Wednesday, 16 July 2025

A Witch and Her Dragon by Emberly Wyndham review

 

A Witch and Her Dragon (Coven Crest Academy #1)A Witch and Her Dragon by Emberly Wyndham
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 stars
🌢️🌢️🌢️ 3 spice

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

Ok, where do I start? First off, I really like the writing style — how it was written was smooth and easy to read. It really surprised me when I started how easily I just slipped into the book, and I loved getting to see the two POVs in the story. Sometimes when I’m reading a book and there are too many POV switches, it can get confusing and frustrating, but nope, that did not happen here. There were only two POVs, and it was so amazing getting a clear view and understanding of who you were reading about. It was just so easy to read that honestly, I zoomed through the book within a few short hours. I normally know how much I’ll like a book by how fast I read it, and I ate this book up like I was starving.

Now, the storyline in the book is easy to follow and not overly complicated like some books where you have to reread parts and take notes. Not this one! It was beautifully clear and had me totally invested in what was going on, feeling emotional and even sad for the characters. If a book makes me feel things, I know it’s good. The world is great — not over-detailed to the point where it’s complicated and makes you dizzy trying to follow, but still so nicely done that my brain could visualize it and get swept up in the story.

If I had to pick something that really made this book outstanding, it has to be how the author wrote family. I have read many books where the family part is either barely touched on or just a few words between characters, but this author really outdid themselves and gave me such warmth and a big smile with the interactions and how loved ones dealt with things. I was left feeling overwhelmingly happy. ❤️πŸ‘¨‍πŸ‘©‍πŸ‘§‍πŸ‘¦

Overall, I could not have asked for a better book. I loved everything about it, and in truth, I normally try to find things I don’t like, but it was really hard. There was detailed spice, but it did not overtake or overshadow the storyline. There was a mix of different elements going on that added to the story without bogging it down. If I had to be really nitpicky and find one thing I didn’t like, it might be the time jumping, but even that was so well done and clear that I knew what was happening, so I can’t even complain about that. So, I totally have to give this book 5 well-earned ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!! πŸŽ‰πŸŽ‰

Anyone who likes a smooth, easy read that has enough going on to keep you gripped and smiling like a fool at 3am, and kicking your feet while blushing over breakfast — this is for you! πŸ˜πŸ“–☕️

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Thursday, 10 July 2025

Tipori: A Tale From Dessos by Cindy L Sell review

 

Tipori: A Tale From Dessos (Tales From Dessos)Tipori: A Tale From Dessos by Cindy L Sell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
🌢️🌢️🌢️ to 🌢️🌢️🌢️🌢️ spice — it’s hard to really put a level, really lol

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

Let me start by saying I have not read any other books by this author before, so I had no idea about the world it was based in — it was all totally new to me.

To say this book was dark would be an understatement. I love a dark read and morally grey men like a lot of readers do, but DAMN, this was dark. I hate, with a deep hate, the mistreatment of people — it’s a massive off-putting thing for me as a reader. So I was shocked to find that not only was this book well-written enough to keep me reading and wanting to learn more about this well-detailed, horror-filled world I found myself in, but the layers and everything going on left me both intrigued and rage-filled.

Maralla — I love her strength and the light she shone on this book. I felt like she was so, so needed, and it made swallowing all the harshness of this world a little easier, really. I wanted to burn the whole world down πŸ”₯ and my list of people I wanted to watch die was so long I might need to invest in a notebook πŸ“. But that being said... there was so much going on and a clear view of the horror of this world, its views, and how it treated its people — I was horrified and wishing I could just eliminate the problem and make it all better.

I felt conflicted about Mascha as a person, and it made me feel dizzy 🀯, but it was so, so, so well written and put together that I could only imagine the time and thought put into it. I would say the ending left a little bit of a bad taste in my mouth — mostly because I wanted a massive turnaround or something — but that being said, it was not a bad ending at all.

To sum up the book, I would say it’s dark and deeply rich in the world it weaves. It will have you pulling at your own hair, wishing you could push your own will into the book and bring a little light for those that should have it. I feel like some people might have trouble with a LOT of the content, so checking trigger warnings is a must ⚠️. But clearly, the book was a massive labor of love on the author’s part, and while it’s not sunshine and rainbows, it does pull you in and make you question everything.

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Wednesday, 9 July 2025

Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1) Phantasma by Kaylie Smith review

 

Phantasma (Wicked Games, #1)Phantasma by Kaylie Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️3 stars
🌢️🌢️🌢️3 spice.

I know a LOT of people totally love this, and while the premise of the story is really great, I really struggled at first to get into the book. I normally devour books quickly, but starting this one, I struggled—like, really struggled. I wasn’t sure if it was the writing style or just that it didn’t grab me, but I worked through it. I started to like it a little more as the story progressed, and the spice was definitely there. However, I didn’t love the book; I liked it, but I didn’t feel really connected to it, if I’m being honest. It’s sad because there were lots of layers in the book, lots of mystery, and interesting things going on, but ugh... I just couldn’t, for the life of me, get into it. It’s sad, but it happens. I didn’t dislike the book at all, but I don’t think I would choose to reread it.

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Friday, 4 July 2025

Direbound by Sable Sorensen review

 

Direbound (The Wolves of Ruin, #1)Direbound by Sable Sorensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌢️🌢️🌢️

Holy moly! 😳 What a fantastic read! πŸ‘ Where the hell should I start? I feel totally lost for words. The story in this book is just spectacular!! I love the struggles and the desire to push forward and protect. The view of family life that is not always conventional—family comes in many forms and dynamics. The strong female lead was super enjoyable, but she was by far not perfect and made rash and stupid choices that had me pulling out my hair.

I had feelings for a person in the book, and I felt like I was going mad, wondering if maybe I was being mean because I felt distrust and icky about them—but that’s what good books are about: reading, getting lost in its words and its world, questioning everything you thought was true, and being left speechless and wanting more.

I absolutely πŸ’― was gripped by this book and its characters—for better or worse. The things I didn’t like about this book didn’t make me dislike it; they were told in such a way that added to the big wow at the end. The spice in this book is sprinkled throughout, but honestly, I was more in love with the story and what was going on than the smut side, which really shocked me.

I absolutely love the direwolves in this world 🐺, and enjoyed learning about the world the author wove and created into such a lush and brilliant fantasy realm. I would have loved to see more use of power and more combat scenes ⚔️. I felt the book had so much to give, and it hit all the right spots for me—even my epic rages and screaming at the lead seemed worth it for such a great start to a series.

Fantastic! I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait for the next book. 😍πŸ”₯

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Tuesday, 1 July 2025

Dragon's Gift by Jasmine Walt review

 

Dragon's Gift (The Dragon's Gift Trilogy, #1)Dragon's Gift by Jasmine Walt
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

⭐️⭐️
🌢️🌢️

It’s a pretty short first book, so it didn’t take long to read. While the premise of the story is really cool, I felt like it sort of missed the mark. There were parts I liked more than others, but I had major issues with the pacing. The way our lead did some things felt too fast — I expected more internal thought or hesitation, which left me feeling kind of meh about it. πŸ˜•

There is spice, but again, I didn’t really feel much for it — it was like going through the motions without any real emotional pull. Maybe it was the way it was described? I’m not sure. It just didn’t draw me in the way I hoped.

I did enjoy a few moments, but sadly, there were more things I didn’t like than things I did. I’m still deciding if I’ll read the next one or not. πŸ€”

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