talknerdybookblog's reviews
2607 reviews

Hidden by Night by Jada Storm, Emma Stark, Jasmine Walt

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Representation: Polyamorous main character*
*No mm relationships

<b>Overall:</b> 2-stars

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• No pushing away
• No separation

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Gun violence
• Abduction
• Confinement
• Threat of burning someone alive
• Satanism  

Ending:

HFN

1 Last Shot by Nikki Castle

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

No strong representation of diverse characters or minority identities.

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
• No separation

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Attempted mugging
• Threat of gun violence
• Brawl in a bar
• Alcohol abuse
• Emotional abuse (Hero has a toxic relationship with his mom)
• Physical abuse of the Hero by his mom's boyfriends recounted
• Alcoholism of Hero's mom recounted
• Homelessness of the Hero recounted

Ending:

HFN

Ocean Echoes by Blake Black

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Representation: Hero with a prosthetic leg, gay side character

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
- Heroine goes on a date with an OM to get back at the Heroes
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Heroes away
- She is terrified of trusting them after they not only didn't believe her about being able to see the dead, but calling her crazy and forcibly pushing her out of their house
• Does have a separation (all celibate)
- Heroine doesn't forgive the Heroes for their actions in book 1 until like 1/3rd into this book

Possible Triggers: Yes

• We discover that Saylor is

in a coma!

• Near-death experience on the sea 
• Heroine recounts being forcibly institutionalized 
• OM spikes the Heroine's drink with the intent of r@ping her

Ending:

HFN

Whisper Waves by Blake Black

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Representation: Hero with prosthetic leg, Gay side character

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• No OW drama
- BUT, North's deceased wife is haunting their son.
- Nash flirts with an OW at a party but is called out by the Heroine and they sleep together that night.
• No OM drama
- All the brothers are interested in the Heroine but not considered OM cuz they're all part of the eventual harem
• Does have the MCs pushing the Heroine away 
• Does have a separation (at the end of the book, all celibate, though)

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Suicide of side character (North's wife) discussed, which occurred ~6 years before
• Grief
- Heroine's grandmother recently passed away (she was diagnosed with c@ncer and refused treatment)
- Heroes family life is a mess - they lost North's wife and also one of their brothers in a series of events around 7 years ago
• Forced institutionalization of the Heroine
• PTSD (see above)
• Ableist language
• Medical trauma - North's son has an undiagnosed chronic illness that results in hospitalizations throughout the book
• Sexism

Ending:

Cliffhanger

The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Representation: Japanese-American main character, Lesbian supporting character, Lesbian side character, Sapphic side relationship

Mature Themes:

• Sex (not explicit)
• Swearing
• Alcohol consumption

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Sexism
• Racism
• Classism
• Cults
• R@pe
• Confinement
• Captivity
• Murder
• Gun violence
• Threat of gun violence
• Domestic abuse discussed 
• Murder of main character's sister discussed
• Grief (see above and below)
• Main character's father dies from c@ncer
• Alcoholism of supporting character alluded to

Ending:

HFN. Case solved, bad guys put away. Main character gets closure regarding what happens to her sister and is finally able to move on from the past. She reconciles with her husband and plans to move to a new town for a fresh start. I cannot tell you how RELIEVED I was that the husband was exactly who he came across to be!

Fragile Sanctuary by Catherine Cowles

emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

No strong representation of diverse characters or minority identities.

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW drama
• Does have OM drama
- Heroine's ex wants her back 
• Does have the Hero pushing the Hero away
• No separation

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Hero used to work for the FBI as a profiler and became a target of one of the serial killers he was hunting. The Hero's sister ends up becoming a victim of this serial killer, which completely ruins the Hero and his family. His father dies from a heart attack brought on by grief, and his mom blames him for putting his sister in the crosshairs of the serial killer.
• Heroine's sister and parents died in a house fire when she was ~13 years old. The Heroine was the sole survivor.
• Attempted murder
• Threat of gun violence 
• Gun violence
• Arson
• Slut-shaming
• Grief
• PTSD

