Astrid Appels > Recent Status Updates

Things are literally and figuratively heating up during and after the third trial..

The plot is finally thickening and becoming more intriguing. i was underwhelmed by the second trial that drew heavily on Harry Pitter’s Goblet of Fire. Maybe my brain js tainted by all i read before but i often feel annoyed if I see inspiration drawn on other books. Still cant wait to read the rest

Hmmm, was expecting this to be a 5 ⭐️ read but so far enjoying it, not loving it. I dont feel the physical attraction to Xul and maybe the graphics in the book meddle with my mental visualisation . The first trial is too much Hunger Games with a magical twist…

When this chunker of a book landed in my mailbox i understood why it was so expensive to buy (50 euro hardcover). After Riftborn and Duskbound, i have to read this one. Loved the start ln the seaside town, then it felt very Hunger Games x Blood of Hercules. Let’s see where this goes…

Despite the fact that this section could use some editing and much of the repetitive statements removed, the plot develops so interestingly and the spice is properly spicing. Loving it

The wedding ceremony was fun to read but i felt the plot a little dragging after that, some formulas become too repetitive (missing Aidia, her pretended hatred for Henry is no longer convincing). Still a super entertaining read. Will finish the book tomorrow.

Wow, I’m hooked! Started this one at 9pm and kept reading through the night until 4.30 am. Love the world building, enemies to lovers and slow burn. Loving this one very much.. so far…

It's giving me a lot of TOG / Rowan vibes right now with a touch of Gild with all the Rip hopping...

Not so thrilled that vampires have made their way into this book (i don’t like the bloodsuckers) but the storyline is still intriguing..

All the standard ingredients are there: the deceit, enemies to lovers (you can feel the dilemma between two love options brewing) and of course there have to be trials..

I'm liking this :) :)

annoyed with all the motherese and repetitive “tracing” of the scars. Caspia and Andreas’ first hook-up had no spice. I sighed deeply when another kid (Kos) joined these Canterbury Tales with a second MMC turning into a mother hen!

Fortunately the romance got to a better level. The convergence of MMCs and FMCs in Roslo is nice, but the plot is stalling and the side characters stay shallow. I’m still not as

It’s a pity we couldn’t read this one straight after Shield of Sparrows as it only just came out. I needed a few pages to get back into the story. I wasn’t too thrilled with 100 pages of Odessa’s journey and constant mothering of Evie, but am very much liking the introduction of Caspia and Xandra.

Pity it took until page 300 for the book to become interesting and more fast-paced. Of course the morally grey mystery man Blake saves the narrative and makes The Night Prince an entertaining read.

Pity it took until page 300 for the book to become interesting and more fast-paced. Of course the morally grey mystery man Blake saves the narrative and makes The Night Prince an entertaining read.

This second book is rather slow paced and after 200 pages there is very little plot development. The spice is not really spicing and only the tension between Blake and Aurora are the alluring factor so far. It definitely needs to pick up tempo and intrigue for a good star rating

First romantasy for me in which wolves-shifters take full center stage. Trope of the kidnapped princess craving freedom, enemies to lovers.. all easy ingredients for a page turner. Spent my Easter Sunday well.. The Blake character is the most interesting one.. book is quite explanatory and you can see the twists coming from a mile away

I expected more fantasy world but this has now become a war novel set in a dystopian future. The military jargon and the “brotherhood of soldiers”dominate the plot. I’m craving fae, magic, something fantastical while This book develops into too much of a realistic scenario after a nuclear armageddon. The guilt-tripping and inferiority complex of the FMC gets annoying. Enough already with the mental self-harming

Coming into this book after Conform, I was a bit bummed to start a prequel instead of a sequel, but after the first 90 pages it has sucked me in. It still gives me tons of "Divergent" copy-cat vibes, but am enjoying it.

I do like the writing style and there is quite a bit of humor in it, but the individual stories are so sad and frustrating in a why. Each character seems delusional /unaware of his/her own fallacies.

Hmmm, while I appreciate the command in language and vocabulary, the sentence structures often feel long and monotonous.. sentences feel like long spaghetti strings. Not so much appreciating the three first main characters’ shared trait of degrading themselves. There is a lot of self-pity, frustration and isolation there and little problem solving.

Now the book turned into Fifty Shades of Grey with the rich boyfriend, driving a Bugatti and protecting his just over-age girlfriend from the bullies and the mafia. Oh lord... I'll finish it tonight.. but this one is probably the second worst I read since my romantasy binge. Just not my cup of tea. What a pity after the great Nocticadia and Anathema.

Not sure where this is going with the plot now that they caved into their primal needs and curiosity and the sub-plot seems secondary. This is petering out from a 3* to a 2*... Will finish it this weekend