Reviews written by Kelly Goodwin

Dualed had the potential to blow me away: an interesting concept where in a futuristic world where it’s killed or be killed by your genetic twin, a badass heroine trained in knives and guns and lethal with both, and the tension of a would-be romance. Unfortunately the concept was underdeveloped,...

I really enjoyed the first half of Black City. But with the introduction of insta-love, everything that was enjoyable about the first half – political scandal, world-building, intrigue – was made background noise to the growing crescendo of the protagonists’ exceedingly exasperating love story. As Black City...

Good pacing, the suspense of a murder-mystery and an interesting paranormal-ish twist combined to make Slide a pretty entertaining read. While I did find the plot to be a little predictable, guessing the murderer relatively early on, and even though high school stereotypes were unabashedly exploited, I empathized with the...

Possibly my first alien read, Gravity had a lot of expectations to meet – and thankfully, it delivered on most! While I had some issues with the romance and the heroine’s ability to trust in someone she had been taught to fear, I loved learning about the history of the...

With the hype surrounding this series, Delirium had quite high expectations to meet. So, as with any review but especially with this one, please take everything I’m about to criticize with a grain of salt – it’s virtually impossible to live up to the kind of expectations people had mentally...

With a scarily realistic dystopian future as its setting, Partials quickly captured my attention. As the stakes became higher and the plot picked up its pace, I found myself completely unable to put Partials down. Add in some (mostly) well fleshed-out characters and Partials was destined for success! ...

For the first half of The Ruining, I was sure I had at least a 4-star review – possibly a 5-star review! – on my hands. Tension, suspense, fear, doubt, secrets – everything one hopes for from a great psychological thriller was present. But as I headed into the end...

First, some preamble. I KNOW that Beautiful Disaster is an absolutely despicable representation of what it means to be a) in love and b) in a healthy relationship. I know that Beautiful Disaster showcases every violent and controlling behaviour found in an abusive relationship, and that it romanticizes that behaviour....

Considering my tumultuous relationship with Shatter Me, I only decided to pick up Destroy Me to satisfy my increasingly nagging curiosity surrounding Warner’s growing allegiance of fans. And while it was most definitely not long enough, I immediately understood its attraction. With an inside look at the twisted and misunderstood...

I’m going to go out on a limb here, so here’s hoping it doesn’t break: Shades of Earth is the perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy. Continuing in true Beth Revis fashion, Shades of Earth is full of twists and turns, fast-paced action and just a little gore, making for...

Having loved Wither and having been disappointed by Fever, with Sever I was hoping that Lauren DeStefano would redeem her trilogy for me, by concluding it with the sense of wonder and hope I had been given with Wither. While certain world-building questions were finally addressed, I couldn’t get past...

A mostly satisfying conclusion to the Unearthly trilogy, Boundless was a great end to Clara’s story. With a shocking twist surrounding her purpose revealed and her final decision between green-eyed Christian or blue-eyed Tucker made, Boundless was almost everything I had hoped for! Clara is exactly how...

With absolutely spectacular world-building, Orleans held me captive as I watched a post-apocalypse version of New Orleans unfold around me in vivid and careful detail; nothing was overlooked. I did find that I cared very little for the protagonist – Fen – and her tribe dialect. Though I understood her...

An isolated and fantastical abbey, with rooms painted like underwater castles or adorned with paintings fit for any museum, sets the stage for Nickerson’s Strands of Bronze and Gold. An endearingly naive heroine and an insidiously twisted antagonist added a level of suspense, while the ghosts of Cressac’s ex-wives added...

Going in to Deep Betrayal, I knew two things: I had really enjoyed Lies Beneath and I was looking forward to learning more mermaid lore. As the story unfolded, I kept waiting to be wowed by Deep Betrayal, like I had been with Lies Beneath, and found myself growing more...