beckyyreadss's reviews
761 reviews

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I enjoy Alice Feeney’s work and always wanting to read more of her work. I don’t think this book was as good as her other work, but it was still messed up.

This book is based on Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about her. 1, she is in a coma. 2, her husband doesn’t love her anymore. 3, sometimes she lies. Amber wakes up in a hospital, she can’t move, she can't speak, she can’t open her eyes. She can hear everyone around her, but they have no idea. Amber doesn’t remember what happened, but she has a suspicion her husband had something to do with it. Alternating between her paralyzed present, the week before her accident and a series of childhood diaries from twenty years ago, this psychological thriller is something really a lie if you believe the truth?

I will love Alice’s style of writing, for a debut, it was easy to follow, it wasn’t too hard and didn’t hurt my head. Even though this isn’t the first book of Alice’s I've read. I know not to trust any of her characters, even the MC who we are supposed to love and root for. The storyline was intriguing with the coma aspect and learning bit by bit on what happened and how we got to this point. I kinda of figured it wasn’t the husband because it’s never the obvious suspect and the husband was too easy. Once you get pass the first part of building up everything, the why she is in a coma, the who's who of the story, the action and the twists are kind of worth it and I ended up wanting to stay up late to finish this book to find out who caused the accident.

I didn’t like the jumps between her childhood and then the week before and then the present. I understand why it was done and why it needed to be done, but I just didn’t like it. I would have liked maybe the childhood bit first and then the jumps, I was just skimming over the childhood diary entries. I would have liked more of a conclusion, with her other books, most of the answers are revealed and there are a few things opened for questioning, but I felt like this whole ending could be questioned? What happened to Edward? Was he charged? Is he dead?

I would have loved for this to be dual POV especially with her husband because he knew more than he was letting on and I wanted to be in his brain more than her brain at times. Overall, I'm glad I didn’t start with this book of Alice Feeney’s, or I might not have gone back to her work,

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The Mark of Dreams and Darkness by Arabella K. Federico

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

I got this book during the one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days, and I really enjoyed the first book, and I wanted to see what happened after the cliffhanger. It took a while to get back into, but it was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire but like 50 times more intense.

This book is still based on Karalevine Ruzz, and she is haunted by the certain doom of her fellow Starseed, so she makes a fateful decision – to enter the lethal Titan Games – a merciless competition where the stakes are life and death. The prize? A face-to-face reunion with her captured fried and the chance to confront the very enemy that threatens Earth’s existence. With each step closer to her teammate’s liberation and Earth’s freedom, the line between allies and enemies blurs with every fatal round. As Kara faces off against other deadly contenders, she simultaneously clashes with Malakyte in an entirely different arena – a battleground of the heart.

Kara did annoy me throughout this book because her character development is so important during this book. She went from this person who was only thinking about herself and her goals to thinking of the bigger picture and saving the Earth. I loved how everyone is still underestimating Kara, and she still proves them wrong every single time and during the rounds. I still love the team and the whole found family aspect. The storyline was like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with the whole tournament but so much more deadly and more intense, I was on the edge of my seat throughout of it. I missed the side characters working together especially when Ardelle got knocked out within the first round of the tournament.

It did take me a while to get back into the book and series because I did read the first book last year. It did take a while for me to get used to the extra-terrestrial side of the book, I don’t really do space or aliens so I was worried that I was going to struggle with this, once I got into it, there was no problems it was just getting there that was a bit of a struggle. The memory-washing thing was a bit confusing at time.

The twists and turns during this book had me shook, the cliffhanger was cruel, and I wanted more. I cannot wait to read the last book in this series. I have so many questions and hopefully we will get the answers soon.

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My December Darling by Lauren Asher

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.0

I wanted to read more festive reads this Christmas that my festive TBR is now as long as my normal TBR. When Lauren Asher announced this book, I was instantly making it a priority as I'm patiently waiting for the third book in the Lakefront Billionaires series. It was so cute and festive.

