amateur_bookworm's reviews
610 reviews

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Bridesmaid for Hire by Meghan Quinn is the first book of her series by the same name. It is a contemporary romance and romcom.

Meghan Quinn is always good for a laugh-out-loud and lighthearted romance. And after the last suspense/mystery book I read, I’m needing this right now.

This one is hilarious. I actually laughed or snorted out loud at quite a few parts in this book. I read this, but I think it would probably make a pretty entertaining audiobook.

I’ll be honest though. Brody ruined this book for me. Maggie (and also somehow Jude?) saved it for me. Brody is such an incompetent pushover. Like, he is everything in a main male character that annoys me. Some of his parts had me considering a DNF. But Maggie kept me hanging in there. And I liked Haisley and Jude who were great, down to earth side characters. Also, the brothers Hudson and Hardy were mildly amusing.

I’m glad I’ve read both the Almond Bay and Cane Brothers series before this. It really adds to the storyline here with the tie-ins from the other books. It’s absolutely not necessary to have read the other two series first, but it does give you some nice little Easter eggs if you’ve read the other books.

Content Warnings

When in Rome by Sarah Adams

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funny lighthearted 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

When in Rome by Sarah Adams is the first book of her series by the same name. It is a lightheaded, easy listening contemporary romance.

Sarah Adams is always good for a cute and fun read (or listen!). And she usually doesn’t have much open door romance content in her books, if spice is not your favorite. I’ve already listened to the third book of the series and I really enjoyed the audiobook so I went back to listen to this one too. (So they can be read as interconnected standalone with only minor spoilers for other books in the series.)

I like Karissa Vacker as the female narrator in this book. She does a great job with Amelia’s part. And although Andrew Eiden isn’t one of my favorite male narrators, he’s fine in this audiobook as Noah.

Overall, this one is a cute listen. Some parts had me cracking up. I enjoyed the storyline of the super famous pop star hiding out in the small town. I liked that Noah was so non-plussed with her celebrity status. Noah’s close relationship with his sisters really adds to the story. But I honestly got a bit bored towards the end. And I was fairly annoyed with Amelia’s incompetence at life quite a few times. But I did enjoy this one and I do plan on listening to the second book in the series soon.

Content Warnings

Green Light by Jescie Hall

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dark medium-paced

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

4.0

Green Light by Jescie Hall is a dark romance. I doubt I ever would’ve picked this one up if it hadn’t come in my Probably Smut book box. It was my first book that I’ve read by her and although this one hadn’t been on my radar, there is another of hers on my TBR.

This is just another really f—ked up dark romance book that I ended up DEVOURING. As in, I could not put this book down for some reason. And it was all I was thinking about while I wasn’t reading it.

But, overall? I don’t even know. This book is …. something, that’s for sure. I mean, it had me entertained and flipping pages. But, *deep sigh* there’s a lot that I really didn’t like about it. I read another dark romance right after this one and I’ve come to the conclusion that I actually prefer more of a gray romance than a dark romance. Is that a thing? *I* think it should be, at least.

The characters in here are almost wholly unlikable. I really couldn’t connect with either of them. They did grow on me a bit as the story moved along and you hear more of their individual backstories. But a lot of things that happen in this book are just, no. Just, no. But somehow a few scenes were still a little bit hot? I also could not get past some of the implausibility in the plot (like, how do police not get involved at SO MANY points in the story here?).

This one is definitely recommended only with A LOT of reservations.

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Crossroads 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? No

4.0

Crossroads by Devney Perry is a contemporary romance and is the first book of her Haven River Ranch series. It’s a great second chance romance.

First of all, I just LOVE the narrators. I could listen to both of them for days. I mean, I kind of did, but you get my point. Samantha Brentmoor is also the narrator of Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver, which I just listened to and she did an incredible job with that one. She does an excellent job in this one too. And Connor Crais is great too but I can’t place him in any other audiobooks that I’ve listened to. It’s not often that I find an audiobook where I love both the narrators, and this is one of those rare gems.

