beckyyreadss's reviews
755 reviews

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.

Content Warnings

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

Thank God I've finished this series, I don’t know why I am carrying on with this series, my hope was this book would make sense and have an actual ending. I’m still so confused, I don’t get it. It ended on a cliffhanger, and I’m lost.

This book is about Arthur Dent, and he hadn’t had a day as bad as this since the Earth had been blown up. After years of galactic wanderings, Arthur finally settles on the small planet Lamuella and becomes a sandwich maker. Looking forward to a quiet life, his plans are thrown awry by the unexpected arrival of his daughter. There’s nothing worse than a frustrated teenager with a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy in their hands. When she runs away, Arthur goes after her determined to save her from the horrors of the universe. After all, he’s encountered most of them before.

As mentioned in my previous reviews, I was so confused for the majority of this book. There was a lot of space stuff and there wasn’t a distinct storyline, it was just all over the place. If you ask me tomorrow what this book was, I couldn’t tell you. I generally don’t know what I've just read. The introduction of new characters including Arthur’s daughter in the last book just wasn’t needed. It felt like a children’s book where I didn’t get the joke. I still don’t get the joke. I missed the British humour and would just like that back. I still don’t know if Earth survived or if Arthur survived.

I understood Arthur wanted to find his home and would have loved that to have been the main storyline. Now, I am a girlie who loves multiple POV, but the random switches of characters confused. I would have loved for it to have been from Arthur POV only. If it was only based on Arthur finding out about his daughter and getting to know his daughter, that would have been great, but I just felt like this book was all over the place.

This was a disappointing series, and I should really learn to stop reading a series when I don’t enjoy the first book.

Content Warnings

You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.0

I have been wanting to read this book for the longest time since it was mentioned on a radio interview, I did about Booktok. For this month, the book club I participate in, we decided that everyone was going to read a different book, one that we already own and to give our opinion. I decided to choose this one, mainly because of the title and I think it would be an interesting read, and it was messy and beautiful.

This book is about Feyi Adekola, and she wants to learn how to be alive again. It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now – an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career. She's even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is definitely off-limits. The new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers.

This is the first book I've read from this author, and it won’t be the last. This book was so beautifully written but also completely chaotic. I love the way this author writes about grief, she did it in a way that was so beautiful and would only make sense to a select group of people. I love the LGBT aspect and how they are both trying to be themselves within this messy world. I liked the slow build up between the characters and how they were both struggling with their feelings but couldn’t denied the attraction between each other. I liked the deep conversations they were having with each other and how they were very open and honest with each other. I love the way that Feyi uses her grief to make this beautiful and dark artwork. I adore Feyi and just wanted to hug her so much for what she went through and how she managed to find herself again.

I love the friendship between Feyi and Joy, but I would have loved for Joy to have been on the island with Feyi when all this was going down and I wanted her to have a happy ending as well. I felt like it was a bit rushed with Joy ending, we never actually find out if her girlfriend was leaving her husband. I feel like Joy was there as the best friend she slept with and a different kind of love and her voice of reason, but she was only there to move the story along.

I would love for this to be a series maybe from Joy’s point of view on how she wants to navigate her way through this messy world as well.

Content Warnings

How the Grump Saved Christmas by Claire Kingsley

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

3.0

I wanted to read more festive reads this Christmas that my festive TBR is now as long as my normal TBR. I saw this one around on the book community and I wanted to read some of Claire Kingsley’s work and decided to start with this one. I was disappointed with it, it was kind of festive but with all the hype, Elias just annoyed me and needed to grow up.

This book has two points of view. The first is Isabelle Cook, and she has a serious problem. Her family farm, site of Tilikum’s Christmas Village is in trouble. Big financial trouble. And worst of all? The man trying to buy it is none other than the grumpiest man of them all – Elias Stoneheart. That's a big nope. She is not letting him get involved. The second point of view is Elias Stoneheart, and he is in the business of making money, not friends. Especially when his boss is promising a long-awaited promotion. All he has to do is convince one struggling family to sell their farm. There is just one small problem, it’s the Cook Family Farm. And Isabelle Cook is his ex. He might have history with Isabelle, but this is just business. A Christmas-loving farm girl is not going to come between him and his ambition. And Christmas? He hates it. Christmas Village needs to go. But as Elias spends time in the small town he once ran away from, holiday spirit – and Isabelle – get under his skin. And she might be the only one who can melt the ice around his heart.