This book has two points of view. The first is Catalina and she is playing the part of her sister’s maid of honour and it’s easy even if she is marrying her ex. But playing nice with the best man? Seems like an impossible task given their history. Sure, Luke Darling might be suspiciously kind, incredibly handsome and stubborn to a fault, but regardless of how hard he tries to make Catalina see otherwise, she is not interested. It's on her to remind Luke that he is her ex-boyfriend's best friend. And the one she is secretly starting to wish she met first. The second point of view is Luke and his job as the best man is a simple one, except for one minor issue. He has spent so much time avoiding his best friend’s ex that he didn’t consider what could happen if he started craving Catalina Martinez’s company instead. She is only in Lake Wisteria for the winter wedding, but her January departure date won’t stop him from pursuing her. Getting her to date him would be nothing short of a Christmas miracle, but he is determined to make her his. Tis the season to fall in love . . . even if Luke is the only one taking the risk.

This novella was so freaking cute. I loved that Catalina had a good character development, she went from feeling like the family disappointment and alone on Christmas and the older, meaner single sister to being seen and heard and understood. You learned why she felt like this. Now Luke, man alive, if a man queued that long to wait for Lego just to build it with you, I would cry and I don’t even like Lego. But I just loved that he didn’t want to give up on her and that there was no miscommunication within the novella and that he explained why he dipped out on her and it was a valid reason. I loved the hospital aspect of the book and how they both work there so understand hard shifts and losing patient.

Catalina’s sister caused more drama than was needed and she annoyed me throughout the whole book. One minute she didn’t want them to hook up, then she did want them to get together so Catalina would stay in town. She just drove me nuts. I would have loved more as well like does Luke’s parents try and reconnect, do they come to the wedding?

I hope this isn’t the last time we see of Catalina and Luke because I want more from them.

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Adventure of the Goblin Dog by Enid Blyton

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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

3.0

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime and the first book was on the poster. It was adorable and a refreshing change that I wanted to carry on with this series. However, I struggled with this book with the new characters.

This time it’s Peter and Mary’s quest to rescue a princess, explore Fairyland in this truly magical story, where they’ll encounter the Goblin Dog, rescue a princess and visit the Land of Storytellers. This is an irresistible story for all who’ve ever stepped into the Enchanted Wood.

This series is still adorable and brave. Each of these children have a very distinctive personality and weaknesses and strengths. I loved that we got to see some characters from previous books but also loved the introduction of Goblin Dog, he was so sweet. Again, I am gutted I didn’t read this book as a child, and I wished I had to see it from a child’s perspective and an adult perspective.

Just like the series so far and with it being a children’s book, there was nothing to dislike with this book, I knew that it would be obvious and a bit predictable and knowing that nothing was going to happen to our beloved characters.

Overall, I enjoyed it, and I will carry on with this series even if I’m nearly 25-years-old.

The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore

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emotional lighthearted relaxing 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

3.0

I read the first book in the series when it was the book club’s pick of the month when it first game. I enjoyed the first book in the series and was hoping this book was better than the second book and it’s not. It's not the best writing but it was a Christmas book.

This book has two points of view. The first is Kira North and she hates Christmas. Which is unfortunate since she just bought a Christmas tree farm in a town that’s too cute for its own good. The second point of view is Bennett Ellis, and he is on holiday in Dream Harbor to see his sister and taking a break from his life in California and most importantly taking a break from his latest run of disastrous dates. After a run in with Kira in her fields, Ben has no intention of offering to help the grumpy owner set up her tree farm, despite the fact she’s clearly got no idea what she’s doing. Kira knows she should stop being so stubborn, but her farm is not all cute and cozy like people always show on social media, it’s borderline dangerous with no heating, and she’d rather no one saw it. But somehow fate finds Ben at Kira’s farm once more, and as Kira watches him swing an axe at the first tree, she finds herself appreciating his strength and questioning why she refused help in the first place.

