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DarkRumours

I like to read alot. Mainly fantasy and romance but will read anything. Will be tracking my daily reading with progress reports each day as to how I found my experience with a book. Musings incoming!

441 points

0% overlap
Sarah J Maasverse
Level 3
Spring 2025 Readalong
Reading...The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom, #1)
My Taste
The Awakening (Zodiac Academy, #1)
A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1)
House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1)
Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1)
This Monster of Mine

DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

5d
  • A Bargain of Shadows (A Bargain of Shadows, #1)
    DarkRumours
    May 28, 2025
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 2.0Characters: 3.0Plot: 5.0
    👻
    🗡️
    💃

    This book is a love/hate situation unfortunately. By the end I have decided I will most likely read the next one when it's out. I won't rush to buy it but I will conclude the story. unfortunately you have to get through the first 20% to possibly enjoy the book. The beginning of this novel is... poorly written... and I really hate to say that as I DESPERATELY wanted to enjoy this book more. The pacing is incredibly off for the first 20%, it's way too quick and it is way too forced. I almost DNF'd this and I'm mostly happy I resisted this urge because it has potential and I enjoyed it more thoroughly when the novel became dual POV. But it was a chore getting over that first hurdle so be warned. Once over the hurdle it was enjoyable but still felt a little clunky and a bit disjointed in places, unpolished might be a better description, but the premise, the plot and the ideas are sublime even if the execution for me personally was a little wanting. I personally did not like the MFC, the book is incredibly cliche and I feel as if this walks the line of YA and NA. it's a little too risqué to be classed as YA and a little too juvenile to class as NA. I'd give it a go... its enjoyable and unique once you get into it. It's light on spice, mainly focusing on spicy banter with nothing too explicit but there are adult themes to it. Original rating at 50% was 2 to 3 stars. By 100% rating had increased to 4 stars. (I have also left this review on Fable. Purchased and Read on Kindle. Review is based on personal thoughts and opinions obviously and I really dislike leaving negative reviews. This one was just a really hard one for me)

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  • A Bargain of Shadows (A Bargain of Shadows, #1)
    Thoughts from 23%

    Mkaaaaay, it's getting a little better. The pacing was waaaay off at the beginning but since it moved to dual POV and slowed down I'm willing to believe maybe it just took some getting into.... that and I hate the MFC. Which didn't help to be honest.

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  • A Bargain of Shadows (A Bargain of Shadows, #1)
    Thoughts from 8%

    It's still early days. But oooof. This isn't doing it for me. I had high hopes. A phantom of the opera kind of vibe. Count me in; but I'm hitting Chapter 4 and this is kind of hard to chew through. Really hoping it's just teething issues with the book as I find I'm overly generous normally when rating and I'm already provisionally giving this a 3/5. The creative ideas are there. The premise is there... but something about this just isn't enjoyable feels too cliche and trope-y and don't get me wrong I love cliche and trope-y but this feels a little too try hard and a bit too cheesy for my liking.

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  • DarkRumours started reading...

    1w
    A Bargain of Shadows (A Bargain of Shadows, #1)

    A Bargain of Shadows (A Bargain of Shadows, #1)

    F.M. Aden

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    DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

    1w
  • Margo's Got Money Troubles
    DarkRumours
    May 22, 2025
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
    👻
    🤱
    🌐

    In this story we follow Margo. Young. Newly made a mother who is struggling to find herself in her early twenties. And i mean really struggling to find herself and her identity in the big wide world. This book made me laugh, made me cry. When margo was angry I was angry, we she was exasperated I was exasperated. This book was a perfect window into coming of age and parenthood. The joys and the difficulties. The humour didn't take away from Margos experiences. It added to the saying "If I don't laugh, I'll cry." This is a touching and thought provoking story and it is relatable on so many levels. By the end of it you are so invested in Margo and her story, her happiness and her journey you want to see more... you want to see it through to the very very end. Stellar book and very well written. Must read for many young women or parents/mothers.

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  • Post from the Margo's Got Money Troubles forum

    2w
  • Margo's Got Money Troubles
    Thoughts from 12%

    Must read for any woman or mother of any situation. Cannot wait to follow Margo through this journey. The narration is chaotic and beautiful. Much like parenthood to be fair.

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  • DarkRumours started reading...

