The first 50 pages were really strong, but the lack of worldbuilding or character development made it fall flat for me. Very glad we DNF at about 50%.
The first 50 pages were really strong, but the lack of worldbuilding or character development made it fall flat for me. Very glad we are getting more queer romantasy, especially a FFA one....more
I think this just boils down to personal preference, but I am not a fan of low plot just vibes books and therefore this one didn't work for me. Most oI think this just boils down to personal preference, but I am not a fan of low plot just vibes books and therefore this one didn't work for me. Most of the story I was bored while reading, even though all of the characters are very sweet and likeable....more
I don't have much to say about this one except I didn't love it as much as I expected to. I found the beginning of this book disjointed and confusing I don't have much to say about this one except I didn't love it as much as I expected to. I found the beginning of this book disjointed and confusing (probably because I didn't read the book that came before this one even though this is a standalone) and I didn't always feeling the yearning between the two main characters.
I thought Catherine/Ying Ying was an outstanding heroine, she was so interesting and had many qualities you don't normally read in a historical romance. I wish I saw more heroines like her in my romance novels....more
A second chance romance between a Hollywood director and his production assistant.
I think Myah Ariel is a wonderful writer and I am very excited to seA second chance romance between a Hollywood director and his production assistant.
I think Myah Ariel is a wonderful writer and I am very excited to see what else she writes in the future. For me, second chance romance is a genre/trope close to my heart. This book, the author didn't sell me on the couple's previous romance enough for me to really feel why they were drawn to each other years later. This book was a good example of when authors tell you things instead of showing you.
Lots of really great moments, Kaliya was an outstanding main character. I wasn't the biggest fan of Danny, but side characters Neha and Bella were also amazing and I loved them....more
I've said it before, I'll say it again. My toxic trait is I read Ruth Ware's books, rate them 3 or below and keep on reading more by her. I'll give heI've said it before, I'll say it again. My toxic trait is I read Ruth Ware's books, rate them 3 or below and keep on reading more by her. I'll give her one thing, she's a great writer, she's just not great at executing mysteries (at least to my tastes).
This book was probably my least favorite by her, and my most anticipated as it's her most popular. I am looking forward to the adaptation of this book as I love Keira Knightley. But I thought this book while easy to read, lacked focus and was all over the place in terms of plot. Lots of telling and not showing. That being said I absolutely will continue to read Ware's books, as long as I keep finding them in little free libraries (and I always do)....more
I'm not trusting any of you ever again because over 1 million ratings with an average of 4.33?? THIS???The hype did not hold up.
I will give this bookI'm not trusting any of you ever again because over 1 million ratings with an average of 4.33?? THIS???The hype did not hold up.
I will give this book one thing and one thing only, it was compulsively readable and I was able to finish it really quickly. But the actual story was beyond stupid. I'm sorry if you liked it, I'm glad you did, but this really wasn't for me....more
Unpopular opinion time: This series should have ended with the second book.
This third book was overly long and over-explained SO MUCH, which yes the fUnpopular opinion time: This series should have ended with the second book.
This third book was overly long and over-explained SO MUCH, which yes the first books also did, but not to this extent. I loved all of the characters in books 1 and 2 and became so attached to them and with this book I did not care at all what happened to them. I almost wish I hadn't read this book and just lived in ignorant bliss with the first two. I devoured the first two books and it took me over two months to finish this one because it was so slow and boring.
I'll still read Novik in the future, but this book made me think she was given too much freedom with her writing and I really wish an editor had come in and cut off a lot of the over-explaining of things because it was just too much....more
When Lady Dane's husband unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself in a predicament with the her late husband's family and custody of her 3.5 stars
When Lady Dane's husband unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself in a predicament with the her late husband's family and custody of her children. To resolve this, she enters into a fake relationship with Nathaniel Travers who owes her a favor. But as the two spend time together, and Nate spends time with Cora and her children, the entire family begins to become attached as outside forces threaten to tear them apart.
