therobinjoyce's reviews
348 reviews

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A beautifully written, sorrowful and harrowing tale of love, loss, and finding your place in the world after the tragedies and horrors of war.
⠀
Nuri and Afra's tale, although fictitious, is based on true events and the real life tales of some of those caught up in the Syrian war several years ago. It is crazy to think of people having to go through such horrifying and life-altering situations and even crazier to know these things are still going on even in 2022.
⠀
I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who has an interest. It was difficult to read at times but so insightful into the real-life challenges so many are facing, even today, as a result of that war.
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The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo

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dark informative inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

A gorgeous little book full of Grishaverse lore and so many tales about their saints. Very beautiful little read
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Sacred Ruse by Emma Couette

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dark hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

Omg! This book. Talk about whiplash (in a good way)!

Emma Couette has done it again with book two of the Guild Trilogy.

Action-packed full of deadly assassins, intrigue and subterfuge. Young adult romances, found families and secret identities, plot twists and cliffhangers. The list literally just goes on. I honestly am hooked and can't wait to see how solemn vow closes the trilogy and what happens to all my favourite characters in the last instalment of the series.
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Neon Gods by Katee Robert

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

sThis one was definitely worth the wait. I can't believe it took me so long to remember it was on Spotify as an audiobook. I'd wanted to read it for so long and honestly the audiobook made it so much more enjoyable. Like listening to a telenovela-style drama unfolding. I loved it!

I adore almost any kind of Greek mythology retellings but especially Hades and Persephone ones. The whole enemiea to lovers trope is (without a doubt) my jam and the fake dating…*chefs kiss*

Hades is such a big bad ol' boogeyman but is such a ball of goo for his girl. And Persephone...YASSS! I adore this girl. The young and sweet little siren luring big bad Hades into actually feeling. I loved her character growth as well as her naughty vixen side.

Full of hot, steamy, and sometimes *public* sexy content, I also have to mention the fact that both Hades and Persephone are bi, and have dated both genders before. That was certainly a first for me.

I honestly can't fault this book much, my only criticism was that Persephone's voice actor doing 'male' voices jarred me a little but, eh, I'll live.
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Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

(MINOR SPOILERS)

An absolutely gripping third installment in the shatter me series. I adored this book so much more than the first two and really loved the character development and arcs that we got to explore.

Juliette finally stood up for herself and gained so much more character and all my feelings for Adam were completely realised. Warners journey was brilliantly done and I loved his antagonist to protagonist journey throughout. Everyone elses story was wonderful and the writing style was just fantastic as always. I cannot wait to get into the rest of the series and find out how everything unfolds.

Also, the steam really hotted up in this book to the point where I don't usually like closed-door romances but this worked so well and the tantilising slow burn was wonderful.
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Silent Night by Emma Couette

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

What a brilliant Young Adult adventure!

I really thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was so lucky to be part of Emma’s street team and ARC team for her Guild Trilogy books and am so excited to get to Sacred Ruse next. 

The story had many elements that I was familiar with but also at the same time was very different from anything I’ve read in the past. The whole joining the resistance plotline has been done many times (think Divergent and Shatter Me) but it was very interesting to have such a young MC who was proficient with weaponry and subterfuge and yet not an annoying Mary-Sue. I think her characterization was really well handled in that regard.

The soft romantic subplot was far more compelling than in some other YA books I’ve read before and I actually like all the characters. Silent’s trauma and healing process was intriguing to watch and I really enjoyed seeing her build her relationships with the Resistance and grow her “found family”. There was plenty of action, suspense, plot twists, and reveals. So much to keep me hooked.

*Received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
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The Dating Dilemma by Mariah Ankenman

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

4.5

Station 42's adventures continue with the gorgeous fake dating romance of Lexi and Dyson.

Lexi is such a goofball and Dyson is just such a cinnamon roll. The whole book sucked me in right from the beginning. I loved all of the characters and it was lovely seeing Dyson's relationship with his sisters and seeing them interact with Lexi too. That's something I often miss in a romcom. A good family relationship.

Every interaction was just so laden with steam and tension and the cabin... 🥵 I died. And though I was sure they'd get their HEA, so many new things were introduced to the mix and kept me on my toes. I was utterly hooked from the first page.

I absolutely adore the inclusion of Tamsin and Kincaid and Diaz and Ward, as well as Finn and Pru from Maria's other book, The Best Friend Problem. That was a massively gooey Easter egg right there and I loved it!

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée by Annika Martin

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Fake Dating
Enemies to Lovers
Sunshine X Grump

Annika Martin does it again with a fantastically funny and heartwarming cast, a compelling storyline, very generous steaminess, and audiobook narrators that just bring the book to life!

Neva Navarre and Jason Clarke are just gorgeous together and I love that they narrate several of Annika Martin's Billionaires of Manhattan series.

This book was just amazing and I think I preferred this one over Most Eligible Billionaire. Rex and Tabitha are a fantastic couple and I adored every twist and turn of this book. Such deep characters and rich backstory interwoven throughout, you really get a feel for these characters and start to root for them together. 

Gail Driscoll is just too sassy and strong to go without a mention and I adored her character so much. Not a woman to be trifled with but one who sees Rex and Tabitha for what they truly are.
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Fire Heart by Emma Hamm

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The Selection meets The Lord of the Rings in this astounding new fantasy novel by the amazing Emma Hamm!

If you are looking for epic fantasy, with dragons, shadow soldiers, magic curses, a badass elven heroine, and a tormented dragon shifter then (and I cannot stress this enough) READ THIS BOOK!

I’d loved the premise of this book even before I got accepted for an ARC copy but that just made the whole process even better. The characters were so diverse and relatable and each has their own traumatic backstories that unfold throughout, giving such depth to their relationships and character arcs.

Abraxas is such a cinnamon roll in reality and I adore that he is the big bad dragon and yet cannot keep his mind on his duties when Lorelei is around. She is just so relatable and kickass. I adored every interaction between them and watching their characters grow together throughout the story. 

The suspense was pretty much non-stop and the action scenes were written so vividly that I felt I was actually watching the battles and action sequences play out in my head. The writing was just gorgeous and I cannot wait to read more from Emma Hamm in the very near future.

*Received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
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It Started with a List by Tinia Montford

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

3.5

This was such a cute and adorable book to read. Vassa was a treasure and very relatable and Lazarus was (at first) so annoying but easily loveable. I adore the sort of slow burn enemies to lovers that was going on throughout and even though Lazarus was really annoying at the beginning it was wonderful to see his character arc progress and see his character growth throughout. 

Vassa’s character was also wonderful to read and I loved her tenacity, humour, and just adorable awkwardness. The steam was very exciting and definitely worth the wait.

Received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
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