moplayspoke

[moplayspoke]

Mini-Review for Servant of Earth… 4/5 ⭐️

This was very different from any other romantasies I have read. Yes, it has fae and a court system with various elemental powers, but its world and worldbuilding were very unique.

The fae here are far more sinister and feral. They explicitly repeat just how far removed fae are from certain emotions and you are often reminded of the inhumanness of underfae and “nasties”.

Also this was a lot darker than I expected — it was very gory with some potentially triggering themes. There was one scene in particular that I stressed over worrying about how a certain death for someone was going to occur.

Also this is very slow-paced but I think the payoff makes it worth it. The politics and scheming are the primary storyline of this book and trying to figure out intentions and loyalties kept you guessing. There were trials included, but I’d argue they weren’t essential to the story.

As for the romance, it was very minor but I enjoyed the setup for a certain character if you were paying attention to the bread crumbs. (winkwink)

[moplayspoke]

Mini-review for a Kiss of Iron by Clare Sager … 4 ⭐️

Fun. Different. A little similar to your standard fae romantasy but also not quite the same aside from the typical fae court shenanigans.

The FMC is already married, trapped to a loser whose galavanting and unpaid debts are slowly destroying her. Until one day she is offered an opportunity she cannot refuse…

Very, very addicting but maybe a bit too long? I feel like it could have been shorter by about 100 pages.

[moplayspoke]

The “That’s immoral you shouldn’t write that, we need to get that taken down” discourse on tiktok right now is PISSING ME OFFF

Wdym you want censorship for a literal ARCHIVE are you fucking stupid

Ao3 was literally founded to preserve works that were largely getting taken down due to censorship

Censorship is the opposite of what Archive of Our Own stands for

The TAGS and WARNINGS are there for a REASON. Use them and stop complaining

The universal rule—don’t like, don’t read

It’s THAT simple

[moplayspoke]

Mini-review for The Rose Bargain… may have some spoilers… 4.75/5⭐️

This is literally YA Bridgerton mixed with some Fae shenanigans and court politics (think Cruel Prince).

I loved the romance in this one and particularly felt the pang with some of the angst. The pining and the hints at the burning of forbidden romance? Umf!

A little predictable but it was easy to get into with loveable characters. I made some guesses about how the ending would play out and I guessed a lot of them well. I did not guess some of the surprises throughout the rest of the story though, which kind of surprises me now.

I did particularly like that even though we are mostly in Ivy’s POV, we got some bonus POVs from many of the other characters to learn their truths/motivations. Almost felt like a bit of a mystery/investigative story as well.

[moplayspoke]

Well… that was one of the worst books I have read this year. Holy… moly…

You’re telling me she just met the love interest on page 6 and is already somewhat “dating” him 12 pages in?? I’ve read fan fiction with better development and setup than this, come on.

There were other issues too but… oh my god.

[moplayspoke]

Mini-Mini review for A Curse for True Love… 5/5⭐️ (seriously it’s such a tiny review)

D’AWWWW. That was cute. The yearning in this was immaculate.

I think there are some unanswered questions I am left to wondering but I am happy with how it ended. I think this was my favorite of the series.

[moplayspoke]

Mini-review for My Funny Demon Valentine… I should have DNF’d it… 2/5⭐️

I felt like I was a teen again and just read another teen’s first “quirky” fanfiction. I wouldn’t be shocked if I saw author note comments to go with it.

In fact the only part that is tolerable is the oversaturated smut scenes. Emphasis on oversaturated.

Yeah… not for me. A shame because the book is so pretty.

[moplayspoke]

Mini-review for Blood Over Bright Haven… 5/5 ⭐️

A multi-threaded tragedy featuring dark academia, dystopian themes, magic and a world full of injustices.

I really don’t have any criticisms of it other than maybe my heart took too much of a beating after consuming it (haha).

The storytelling is phenomenal, the characters are well-developed (can I have my own Thomil pls?), and the pacing is perfect. It is an exceptional story.

[moplayspoke]

It has been a week now… so here is my mini-review for Onyx Storm …3.75/5 ⭐️

Beware of small spoilers below…

Okay uh… so I LOVED Fourth Wing and Iron Flame to death. Loved them.

This one felt like the first few chapters were trying to jump to the finish line before it was even developed. There were so many times I had to flip back and reread prior pages because suddenly someone did something and I didn’t get the context. It felt like I was trying to read a draft of someone in full ADHD mode and I could not figure out just what the hell was going on. Where was a proper edit for this?

But it got easier later… felt less rushed and you could follow along.