My main issue with this book was Elias, like I understand you have trauma, and your parents don’t love you, but the love of your life went through a miscarriage, and you were going to proposed and then left. Massive red flag behaviour. I just wanted him to grovel a bit more, it just felt like he got off too easy. The storyline ended up getting repeated quite a bit and the miscommunication was driving me up the wall. One minute they trust each other, the next they are back to hating each other. It wasn’t very festive besides the obvious “grinchy” vibes and the fact that Isabelle worked on a farm that was for the Christmas Village. The story was mainly focused on both business of Elias trying to get his promotion and Isabelle trying to save the business, but I wanted more of a relationship with them.

Isabelle grew on me once I knew what had happened with her and Elias and she had every reason to be pissed with Elias and let him off way too easy in the name of Christmas. The side characters saved this book. Isabelle’s best friends and the town and Elias’s assistant and her child. I was more interested in Alice’s love story than Elias and Isabelle especially with Cole basically wanting her from the get-go. I liked seeing the drama unfold with the Bailey Brothers and from the one chapter of their dynamic, I'm interested to see how it might go that I might start that series, but if it is like this book, I might not.

This book was okay, but it fell flat at times, and I was wanting more.

Content Warnings

The Rosebud Lodge by Julia Clemens

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

I bought the first book during one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days last year, the first was okay I wanted more, and I think this is becoming a running theme where the blurb has got more information than the actual book.

This book is based on the Rosebud girls, a group of girls who lived in Rosebud. They've had a dream since high school to own the Rosebud Lodge. This dream is now becoming a reality. The last thing Callie has room for in her life is a new relationship. Between the lodge being remodelled, being the glue that keeps her beloved Rosebud Girls together, and her real estate firm, her hands are more than full but that doesn’t keep Callie from wishing she had one. Saffron has very few enemies, in fact, up until her legal woes with her previous partners she would say she only had one enemy, an arch-nemesis if you will. And guess who her new sous-chef is? Alex. Kenzie was sure the worst of her woes were behind her. Bryan is relatively healthy and now she’s got a job where she not only got works way fewer hours, but she also gets to work with her friends. Life is looking up. Until what she thought was a small fight with Bryan turns out to be much more. Hazel went on one date with Dylan. It was all she promised him, and it was all she is planning on giving. He's too . . . well, incredible if she’s honest with herself. And she doesn’t need an incredible man in her life. She needs to focus on her children and her new job. She just barely got out of twenty-year marriage for heaven’s sake. But when Dylan is relentless, and Hazel doesn’t have much of an excuse for saying no to him other than he’s too good to be true? Laurel swears that hamsters make more progress in their lives than she does with her. She’s still staying at Callie’s house, reliant on her for nearly everything. She’s still worried about her future. And she still has no idea what to do about her past. But when it all catches up to her, Laurel has some decisions to make. Will she stand by her husband as she goes on trial for her crimes? Life has a way of getting even the best of us down and the Rosebud Girls are no exception.

I liked the storyline, and I liked how it carries on straight after book one and there has been no time jumps and how the friendship is going on. I loved the friendship between the girls and how they would still defend each other no matter what they are going through and the children calling the girls auntie. I also like the fact that they call each other out from time to time when they need to. The message throughout this story is the importance of good friends and sticking to your promises but also making compromises based on a friend's situations. I feel like this book is still just putting the feelers out for the series – but it is more based on the love interests being introduced for Callie, Saffron and Hazel.

I just wanted more. It felt like it was all blending into one. All the girls were blending into one, I was getting confused, the only way that I was remember whose chapter or point of view we were reading from was because of the children or the love interests. But all the girls' personalities are starting to blend as one. It just felt very rushed, I just wanted more details and maybe some chapters from the boys' point of view as I still don’t trust Callie’s love interest.

This was a short read but hopefully we get more depth, and the personalities stand out a bit more within the next book.

Content Warnings

Happenstance by Tessa Bailey

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emotional funny 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

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I love Tessa Bailey and this book was on sale on Amazon, so I thought I would give it a go. It was weird going into this as it didn’t have a Tessa Bailey feel to it, but it was chaotic and adorable.

