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alexatthelake's reviews
706 reviews
The Offing by Roz Nay
4.0
You know what I love about books? When they totally surprise you and leave your mind spinning. I will admit (even though I don't want to) that I felt this book moved quite slow, with nothing exciting happening and continuously wondered where it was going and when it was going to take off - because we know Roz Nay and know she loves doing that to us.
That is ultimately why I continued with this book, because I trusted Roz to destroy my psyche. The last 25% of this book was just ridiculous. With every reveal, I kept asking myself 'what in the world is happening'.
That is ultimately why I continued with this book, because I trusted Roz to destroy my psyche. The last 25% of this book was just ridiculous. With every reveal, I kept asking myself 'what in the world is happening'.
The Arrangement by Robyn Harding
5.0
Who would have guessed I'd need a thriller about Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies? I sure had no idea I needed it in my life, but did I ever! If anyone has suggestions of other books like this, please let me know because The Arrangement was phenomenal.
I had no idea where this book was going, and even when I started putting small pieces together, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. This book is SO easy to binge because you simply need to know what's happening next. Might be my favourite book of Robyn Harding's!
I had no idea where this book was going, and even when I started putting small pieces together, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. This book is SO easy to binge because you simply need to know what's happening next. Might be my favourite book of Robyn Harding's!
Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Cavanagh
5.0
What an original, epic thriller! It takes a lot for me to really be impressed and blown away by a thriller but this one was it. I don't think I've ever read anything like this, with any plot line similar and that was SO refreshing. It's common to say in thrillers that it takes you on twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat, but it truly did. My mind was absolutely spinning while listening to this - the audio is so good!
The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
5.0
Absolute perfection. That's all this review needs because it was just SO GOOD. I love Christina Lauren's writing and her characters more than most. Even though the tropes in this book weren't my favourite and I'm pretty over the fake dating plots, this book blew me away and will receive a top notch review for the year.
Dare I say this is now my favourite Christina Lauren book!
Dare I say this is now my favourite Christina Lauren book!
The Rule Book by Sarah Adams
4.0
I will openly admit that I was worried about starting this book at this time because I was in a serious romance burnout/slump. I assumed I'd be rolling my eyes and skimming pages, because I was just over the romances and the tropes. I'm so happy that this book blew my expectations away, it was so cute and sweet and sassy. Sarah Adams is a gem!
Always Only You by Chloe Liese
4.0
I started this series a long time ago, and for whatever reason didn't continue with it. I don't remember much from the first book in the series, except that I did quite enjoy it. This one remind me why I love Chloe Liese's writing and her characters. However, there were definitely a few things that nagged at me and bothered me, but nothing enough to not continue with this family series!
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
Truly, how do you review books you just love? All I want to do is talk about how much I loved it and tell others to go read it, but I know I need to try to explain WHY I feel this way. I will say this I think this will slot into third spot on my Carley Fortune favourites list BUT!!! I think that's just because I loved her previous books so unbelievably much and I think I didn't read this book at the best time when I could sit down and properly focus on it. I have the audio and I look forward to experiencing it again through that format.
Firstly - I was very honestly relieved when this book took a different path than her other two. For those who have read all 3, you know what I'm talking about and if you don't know, read all her books. It was just refreshing. In saying that, I did feel like the story was a little repetitive and I understand why we needed it to build the story, but I just wanted to get to the juicy bits, you know? Because we all know Carley knows how to break us down and put us back together in all the best ways. This book really explores the beauty of female friendships, but also the hardships we experience throughout adulthood in our friendships/relationships. It just touched on a topic that really isn't covered much for whatever reason in romance novels and it was beautiful.
Now - the romance. It was just glorious. There was so much tension and build up throughout the whole thing, I needed to know every single thing about both of them and their journey immediately. I won't go into detail over it because we all know it'll be amazing. My favourite part though - the BEAUTIFUL and incredible description of Prince Edward Island. A piece of my heart will always live on that little island as well and reading this book was like a little secret trip there. Loved everything.
Firstly - I was very honestly relieved when this book took a different path than her other two. For those who have read all 3, you know what I'm talking about and if you don't know, read all her books. It was just refreshing. In saying that, I did feel like the story was a little repetitive and I understand why we needed it to build the story, but I just wanted to get to the juicy bits, you know? Because we all know Carley knows how to break us down and put us back together in all the best ways. This book really explores the beauty of female friendships, but also the hardships we experience throughout adulthood in our friendships/relationships. It just touched on a topic that really isn't covered much for whatever reason in romance novels and it was beautiful.
Now - the romance. It was just glorious. There was so much tension and build up throughout the whole thing, I needed to know every single thing about both of them and their journey immediately. I won't go into detail over it because we all know it'll be amazing. My favourite part though - the BEAUTIFUL and incredible description of Prince Edward Island. A piece of my heart will always live on that little island as well and reading this book was like a little secret trip there. Loved everything.
Every Time I Go on Vacation, Someone Dies by Catherine Mack
3.0
Such an original concept for a book! Initially, I was obsessed and loving it! While I still very much enjoyed it, the characters were all terrible and it seemed to really drag for a lot of it. I think the audiobook is the way to go for this one, as I think some of the footnotes and such that are included would have been difficult to read through.
The cover definitely through me off, even though I knew it wasn't a cozy happy book, the cover got me. It's definitely more of a cozy, fun mystery than a thriller by any means. I did laugh a lot through the book, at the silly characters, and I was caught off guard a few times, so I did enjoy it and will definitely continue with it if it's a series (which I think it is), but it just wasn't my absolute favourite.
The cover definitely through me off, even though I knew it wasn't a cozy happy book, the cover got me. It's definitely more of a cozy, fun mystery than a thriller by any means. I did laugh a lot through the book, at the silly characters, and I was caught off guard a few times, so I did enjoy it and will definitely continue with it if it's a series (which I think it is), but it just wasn't my absolute favourite.
Wild Love by Elsie Silver
5.0
Stick with me through this review, because it's not going to start out glowing as it should. I'm going to admit that the beginning and much of the middle felt slow and dragged out, with a few things that didn't hit the mark for me. This is HIGHLY unusual for an Elsie Silver book, so I'm wondering if it was a timing thing for me or if this just wasn't the cowboy rodeo I know and love. NEEDLESS TO SAY - I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the characters. The last half of the book blew me away and reminded me just how much I adore Silver's writing and her love stories. This is why I sometimes have a hard time abandoning a book, because I just LOVE when the ending of a book turns the whole thing around and makes me reflect on the other half I didn't love as much and changes my opinion on it all.
The banter between the two main characters in this book is pretty much what sets my world on fire.
The banter between the two main characters in this book is pretty much what sets my world on fire.
One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan
4.0
I think it's funny, but interesting how differently I'll rate thrillers versus romance or historical fiction. It sounds terrible but it's almost like I don't expect as much from them, which isn't fair. But here we are. This book is getting 4 stars, even though it wasn't anything life changing or overly memorable in the world of thrillers, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and was interested throughout the whole book. It didn't really have my heart racing much and I wasn't super on the edge of my seat, but I was consistently interested in finding out the end and had me guessing for much of it.