One of those solid I liked it but didn't love it kind of books. I feel like the author could have shaved off a good 50-100 pages of this book and it would have been a 4 or 5 star read, but stretches of this book felt like a bit of a slog to get through. I really liked Nate as a romantic hero because he was flawed but did his best to learn and grow and improve upon himself. Cora was also solidly okay in that I didn't have strong feelings about her either way. Overall one of those books where I enjoyed it, but it didn't hit me as hard as it did other readers (as I can see by the reviews)....more
El, short for Galadriel, is an outcast at her school. Every day the students fight creatures called "mals" to survive and take classes at the same timEl, short for Galadriel, is an outcast at her school. Every day the students fight creatures called "mals" to survive and take classes at the same time. When school star Orion saves El from a mal, she sparks his attention when she doesn't act like all of his fawning admirers. But El doesn't want anything from Orion, she just wants to make it to graduation.
At first, when I started reading this book I thought I would DNF it. Naomi Novik is an author who doesn't always work for me and I was skeptical but wanted to give this book a chance. The world-building info dump at the beginning of the book may deter a lot of readers, but once you get past the first 40-50 pages it really picks up the pace from there.
I'm a sucker for an "unlikeable heroine" and El was great. She was mean, unfriendly, and completely vulnerable but had no way to show it. The developing friendship between her and Orion was fun to watch, and I ended up loving a lot of the side characters in this book too. By the end, I was running to the bookstore to buy the next two books because I want to read them as soon as possible....more
Mallory takes care of her mom and two sisters by working as a mechanic, forgoing college in order to support her family. When Mallory attend 4 stars!
Mallory takes care of her mom and two sisters by working as a mechanic, forgoing college in order to support her family. When Mallory attends a charity chess event for a friend, she defeats the current World Champion in chess Nolan Sawyer. From there, Mallory ends up taking a paid fellowship and is whisked into the world of professional chess.
I really enjoyed this gem of a book, but I usually enjoy Ali Hazelwood's books so no surprise there. I will say this book is definitely on the older side of young adult fiction, pretty much borderline new adult so don't give it to a middle grader anytime soon.
I really appreciated seeing a female character in the world of chess. Aside from the Netflix show, The Queen's Gambit we don't see much of that and I hope this encourages the younger generation to try chess out and see if they like it. Mallory and Nolan were both fun and interesting characters with their own issues and it really added to the story and made it interesting. I had a lot of fun reading this book.
Thank you Kay for gifting me a copy of this book for our holiday book exchange! ...more
Misery is the daughter of one of the most powerful councilmembers in the vampire community, and all her life her father has used her as a pawn. After Misery is the daughter of one of the most powerful councilmembers in the vampire community, and all her life her father has used her as a pawn. After spending more than a decade amongst humans, Misery is now marrying the Alpha of the werewolves in order to broker peace between the wolves and the vampires. But Misery has her own agenda, and she plans to infiltrate the wolves to get what she wants.
I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. Ali Hazelwood, while I love her, has churned out fairly similar contemporary romance novels set in the academic world and I was skeptical that she could write a decent fantasy novel. I shouldn't have been because this book was frickin great! She really pulled off a great urban fantasy romance and I devoured it. I do wish worldbuilding had been a little bit stronger and that there had been a smidge more romance, but overall a great book filled with wonderful characters.
I will say I laughed my butt off when I read (view spoiler)[ that the MC had a knot on his penis that served as a magical vagina plug (hide spoiler)] but otherwise this book was solid....more
I want to preface this with I loved this authors first book How to Fail at Flirting, and if you're curious about reading her work please st 2.5 stars
I want to preface this with I loved this authors first book How to Fail at Flirting, and if you're curious about reading her work please start there. This book, really didn't meet the mark for me. It's a quick read and one I was able to knock out almost entirely in one evening, but now almost two weeks after reading it, there was nothing that really stands out to me now.
Technically Yours is a second chance romance about Cord and Pearl, who were employer and employee. After Pearl dumped Cord and flew across the country years ago, she is back and working for a coding nonprofit Cord just became a board member of. The two still have feelings but try to keep things secret so Pearl can get a promotion.
