Fantasy, Romance & Sci-Fi
Book Reviews
June 2025
Rating: 3.5 ★
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Review: Oh, Emily, what have you done? It hurts to say that 3.5 stars was generous. I know that sounds strange since 3.5 stars is not a bad rating, but this is coming from someone who has loved all of her other books so much that I’ve re-read most of them…
Honestly, I think it’s great that Emily Henry tried something a little different from her usual this time, and there were aspects of this that I loved (like the initial chemistry between Alice and Hayden – emphasis on initial). However, Great Big Beautiful Life wasn’t as scrumptious as I was hoping.
The book is structured to follow the present-day main characters while also recounting the story of another character’s life. Alas, there’s something about this parallel story setup that feels like mixing oil and water for me. It didn’t work for The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and it didn’t work for The Things We Leave Unfinished.
In all of the above, I’ve been so underwhelmed by plots and characters that are lacklustre because of minimal “screen time”. I would much rather read one well-developed story that grips me in its jaws than a two-way split story that halfheartedly paws at my ankle.
Unfiltered Thoughts: Barely remember what the book was about. Not a good sign.
“It’s important that I play this cool. Fact: I have never played it cool in my life.”
“There’s an old saying about stories, and how there are always three versions of them: yours, mine, and the truth.”
Rating: 4.5 ★
Genre: High Fantasy, Dark, Epic
Review: In a sea of books brimming with forgettable characters, Joe Abercrombie’s cast in The Blade Itself is pure magic! Calling these characters simply interesting is a horrific understatement – they are truly vibrant.
The Blade Itself follows a legendary brute, a self-absorbed officer, a cripppled torturer/inquisitor and a wizard in the eye of a brewing war. I loved the humour and the pure ridiculousness of comedy in the face of violence and suffering.
If you’re a fan of any works by Robin Hobb or The Will of the Many by James Islington, I can see you loving this too. Overall, I thought this was a brilliant start to a new (to me) epic fantasy series, and I will definitely be jumping into the sequel soon.
Unfiltered Thoughts: Calling all traumatised cynics who use humour as a coping mechanism. This one’s for you.
“Every man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be. What is my story now, I wonder?”
“But that was civilisation, so far as Logen could tell. People with nothing better to do, dreaming up ways to make easy things difficult.”
“Some things have to be done. It’s better to do them, than to live with the fear of them.”
Rating: 4.75 ★
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Review: I’ve been a big fan of Tarah DeWitt for a hot minute, but when she wrote Ellis and Wren as side characters in Savor It, I think her entire fanbase demanded that she expand on Ellis’ iconic insistence that “She’s still a Byrd.” These characters were begging to be written. So much so that Left of Forever honestly reads as if the story existed in its entirety before words even hit the page.
The tenderness in this story is stark without turning into a caricature of the “love conquers all” narrative. It’s precious in its simplicity and sensitive in its complexity. Truly one of the most striking depictions of rupture and repair in romantic relationships.
Left of Forever might take the cake as my favourite romance this year. With that being said, I still have very high hopes for a few others on my TBR list like Normal People by Sally Rooney (yes, I know, I’m very late to the party), You Between The Lines by Katie Naymon and Summer Fridays by Suzanne Rindell.
Unfiltered Thoughts: If the audiobook is even half decent, I’m about to demolish a re-read.
“All I know is that if I found out heaven was real and got there first? I’d hang back in the waiting room and save you a seat.”
“I miss you, too sounds glib. You have been missing from me is more accurate. There’s a void where you lived in me.”
“If you’re lost, I’ll find you. I’ll give you my body, my heart, and my soul. I’ll cherish every bit of yours in return. I’ll fight with you. I’ll fight for you. I’ll love you for everything left of forever, in every lifetime we get.”
Rating: 3.75 ★
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Review: Station Eleven is a breath of fresh air with its unique take on a post-apocalyptic setting, which follows a travelling symphony as they encounter a violent prophet. The story is split into two timelines (pre- and post-pandemic), which weave together in unexpected ways.
I wouldn’t say that Station Eleven gripped me per se, but it was intriguing and immersive in a soothing kind of way. The writing was fantastic, and the strange blend of genres somehow works remarkably well. It’s almost like reading a literary romance but in a wilderness dystopian setting, with a strange mystery sub-plot.
In a nutshell, I generally enjoyed it, but the flowery writing did start to slow the pace a bit too much for my personal preference. Also, if you have PTSD from the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe don’t read this one.
Unfiltered Thoughts: A meandering story with an interesting bite.
“Hell is the absence of the people you long for.”
“Survival is insufficient.”
Other Books I Read This Month
Last Summer in the City by Gianfranco Calligarich
Rating: 3.5 ★
Genre: Italian, Literary Fiction, Classics