I still enjoyed the small-town vibes during this book and how everyone knows what the hell is going on with them besides Ben and Kira. I love how Kira was determined not to fall for Ben but failed massive. I love that Ben was trying his damn hardest to not fall for Kira and failed as well. I loved the idea of the Christmas Tree Farm and how Kira went from despising it but ended up falling in love with the holiday and the farm. I liked Kira’s development and how she was wanting to stand up on her own two feet without her sister but also knowing that she doesn’t have to do it alone, and how she managed to find the balance of being independent and asking for help. I always love dual POV in romance books, it makes it 10000% better. This book was an easy read, so it didn’t require a lot of brain power at all which I liked especially as I read multiple books at a time. I loved the side characters in this book and how the gang is growing, and they are all looking after each other no matter what.

One of the worse things within these books is the miscommunication trope which is literally the underlying theme within this series. Kira thinks she has to be strong and alone to prove a point, Ben doesn’t want to be a pushover again and thinks Kira is like his ex-girlfriend. They have a planned arrangement and then they both got spooked and wanted more but didn’t know how to bring it up. Like have a conversation and see if the other person is interested in long distance or if they wanted more. Ben took a while to grow on me maybe because he was all for Kira from the second, he met her but then he was flip flopping around and couldn’t make his mind up whether Kira was like his ex or not.

I really want to know more about Annie and Mac, and hopefully the next book is about them because I am getting sick of waiting for their story, but I was giggling at those two and again everyone knows something is going on but just making small comments and bets without them knowing.

Content Warnings

Missing You by Harlan Coben

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challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Tell No One and wanted to read more of Harlan Coben’s work. This one was in Waterstones in a buy one gets one half price, and I saw that this was being made into a TV show with Netflix so figured it was worth a read, however I was just bored.

This book is based on NYPD Detective Kat Donovan and when her best friends decide to sign her up for a dating website, she doesn’t think anything of it, until she stumbles across a profile that she recognizes, and she feels her whole world explode, as emotions she’s ignored for decades come rushing to the surface. Staring back at her is her ex-fiancé Jeff, the man who shattered her heart and who she hasn’t seen in 18 years. Kat feels a spark, wondering if this might be the moment when past tragedies recede, and a new world opens to her. But when she reaches out to the man in the profile, her reawakened hope quickly darkens into suspicion and then terror as an unspeakable conspiracy comes to light, in which monsters prey upon the most vulnerable. As the body count counts and Kat’s hope for a second chance with Jeff grows more and more elusive, she is consumed by an investigation that challenges her feelings about everyone she ever loved – her former fiancé, her mother, and even her father, whose cruel murder so long ago has never been fully explained. With lives on the line, including her own, Kat must venture deeper into the darkness than she ever has before, and discover if she has the strength to survive what she finds there.

I liked Kat and was rooting for her the whole way. I had so many questions on the history but I was more hooked by Brandon finding her and asking questions because he was concerned about his mother. I would have loved for this to be dual POV and how Brandon finds out this information about Kat and his own investigation. I liked that we got an answer by the end of the book because I thought we were going to finish this book without finding out who killed Kat’s father. I didn’t mind the storyline and that there was a start and a finish, and the story flowed.

Unlike Tell No One, I wasn’t hooked from page one, it took a while for the storyline and the action to kick in and it sort of dropped in the middle and towards the end which is where I think the dual POV for Brandon would have made it better. Plus, we didn’t know who Titan was, was he known to the police? Did the gangbanger know him? What happened to him? I felt like I was left with more questions than answers especially with the big reveal, what happened after that? We have no clue it ended there.

I don’t think this was the best of Harlan’s work, but this is what happens when the first book you read of an author is five stars and then you expect every book of theirs to be five stars.

Content Warnings

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed King of Scars and wanted to know how the duology ended. I wanted to throw this book at a wall so many times.

