books, travel, nursing, and all of life's in-betweens
A+ | A spectacular and solid fantasy novel that has everything I love: magic, a protagonist I can connect with, side characters that feel human, a romance that is actually believable and developed rather than shoved down my throat, an actual journey.
Read moreA-/B+ | A sequel that continues to enchant with its worldbuilding and the characters were much more compelling here and in the previous book. However, the book is bogged down by unnecessary romance.
Read moreB | A solid science fiction/fantasy. The worldbuilding was far more compelling than the characters themselves. The romance was unnecessary and just felt forced. Worldbuilding and the ending are what saved this book for me.
Read moreA+ | A beautifully rich and addictive fantasy novel that has everything I could want in a book: magic, a protagonist and a deuteragonist who I can connect with and who have solid characterizations and development, side characters that are well developed and whom you can fall in love with too, a super well developed romance that is so utterly believable and that I completely supported, on-point writing that grips you from start to finish, a world full of wonder and spectacular imagery, and a plot that is fully fleshed out and refuses to let you go even at the end.
Read moreC-/D+ | While the premise was good and interesting, the execution was unfortunately mediocre at best. The story drags on and on. The characters are boring. Although grief and denial are explored here, it was difficult to feel anything because things felt dry, flat, and stale. This book might be called The Weight of a Soul, but there’s little weight or soul in this book.
Read moreB+/B-| The combination of a well-written and powerful relationship between two sisters, worldbuilding, and a compelling protagonist makes Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford worthy of 4.5 to 5.0 stars/A- rating. However, this debut novel was brought down to a 4.0 to 3.5 stars/B+ or B- by the shite romance, a pretty terrible one-dimensional romantic interest, a villain who I wished got fleshed out more, and the abrupt ending.
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