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alechains's reviews
172 reviews
The Maddest Obsession by Danielle Lori
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So this is a 3.5 ⭐ for me.
I liked the chemistry between the MCs and the tension that you could cut with a knife every time they saw each other but I need more from both of them.
First of all, Gianna, I wanted her to have more depth, she had a drug problem but I wanted to know why, how did she stop. It was briefly mentioned that she used drugs to cope with her panic attacks but we still didn't get much info about what happened to her to cause those panic attacks. All there was to her was being sassy and dressing over the top, she was always treated her either like a dumb bitch or a whore. I really needed her to tell everyone to go to hell and show them she was more than that but it didn't happen. I would have loved more of a backstory, to know more about her mom, how she got out from that world, their relationship, etc.
On the other hand we had Christian, he was cold, distant and freaking obsessed with Gianna but always treated her like trash. The first 3/4 of the book he was either calling her stupid, whore or gold digger and I don't care how hot, mysterious or intense a man is, I'll tell him to go to hell and never sleep with him after he treats me like that. Gianna needed to grow a bit of a backbone and get some self-respect. Then he opened up a bit about his past with his mom and brother but it was in the last 5% so it felt rushed and like he only did it so Gianna wouldn't leave him and agree to marry him. We also didn't get a lot of story about his career as a fed and how he started working with the mafia.
So I liked parts of this story and the chemistry but the disrespect to the FMC was too much for me. Also Gianna really needed to have more personality and goals in life instead of just agreeing when being forced to choose a husband.
I liked the chemistry between the MCs and the tension that you could cut with a knife every time they saw each other but I need more from both of them.
First of all, Gianna, I wanted her to have more depth, she had a drug problem but I wanted to know why, how did she stop. It was briefly mentioned that she used drugs to cope with her panic attacks but we still didn't get much info about what happened to her to cause those panic attacks. All there was to her was being sassy and dressing over the top, she was always treated her either like a dumb bitch or a whore. I really needed her to tell everyone to go to hell and show them she was more than that but it didn't happen. I would have loved more of a backstory, to know more about her mom, how she got out from that world, their relationship, etc.
On the other hand we had Christian, he was cold, distant and freaking obsessed with Gianna but always treated her like trash. The first 3/4 of the book he was either calling her stupid, whore or gold digger and I don't care how hot, mysterious or intense a man is, I'll tell him to go to hell and never sleep with him after he treats me like that. Gianna needed to grow a bit of a backbone and get some self-respect. Then he opened up a bit about his past with his mom and brother but it was in the last 5% so it felt rushed and like he only did it so Gianna wouldn't leave him and agree to marry him. We also didn't get a lot of story about his career as a fed and how he started working with the mafia.
So I liked parts of this story and the chemistry but the disrespect to the FMC was too much for me. Also Gianna really needed to have more personality and goals in life instead of just agreeing when being forced to choose a husband.
The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I'm debating between giving this a 4 or 4.25 ⭐s because it was good, it just wasn't as mind-blowing as it was sold to be on booktok and bookstagram.i gave this a chance because I haven't read any Mafia romances in a while and it was good, I just expected it to be a little darker.
Some of the things I liked were, first, the Abelli family, Nonna is a great spirit animal, always antagonizing her daughter in law and making me laugh. I want to be friends with Elena, I love her spunk but her sister was a bit of a brat most of time. I sympathize with her situation because I'd also hate to be told what to do and who to marry but still I found her annoying.
On the other side, I want to know more about the Russo's, Nico has my heart even though he can be a jealous and controlling psycho at times but he's also sweet and protective of his Elena.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was the miscommunication going around. At some points I wanted to yell at Nico to stop insinuating or down right telling Elena that she's a whore and at others at Elena to stand up for herself and come clean about her story.
Overall it was a good story and I'd read it again.
Some of the things I liked were, first, the Abelli family, Nonna is a great spirit animal, always antagonizing her daughter in law and making me laugh. I want to be friends with Elena, I love her spunk but her sister was a bit of a brat most of time. I sympathize with her situation because I'd also hate to be told what to do and who to marry but still I found her annoying.
On the other side, I want to know more about the Russo's, Nico has my heart even though he can be a jealous and controlling psycho at times but he's also sweet and protective of his Elena.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was the miscommunication going around. At some points I wanted to yell at Nico to stop insinuating or down right telling Elena that she's a whore and at others at Elena to stand up for herself and come clean about her story.
Overall it was a good story and I'd read it again.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.25⭐/5
This was my first Ali Hazelwood book and I have to say I liked it very much so I'll make sure to give some of her other books a try. This book caught my attention from the moment I saw the cover and blurb. Sports romance is one my favorites subgenres of romance and in my opinion there aren't enough books about swimmers and divers.
Here are some of my thoughts about what I liked:
- Lukas was the tall, Scandinavian and handsome golden boy of swimming. He was reserved but caring and so sweet when he needed to be. I might need to go to Sweden to try to find one like him 😂
- I loved that the MCs were more than just athletes. They both had goals and careers beyond doing well in their sports.
- Both characters were smart but I loved that the MMC didn't feel threatened by FMC's intelligence, instead he found it sexy and that's the type or partner we all need.
There wasn't a lot I didn't like, just some minor things that annoyed me like Pen's attitude towards the end and how predictable that 3rd act felt. I can see why some people are complaining about this book not being kinky enough since it was mentioned in the warnings at the beginning and made you think this would be more explicit that it actually was but I didn't mind it much. The last thing that annoyed me was Scarlett or Vandy as everyone called her being so awkward and insecure all the time. I get it she has her issues but even when people are showing her they like her and want her around she's still in her head. Girl, just relax for a minute please!
