10/10!

This Vicious Grace is a mix between a fantasy and romance novel, and neither of the genres overshadow the other. It is set in a fictional world, following the "Chosen One" plot device to save the world from an approaching battle. The main character, after an attempt on her life, decides that she needs someone to protect her, and hires a reluctant ally as her bodyguard before the battle comes. The thing that I most appreciated about this book was the fact that the romance feels believable, but not forced or predictable. One of the issues I have found with fantasy books is that once you get about a third of the way through, you can tell exactly how the plot will go and how the romance will end. This book never had that problem. It started out seeming like it would be your stereotypical fantasy romance with very set gender roles, but as I read further, I found that I had misunderstood and I grew to appreciate the plot more. The characters felt well-matched and real, instead of being two-dimensional figures who only cared about the idealistic aspects of romance. Another thing that I enjoyed about the book was that it was straight to the point in its writing style. It didn't blab on about boring details, but it still gave off vivid imagery without making you want to chuck the book across the room. This made the book easy to read through while still being immersive and difficult to put down. All in all, I thought that this book was a great breaking of plot stereotypes, and I would highly recommend it to either fantasy or romance lovers who want something less predictable than traditional books.

November 24, 2022 Review by Penny

9/10

A Court of Thorns and Roses is a fantasy romance set in a world where humanity is separated from the realm of the Fae (Faeries) by a wall. This is a story about a human girl who is taken across the border as punishment for killing a Fae. The book is based off of Beauty and the Beast, but the similarities are subtle enough that it still has its own unique plot and characters. I found this book to be very enjoyable mostly due to the imagery. It was easy to get a sense of the beauty that the author was describing, but she didn't make the descriptions long or boring enough that I wanted to throw the book across the room. One of the things that I most appreciated about the romance in this book was that both the characters were shown to be flawed individuals who each had their own issues. This was realistic, showing the hard truth behind the idealized romance we often see in romance books. Everything wasn't written as "they were perfect for each other, thinking the same and never arguing" that you so often read about. The romance did get a bit raunchy at times, so this book is best for mature readers, but it is easy enough to skip through those sections if you are uncomfortable with them. Another thing I appreciated about this book was the fact that the writing felt balanced between action and downtime, with neither aspect taking up too much space. Despite being based off of both ancient folklore and fairy tales, the book has a very modern feel to it, likely because of the writing style that is more blunt and less needlessly poetic than classic books. I also appreciated all of the side characters who were included and felt fleshed out, not like simple plot devices. All of the characters were flawed and incredibly complex, making them relatable and interesting to read about. All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who likes less stereotypical romances that incorporate character flaws, just as real life does.

July 27, 2022 Review by Penny

6/10

Grave Mercy is a fantasy romance about a young woman who was raised as a nun-assassin. To me, this book seemed almost agressively normal. By the time I was about a third of the way through the book, I could already tell how the romance and plot would play out, simply because it followed the storyline of almost every fantasy romance that came before it. That isn't to say that it was a bad story, in fact it was far from it. The imagery was compelling and I truly wanted the characters to succeed in what they were doing. That being said, the book wasn't very original. While the writing style made it easy to read and didn't fall prey to the problem of too much boring description, the plot was just too similar to make it truly enjoyable. The author did try and throw in a plot twist, but the plot twist was also predictable, so the moment it happened, I was expecting what the ending would be. All in all, this wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't particularly good either. I would mainly recommend this book to people who don't read fantasy so much that they can recognize stereotypes and predict the plot of books. If you are looking for an introduction into fantasy, this book would be great! If you are a longtime reader of every possible fantasy book, you will likely find this book a bit underwhelming.

October 17, 2021 Review by Penny