This book is based on Elise Brandeis, and she has never won a Pulitzer, and she never will. At least not while she’s delivering sandwiches at the Gotham Times, instead of working there as an actual reporter. Her only shot at seeing her byline in print is to prove to the no nonsense managing editor that she has a nose for news. And she’s got just the story to grab her elusive attention. Right after she delivers this turkey on ciabatta. Chasing down leads bring Elise to Roosevelt Island, but just when the trail of clues begins to take shape, she gets stuck. Literally. On a cable car with three strangers who couldn’t be more different. An uptight rugby coach, a construction worker and a former adult film star she pretends not to recognize a little too well. At first, Elise wants nothing more than to be rescued ASAP. An hour later, everything has changed. By pure happenstance, four separate journeys have collided in an intense way. Suddenly, disentangling their lives feels more impossible than winning that Pulitzer. Good thing Elise is too busy proving herself at work to consider three boyfriends. Nobody has time for that—even if they make giving in feel oh so right. But three heads are better than one and these loners will teach themselves to work together to win Elise over forever. And more importantly, keep their dirty socks off her floor.

I liked the characters and that they had their own individual personalities, it wasn’t like the lads were all rolling into one. You had Tobias with his British banter and his fucked up past that he was trying to escape from. Then you had Banks with his mummy issues and him being a hardass. Then you have the softie, which is Gabe, who is a golden retriever with a bad ex. I was more interested about the friendship that was blossoming between those three rather than the relationship with them and Elise. They ended up looking out for each other and ended up helping each other.

I hated the insta-love, I understand it was a short story so there could be no slow build up or a slow burn, but I don’t understand how these three men could like the same women and feel the instant attraction that they all don’t want to fight and sleep with her together. I was more invested in the mole and the storyline than the relationship with Elise and the guys, I know that everyone prefers Gabe in this book. However, Gabe just didn’t have any balls to me personally and he took way too long to stand up to his co-workers and his brother about the issue of his ex-girlfriend married to his brother. I love Tobias but he just reminded me of The Roommate by Rosie Danan, so I ended up liking Banks the most. Maybe it’s just because he is a rugby coach and my second love besides books is rugby, so I just loved him.

It was okay, it was all smut, random plot lines that sort of didn’t make sense, but if you are expecting a plot in reverse harem then that’s on you.

Content Warnings

Frostbitten by Kelley Armstrong

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I love fantasy. However, I’ve only ever read young adult fantasy and wanted something with adults rather than teenagers skipping school or lying to their parents to save the world. I have watched the TV show, Bitten, and I loved it and decided it was time to read this series and see how it went. The first couple of books, I adored and really enjoyed and I'm so glad we are back with the pack and back to the werewolves.

This book is based on Elena Michaels and after years of struggle, she has finally accepted her life as a werewolf and learned how to control her wild side. At least, that’s what she believes when she sets off to investigate a series of gruesome murders outside Anchorage. The truth, however, is more complicated. Trapped in a frozen, unforgiving terrain, Elena is forced to confront a deadly secret, and her own, untamed nature.

I love the pack and it just literally them being domestic and not doing anything and I would still love it. I love Elena and Clay; I love their relationship and how they would do anything for each other, but they love winding each other up and pushing each other to the limits within training. I love the whole relationship dynamics, and I love Jaime and Jeremy and how they have got together and look after each other as well. I adore Elena and Clay’s children, and I am hoping we see more of them in the series and seeing them becoming werewolves. I love the pack coming together when Elena doesn’t respond to a check in call and immediately knew something was up. I love the character development and how they are wanting Elena to be alpha that they already practically following her orders and letting her be in charge. I was rooting for Elena to rip those guys nuts off for what they were doing and I'm glad she got her closure.

This book was a lot darker than previous books especially with the several attempts at Elena getting raped and the kidnapping and torture. Then the foster parents who abused her trying to get back in contact with her for forgiveness, it was a lot more emotional conflict as well as physical conflict. At one point in the book, I thought that Elena was going to be brutally rape and I didn’t know if I would be able to carry on reading it but I'm so glad she kicked their assed all the way to Sunday.

I am hoping we see more of the pack for the final three books as we are hoping to see Elena become an alpha and kick some more ass.

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beckyyreadss's reviews 755 reviews

beckyyreadss's reviews
755 reviews