This was my first Ali Hazelwood book and I have to say I liked it very much so I'll make sure to give some of her other books a try. This book caught my attention from the moment I saw the cover and blurb. Sports romance is one my favorites subgenres of romance and in my opinion there aren't enough books about swimmers and divers.
Here are some of my thoughts about what I liked:
- Lukas was the tall, Scandinavian and handsome golden boy of swimming. He was reserved but caring and so sweet when he needed to be. I might need to go to Sweden to try to find one like him 😂
- I loved that the MCs were more than just athletes. They both had goals and careers beyond doing well in their sports.
- Both characters were smart but I loved that the MMC didn't feel threatened by FMC's intelligence, instead he found it sexy and that's the type or partner we all need.
There wasn't a lot I didn't like, just some minor things that annoyed me like Pen's attitude towards the end and how predictable that 3rd act felt. I can see why some people are complaining about this book not being kinky enough since it was mentioned in the warnings at the beginning and made you think this would be more explicit that it actually was but I didn't mind it much. The last thing that annoyed me was Scarlett or Vandy as everyone called her being so awkward and insecure all the time. I get it she has her issues but even when people are showing her they like her and want her around she's still in her head. Girl, just relax for a minute please!
The Hero + Vegas = No Regrets by Louise Bay
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Faking It With #41 by Piper Rayne
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Trouble with #9 by Piper Rayne
challenging
emotional
sad
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? Yes
3.5
I liked them as a couple bit really disliked all the little fights and miscommunications. Also I wanted to slap Maksim a few times, we get it you don't like psychologists but please stop bashing your girlfriend's career every chance you get for gods sake! 🙄
My Lucky #13 by Piper Rayne
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? Yes
4.0
The Doctor by Nikki Sloane
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Huck by Lulu Moore
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
**Some spoilers ahead so read at your own discretion**
This book was very confusing and slow in the beginning. I struggled with all the different characters, politics and trips happening. I'm very much in this world because I started to read this series for the first time, the day this book came out and read one after another so most things were fresh in my mind but still I felt lost many times and I've seen that this has been common in a lot of readers.
After I got through the first 25% of this book, the middle part just felt like a bunch of filler chapters, some things felt unnecessary and others weren't elaborated as much as they needed to be.
One thing I liked though was getting more of the side characters like Ridoc being more Ridoc than usual and Andarna and her teenage snarkiness that I love so much. The dragons are always my favorite part of the books. I disliked Cat a lot in the previous book, not because she was the ex but because her only storyline was being the ex and I hate that kind of plot/drama, it felt unnecessary. So it wasn't the characters fault, it was more the way RY used her but she kinda got a redemption in this book (at least for me) and she became bearable, even funny at times and I liked that but I hate what they did to her when she was finally moving on from her Xaden obsession. I won't forgive you for that RY. This book also added Halden and I was worried he would be the male version of Cat's storyline but thank God that was over pretty quickly and we could move on to other things.
I cried a couple of times in this book, something that hasn't happened since Liam's death in the first one. But I have to admit that Andarna's storyline with the Irids and the scene with Imogen and Quinn broke me!
And that end! I hated that because I hate cliffhangers. I know all her books end with one but this will be my first time having to wait for the next book and I just found out the writer is taking a break so I don't know how I'll survive. I just really hope this cliffhanger pays off in the next book.
I'm not saying this is the best book of all time because it's definitely not but at least, it's better than the previous one. However Fourth Wing will always be the best!
My rating is a solid 4⭐ and the spice was just a mild 2.5🌶️
This book was very confusing and slow in the beginning. I struggled with all the different characters, politics and trips happening. I'm very much in this world because I started to read this series for the first time, the day this book came out and read one after another so most things were fresh in my mind but still I felt lost many times and I've seen that this has been common in a lot of readers.
After I got through the first 25% of this book, the middle part just felt like a bunch of filler chapters, some things felt unnecessary and others weren't elaborated as much as they needed to be.
One thing I liked though was getting more of the side characters like Ridoc being more Ridoc than usual and Andarna and her teenage snarkiness that I love so much. The dragons are always my favorite part of the books. I disliked Cat a lot in the previous book, not because she was the ex but because her only storyline was being the ex and I hate that kind of plot/drama, it felt unnecessary. So it wasn't the characters fault, it was more the way RY used her but she kinda got a redemption in this book (at least for me) and she became bearable, even funny at times and I liked that but I hate what they did to her when she was finally moving on from her Xaden obsession. I won't forgive you for that RY. This book also added Halden and I was worried he would be the male version of Cat's storyline but thank God that was over pretty quickly and we could move on to other things.
I cried a couple of times in this book, something that hasn't happened since Liam's death in the first one. But I have to admit that Andarna's storyline with the Irids and the scene with Imogen and Quinn broke me!
And that end! I hated that because I hate cliffhangers. I know all her books end with one but this will be my first time having to wait for the next book and I just found out the writer is taking a break so I don't know how I'll survive. I just really hope this cliffhanger pays off in the next book.
I'm not saying this is the best book of all time because it's definitely not but at least, it's better than the previous one. However Fourth Wing will always be the best!
My rating is a solid 4⭐ and the spice was just a mild 2.5🌶️