antigoniselena's reviews
272 reviews

Peril in Pink by Sydney Leigh
Did not finish book.

AUDIOBOOK 

10 minutes into listening to this novel, i absolutely hated it. Who wrote this? No one talks like this... it sounds like a GEN Xer trying to write Millennials or Gen Z. 

Falling in Line by Kasey Stockton

hopeful fast-paced

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

2.0

 RATING: 2/5
GENRE: Romance, Small Town
TROPE: Second Chance Romance
SPICE: NA

"Falling in Line" by Kasey Stockton delves into the intricacies of small-town romance, capturing the essence of southern charm and the complexities of familial bonds. At the heart of the narrative is June, a character grappling with her past and the fear of repeating it.

June's decision to leave Arcardia Creek, stemmed from a deep-seated fear of abandonment, mirroring her mother's departure years earlier. Ironically, her departure echoed the very act she sought to avoid, leaving her father and fiancé, Tucker, behind. As June's father undergoes knee surgery, she finds herself compelled to return to her hometown after four years away.

Back in the familiar embrace of her town, June's journey unfolds as she confronts her past and reconciles with her loved ones. Her return not only reignites her relationship with her father but also sparks a rekindling of feelings with Tucker, her ex-fiancé. As June navigates the intricacies of love and forgiveness, she rediscovers the profound connection she shares with her hometown, ultimately finding solace and a sense of belonging in the place she once feared to call home.

While "Falling in Line" captures the small-town romance essence, I found the narrator for Tucker's to be quite awful. His voice felt forced and dry, making it hard to connect with his character. Additionally, while the novel portrays the charm of a small southern town, I felt the innocence portrayed was overly saccharine. I wished for more depth in character interactions and dialogue befitting adults, as the novel fell short in this aspect for me.

      *** I received this book as a gift from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*** 

Walk of Shame by Avery Flynn

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

 

RATING: 3/5 

GENRE: Romance, Sports Romance 

TROPE: Forced Proximity, Hot Neighbour 

SPICE: 3/5 

The novel begins with Astrid being left at the alter by her professional hockey player fiancé, Tig Jones. After the whole ordeal, Astrid swears off hockey players and honestly anything hockey even putting a “Hockey Jar” in the bar she sometimes worked at to keep it away from her… Then she meets Cal while working and has an amazing one night stand turns into having to see him everyday because he works for her dad…. 

I want to mention that Astrid as a character is funny and tough and i really loved how she was written but otherwise this novel was just flat and boring. The only redeemable quality was the spice. If you’re looking for something that is easy, fluffy and has spice then I recommend this book but the romance isn’t even that deep for me. 

Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair by Laura Piper Lee

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

4.5

 

RATING: 4.5/5 

SPICE: 1/5 

GENRE: Romance, General Fiction 

TROPE: Forced proximity, Hot neighbour 

I want to start off by saying, for a fluffy romance novel this book has so much more going for it. From needing to start over (with a baby no less), needing to move back in with your mom, start your career from the bottom… there was more than just a fluffy romance in these pages. 

This book made me laugh, it made me cry. It touched on complicated Mother-Daughter relationships, single parenthood, and ultimately pick yourself up and repairing post-chaos life has thrown at you. 

The C*ck Down The Block by Amy Award

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.25

 

RATING : 4.5/5 

SPICE: 2/5 

GENRE: Romance, Plus Size, Sports 

TROPE: Fake Dating, Friends-to-Lovers, Virgin Trope 

I want to start off by saying that I am someone who is picky and critical when it comes to the books I read, and more so when it comes to the tropes. That’s why this book was has a 5-Star rating for me, as it has done something that no book has managed to do for me: Change my opinion on a trope. 

Firstly, I couldn’t put this book down. I have been eyeing this title for a while because it has a lot of the elements I look for when trying to decide what to add to my TBR. Romance? Check. Plus size Romance? Check. And I have been recently dabbling my hand in the Sports Romance genre and this book fit the bill. Especially after the Superbowl! Perfect read. 

Trixie (MC) and Chris (LI) have been friends for a long time and when Trixie is faced with a few Mean Girls who peaked in High School, she lies and tells them that in fact she and Chris are dating. Let the FAKE DATING scheme commence! 

Now, back to my VIRGINITY TROPE comment, please note below there are some MILD spoilers. 

