aubri13's reviews
35 reviews

The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith

inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This book was heartbreaking and painful to read right from the start.I felt horrible for Eden and I just wanted her to tell someone-anyone! The secret she carried ate at her and started to destroy a part of her. It was so frustrating to watch her self-destruct. Even though it was painful to read, I couldn’t put it down. I was blown away by the writing. There was reality and an honest feel to Eden’s story. I could imagine a real live girl out in the world somewhere reacting the same way. It made this story all the more tragic and necessary. If this is how amazing amber smiths debut novel was, I cant wait to see what she has in store for us in the future.

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

This was one of the most breathtakingly beautiful books I have EVER read in my entire life. HOLY FEELS. I cried my way through most of the book because almost every scene was filled with the most intense and powerful emotions you can imagine. The sheer, undying strength of the LOVE that Rune and Poppy shared overwhelmed me. I loved every single ward of this book. And the ending was absolutely perfect for their story. This is one of those books that I know will stay with me forever and ever. I loved it with all my heart and HICHLY RECOMMEND it to everyone as my first b STAR RATING of the year. Poppes strength was beuend owerful. And the fierce lovalty and strength with which Rune loved her was beyond intense. He loved' this girl with all of his heart and soul and he was willing to do absolutely anything to make every moment of her life be filled with that love. This book needs to be made into a movie. I Could picture every scene so vividly in my mind as I read and it would easily make an. incredible transition to screen. *sends up silent prayer to movie gods*

Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

To this day it's still on my mind, this put me in such a book funk, others fell short and didn't measure up. Deliciously dark, 10x darker than the first book, it's not glossed over, you've got a front row seat as everything unfolds in graphic detail. Best of all was Crazy Sibby was back again and OMG I just loved her, they say one crazy fits all and she's my kind of crazy I never wanted this book/series to end, its unique, like you can not compare this to anything which makes it stand above the rest that much more.

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

HOLY. FUCKING. CLIFFHANGER. Whew, Lots to unpack so let’s get to it. Adeline and Zade…these two. Zade is her stalker which already makes him a bit unhinged…but I’m into it! As for Adeline being into it, not so much. To be fair, he freaks her out on purpose, wanting her to know every dark part of him so that when she does fall in love with him, she’s aware of all his flaws. Skewed logic? Perhaps. Still… Zade runs a secret organization that takes down pedophiles, human trafficking, and all of the monsters in between. There is the threat of The Society, and someone has leaked videos of them murdering children and drinking their blood. Think the conspiracy theory about “adrenochrome” and pair that with a secret society of rich and powerful monsters. It’s dark to read about, but this shit happens. And the author, while keeping it surface level, doesn’t shy away from that. Simultaneously, there is also the 75 year old murder mystery of her great-grandmother Gigi, and ghosts unknown who also reside in the…did I not mention? A black gothic Victorian mansion that Adeline inherited from her Nana?! Living my dream, sexy stalker and all. But I digress. This was fast paced and winding, and thoroughly enjoyable to read! Read those trigger warnings if you dive into this, don’t say you haven’t been warned!!!!

It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

The last book may not have been perfect, but it will always have a special place in my heart! Even though I’m usually quick to call a sequel unnecessary, I’m so happy we got this book because it filled in a lot of the gaps from the last book. We got an Atlas pov!!! OMG! He is the sweetest! We don’t deserve him at all! Learning so much more about him made me love him more and more. And that last chapter?! My goodness. Atlas speaks the language of love and I am here for it. I did not expect his past to come back to get a big part of this story in the manner it did, but it helped us learn more about the many things that impacted his life. He really went through it, and it’s pretty crazy how good of a person he still turned out into. Did I think he and Lily were kind of rushed? Maybe? But IT'S BEEN SO LONG. WE WILL LET IT SLIDE!!!! They were so adorable and had me grinning way too much. I really like that Hoover didn’t make them sex crazy but more focused on the emotional part of their bond

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

While I do not believe "I Ends With Us" to be a romance story, it is a love story. It’s a love story about choosing oneself over someone they love deeply, it's about choosing to end a cycle of violence that hurts more people than it helps. This book taught me how women in situations of domestic violence may feel torn between someone they took a vou for and their own personal well-being and safety. Domestic violence is more nuanced and complicated than people talk about. I hate to say that, while reading this book, I fell in love with the abuser the same way Bloom did. I made excuses for him and alwaus thought to mysef, "just give him one more chance."

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The story revolves around the lives of Autumn and finny, childhood friends who once had an unbreakable bond but drift apart once high school begins. Told Through Autumn’s perspective, the story takes readers through a journey of a teenager battling with internal and societal expectations. Eventually, Autumn and finny find their way back to each other and fall in love-only to be separated again by Finny’s death, which finally gives readers context to the foreshadowing in the prologue that lured them into the story.

Twisted Lies by Ana Huang

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Definitely a great slow burn romance. I loved Stella and Christian right from the start. Stella's character especially was someone I loved. A social media influencer and introvert. Defintely my kind of person. And I enjoyed reading about her. Throughout the previous books, Stella's character was the one that stayed the most mysterious and I enjoyed every moment of geting to know her better.

Twisted Hate by Ana Huang

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Twisted Hate was definitely a story I loved right from The start. Jules and Josh have this hatred for each other that was just too much. You could tell there was more to them than even they could see. And I loved Their banters. Sure they were definitely a bit to cruel to each other at times, but it also really made me laugh. The romance between Jules and Josh was intense, sweet and intriguing. And I sure loved rending their story. There were some moments that I thought were just a bit too hard, to cruel, and to rough. Especially in the beginning it took me some time to get used to it. But I loved these characters and their chemistry so much, it didn't bother" me for long.

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

My absolute favorite character was Rhys. Handsome, strong, bossy and kind of rude... What's not to like about him?! He is the best bodyguard out there. From the moment Rhys and Bridget meet, she is under his skin. And the Chapters I read from his point of view were my absolute favorite. The chemistry between these two was flying off the pages and I really couldn't get enough of them. Another great read I couldnt put down. I loved this one even more than the first book, and I definitely can’t wait to read the next book.