I really enjoyed the flashbacks to see Indya and West’s relationship develop in snapshots of the summers they spent together. And, oh man. My heart just broke for Indya from the first time she left a voicemail on her dad’s phone. I loved the ranch setting and Indya’s work at the resort. And who doesn’t love a gruff cowboy and rancher?!

Content Warnings

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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mysterious 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? No

4.5

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore is a historical suspense/mystery set at a summer camp in the Adirondack woods. The story is told across multiple timelines, spanning from the 1950s to 1975.

I really enjoyed this one! I feel like I’m a bit late to the party for this book, but better late than never. (Plus, this book won the BOTM 2024 Lolly award for the best book of the year, which means I got a free copy of it in my March box).

There are a lot of characters. And a lot of time jumps. But it all works (mostly because the timeline at the beginning of each chapter is a huge help).

I love that this one really kept me in suspense. It feels like everyone is a suspect and everyone has something to hide. So many strong possibilities (in both missing children’s cases). I love thrillers like this where anyone could be a probable suspect! The characters and the plot all had a good amount of depth to them, which is great. And I liked seeing all the pieces come together in the end.

Content Warnings

Irreparable Harm by Melissa F. Miller

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mysterious tense 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

4.5

Irreparable Harm by Melissa F. Miller is the first book of her Sasha McCandless series. I really enjoyed this one! It’s a great, easy reading legal thriller. There are currently fifteen books published in this series to date.

Sasha McCandless is a small but mighty badass! I love reading strong female main characters and Sasha is such a good one. Between her legal prowess and Krav Maga skills, she’s basically unstoppable. Leo Connelly is a great supporting side character. I definitely had questions about him as the story went on, which just added to the intrigue of the plot. This book definitely took some twists that I did not see coming, which is always great as a reader. After this introduction to Sasha, I’ll definitely be reading more of this series.

If you haven’t read this series yet, I definitely recommend it for any fans of the Tracey Crosswhite series by Robert Dugoni. Or any fans of legal thrillers.

Content Warnings

Leave Me Behind by K.M. Moronova

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

Leave Me Behind by K. M. Moronova is a dark romance and is the Probably Smut book box pick for March 2025. It’s centered around members of a dark/underground military. Trigger warnings abound for this one and I suggest you definitely review them before heading into this.

Ok. Let’s talk about the setting and premise of this book. It’s about the dark forces military. What is that, you ask? It’s an underground subsection of the military that’s secret from the regular military, composed of individuals who committed heinous crimes and are put here instead of in prison, and they’re assigned to do the dirty work ops for which the government won’t publicly acknowledge responsibility.

My copy came with a bookmark that said “Getting personally victimized by this book right now” and that’s a very accurate statement. I wanted to like this book. I tried really, really hard to like this book. But it just is not for me. I liked it less and less as it went on. Bully romance is not my jam and this is the second one I’ve read in a short period of time, so maybe that’s part of it.

So, although, this is not MY cup of tea, I’m sure it is someone’s (a lot of someones, based on the Goodreads and StoryGraph overall ratings). So, let’s break down what I did like. I found the story to be engaging and read through it pretty quickly. The idea of the dark forces military is a good one. And I really wanted to sort out what really happened in Patagonia, which is the opening scene, so I was intrigued in that storyline. I also like that the author gave a warning upfront that some of the weapons and scenarios are highly unrealistic. That made me think of it as more of a fantasy book than a military romance and that helped a lot. There are definitely several twists in here that I did NOT see coming so I like that.

Now, on to what I didn’t like. The characters aren’t likable. That makes it tough for me to enjoy it. There is some smut but it’s so brutal that it’s not anything I enjoy reading. And I know it’s supposed to be a dark romance, but I didn’t find any romance in here. But mostly, the plot took some turns that I just cannot get on board with. Also, there are several grammatical errors and some words whose meaning didn’t fit the sentence, making me think they are typos.