Trixie hasn’t had it hard because she a plus size gal and men “don’t desire” plus size babes. That is what most of the books I have encountered with the plus size characters and the virginity trope imply. In this case, the reason for Trixie being a virgin so long is that her mom was a porn star. The novel explains that due to the over-sexualization of her mother, she often came across guys who would overly sexualize her in association to her mom. For example, she had a long time boyfriend, and when they were at the moment to have sex for the first time he suggested they put on porn FEATURING HER MOM! What are are men?!?!?! Honestly though, its something I can picture a man suggesting. It made it so real and the explanation super understandable… I also enjoyed how her loosing her virginity wasn’t a huge planned out magical spectacle. I won’t describe it here because… it was HOT. 

Not Your Crush's Cauldron by April Asher

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

 RATING: 5/5
SPICE: 3.5/5
GENRE: Romance, Plus-Size, Witchy, Spicy
TROPE: Friends-to-Lovers

​

I absolutely loved reading this. I don’t know what it is about this year, but the books have just been hitting! This is the third book in the Supernatural Singles series by April Asher. The series focused on three plus size witch-sisters and their stories of falling in love. I have absolutely loved Asher’s previous novels, but this one really takes the cake. Olive is the timid teacher who moves in with her Angel friend Bax. He offered up his spare room to Olive knowing that she wasn’t in the safest living environment. There are definitely some sexy encounters that start from the moment she moves in… The trouble starts when Bax is assigned to be Olive’s Guardian Angel. There are three rules to being a guardian angel, and one of those rules, and most important one is DO NOT FALL IN LOVE with your assignment. Oops!
This read was fun and romantic and sexy. Asher writes very well and I really commend her on making the characters (and dialogue) feel very real. April Asher should be added to your “instant-buy” authors. She is for me.

​*** I received this book as a gift from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*** 

Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner

2.75

 So there is a lot to say about this book. Firstly, I did get this as an audiobook over the summer and withing a few minutes the narrator did not get me into it, so i left it on the back burner… The only reason I decided to push through and give this a chance (which honestly i am glad i did) is because i had zero pending audiobooks on NetGalley, and i had a week to wait for my next Audible credit. Anyway, so i restarted the book and it did start off really well. The story is a dual POV bouncing between young smart Cassie and distinguished and beautiful Erin. Cassie is avoiding parent’s weekend at her University because her family won’t be there and it isn’t really her thing, so she hits on the sexy older woman at the bar, Erin. Honestly, other than the wild sex they have in the car, it is a very good one night stand between two women. The problems begin with the drama… turns out the reason Erin was even at the bar is that it is parents weekend and she was there to see her daughter… but her daughter was spending that evening with her dad. Oh and that daughter so happens to be Cassie’s newest best friend. The plot is definitely THICK and dramatic. The whole relationship honestly gave me anxiety from that point forward, but that was beside the point; and honestly the premise and sex scenes were probably the best parts of this book. The issues I had with the novel are firstly, Parker (Erin’s adult daughter) acting like an immature child the entire time, making it hard to reconcile the fact that Cassie is both in a mature relationship with Erin and also friends with Parker. Then you have the god-awful dialogue and internal monologue and overall narration. If you don’t care for much of those details and just want some decently written sapphic sex, then pick up this book but if you need there to be some substance and good writing you should pick up something else. 

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

4.75

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

Awful writing. Dialogue made me cringe 

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

 

I am a big fan of Ashley Herring Blake and this series. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is the third book in the series, preceded by Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail. Just like the first two books in the series, I devoured this one. It was so much fun and easy to read. It’s one of those books that you read when you’ve just been in a slump and want something fun and quick paced to read. Just as the previous novels, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is a sapphic romance between just-for-a-good-time Iris and extremely-shy-and-vomit-anxious Stevie. The two have a “Meet-Cute” turned awkward before being thrown together being co-romantic-leads in a play. This book has hits so many checkboxes for me. Fake dating? Check. LGBTQ+ rep? Check. Bi-sexual trauma? Check. And even the added drama of Ex-Lovers to Friends being thrown in. It kept me intrigued throughout the entire book, not wanting to put the book down AND THERE WAS SPICE! Not a huge amount, but it definitely like a step up from the first two books in the series. I also want to mention, that it wasn’t just a fluff novel, and there were some very moving and deep moments regarding self-worth and how one’s sexuality can be so overly sexualized that it dehumanizes. 

This was a wonderful book and so glad it was my first book of 2024 because I really started the year on a great foot.