Until it felt like maybe it should have been rushed because the whole first 500 pages stuff is *happening* but it’s a whole lot of running around with not much success. And then rinse and repeat. Honestly I struggled just trying to get through these parts because even though they had highlights, everything again, just felt lackluster… you’re in a new area surrounded by new cultures, why is it so dull?

Then things finally start getting interesting the last 200ish pages or so where I was fully invested.

This was purely a setup book to get us to this ending and you can tell. The ending and the first 60% are not the same. I actually ended up with MORE unanswered questions than answered questions. We don’t even find out her signet until waaaay the heck towards the last 30% of the book. And with THAT ending I understand why she has that signet because she will probably need it for the remaining 2 books, but still.

I feel like too much of the book was more filler than necessary. I may try to reread this again to do a plot analysis/theory for later books but this was definitely my least favorite of the 3 because it felt too messy and repetitive for far too long.

3.75/5 stars (may lower or raise it later)

[moplayspoke]

Finally finished Onyx Storm… but will not be posting my review to prevent others being spoiled.

[moplayspoke]

LET’S GO, DRAGON HOES

[moplayspoke]

Mini Review for The Serpent and the Wolf… 4.5 or 4.75/5 ⭐️

Slowburn romance. Politics. A sassy female lead. This was entrancing from the get-go and I rarely set this down.

I really appreciate how the relationship between Vaasa and Reid slowly built up and just how powerful they were as a team. A slow burn done right? You bet it was!

I did feel there were some parts I would have liked to see more from. For example, I felt she got too cozy too fast with the other members of the coven and despite how many there were I felt they were just vapid personalities used as chess pieces to move the plot forward. I didn’t have any attachment towards any of them (including Amalie) besides Melisina who we got more insight into. I would have liked more character depth in general.

I did like how all of the reveals and twists were unpredictable and I honestly could not guess much of anything. I felt like the little teases about who the con people were be were just enough to throw me in the wrong direction. Made the reveals very surprising to me and I definitely enjoyed.

I also appreciated how the world very much felt like its own place with culture and lore and not just another cookie cutter place inspired by other popular works. I would like to see more from Vaasa’s home too.

All in all I really enjoyed myself and this story was able to evoke alllll the emotions out of me so I know none of my enthrallment with it is exaggerated. I definitely will be reading the next book.

4.75/5 for now but I’ll let it simmer and decide if I want to change it later…

[moplayspoke]

Currently reading Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson aaaand…

What an intro! My girl just got forced into a marriage arranged by her dick brother.

So what does she do?

She marries the dude and then lures her new husband into bed, subdues him, ties him up like a roast, and then fucks off into the night. 😭

[moplayspoke]

I for one think the symbiotic relationship between Tumblr and AO3 is beautiful

[moplayspoke]

Review for Amid Clouds and Bones … 4.25/5 ⭐️

Ok first of all… this book needs a different title because that title means NOOOTHING. It’s too vague. It gives like contemporary romance on an Arizona cattle ranch, not an enemies to lovers fae seelie/unseelie fantasy romance. Call it Serpentine or something more sinister or whimsical.

ANYWHO~

Congrats Cruel Prince fans, here is another book with similar yet crueler vibes but with spice.

Honestly I wasn’t liking it much in the beginning because I (personally) despise reading about toxic relationships, but uhhh yeah things changed later on and ummm. Yeah. I liked it. Muuuuch better.

It also had some very memorable lines that I found to resonate strongly with me so I enjoyed the writing immensely. Though there were some parts where I had to reread to understand some of the context though—that was my main issue.

Anyway, without spoiling…

I do recommend this, yes. Thoroughly enjoyed it, yes. Will be invading my headspace for the next several days, yes.

[moplayspoke]

[moplayspoke]

Forgot to post this…

Mini review for The Wrath King… 3/5 ⭐️

It’s… okay. A dark romantasy through and through. But I will never take the word “cunny” seriously; that was a choice.

It started great and pulled me in and then lost me completely around the 70% mark despite some weird moments before then. Lost me as in, I was so bored and miserable I had to force myself to continue.

I did like the main two characters but felt everything around them was pretty flat and uninteresting. I liked the character descriptions and the uniqueness about each fae race’s culture and religion.

I think my main issue was that the main plot was absent for a long period of time (other than the romance) and then suddenly gets forced in there and rushed. There was all this build up about a traitor and when the traitor is revealed it’s almost over as soon as it started. I couldn’t believe it.

But the rest of it I did enjoy. Mostly the first 60%, if I am being honest.