This book has several POVs, the first is The Demon King, Nikolai Lantsov and as Fjerda’s massive army prepares to invade, he will summon every bit of his ingenuity and charm and even the monster within to win this fight. But as a dark threat loom that cannot be defeated by a young king’s gift for the impossible. The second point of view is the Stormwitch, Zora Nazyalensky and she has lost too much. To war. She saw her mentor die and her worst enemy resurrected and she refuses to bury another friend. Now duty demands she embraces her powers to become the weapon her country needs. No matter the cost. The last point of view is The Queen of Morning, Nina Zenik and she is deep undercover and risk discovery and death as she wages war on Fjerda from inside the capital. But her desire for revenge may cost her country its chance at freedom and Nina the chance to heal her grieving heart. The King, The General and The Spy must find a way to forge a future in the darkness or watch a nation fall.

I think I ended up enjoying this book more because the characters were already built and were traumatized with the war that it felt like the fourth and final book in the Crooked Kingdom series rather than a brand-new series. The world has already been fully developed, and the characters have been developed. I love the multiple points of view and how they are all got their own storyline, but you can tell it’s building up to something so much bigger and I was waiting for the bigger thing to happen and it kind of got lost. I loved Zoya still and I love the character development she had in this book, and I was rooting for her all the way.

Killing off one of my favourite characters and destroying the healthiest relationship within this series stopped this book from being five stars. Especially because you thought he was going to be okay and that he was just going to be injured and then it jumped to his funeral. I was raging, am still raging. Plus, I felt like the Darkling’s end was a little anti-climactic after everything he has put them through, and he just gives up. I was expecting more from The Darkling. The middle bit was a bit slow, and I was kind of skim reading it to get to the final battle because it was just everyone reuniting or planning.

Overall, this series was better than Shadow and Bone, but I don’t think anything will top Six of Crows.

Content Warnings

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional lighthearted fast-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

3.0

When Amazon announced this short series of books by some of my favourite authors, I was all for it. I know it was supposed to be a short story, but I just wanted more.

This book is about Jamie Malek, and she is a newly minted paediatrician and all she wants is to borrow a roasting pan for Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, that requires her to interact with Marc – her best friend’s troublemaking younger brother, who is now a tech billionaire. He's the one that got away. She's the one who broke his heart. Outside, a howling blizzard. Inside, a crackling fire. Suddenly, being snowbound with the man she never expected to see again might not be such a bad way to spend a winter’s night.

Like with the other books, this was just too small. I wanted more. I would have loved for it to be dual POV but obviously with the six chapters, it wouldn’t have worked. I would have liked maybe one chapter from Marc’s point of view after the prom night or after her birthday to see how he saw things. Ali Hazelwood knows how to write an MMC, the fact that he had the photo of Jamie in her prom dress as his lockscreen several years later and never really committed to a relationship because he was waiting for her was sweet.

I felt like this book was more of a prequel to a bigger book like here’s all the information about childhood friends and then here’s the bigger book with the bigger issues. There was just a lot of information about them as children and I think that was to clear the insta-love vibes, but it was just an information overload.

I would have loved this to be a full book, because I want to know the families' reactions to them getting together. Does Jamie stand up against her dad? Does she say I love you by next Christmas? I wanted more.

Content Warnings

Wait for It by Mariana Zapata

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challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Mariana Zapata’s work, and this is one of her higher rated books within the book community. However, I think it’s just me, it was so slow. I understand it’s a slow-burn but this barely had a flame to start this.

This book is based on Diana Casillas, and she doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing half the time. How she’s made it through the last two years of her life without killing anyone is nothing short of a miracle. Being a grown-up wasn’t supposed to be so hard. With a new house with two little boys that she inherited in the most painful way possible, a giant dog, a job she usually loves, more than enough family, and friends, she has almost everything she could ever ask or. Except a boyfriend. Or a husband, but who needs either one of those?

I liked Diana and how she was raising those boys. She wasn’t letting anyone push her around and she would stick up for herself and those boys. That Karen or Candice needed a punch, and Diana had more restrain that I would have because I would have clocked her in the nose the second, she started. I love that the boys are also protective of her and the second some random man is talking to her at baseball practice, Josh and Louie are like who is that I don’t like him. I liked that Mariana took a while to explain that the boys were Diana’s nephews and not sons because you knew that they weren’t her children, but you didn’t know how or why.

