

Right at the start meeting all the different ladies was a little confusing. I couldn’t really differentiate between them all, but as the story continued each of the women started evolving and we get more of each of their story. They all felt like real, relatable characters that you would find in that time period, not really taken seriously by their husbands who think they don’t do anything all day. It’s frustrating in that aspect that these women have to just simply drop everything and cater to their husbands whims, but again very much applicable to the time period. I love how the book highlighted that these woman are just supposed to be ‘housewives’ that aren’t capable of anything, but when their community/families are in danger the lengths to which they will go to in order to protect what is theirs.

There was the perfect amount of build-up of anticipation in my opinion. The twists were perfectly timed to ensure I was continually intrigued and wanting to know more! I knew this was a horror book and there were some scenes that had me on the edge of my seat for sure, but for some reason I was expecting a little more blood and gore. I was very much invested in the story and seeing how everything was going to play out and I wasn’t disappointed!

⭐️4/5 stars A thrilling, tense and entertaining read!

Reviews

The Monarchs Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Monarchs Review

*THERE ARE SPOILERS AHEAD*

The sorority girls at Kappa Rho Nu—the Ravens—are determined to restore balance to the world. After destroying an ancient talisman and barely saving their sorority in the process, they’ll go to any lengths to keep their secret as Westerly’s most powerful coven of witches. Unbeknownst to the Ravens, new rivals and ancient evils lurk on Westerly’s campus. With Kappa Rho Nu’s future on their shoulders and their pasts still haunting them, will Scarlett and Vivi be able to save their sisterhood once again?

Scarlett just came across and very insecure throughout the course of this book. Always second guessing all of her decisions and not really standing up for herself as the president of the sorority. It makes sense now having finished the book why the other sisters kept making remarks about Scarlett’s presidency but the fact that she would just take it and not call them out on being rude and toxic didn’t make sense to me.

Vivi also didn’t really grow in any kind of way throughout the course of this book. She realises at the end how some of her actions and decisions weren’t the best but I feel like if she went back she would absolutely do the same thing. I think she really disregarded the feelings of her sisters when they tried to have the intervention with her despite saying over and over how much of a raven she is, immediately becoming super defensive and dismissive and ran straight over to the Theta’s and joined them. I also don’t understand why she didn’t just explain to Mason about Tim and why she was meeting up with him. She totally just did what Scarlett did to him and I thought it wasn’t nice of her to just blow him off time and time again and then be surprised when he breaks up with her.

I didn’t enjoy the fact that we get this new storyline with the Hadesgate but we don’t get a history of who contained it last time, or who the witch was in the old house that Vivi had the vision about. Also we find out in this book that there are guardians/witch hunters that Scarlett was warned about her whole life which is one of the reasons why they are so serious about containing the secret about their magic. But again were just given kind of the bare minimum that is told to us by Xavier but we don’t get any kind of in depth explanation about who they are and how they were established.

The whole plot was just everything turning against the Kappas all at once and them just being like oh is someone sabotaging us??? It was blatantly obvious that there was someone out to get them but there just wasn’t that sense of urgency until they lost their magic. I feel like the girls are all so cavalier about their magic and will just do a spell whenever something inconvenienced them and it was definitely interesting to see them having to try and navigate their lives without it. There was just nothing that was super surprising or gripping about this book, I was interested enough to see how it would end but this didn’t leave a lasting impression on me at all!

⭐️2/5 stars Underwhelming and forgettable!

Reviews

Our Violent Ends Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Our Violent Ends Review

*DEFINITE SPOILERS BELOW*

After sacrificing her relationship with Roma to protect him from the blood feud, Juliette has been a girl on the warpath. One wrong move, and her cousin will step in to usurp her place as the Scarlet Gang’s heir. The only way to save the boy she loves from the wrath of the Scarlets is to have him want her dead for murdering his best friend in cold blood. If Juliette were actually guilty of the crime Roma believes she committed, his rejection might sting less.

I found Juliet in this book to be frustrating. I could tell straight away that something was happening behind the scenes with her father as he sent her to ‘work’ with Roma. But because she was so wrapped up in finding out who the blackmailer was and dealing with Roma directly again she was oblivious to what was happening around her until it was too late and she had to scramble. For someone who is supposed to be the heir to the Scarlett gang she is rarely ever with her father or privy to any of his meetings and plans I felt.

