akeivens's reviews
164 reviews

Released: Conversations on the Eve of Freedom by Gypsy-Rose Blanchard

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
Released • Gypsy Rose Blanchard

3/5 Overall
2/5 Writing Style
3/5 Information

🔎 True Crime
👮‍♀️ Jail


👥CHARACTERS👥
•This is a true story so the characters are real people. I enjoyed how some personality traits were explained. 

✨PROS✨
•Inside look at Gypsy Rose
•Details I didn’t know about the case

❌CONS❌
•The writing was rough
•The ending seemed abrupt 


Overall, I’m glad I read this. It seemed like this book was very healing for her. 
Love in the Wild by Emma Castle

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
Love in the Wild • Emma Castle
@emmacastlebooks 

5/5 Overall
5/5 Writing Style
4.5/5 Love Story 
3/5 Spice

🦍 Tarzan
🌳 Jungle
🩷 First Love
💚 Virgin


👥CHARACTERS👥
•The characters were AMAZING. Thorne & Eden will forever have my heart. 

✨PROS✨
•I’m usually not a retelling fan, but this had me HOOKED!
•The dynamic between the MCs was addicting
•The way he pleased her 🥵

❌CONS❌
•The beginning was a bit slow and I had to get cartoon Tarzan out of my head lol

🤩FAV CHAPTER🤩
•Epilogue for sure 

Overall, I’m addicted to this author now! I definitely needed this love story in my life. 
The Dollhouse: A psychological thriller by Sara Ennis

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dark hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.75

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
The Dollhouse • Sara Ennis
@saraenniswrites 

4.5/5 Overall
5/5 Writing Style
4/5 Thrill

👧 Children
🏰 Dungeon
🫂 Found Family



👥CHARACTERS👥
•These characters were so interesting and unique. I loved getting to know the kids but it did feel odd that the only adult character that was prominent was the villain. 

✨PROS✨
•True crime reminiscent 
•Kept you guessing and wanting more
•Creepy vibe 

❌CONS❌
•The ending felt a bit rushed and I wish it was drug out a bit more. 

Overall, I really loved this book! It was a fun thriller and kept me reading well past bed time!
Coming Home (Detective Dahlia, #1) by Laurèn Lee

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challenging emotional tense 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? No

4.5

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
Coming Home • Laurèn Lee

4.5/5 Overall
5/5 Writing Style
4/5 Thrill

🕵️ Detective
🩸 Murder
👀 Someone’s Watching

👥CHARACTERS👥
•The MC detective is one of my favorite characters in a mystery/thriller in a long time. She was so fun and REAL! Real life problems dealt with in real life ways. 

✨PROS✨
•Felt like an episode of my favorite show Law & Order SVU
•Left you guessing on many occasions 
•Suspenseful ending leaving you wanting more

❌CONS❌
•It feels like this series does need to be read in order
•I wish we knew more about some of the background of MC

Overall, I really liked this book and cannot wait to continue! It definitely leaves you with your jaw on the ground and wanting more. 
The Family Secret by Kiersten Modglin

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

3.75

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
The Family Secret• Kiersten Modglin

3.5/5 Overall
4/5 Writing Style
3/5 Thrill

💰 Wealthy Family
🎭 Drama
👶 Secret Baby
🔪 Murder
🤫 Secrets

👥CHARACTERS👥
•I did not connect well with these characters. I enjoyed them but was not super involved with them nor cared one way or the other. They were well developed for sure!

✨PROS✨
•Shocking twists and turns 
•Kind of a unique family dynamic

❌CONS❌
•The end felt a bit rushed. A lot of building up and then blowing through the end. 

Overall, it was an interesting plot and I enjoyed it. It’s nothing I’m screaming from the rooftops about but I’d still recommend it!
Kurtain Motel by A.I. Nasser

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

2.75

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
Kurtain Motel • AI Nasser

2.5/5 Overall
3.5/5 Writing Style
2/5 Thrill 🔪🔪 
2.5/5 Horror 🩸🩸

👻 Paranormal
👀 Stalker
🙏🏼 Priest/Confess Your Sins


👥CHARACTERS👥
•I definitely did not connect with any of these characters. In all honesty I was kinda confused on who we were talking about at any given time. 

✨PROS✨
•A little Saw movie feel
•Horror parts were shocking/gross as you’d want
•Kept you guessing

❌CONS❌
•I felt super confused on alot of the plot
•The punishment felt dramatic for the crime

Overall, I’m glad I read it because it was a fun read but definitely not a favorite of mine. 
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
House of Earth & Blood • Sarah J Maas

3.5/5 Overall
4/5 Writing Style
3/5 Love Story 
1/5 Spice
3/5 Thrill

🏰 Fantasy
🔥 Slow Burn
💪🏼 Strong FMC
🌎 Whole New World

“Then let me buy him from you.”

👥CHARACTERS👥
•The FMC is a badass and I loved her. I also enjoyed the banter between her and the MMC. I do think the author introduced wayyyy too many characters all at once so I was confused for a large portion of the book. 

✨PROS✨
•Cute couple
•Strong FMC/heroine
•Drama and thrill
•Twists & turns

❌CONS❌
•This was an extremeeeeee slow burn. At 50% I was almost ready to DNF. 
•Huge focus on world building

Overall, it was fun and the last 30% was wayyyy better than the first part of the book. I’m still deciding if I’ll finish out this series. 
The Waitress by Emily Shiner

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

3.0

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
The Waitress • Emily Shiner

3/5 Overall
3/5 Writing Style
3/5 Thrill

🚘 Hit & Run
☠️ Killers
🎭 Family Drama


👥CHARACTERS👥
•The characters were average. I wasn’t obsessed but didn’t hate them either. I wish there was a bit more development in some areas. 

✨PROS✨
•Unique plot
•Twists & turns
•Low key thriller

❌CONS❌
•I hated the ending 

Overall, this book was just…average. 
A Detective And A Nanny by Kayleigh McGuire

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.25

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
A Detective And A Nanny • Kayleigh McGuire

3/5 Overall
3.5/5 Writing Style
2.5/5Love Story 
1.5/5 Spice

❤️‍🩹 Trafficking
❤️‍🔥 Romance
💝 Surprise Baby


👥CHARACTERS👥
•These characters were fun and pretty well developed for a short book. 

✨PROS✨
•Interesting plot with twists and turns 
•Cute romance & cheesy moments

❌CONS❌
•The ending felt extremely rushed
•A lot of the story wasn’t fully developed


Overall, it was a quick and fun read! I would give more by this author a try!
The Patient by Jane Shemilt

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

2.25

📚BOOK REVIEW‼️
The Patient • Jane Shemilt

2/5 Overall
2.5/5 Writing Style
1/5 Love Story 
1/5 Thrill

💔 Affair
🔪 Murder


👥CHARACTERS👥
•I honestly cannot tell you much about these characters. They were not well built and confusing. 

✨PROS✨
•Murder mystery was fun

❌CONS❌
•I had no idea what was happening throughout the entire book and still don’t know what happened. 

Overall, it wasn’t really worth the read unfortunately.