Dallas took a while to warm up to me and that’s because he didn’t speak to Diana when he thought she was being a creep and hitting on him which would have fixed the first 25% of the book and I would have loved for it to be a dual POV so then we knew what his issue was. I just couldn’t deal with all of his mood swings, one minute he was all you need to accept help Diana and the next he was being cold with her, he was giving me a headache. It was the way that Josh knew how Dallas felt about Diana before Diana knew how Dallas felt about Diana.

I understand that it was a slow burn but waiting until chapter 22 out of 26 for a first kiss was insane. Their chemistry was like a seesaw, sometimes you could feel the chemistry and the angst and the next it was like they were family. I was just bored, and it became a chore to finish this book. I had more questions when this book was over as well? Did Josh ever see his biological mum? Did she come back? Did Candice leave? Did the team have an issue with the fact that Dallas and Diana started dating? Did Trip clean up his act?

I’m hoping that the next book I read from Mariana Zapata is better than this one but the past two books I've read from her I've rating 3 stars.

Content Warnings

Beyond the Thistles by Samantha Young

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emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I adore Samantha Young, I love her work, but I’ve only read her standalone, so I wanted to try one of her series. This book was on kindle unlimited, and I felt like it was a sign. I enjoyed this book and feel like going to Scotland.

This book has two points of view. The first is Walker Ironside and it’s been a long time since he left behind Scotland and the memories that haunt him. Yet after years of traveling the world as a bodyguard, Walker misses his homeland enough to return. To a village in the Scottish Highlands that plays host to an exclusive members-only club, Ardnoch Estate. If not happy, Walker is content working with the elite security at the club and maintaining his bachelor lifestyle. What he doesn’t need is a distraction in the form of the enticing but too-young newcomer, single mother Sloane Harrow. The second point of view is Sloane Harrow, and she never imagined that she’d get pregnant at sixteen. Or that a decade later she’d escape from California with her daughter, Callie, to start over in the Scottish Highlands. Hidden and safe from Callie’s dangerous father, Sloane is satisfied with their new lives. Her daughter is happy. Sloane has a stable job, a quaint cottage, a passion for baking that might just be turning into a business, and a huge crush on brooding security guard Walker Ironside. Unfortunately, the grumpy Scot seems immune to Sloane’s charm, but she can’t help but try to seduce him with cupcakes and baked treats whenever the opportunity arises. However, when someone arrives in Ardnoch intent on destroying Sloane’s life, Walker is the first to step forward to protect her and Callie. Even if it means giving into temptation and awakening his own demons. Because in doing so, Walker faces failing not only to shield Sloane from her past, but to safeguard her against her own.

I enjoyed that this book was based in Scotland, I realized that besides the fantasy books I read, a lot of places I read romance books are like small towns in the countryside or New York or Los Angeles. So mainly American based. So, when I read a book and then say Mum instead of Mom and talking about that it was £10 instead of 10 dollars, I get all giddy. I loved Walker, I wanted to hug him throughout the whole book, that man went through a lot of shit and has big feelings but still wanted to get help and I can appreciate that. He knew he wanted Sloane but that he had to fix himself first and I loved him for that. I loved Sloane as well and how she was determined to stay in Scotland and not run away again and that she was tough as nails to stand up for herself, Callie and Walker even though she had several people coming after her.

I just couldn’t imagine the gangsters coming to Scotland and being all violence like if it was like London or Liverpool, but Scotland always seems like a quiet, peaceful place to me. Also, I didn’t think the third act breakup was needed and it just seemed like a way to make the book longer and to drag out the mystery.

I liked that the next couple has been introduced of North and Aria and from the small chapters that we’ve seen I'm excited to start this. I’ve also heard this series was a spinoff of the Adair Family series who we met throughout this book, and I've read them in the wrong order which I always do, but it just gives me more reason to read the Adair Family series after this.

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beckyyreadss's reviews 761 reviews

beckyyreadss's reviews
761 reviews