Content Warnings

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

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funny lighthearted 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

Beg, Borrow or Steal by Sarah Adams is a cute enemies to lovers romance set in the small town of Rome, Kentucky.

This story is sweet and funny. I actually laughed out loud at a few parts. I really love Brittany Pressley’s narration here. I think she does a great job. I’m a sucker for any “he falls first” romance and this one delivers. I mean, GUYS. He called off his wedding and moved back to town to steal her coffee shop table on a Saturday so SHE’D HAVE TO SIT WITH HIM. Ahhh. Swoony.

I really enjoyed this one! The ending got a bit boring for me once it got to the mushy gushy part of the story. I know Sarah Adams has other books set in Rome, Kentucky so I plan on reading (or listening) to those as well soon.

Variation by Rebecca Yarros

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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? No

5.0

Variation by Rebecca Yarros is a contemporary romance. Let me tell you, do I hate the wait between the Empyrean series books, but WOW, do I love her contemporary romances too! This is a fantastic book. Allie and Hudson both had my heart right from the start and I loved seeing their second chance romance unfold.

I was immediately pulled in by this story and it didn’t let up until the very last page. I love Allie’s strength and resilience. Hudson is just the most tender-hearted badass. One of my favorite parts of the story is definitely Sadie the Golden Retriever. And Juniper was a delight that tied everything together. Anne is also one of my quiet favorites here too.

I don’t know a whole lot about the culture of ballet but I’m afraid this is likely pretty realistic. I think Rebecca Yarros did a great job showcasing the beauty and the treachery of it. Ballet isn’t something that I’d normally enjoy but this left me wanting to go watch a professional performance. At the very least, it leaves me with a healthy respect for what the dancers go through to put on a beautiful show.

I put this one off a bit because I saw it involved a coast guard rescue swimmer and immediately equated that with it having a tragic and emotional storyline related to that. But don’t worry, albeit there are a few heart stopping rescue moments, all the tragedy here lies in other unrelated aspects. My only regret with this book is waiting so long to read it because I worried it was going to be a tearjerker. But no tears were shed and I really enjoyed this one.

Content Warnings

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

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slow-paced

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

2.0

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes is a fiction novel that follows a family through some highs and lows. Set in London, Lila and her family cope with everything life keeps tossing their way. Jojo Moyes is a British novelist. I was very happy to have read this on my Kindle where I could look up unfamiliar terms as I read. At least I did learn quite a few new British words, phrases and slang the way.

My favorite part of this book was following teenage Celie as she found her way in life. Her character arc is frankly the only redeeming aspect of this book for me. This book is also a good reminder that life does have highs and lows, and it’s best to embrace the highs and find glimmers of happiness in the lows. Sometimes you just need to put the top down and cruise around with great music until you feel better.

But this was overall slow paced and not very enjoyable for me. I’ve previously read two other books by Jojo Moyes that I loved and I had high hopes for this one. But it left me feeling disappointed and frustrated. I actually gave up for awhile and read a different book in the middle of reading this, then had to come back and finish it up before my library due date. Otherwise, I’m not sure I would’ve finished it.

There are a lot of characters being tossed at you. Lots of long-winded and unrelated bits to the story (who cares about the telenovella plot?! It was literally never tied in at all.) But, mostly, my issue is that infidelity is a central theme with the ending message being “everyone makes mistakes, let’s just all be a big, happy family”. And, somehow lying is fine if it’s to an older and unhealthy person? Yeah. Really not a fan of some of the messages here. (Don’t get me started on the nude painting of Lila’s mother painted by her stepdad and hung in their living room. Or alluding to Gramps having an adult video on YouTube.)

Unfortunately, this one is mostly a miss for me.

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amateur_bookworm's reviews 610 reviews

amateur_bookworm's reviews
610 reviews