    2w
    Margo's Got Money Troubles

    Margo's Got Money Troubles

    Rufi Thorpe

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    DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

    2w
  • Blind Spot
    DarkRumours
    May 14, 2025
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
    🔍
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    😱

    This was a brilliant quick read. I finished it in about 90 minutes and it was gripping from the get go. The twists were predictable but the writing was fluid and it was beautifully done. Perfect for someone looking for maybe a complete read for a journey, or for someone who wants something to help drag them out of a reading slump. Absolutely loved this read and the book length didn't detract from the quality.

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  • Post from the Blind Spot forum

    2w
  • Blind Spot
    Thoughts from 28%

    It's going to be a very quick read with only approx. 125 pages. My Kindle is telling me it'll roughly take me an hour and a half or so to read at the rate I'm going so my goal is to finish it today. With that in mind it's straight into the action, it's fast paced but doesn't feel too rushed right now. It's incredibly well done for a quick read which I find either quick reads are brilliant or.... they could of done with the extra 200 pages. This appears to be shaping up to be the former :)

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  • DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

    2w
  • Captain of Fates (Twin Crowns, #4)
    DarkRumours
    May 13, 2025
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.0Plot: 5.0
    🧜‍♀️
    🌊
    🌸

    This book was like a warm hug for fans of the twin crowns series. It wasn't the best in terms of quality and plot but it was a nice warm blanket back into Eana and back into the universe for a quick adventure following the dashing Marino. Unfortunately I remember Marino being a bit more of a dashing scallywag in the twin crowns series and I feel like his humour was ramped down but considering the storyline this is acceptable. This one is not cowritten and is a solo book from Katherine Webber. King of Beasts will be written by Catherine Doyle and I quite like the deviation from cowriting. It definitely inspired me to pick up the book. 10/10 for anyone who loved the twin crowns trilogy and wants to read more about a lovable character who hadn't got enough screen time in the main series. Bring on Alarik in 2026!

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  • DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

    4w
  • If We Were Villains
    DarkRumours
    May 01, 2025
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 4.0Characters: 4.0Plot: 4.0
    🗡️
    🎭
    📜

    I enjoyed this. It was easy to read and gave off the air of pretentious thespians well. I found I preferred the later acts more and the epilogue was probably my favourite part. I enjoyed the way the events shaped and affected the characters thoughts and behaviours alot. Was a cute little read to be honest, only real complaint was it didnt overlly stand out to me. Thats all. 8/10 would recommend.

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  • Post from the If We Were Villains forum

    5w
  • If We Were Villains
    Thoughts from 5%

    Not much to say on the actual storyline yet, but the prose and writing style are easy going. Which is always so important early on.

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  • DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

    5w
  • This Monster of Mine
    DarkRumours
    Apr 25, 2025
    5.0
    Enjoyment: 5.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 5.0
    🗡️
    🔍
    🏛️

    To say this was phenomenal is an understatement. This debut novel by Shalini Abeysekara was a work of art. I loved every moment of it. This is slated to be a duology and I intend to preorder and devour the second book the moment it hits the shelf. I digress slightly. The book has an easy to understand magic system, mystery and political intrigue as well as a sizzling main male character who is morally bleak in all the right ways. The main female character is strong willed, intelligent and unlike most novels not stunningly attractive. It is a refreshing romantasy that does not fall into the typical clichés. The book had me hooked from start to finish. I saw the twists a mile off but I didn't mind that predicatibility the prose flowed beautifully and it was a joy to read. Trigger page included in the front of this novel, always worth researching before starting. Keep your mind healthy and happy while reading please!

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  • Post from the This Monster of Mine forum

    6w
  • This Monster of Mine
    Thoughts from 36% (page 145)

    Oh wow. This is not only intriguing and hooked me immediately this is so GOOD! Like I thought I'd already peaked this year with gifted and talented but this has completely side swiped me out of left field. Was not expecting to be as hooked. Did I expect to enjoy it. Yes. Did I expect this to ruin my plans for the next day or so and want to call in sick at work. No not really but here we are xD

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  • DarkRumours finished reading and wrote a review...

    6w
  • The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)
    DarkRumours
    Apr 20, 2025
    4.0
    Enjoyment: 4.0Quality: 5.0Characters: 5.0Plot: 4.0
    🔍
    🗡️
    🏡

    This book is a lovely addition to The Family Upstairs. It doesn't hit quite as well as the first book but feels like a book to tie up and conclude loose ends from the first one which was a phenomenal read.

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  • DarkRumours started reading...

    6w
    The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)

    The Family Remains (The Family Upstairs, #2)

    Lisa Jewell

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