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aspineline's Reviews (412)
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review! I have come to have really high expectations for Lisa Jewell books—and this one didn’t quite deliver. Don’t Let Him In is a multi POV Dirty John-adjacent romp that just proves men are awful 💀 I have always liked Jewell’s writing style. Her punchy, short chapters with eerie cliffhangers always compel me to keep reading. But I didn’t connect here with the….I hesitate to even use the word *mystery*, because there wasn’t one…the story?? I kept waiting for a twist, or something that would really grip me. But this played out like a traditional story of a conman that wasn’t unique or exciting. There was nothing really happening, just lots of details on how ‘Nick’ aka trashbag sociopath swindled so many women (again, men are awful). The passages from Nick’s POV did get under my skin, but if you are hoping for a heart pounding thriller, I believe this will fall flat.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ Ali Hazelwood…I want to kiss your brain! Does this woman sleep?? For her to churn this out merely two months after my beloved Deep End—my jaw is on the floor.
This is going to be my go-to recommendation for a steamy beach read this summer. It involves an age-gap romance between early twenties Maya and Colin, Maya’s brother’s best friend and business partner (in his late thirties 🔥). The angst and tension depicted here was NEXT LEVEL. And the intimacy!! Every spicy scene served to increase their connection. It wasn’t just sex thrown in to appease the reader. There was a purpose for all of it. There’s also a dual timeline mystery that hints at why Maya and Colin haven’t been speaking leading up Maya’s brother’s Italian wedding. And speaking of Italy, the escapist setting is another main character. Ali transports the reader to Taormina—the perfect spot for a beach read!
The connection to other pairings in Ali’s bookverse made me
gasp. How fun! I also liked how Maya was confident and a different type of FMC compared to Ali’s other books (where tbh they often feel like the same person, different font). This book was also laugh-out-loud funny. I typically find her characters to be too neurotic and/or dorky (eeek sorry) but I bookmarked so many hilarious passages here. This might be in my top 3 Ali Hazelwoods! A standing ovation for this woman.
This is going to be my go-to recommendation for a steamy beach read this summer. It involves an age-gap romance between early twenties Maya and Colin, Maya’s brother’s best friend and business partner (in his late thirties 🔥). The angst and tension depicted here was NEXT LEVEL. And the intimacy!! Every spicy scene served to increase their connection. It wasn’t just sex thrown in to appease the reader. There was a purpose for all of it. There’s also a dual timeline mystery that hints at why Maya and Colin haven’t been speaking leading up Maya’s brother’s Italian wedding. And speaking of Italy, the escapist setting is another main character. Ali transports the reader to Taormina—the perfect spot for a beach read!
The connection to other pairings in Ali’s bookverse made me
gasp. How fun! I also liked how Maya was confident and a different type of FMC compared to Ali’s other books (where tbh they often feel like the same person, different font). This book was also laugh-out-loud funny. I typically find her characters to be too neurotic and/or dorky (eeek sorry) but I bookmarked so many hilarious passages here. This might be in my top 3 Ali Hazelwoods! A standing ovation for this woman.
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was so gulpable. A fun little book featuring New York as a main character that you could easily finish on a summer weekend trip. And ooooo Parker Warren *fans self* I will never get sick of reading about down bad billionaires giving an oblivious girl the princess treatment. Is this book perfect? No. The pacing in the second half was a bit off, and I found Elle’s brain to be quite frustrating. But I still gobbled this up in 24 hours.
Also, loved the blueberry scone nod. Is Alex Aster a Remain Nameless girlie?? 🫐
Also, loved the blueberry scone nod. Is Alex Aster a Remain Nameless girlie?? 🫐
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 😒 Well, I said I wouldn’t finish this series after Leather & Lark, so idk what I expected. The first book in the series was unique and fun but the other two were just….there. It was cool how this story weaves in throughout the other two books. But overall it was very predictable. There was very little tension. It was missing the high stakes that should be BLEEDING FROM THE PAGE for a couple that’s killing people and trying to get away with it. I’m all for a silly book where you have to suspend belief, but this jumped the shark. The cotton candy scene? I’m unwell. I will probably forgot everything that happened in this book within the next hour and I’m fine with that. Also, is the ‘scythe’ in the room with us? Or did Weaver just lazily add this into the title and not the story because of a coOl aLLiTerAtIOn. I can’t.
(Last thing, am I the only one who had graphics interspersed seemingly randomly? They didn’t break up time or passages. I couldn’t understand why they were there.)
(Last thing, am I the only one who had graphics interspersed seemingly randomly? They didn’t break up time or passages. I couldn’t understand why they were there.)