Ending:

HEA

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Representation: Salvadorian-American Heroine, Hero with social anxiety, Salvadorian-American supporting character with kidney failure, Black side character

Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions

• No cheating
• Does have OW drama
- Hero tells the Heroine that he's still in love with his ex-girlfriend, who is engaged to his younger brother. This leads the Heroine to be dismissive of the Hero's professed feelings for the Heroine, as she refuses to once again be in a relationship where the guy hasn't resolved his feelings for the woman he can't have.
- However, in his POV, it seems like he wasn't still (or ever) in love with his ex-girlfriend. But, he didn't know how to communicate the complexity of his emotions (still feeling angry, betrayed but also maybe relieved?), so he kept it very simple so that the Heroine would agree to fake date him.
- I think authors who want to depict Heroes having a healthy attitude towards their exes (the Hero remarks many times that his ex is a good person, kind, etc.) need to be balanced, where they do not put the ex's needs over the Heroine/current love interest. 
- Also, I found the quip of the ex-gf (it was friendly and during a scene where the Heroine and she were bonding) regarding how good in bed the Hero was jarring and just ew
• Does have OM drama
- Heroine has unresolved trauma associated with the end of her marriage. When she runs into her ex-husband and mistress/his new wife, this brings up everything that she's been avoiding. 
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
- See the bullet under OW drama
• No separation (they go through a rough patch but don't actually break up)

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Infidelity (Heroine's ex-husband had an emotional and eventually physical affair with his best friend - they're now married and expecting)
• Heroine has PTSD over miscarrying alone (she miscarried after discovering her ex-husband's infidelity) 
• Ableism (Hero's ex-girlfriend's attitude toward Hero's anxiety was dismissive and problematic - challenged by Heroine)
• Hero's ex-girlfriend starts dating his brother three months after they break up - creating a tumultuous environment for his family
• Parental abandonment (Heroine's father abandoned her and her mom when her mom was pregnant with her brother)
• Side character has depression at the start of the book
• Heroine experiences a depressive episode at the end of the book

Ending:

HEA. In the epilogue, they share a daughter and are about to get married after two years together.

A Duke Of Her Own by Stacy Reid

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

No strong representation of diverse characters or minority identities.

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
• Does have a brief separation (both celibate)

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Sexism
• Classism
• Infidelity (Heroine's first love was a no-good dirty cheater - he was married with kids)

Ending:

HFN

Tall, Royal and Grumpy by Nylah Monroe

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Representation: POC main characters, POC supporting characters

Safety Rating: Safe

• No cheating
• Does have OW drama
- Hero's ex-gf comes back to cause drama - she wants revenge on the Hero and attempts to use the Heroine to do it
• Does have slight OM drama
- Hero's best friend is very flirting and flirts with the Heroine. Hero gets <i>jealous</i>.
• Does have Heroine pushing the Hero away
• No separation

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Infidelity (between Heroine's parents recounted)
• Toxic relationship between Heroine and her brother - I'd honestly classify his behaviour towards her as abusive and controlling since it lead the Heroine to entertain suicidal thoughts 
- the latter half of the book sees them attempting to heal their relationship
• Abusive relationship between Hero and his ex-girlfriend recounted - she emotionally abused him and his younger brother
• Grief
- Death of Heroine's parents recounted
• Threat of distributing revenge porn
• Attempted blackmail
• Hero is a soft dom
- includes degradation play (calling the Heroine a slut, whore etc.) 

Ending:

HFN

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

emotional funny reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

<b>Representation:</b> Bisexual Chinese supporting character, Lesbian side characters, Sapphic side relationship

Mature Themes:

• Sex (not explicit)
• Swearing
• Alcohol consumption

Possible Triggers: Yes

• Spiking one of the husband's drinks to get them back into the attack
• Medical trauma
• Projectile violence 

Ending:

HFN. The protagonist picks a husband and destroys the attic so she's not tempted to live on a never-ending loop of 'the grass is greener.'