christene_lillibrary TBR'd a book

To Clutch a Razor (Curse Bearer, #2)
Veronica Roth
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Well, Actually
Mazey Eddings
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christene_lillibrary commented on marissa's review of The Ascended (Aesymarean Duet, #1)
Before anything else, if you’re planning to read Riftborne or Duskbound, I’d definitely recommend picking those up first. It’s absolutely not mandatory, but I'm genuinely so glad I did.
As for The Ascended, I’d say I liked it overall, though I didn’t quite love it. Thais was a surprisingly refreshing main character. She’s flawed in believable ways, makes some frustrating choices, but they all ended up making sense by the end, and I genuinely appreciated that she wasn’t written as some perfect, all-knowing heroine. Additionally, I actually loved that the vibe was darker and more gothic as I read, it built such a cool atmosphere. And the trials were easily one of my favourite parts, they were unpredictable, creative, and pushed the characters (including the side ones) in interesting ways. I also honestly loved the dynamic between the twins. It felt so unique and their relationship added some really fun moments.
The balance between the fantasy plot and the romance worked pretty well for me. I never felt like one overshadowed the other, though I do think the book could’ve been trimmed down. There were stretches, especially early on, where the pacing dragged and I found myself rereading sections just to make sure I was following everything correctly. The world has a lot of gods, beings, and shifting hierarchies, and at times that got a little confusing. The romance itself didn’t hit as hard for me either, it was kind of just lacklustre lmao. I think my problem was that I really loved Aether (Duskbound) as an MMC and I had a hard time letting him go.
But despite all that, the magic system, the wider political pieces, and the twists in the last half really hooked me back in. The ending especially… yeah, could maybe be one of the better twists I've read in a book tbh so I will definitely be continuing the story.
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River Marked (Mercy Thompson, #6)
Patricia Briggs
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christene_lillibrary commented on ehawley's update
ehawley completed their yearly reading goal of 200 books!







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Hollow (Hollow, #1)
Caroline Peckham
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Made for the Movies
Silver: Finished 10 Main Quest books.
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Dire Bound (The Wolves of Ruin Book 1)
Sable Sorensen
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Dune (Dune, #1)
Frank Herbert
christene_lillibrary TBR'd a book

Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1)
Dan Brown
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The Hobbit (The Lord of the Rings, #0)
J.R.R. Tolkien
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Made for the Movies
Silver: Finished 10 Main Quest books.
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Hollow (Hollow, #1)
Caroline Peckham
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Duskbound
Bree Grenwich
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