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 😭 I realize I am the ideal target audience for this memoir (I have been obsessed with blink since early high school, have seen them in concert at least five times, and still harbor an embarrassing love of Tom Delonge) but this was so good. I loved hearing about the Easter eggs related to songs and lyrics. I was kicking my feet and cringing getting a first hand look into the band’s first moments together, writing process, touring, and fights. Yes, there are crude jokes and bad language. But as much as this book (and blink) is about silly, surface-level nonsense, it also explores deep themes like mental health and Mark’s lymphoma.
I listened to the audiobook and Mark is a fantastic narrator. I laughed out loud several times. His sense of humor brings levity during the discussions of darker themes. I do think this will be appreciated the most by fans of Hoppus or the band—his personal life is mentioned, but the majority of the memoir focus’s on the highs and lows of blink. Honestly, this could have been even longer! I giggled, I cried, I didn’t want it to end.
I listened to the audiobook and Mark is a fantastic narrator. I laughed out loud several times. His sense of humor brings levity during the discussions of darker themes. I do think this will be appreciated the most by fans of Hoppus or the band—his personal life is mentioned, but the majority of the memoir focus’s on the highs and lows of blink. Honestly, this could have been even longer! I giggled, I cried, I didn’t want it to end.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️⭐️✨ I feel bad giving this such a low rating but it just didn’t work for me *hides* I loved the first 20%, but then the story lost its thread a bit. The ‘task’ the book focused around was unique but poorly executed (ie it was accomplished way too easily). So many new characters and places were introduced, some even in the last third of the book. This made it difficult to follow and parts just felt rushed. Like I said in my review of Ruin I think it would have helped to develop the lore of the world and/or magical system more—it felt shaky/tedious/frail. I really was trying to read just for the vibes but kept getting thrown by typos and plot holes. BUT will read anything else West puts out because I’m a Dramione girlie 🍏 🐍 ✌🏻
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I see why this one is so polarizing. I love Emily Henry’s writing and will read anything she puts out. But there was a lot going on here. So many different generations and characters—it was like Evelyn Hugo mixed with The Kennedys plus a dash of megacelebrjty lore ala Taylor Swift and Princess Di. Take all of that and top it off with a more typical EmHen romance 😅 It’s lot of moving pieces! I think that’s why it took me so long to get through the first 25%. Margaret’s portion particularly didn’t grip me like Emily Henry’s typical storytelling. I would have preferred to experience her story firsthand instead of a watered down telling of her life’s story. I still adore EmHen’s writing and applaud her for trying something new! This is still a great book, it just wasn’t my favorite.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ I listened to the audiobook and it felt like Hari was describing a Black Mirror episode—but it’s real life. Even though I am complicit in the problem (🙋🏻♀️ hi I can’t get my screen time under 4 hrs), it felt like a gut punch to be so confronted by our society’s addiction to rapid fire information and screens. I found some chapters were more compelling (and rage inducing—honestly fuck big tech 🖕🏻)than others, but there were some great takeaways here. Will I actually change my habits? Idk, the horrors persist lately. But either way this was a very thought-provoking read.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️✨ This altered my brain chemistry in a horrible way. I wish I was the person I was before I read this. I knew this was going to be unhinged (the author states it in her intro) but this quickly jumped way across the line to vile and off putting.
It started off with potential (that is being EXTREMELY generous) because let’s be real we are not reading a book like this for the writing or plot. But there was nothing here. I hated Tem; death to her. Her one personality trait was being horny. The characters all had no depth or dimension. I am personally offended by the author claiming inspo from fanfic Draco for Leo’s lame ass (it’s giving ‘how dare you stand where he stood’). The one thing the book had going for it was smut but this quickly became disgusting. Having sex immediately after she broke her pelvis? My eyes are bleeding. I had to hate read/skim the last 40% because I had invested 300 pgs and refused to DNF based on the sunk cost fallacy (honestly my mistake). I cannot believe this got published. End scene.
It started off with potential (that is being EXTREMELY generous) because let’s be real we are not reading a book like this for the writing or plot. But there was nothing here. I hated Tem; death to her. Her one personality trait was being horny. The characters all had no depth or dimension. I am personally offended by the author claiming inspo from fanfic Draco for Leo’s lame ass (it’s giving ‘how dare you stand where he stood’). The one thing the book had going for it was smut but this quickly became disgusting. Having sex immediately after she broke her pelvis? My eyes are bleeding. I had to hate read/skim the last 40% because I had invested 300 pgs and refused to DNF based on the sunk cost fallacy (honestly my mistake). I cannot believe this got published. End scene.