Tag: book review

Bre Writes Book Reviews: The Will and the Wilds by Charlie N. Holmberg

This is the third book by Charlie N. Holmberg that I’ve read. She is slowly becoming my favorite author, and not just from her books, but from her podcast Your Mom Writes Books and her instagram.

That being said, I struggled to get into this book for the first few chapters. There was something in the writing that felt stilted to me, felt like it was trying too hard to be written in an older dialect of English. But thankfully, as the novel went on, the language relaxed and I could enjoy it more.

There were so many small things in this novel that I absolutely loved. But one aspect that really stood out that I had to really think about how awesome it was was the different point of views. For Enna, the main character with a soul, the POV was in close first, whereas for Maekallus, his few chapters, are in distant third that gets increasingly closer as he gains more of a soul.

The relationship that grows between the two characters is perfect in so many ways. There’s an old bit of writing advice that says “If your characters have to kiss to show us they’re in love, you’re doing it wrong.” This book takes that idea and turns it on its head. The characters kiss, but the romance takes a while to develop and it gives it a fresh perspective. There’s a bigger aspect than just a hinted at romance.

I really enjoyed the character of Enna and her struggles to do the right thing all while dealing with Maekallus and his shenanigans. Their relationship was so beautiful, so moving, that it was impossible not to root for them in the end. The ending was decent as far as the action went, but as a reader of romance, I was there for the romance.

The beauty of their struggles was so well written, and so well explored from both sides.

Without many spoilers, I have to say during one of their meetings, I literally said out loud: “Get you a man that flings snakes!” And then died of laughter.

I really enjoyed the book, but there are a few things that didn’t sit quite right with me. I’m going to try and write a review where I don’t give a ton of spoilers away, but I have to talk about the missteps and the beauty of the ending.

Holmberg sets up this big problem for our two protagonists, or what seems to be this big problem and mainly the reasons why these mistings (evil beings) are called to the human realm, and then it’s solved in a way that simultaneously feels right, and yet doesn’t feel right. I know the story is supposed to be a romance, but a little more than a subtle fix with the big bad would have been nice. More of a struggle for Enna and what she had to do would have been nice too. On the other hand, I love the ending for our two protagonists, so I can’t be too mad about it.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

I would have liked a little more explanation of the lore of the worlds. For a good part of the book, we hear about Enna’s grandmother’s notes. I thought they would be more essential to the plot, or Enna’s father’s role in the previous war, but that wasn’t that essential either. It was a great story, but I wanted more lore, more to anchor me in the world.

I would even take a sequel that explores those things more. The world was so rich it’s practically begging for it.

What should I read next?

Bre Writes Book Reviews: All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban

I honestly didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. I rented it from my library via kindle and started reading it just to see how the library app worked. Within a few chapters, I was hooked, and I read the book in a matter of days.

I read a book like I used to read books before I got busy and distracted with other things. I can’t remember the last time I read a book in a matter of days. It makes me really excited when I find books like that.

All Your Twisted Secrets is like an escape room meets The Breakfast Club, but they’re all definitely more effed up than the kids in the 80’s movie. Each kid has something going for them, and each kid is connected to each other in ways not even I saw coming. Each twist and turn was so well foreshadowed and yet, a lot of them I didn’t see coming.

The book follows Amber, an ambitious student who wants to go to music school to score movies. Her boyfriend is desperate for a baseball scholarship and thinks she can go to college with him wherever he gets in. Her best friend, who helped her get into the popular clique, Sasha and her previous best friend Priya are in the room, along with the stoner Scott, and the kid who ruined her dad’s business. Amber is connected to everyone in the room and as the book is told exclusively though her eyes, we get good connections and revelations that as I was reading made me go “Oh Snap!”

Oh, and did I forget to mention they’re locked in a banquet room of a hotel with a bomb and a syringe filled with a deadly poison and have to choose someone to kill before the hour is up?

I can’t give too many spoilers away or it would ruin the book, but boy do I want to! This book was crazy at times. But overall a really great book.

A few things I would have liked to see would be how the kids reacted after the revelations they heard and some consequences for the person who orchestrated the whole thing. I would have liked to see how they all handled the dark things they did while in the room and how their relationships changed after the ordeal. The book just cuts off on a cliffhanger after the kids that survive are let out. After all the build up of these seniors wanting to get into college, and the cutthroat tactics, there was no real follow through on their college plans.

Review: 4.5/5