Overall this book was very meh. I didn't feel any stakes or tension between the two. The author also didn't really describe a lot of the characters in the book, so oddly I can't even tell you the basics of what they looked like. Except Pearl had very long legs. I was never really sold on the romance between these two characters, honestly they felt very incompatible to me. I get that Cord was down bad for Pearl but it really felt like she could take him or leave him. I've read three other works by this author and they were all much better, so I am hoping this one is a fluke and her next one will be great!...more
Really enjoyed learning new historical aspects from this book such as the pottery and the ambulance classes. Also enjoyed a lot of the small town humoReally enjoyed learning new historical aspects from this book such as the pottery and the ambulance classes. Also enjoyed a lot of the small town humor interspersed throughout the story.
I had some trouble with the writing, it feeling repetitive and some changing plot points took away from my overall enjoyment....more
Yet another review that is mostly random thoughts and vibes than a cohesive analysis.
I start every new year by reading a classic novel, and th[image]
Yet another review that is mostly random thoughts and vibes than a cohesive analysis.
I start every new year by reading a classic novel, and this year decided on The Hobbit. For some reason I have read Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien, and nothing else. So it was time to start from the very beginning.
First off, this book made me even angrier that the Hobbit films were three movies. They easily could have been two considering the last 50 or so pages in this book is the entire third film, but whatever.
Tolkien's writing style takes some getting used to but after a while the story flows. Bilbo on this great adventure with a bunch of (ungrateful) dwarves. It's easy to see why this is a beloved classic and how it set the narrative for the fantasy genre that lasts almost a century later.
I didn't love love this book, but I enjoyed it a lot and it was great to spend some time in Middle Earth....more
When Jack's mom is arrested for organized crime, teenage Jack leaves his boarding school on the east coast to return to his family's casino in Las VegWhen Jack's mom is arrested for organized crime, teenage Jack leaves his boarding school on the east coast to return to his family's casino in Las Vegas. There Jack decides he wants to get back at the man who put his mom away, rival casino owner Carlevaro. He enlists the help of his friends online, all five of them are asexual teens who met in a chatroom.
I'm really not sure how you can write (view spoiler)[ "A Heist" in the title of this book when there isn't even a f-ing heist in it. That pissed me off so badly. There's a difference between happenstance theft and a well planned heist and that was not present in this book (hide spoiler)]. All of the characters except the older sisters were unbearably annoying and yet all somehow lacked personality at the same time.
I feel very strongly that ace representation matters in books, but I honestly felt that the author loved the idea of a Vegas book with the title "Aces Wild" and so the characters were all made ace as well. Which is fine, but then we never really delved into the nuance of what that meant. You could remove the fact that all the characters in this book were ace and it wouldn't change the plot at all, and to me that does a disservice to the ace community.
This was originally a two star read for me but thinking about all these things and more tipped it over the edge to a one star review. That and I heard about the book originally using hearing aides instead of airpods as a plot device and was genuinely horrified....more
This book was basically the 1945 film Christmas in Connecticut in a modern day book and I was here for it. When Laurel lies to her boss about livingThis book was basically the 1945 film Christmas in Connecticut in a modern day book and I was here for it. When Laurel lies to her boss about living on a farm, married with children, when it's actually her twin sisters life and not her own. Years after her interview and well into the job, her boss suffers a traumatic breakup and invites himself to the holidays with Laurel. But now Laurel will work with her sister to uphold the lie, with some help from Laurel's nemesis: Max.
I enjoyed this book so much which is odd because I am not normally a big holiday romance fan. This book was short, sweet, and to the point with some great humor and shenanigans mixed in. I loved the enemies to lovers romance that happened along with some there's only one bed trope. I love when a misunderstood hero pines for the heroine and we got a nice dose of that in this book. I will say I was actually not happy that (view spoiler)[ there weren't any sex scenes in this book because imo, it really would have enhanced the relationship Laurel and Max were building. But I guess Kerry Winfrey is mean and didn't want to throw us a bone and now I am sad. (hide spoiler)]
If you're looking for a fun escapist read during the holiday season, this one will do the trick....more
I really wanted to like this book as we don't see a lot of Jewish historical romance, but I didn't care for thI dnf'd this about 30-40% of the way in.
I really wanted to like this book as we don't see a lot of Jewish historical romance, but I didn't care for the writing style and thought it was boring. ...more
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