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cecisbookshelf

film nerd. romance and fantasy enthusiast. instagram: cecisbookshelf

305 points

0% overlap
Pagebound Royalty
Universe Quest: Maasverse
From Bookshelf to TV
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Six of Crows
Queen of Shadows
Funny Story
A Game of Thrones
Carrie Soto Is Back
Reading...
Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment
22%
People We Meet on Vacation
22%
Two Twisted Crowns
7%

cecisbookshelf made progress on...

1d
People We Meet on Vacation

People We Meet on Vacation

Emily Henry

22%
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cecisbookshelf made progress on...

3w
Two Twisted Crowns

Two Twisted Crowns

Rachel Gillig

7%
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cecisbookshelf paused reading...

4w
Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

Maiya Ibrahim

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4w
  • Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)
    cecisbookshelf
    Jun 30, 2026
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)
    3.5
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.5Characters: 3.5Plot: 3.0
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  • cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    4w
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Kerri Maniscalco

    62%
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    4w
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Kerri Maniscalco

    37%
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    5w
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Kerri Maniscalco

    29%
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    6w
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Kerri Maniscalco

    22%
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    6w
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Kerri Maniscalco

    10%
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    6w
    Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

    Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

    Maiya Ibrahim

    5%
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    0
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    7w
    Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment

    Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment

    Madeleine Pelling

    22%
    1
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    7w
    Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

    Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

    Maiya Ibrahim

    3%
    1
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    7w
    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper, #3)

    Kerri Maniscalco

    5%
    0
    0
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    cecisbookshelf started reading...

    7w
    Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

    Spice Road (The Spice Road Trilogy #1)

    Maiya Ibrahim

    0
    0
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    cecisbookshelf made progress on...

    7w
    Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment

    Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment

    Madeleine Pelling

    15%
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    cecisbookshelf wrote a review...

    7w
  • The Rose Bargain
    cecisbookshelf
    Jun 08, 2026
    The Rose Bargain
    3.0
    Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 3.5Characters: 3.0Plot: 2.0
    🌹
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    ✧.* 3/5

    Whatever I expected this to be, it didn't live up to it.

    With an incredible premise and the attempt to merge history, fantasy and folklore, I really wanted to love this. My biggest issue with this book, however, was the writing. It wasn't bad, by any means, but it felt like I was reading a modern romance at times and that irks me when I want to read a historical fantasy, or simply a fantasy in general. It makes the book easy to read without a doubt, but it robbed me of a lot of immersion that would have otherwise been able to capture my interest more.

    I have to agree with a lot of other reviews when it comes to the blatant check listing of popular tropes in this and it did bother me at a specific point halfway through the book, but I was entertained enough.

    Bram, surprisingly, grew to be the most interesting character for me. Ivy and Emmett were both alright protagonists, but all of the side characters either annoyed me or were easy to forget. The magic system was pretty interesting since it also leaned into the folklore aspect of faeries.

    Unfortunately, I saw the plot twist coming from miles away, but at least it got far more interesting again in the last 50 pages after I had to drag myself through most of the middle section.

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