amateur_bookworm's reviews
592 reviews

3.25

The Naughtier List by Jade West is the second book of her Naughtier and Naughtier series. And if all of that doesn’t tell you exactly what this book is mostly composed of, then, well, maybe it’s not for you.

I haven’t read a mostly smut book in a while. So when I saw a post about this book and quite a discussion about some, ahem, unhygienic activities in it, I ran straight to Kindle Unlimited and downloaded it. And, honestly, I’m really not sure I want to unpack that at any point. But, I digress.

The writing is … not good. lol. Shocker, I know. But it starts with a bang (after a bang, and then another bang) so it drew me in right off the bat. Overall, I don’t necessarily regret reading it. I liked some parts, some parts were hot, a lot of parts were just gross, and a lot of the storyline was a bit much.

All I could think about with Josh and Ella starting to date are the scenes from A Million Ways to Die in the West with the ~~hooker~~ and her boyfriend. And it was hard to get past that tbh.

Content Warnings

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead is a fictional true crime tell-all style narrative of an amateur sleuth pulled into a high-profile murder investigation, all while making peace with the death of her father from a sudden heart attack.

Although this is a work of fiction, the author draws on real-life cases and it really gives the story a believable feel. I found myself often wondering throughout the book which elements were “real” from the actual cases and which were fictional. The author said she included elements from the cases of the University of Idaho, Gabby Petition, Golden State Killer, and Abraham Shakespeare cases.

Overall, this one definitely kept me in suspense and I enjoyed it. I’ve gravitated from reading mostly thrillers to now reading mostly romance. So when I do read a thriller now, I feel extra gullible and never see the twists coming. This book was no exception and took turns I wasn’t expecting all the way through the end.

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Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

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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

5.0

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood is a standalone college sports romance with spice. It features a college diver during her junior year at Stanford as she navigates school, diving, and a budding romance with a college swimmer. Ali’s working title for this book was Whet, so spice is clearly a central theme in this one.

Honestly, at this point Ali Hazelwood could write a phone book and I’d read it. As she claims that each of her latest books are becoming more and more unpublishable, I am loving them all. Her typical formula is still here with a smart, science-y petite woman and a very scowly and very large male love interest. This one feels much different than her original few books though. The writing feels chaotic, almost like you’re listening in on someone’s jumbled mind. So it took me a bit to find the rhythm of the writing, but I really enjoyed it once I did.

I love how painfully introverted Scarlett is, as I can totally relate. I really enjoyed watching her journey through this book while grappling with, well, everything in her life. From school struggles to diving struggles to a confusing romance. Normally I feel too old to read college romances but I didn’t feel like that at all with this one. And I absolutely loved Lukas’s character. He was the perfect male main character and I was definitely channeling my inner-IKEA to try to read his words in a Swedish accent in my mind.

Overall, I loved this one but this definitely may not be for everyone. If you’re not a fan of spice, then you may not enjoy it.

Content Warnings

PS: I Hate You by Lauren Connolly

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emotional funny reflective sad 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? No

5.0

PS, I Hate You by Lauren Connelly is a very bittersweet story and I absolutely adored listening to this audiobook. It’s a story of a heartwarming second chance romance, but also the poignant story of a sister grieving her brother who was taken all too soon by cancer.

The narrator is Karissa Vacker and she does an incredible job performing this audiobook. Her voice inflections, emphasis and pacing are perfectly on point. I’m honestly not sure how I’d have felt if I’d read the story versus listening to the audiobook. I don’t know if I would’ve liked it, either as much or even at all. But the delivery of the story by the narrator really made this one happen for me.

I do appreciate the premise of the story, especially if you’ve ever lost a loved one all too soon. Going on a scavenger hunt of sorts to locations that person picked and then reading a letter from them in each place sounds like a gift of *almost* being able to spend just a bit more time with them in a way. Lots of parts in this story hit me hard, especially every time “having regrets” was mentioned, as it’s so easy to feel those regrets when someone close to you passes away. So have that drink with that friend, or make that phone call to chat with a family member, because you never know when it could be the last. Ah, man. And now I just made this sad. Yes, there are sad parts of the book but also really sweet parts too. I definitely recommend the audiobook of this one.

Content Warnings

He's To Die For by Erin Dunn

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

He’s to Die For by Erin Dunn is a blend of romance and mystery. The lead homicide detective falls for his prime suspect in this MM romance. It’s witty and I actually laughed out loud at times while reading it. A romance with an average Joe and a celebrity is always a good time.

The mystery of the case kept the story interesting. And with the descriptions of Jack Vale and his music, I’m pretty sure that I was swooning for him. No wonder Rav fell for him, career be damned. Overall, I really liked this one and especially enjoyed the humor in it.

Content Warnings

The Runaways by Devney Perry

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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

4.5

I used one of my Audible credits on The Highways by Devney Perry because it’s like getting five books for one credit. She was also on my author TBR list.

I really enjoyed each of the books here. It is really bittersweet to hear the backstory of how these six characters came together as runaways as teens but it was also really gratifying to see each one’s redemption arc and finding (or returning to) their true love.

The narrators are overall really great. I definitely enjoyed some more than others, but the performances were all overall well done

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Iron Flame (Part 1 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous 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? No

5.0

I’ve already read this before but I wanted to listen to the audiobook before Onyx Storm is released. I love the Graphic Audio version with the full cast. I do think the sound effects were a bit much at times, particularly the spicy scenes. But I enjoy how this version really makes the story come alive.

Content Warnings

Iron Flame (2 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation] by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous 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? No

5.0

Content Warnings

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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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? No

5.0

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros is the third book of her Empyrean series. The series is expected to be five books in total and there is no announced release date for the next book at this time (but rumors are 2027!!).

I absolutely love this book and it completely blew me away. There is SO MUCH packed into this one that I was pulled into it right off the bat. I really took my time reading. I felt like I was going back and rereading almost every passage to try to understand every little detail. I was a bit disappointed with Iron Flame so I wasn’t too sure what to expect—but Onyx Storm far exceeded any expectation I had for it.

I love that each book so far in this series widens the world building but it all makes sense. Rebecca Yarros has fed the details to us just enough at a time that I mostly understand it all (except for Lewellen. Who/what/where is Lewellen??!? Please, we need answers here.)

It’s really hard for me to not *immediately* go back and reread this one. I want to start again and really try to wrap my head around everything that has happened. It might just take me until the next book’s release of the series to try to understand it all!

Content Warnings

Fall Into You by J.T. Geissinger

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

Fall Into You by J. T. Geissinger is the second book of her Morally Gray duet. When it first started, I had to go back and see if I was even on the right book because nothing was the same as book one. But I quickly figured out that the story just switched brothers.

I liked it through most of it. The one night stand was hot. Then the awkwardness of landing a new job and finding out your boss is the one night stand. I was enjoying Shay and Cole falling for each other.

But then the twist hit. Everything felt off and rushed after that point. I’m honestly kind of annoyed and I feel like I wasted an Audible credit. Oh well.

Content Warnings

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amateur_bookworm's reviews 592 reviews

amateur_bookworm's reviews
592 reviews