Roma was not all that impressive either to be honest. The first half of the book before he found out that Marshall was still alive was just him having conflicting feelings towards Juliet and not really getting anything done. Honestly he didn’t really add anything significantly to the book other than just being a Montagov. I didn’t really come away from the book having that much of a connection to him.

One thing I loved was the evolution of Benedikt and Marshall. Ben finding out that he was still alive and then their reunion where you could feel the tension stirring between them to the eventual declaration of their love! I found it to be incredibly heart warming and lovely to read. I also was very much surprised with Rosalind and Kathleen and how integral their roles were in the plot.

I think what really bogged down this story for me was all of the political talk about the revolution and the different factions within the city that came to a head in the end. I couldn’t find myself being that invested even though it took up so much of the storyline. I know what they were talking about was significant but it derailed the whole story so completely that I feel like the original premise was lost.

⭐️2/5 stars Fell flat for me!

Reviews

Where the Drowned Girls Go Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Where the Drowned Girls Go Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn’t save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.

Cora’s character is just so complex. I love that we get a brief background on her and her experiences in childhood with her weight and how ostracised she was by her peers. I think it’s quite tragic that she thought the only way she could escape would be to try and commit suicide but I’m glad she found her way through her door and to the trenches. I thought it was quite brave of her to approach Eleanor and request the transfer, she obviously knows how to advocate for herself and through her experiences recognise when she’s had enough.

I’m a little miffed at Eleanor for her reaction to Cora’s decision to go to Whitethorn. I think she definitely took it too personal and reacted when I think she should of tried to be a bit more compassionate and try to reason with Cora. I just feel like when she was aware of how serious Cora was she kind of shut her out and sent her on her way.

I was very much invested in Cora’s time at Whitethorn and how they try to break the girls and reset their minds. We are introduced to a few new characters and revisit some old characters which was fun to see. I almost didn’t recognise Regan at first but I loved that we get to know what happened to her when she came back through her door and her new abilities. The other characters weren’t as memorable to me, they all kind of blended together a little bit but I’m hoping we learn more about them individually as the series continues.

I think this book in particular is one of my favourites in this series. Cora feels a lot more relatable as a character and overall the plot and pacing were still quite fast but highly engaging. I would of loved if this was a full length book that could of delved a lot deeper into Whitethorn and the Headmaster and his decisions. But for being a novella I think there was the perfect amount of context, mystery and thrills!

⭐️4/5 stars One of my favs from this series so far!

Reviews

This Coven Won’t Break Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on This Coven Won’t Break Review

*Spoilers Below*

Hannah Walsh just wants a normal life. It’s her senior year, so she should be focusing on classes, hanging out with her best friend, and flirting with her new girlfriend, Morgan. But it turns out surviving a murderous Witch Hunter doesn’t exactly qualify as a summer vacation, and now the rest of the Hunters seem more intent on destroying her magic than ever.

Hannah kind of got on my nerves for the majority of this book. I just feel like she didn’t learn from any of her mistakes from the previous book in this duology. Letting her emotions get the better of her and making rash decisions that end up not helping her in any of the situations she gets herself into. Also the fact that she is so dismissive of her mother after just loosing her dad and focusing so much on getting revenge for his murder rather than trying to deal with the emotions she is obviously trying to smother down resulting in her magic being temperamental.

I liked the fact that we actually get an explanation about what happened in New York with those casters and the blood witch which caused Hannah and Veronica to break up. Also the fact that this was the scenario that set off the chain of events was a nice surprise and tied everything together which was gratifying. It’s just the fact that Hannah always thinks that she is the cause for everything, if she didn’t follow Veronica that day in New York none of this would of happened and just takes all the guilt and blame for it when I feel like it just wasn’t the case at all. I enjoyed how Veronica called her out on not trying to heal the emotional trauma that they went through and just continued to throw herself into danger unnecessarily.

I feel like the plot does evolve and the stakes definitely got higher in this instalment. It was fast paced and it just felt like we were always on the move with Hannah. But again I just wish we would of got to see more of an insight into the coven and the lessons Hannah gets with her grandmother. I liked that we see how the difference between the clans and how their magic works and the way they merge with each other when they all work together.

I originally gave this book a three but upon reflection I wasn’t all that impressed or surprised throughout this book. Hannah just felt a little too juvenile and even though I was interested in what was happening I just felt like this story could of made so much more of an impact on me if the build up was a little more slower. It felt a little rushed in the end and is kind of forgettable.

⭐️2/5 stars Just ok, didn’t love it.