blissofalife's reviews
111 reviews

You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Shah

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to understand the nuances of abortion and see how it affects everybody.

Very informative, very well written. I didn’t love switching narrators on the audiobook, one was clear and loud the other was soft and fuzzy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved the writing style & the history & art references throughout! I appreciated that it didn’t open with a murder, leaving me wondering who would die and who would do the deed. As a tarot-curious person, it was fun to read more about them and catch references! I’ll have to reread this in a few years when I have a better grasp on tarot, though the author does a superb job of explaining meanings as the story goes.

And the prologue? Damn. Gorgeously written, with a similar feeling to the final pages. Would recommend, I hope Hays writes more books! I would definitely read more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Sexism and Suicide

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I really loved the first half, then it ground to a halt with part 2 and I struggled to finish. I don’t feel like it ever regained its momentum, but a nice enough read with a nice enough ending. It felt like too many plots were vying for attention, another review said it felt like an “early draft with potential” and I would agree.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A fun, quick read and a decent sequel. Did I (like a child) audibley say "blech" throughout? You betcha. SUCH a cheesy read. There were many times I forgot I was reading a published book and not a fanfiction, such was the cheesiness. Don't get me wrong, I love fanfiction, I'm just not usually looking for that vibe outside of it. 

I loved the variety of creatures and how they interacted with each other, very fun! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Classism

Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

A Vision in Velvet by Juliet Blackwell

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I've really loved this series! I have especially enjoyed the cameos of characters from past books, dropping in to give information relating to their magical specialties and helping to make the world a little bigger. On to the next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Addiction, Death, Gore, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Tarnished and Torn by Juliet Blackwell

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Not my favorite in the series so far, I felt like I was left with a lot of questions. I felt like this one lacked a clear goal and antagonist. I was happy to see a decent love interest, but none of the questions from the previous book were outright answered about their troubles? Lots of suggested answers, but nothing clear. I do still love these books, and am looking forward to the next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Gore, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan

adventurous informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Something I've grown to love about Flanagan's writing style is the emphasis and explaining techniques. It isn't just "he shot an arrow" it's a slow zoom moment of which muscles are used to draw back and adjusting how high he's aiming and all the little details that make the moment come to life. I'm sure by the end of the series, anybody will feel just a little more knowledgeable than the average person about war strategy and weaponry. I love the constant character development, and watching the characters interactions show how much they care for and respect each other. It's kind of sweet!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore, Slavery, Blood, and Kidnapping

Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Another delightful installment, I loved getting so much of the story from Morwen's pov. It was fun to have all the cat commentary! The full cast does a great job giving each character a distinct way of talking and making their personality really shine. Couldn't stand Killer though. But I think that was probably on purpose. I'm a little shocked at the ending, I think this is the first book in the series so far that didn't completely wrap everything up, and left me hanging! On to the next I guess!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Finally some chemistry with a love interest! Chemistry everywhere. I loved it. Blackwell does a marvelous job flowing from one book to the next. So, on to the next!!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime

Minor: Death and Sexual content

Hexes and Hemlines by Juliet Blackwell

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I can hardly put this series down! I think I’ve figured it out. It feels a bit like Nancy Drew but she’s an adult now and also a witch? Those are the vibes. BIG fan.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Death

Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury