beckyyreadss's reviews
578 reviews

adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
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 wanted to read more work from authors that I've enjoyed previously. I enjoyed All the Bright Places and I’ve seen this book in bookshops and online that I thought I would give it a go. This book hurt my head and I didn’t really care for the main characters.

This book is based on Claudine Henry, and she wasn’t supposed to be spending her summer on this remote island off the coast of Georgia. She was supposed to be on a road trip with her best friend and spending every minute together before they go to college. But after her father makes a shock announcement, she is exiled with her shaken mother, with no phone service and no one she knows. She is completely cut off. Until she meets Jeremiah who is free spirited, mysterious and beautiful. Their chemistry is immediate and irresistible. They both know that whatever they have can only last the summer, but maybe one summer is enough.

My issue with this book is that nothing happens. Absolutely nothing interesting. It just sort of moves along, there are no twists, no turns. It was very predictable. Coming of age learns her father is a cheater and now she has daddy issues and she hates her mother for ruining her summer, she falls out with her best friend because her mother ruins their summer, she falls in love with the bad boy, they have sex, they fall out, get back together and then they leave to carry on with their lives. I wasn’t shocked or hooked, I was getting bored, and I had a headache from rolling my eyes too much. Claudine was annoying me for like 65% of this book, her thoughts were exhausting, and she was making everything sound like the end of the world. Miah was just shut off and then became too emotional when the flip was switched, I would’ve liked to see more of a slow change. The ending wasn’t the ending, because it felt like it was setting itself for a sequel that hasn’t happened.

Like most people, I liked the island aspect of it and I would have LOVED for this to be a self-growth journey for Claud rather than the fact that she spend 20% complaining about the fact that she was a virgin and wanted to sleep with someone else and then she loses her virginity and all of a sudden she’s not self-conscious or overthinking anything? Bullshit.

I just wanted more from this book, I think my expectations was way too high after All the Bright Places and I don’t know if I will be reading Holding Up the Universe after reading this.

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If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I wanted to read this book as I had seen it all over the book community and I love books that make me want to cry. This book was emotional but didn’t make me cry, I just spent half of my time rolling my eyes due to teenage pining and the biggest issue is that they were still a virgin and loved their boyfriend.

This book is based on Autumn. Her best friend was Finn and they used to be inseparable. But then something changed. Or they changed. Now, they do their best to ignore each other. Autumn has her boyfriend Jamie, and her close-knit group of friends. And Finn has become that boy at school, the one everyone wants to be around. That still doesn’t stop the way Autumn feels every time she and Finn cross paths, and the growing nagging thought that maybe things could have been different. Maybe they should be together. But come August, things will change forever. And as time passes, Autumn will be forced to confront how else life might have been different if they had never parted ways. This book is a contemporary young adult book.

Even though I rated it four stars, it was the final ten chapters that made me rate the book four stars. Yes, the ending was sad, and it was all heartbreaking and melancholy, and it was the ending no one wanted but we knew it was coming from the first page. Autumn ended up growing on me and by the end I really felt for her, and I wanted to give her a hug. But I wanted to hug their mums more. I would have loved this to be multiple POV with Finn and their mums. Their mums went through a whole lot of shit and yes it affected Autumn and Finn, but I just felt for them especially with the ending.

However, even though I was sad about the ending and the events of this book, it took a mountain to get to that point. All of the middle bit was a bit forgettable, to the point where I'm probably not going to remember it in a week. I was rolling my eyes through all the petty high school drama that wasn’t needed and yes Autumn took a while to grow on me, but she annoyed the crap out of me at the beginning with the whole tiara thing and the way the writing was about the seasonal depression just sort of rubbed me the wrong way. I usually love the deception of mental health in books, but this was just needed a bit of work.

Overall, even though it was a mission to finish, I enjoyed it. I’ve seen that there is a second book in the series, and I don’t know how it’s going to go, but we will find out.

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The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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 wanted to read more work from authors that I've enjoyed previously. I enjoyed the Me Before You series and cried my eyes out and wanted to read more of her work. This book kept popping up on my TBR and on my amazon recommended. This is one of the first historical fiction I've read, and it was an interesting read.

This book is based on Alice Wright in England 1930s, and she is restless and stifled and decides to make an impulsive decision to marry wealthy American Bennett Van Cleve and leave her home and family behind. But in Baileyville, Kentucky, her husband favours work over his wife and is dominated by his overbearing father and Alice is not getting the adventure or the escape she was looking for. That is until she meets Margery O’Hare, a troublesome woman and a daughter of a notorious felon that the town wishes to forget. Margery’s on a mission to spread the wonder of books and reading to the poor and lost and she needs Alice’s help. Trekking alone under the big open skies, through wild mountain forests, Alice, Magery and their fellow sisters of the trail discover freedom, friendship and a life to call their own. But when Baileyville turns against them, will their belief in one another and the power of books be enough to save them?

This book is so different from the other books of Jojo’s I've read, and it was so refreshing. I loved Alice and I just wanted to hug her so much, she was going through it during this book and all she wanted to do was live her life. I loved the found family aspect in this book especially the womanhood that grew between the ladies of the Book Club. Each of these women had their own stories and only strengths and weaknesses and I adored them all and I'm so happy they all stood up for themselves and each other and kick the small-town bullshit. I love Margery, she was like the badass sister that everyone wants and loves. The storyline was brilliant, and it kept you intrigued and hooked. The storyline did have some sadness in especially when the men were involved (rolling my eyes at the Van Cleve men). After the issues with Alice, I was more interested in the murder mystery aspect.

This was the first historical standalone fiction I read and the only other historical fiction I've read is the Bridgerton series and those two books were completely different. Once you got through maybe 25% of the book, you end up focusing on the characters and their stories rather than the things of like horse and carriage and letters and women cannot be in men’s club.

I cannot wait to read more of Jojo’s work especially her historical fictions.

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If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I wanted to read more work from authors that I've enjoyed previously. I love the Dumplin series by Julie Murphy and when I saw this book, I immediately added it to my TBR. However, this book was on my TBR for way too long before I read this. I enjoyed this book; I just wanted it to be longer.

This book is based on Cindy, she has just graduated with a degree in shoe design and trying to get her feet on the ground. In the meantime, she is working for her stepmother who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favourite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion. Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she didn’t expect? That she may find inspiration and love in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own.

I really enjoyed this book mainly because I was able to relate to it. Self-confidence is still a massive issue of mine and I have been working on it. Seeing someone like Cindy being able to be on a reality TV show and not have the public rip her to part (because if it was based in the UK, she would have been). I loved her journey and how she was standing up for herself and that she is this badass who chooses to decide on her future. I liked that the stepmother and the stepsisters weren’t evil unlike the original story of Cinderella, it was so refreshing to see that her adopted family cared about her and didn’t see her as a burden.

Even though it was based on a reality TV show, I hate reality TV and the whole challenges and petty girls and challenges were slightly annoying. I would have loved this book to have been more in-depth especially with the ending, we don’t get a happy ending expect for Cindy and Henry reuniting. I wanted them to go on dates as themselves without the reality TV aspect.

I’ve seen that this is a series with different authors, and I cannot wait to carry on with the re-telling and hopefully, the books are longer.

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Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous 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 as I’ve never read any of Sarah J. Maas’s work and I was interested to see what the hype was all about. I was kindly gifted this series and A Court of Thorns and Roses by my parents. So, I thought I would start at the beginning. I’ve been really enjoying this series and this tandem reading stressed me out from page one and now I'm nervous for the final book of the series.

This book follows Chaol Westfall and he has always defined himself by his unwavering loyalty, his strength, and his position as the Captain of the Guard. But all of that has changed since the glass castle shattered, since his men were slaughtered, since the King of Adarlan spared him from a killing blow, but left his body broken. His only shot at recovery lies with the legendary healers of the Torre Cesme in Antica. The stronghold of the southern continent’s mighty empire. And with war looming over Dorian and Aelin back home, their survival might lie with Chaol and Nesryn convincing its rulers to ally with them. But what they discover in Antica will change them both and be more vital to saving Erilea than they could have imagined.

I love Chaol, since the first book, I have loved Chaol and just wanted him to be happy and at peace. I love multiple POV and loved that Sarah did this and gave us Chaol story at the same time with Aelin being back home. I think his emotional healing journey was needed and I know some people don’t like or struggle with this book, but I adored this journey. I was wondering when we would see Yrene after the start of her journey in Assassin’s Blade and holy smokes the way that she comes into and the tension between Chaol and Yrene at first, ooof. I loved it. I cannot wait for Yrene to reunite with everyone in the next book and the fact that Chaol knew who helped Yrene, I was squealing.

It took quite a while for me to get into this book and I don’t know if it was the Tandem read, or just because it took a lot for the catching up of the previous series and trying to remember where all the characters were and all the dilemmas. I am so scared for Chaol and Manon and Elide. I wanted more of Yrene and was hoping she would kick ass. This book dropped a bit with all the planning and the healing, and I wanted more action, but once all the planning had been done, the plot twists and the actions were so jaw-dropping.

I am so ready for the last book of the series as well as not ready because I don’t want this series to end but I also want to see if everyone is going to survive.

Content Warnings

Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous 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

This book still follows Aelin Galathynius and she is at the start of her journey to the throne and the war is looming on the horizon. Loyalties have been broken and bought, friends have been lost and gained, and those who possess magic find themselves at odds with those who don’t. With her heart sworn to the warrior-prince by her side, and her fealty pledged to the people she is determined to save, Aelin will delve into the depths of her power to protect those she loves. But as monsters emerge from the horrors of the past, and dark forces become poised to claim her world, the only chance for salvation will lie in a desperate quest that may mark the end of everything Aelin holds dear.

I still love Aelin, I love how strong and how much of a leader she is becoming. I just wanted her to succeed so much and also be this badass fighter that we’ve all come to know and love. I loved the multiple POVs during this book and it made the storyline more interesting. I want a whole series from Rowan’s point of view. Especially Kingdom of Ash with the way this book ended. I love how Rowan is just like whatever you say Queen, I will follow you. I love how Dorian grew so much during this book as well. He was so hateful and afraid before this book and then he just grew and was understanding more of his powers. The tension between Manon and Dorian as well, oooo the heat! I was all for it. This series is stressing me out, I just want everyone to be alive and well and safe.

It took quite a while for me to get into this book and I don’t know if it was the Tandem read, or just because it took a lot for the catching up of the previous series and trying to remember where all the characters were and asll the dilemma. I am so scared for Chaol and Manon and Elide. I wanted more of Elide and was hoping she would kick ass. This book dropped a bit with all the planning, and I wanted more action, but once all the planning had been done, the plot twists and the actions were so jaw-dropping.

I am so ready for the last book of the series as well as not ready because I don’t want this series to end but I also want to see if everyone is going to survive.

Content Warnings

One of Us is Back by Karen M. McManus

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I wanted to read this book as I really enjoyed this series so far and was intrigued at which member was going to be back. This book was confusing at times, but I'm glad that it got the ending the guys deserved.

This book follows the gang from the last two books who are still in Bayview. Some of these characters are Addy, Nate, Phoebe, Maeve and Cooper. Ever since Simon died in detention, life hasn’t been easy for the Bayview Crew. First the Bayview Four had to prove they weren’t killers. Then a new generation had to outwit a vengeful copycat. Now, it’s happening all over again. At first the mysterious billboard seems like a bad joke: Time for a new game, Bayview. But when a member of the crew disappears, it’s clear this “game” just got serious, and no one knows the rules. Everyone is a target and now that someone unexpected has returned to Bayview, things are getting deadly again. The thing is, Simon was right about secrets – they all will come out, eventually. And Bayview has a lot it’s still hiding.

I love being back in Bayview and seeing how the crew was doing even if there was more stress for them during this book. I love that all my favourite couples are still strong and there was no petty breakups over the situation at hand. My favourite part in any mystery book is when the pieces of the puzzle starts to make sense and the killer is revealed. The chapter where the killer and the motive are revealed is written brilliant and the suspense is nail biting especially because Karen manages to drag it on from several points of view that you are waiting just for the answer and what had just happened. I love the friendships that are in this book and that they all stayed closed. My favourite character will always be Nate, I just wanted to hug him to death during this series as he has not had it easy.

The thing that stopped it from being five stars was Jake. That boy was such a pain in the ass, and I just wanted to punch him in the face. I was also a tad confused when I started this book because I read the second book in 2021 and I couldn’t remember what happened in the second book and some of the side plots from the characters weren’t in my brain, so I was just playing catch up. I would have loved a recap at the beginning of the book.

I would have liked an epilogue with all the crew being happy and successful and how Bayview was doing. Maybe that will be a book in the future, but I want Nate and Bronwyn to be parents, Maeve and Luis traveling, Cooper and Kris being happy and parents. Addy and Keely being happy and just everyone getting the hell out of Bayview.

Content Warnings

The Goddess and the Hawk by Chiara Gala

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

This is my book club’s choice for March. Just like some other reads within book club, I probably wouldn’t have picked this up if it wasn’t the pick of the month. I was very nervous with starting this as some of the other members finished it before I started it, and the feedback made me nervous. If you treat this book like a comedy, it would be hilarious. As a fantasy, it is poorly written and very confusing.

This book has two points of view. The first is Amala. She loves the sun, but she is the High Priestess to the Goddess of the Moon. She is a midwife, a priestess and a lover. Amala lives her days at the temple, caring for her Goddess and sharing her love with the ones around her. However, when she discovers a murder of the Goddess, it destroys her. The second point of view is Hawk, he is the city’s Captain, and he is working on the murder investigation. He wants to protect Amala especially because they have been mates for ten years, but they are waiting for the bond to snap. Together, they try to figure out a case with no leads and it becomes a case of lies, alibis and schemes. But each thread uncovers more than they could have ever imagined, and both have their secrets too.

One of the issues I have with this book is that it is so chaotically written, we are in the future, but phones and internet are still a thing but it’s 200031 or whatever year it is. Then at times they’ve got to ride on the centaur (the one she is opening screwing) to get to a birth. So, you have phones and internet and all that good stuff, but not like high-advanced cars.

The plot was a bit predictable at times, with who the next high-priestess was going to be – you knew it was going to Amala and yet she fully shits herself when it came to her. There was too many plots going on – the murder mystery, the mate issue, the fact that there were two mates, her being a goddess. There was a lot of repeated information as well like if I did a shot for every time, it was mentioned that she loved the sun, I would have had alcohol poisoning before I got halfway through the book. Plus, this book did not need to be 650 pages long, it could have been 250 pages and still had all the plot (that took it times to get to) and smut and drama.

The smut was poorly written, when they were doing the rope-bonding sessions, I just sort of skimmed over it because it was just a bit boring and predictable and giving me the ick slightly. I didn’t have an issue with the poly stuff, but it was just giving me a headache – Hawk wanted to be the only one for Amala at the start of the book and whilst they were having sex, but then was completely fine and chill when he found out Amala had a second mate and that it was a woman. Like dude, make your mind up. Plus, I didn’t like the cheating aspect of the book, again with the double standard.

The reason why I rated it two stars because we finally got the answer to the murder mystery, it just took bloody forever to get there.

I’ve heard the author is making this into a trilogy and this might be the first time where I don’t carry on with the series, even though I'm a compulsive series finisher. I’ve read more series where I didn’t like the first book and the series was worth it, but if the second book is 650 pages or more again, I won’t be reading.

Content Warnings

Dear Amelia by Asia Monique

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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? No

5.0

I wanted to read this book because I've heard so many good things about it in the book community. I am always looking for new authors to love and new series to read. This book was so adorable, I just wanted it longer.

This book has two points of view. The first is Amelia Reinhardt and she has been told her entire life that she is destined for greatness. After gracing the cover of a popular magazine that highlights black professionals, Amelia knew she’d finally made it. Now that her career is taking off, she no longer has an excuse to ignore the storm that had been brewing between her and the man she has known and loved her entire life. The second point of view is Israel Holloway, and he is a real estate mogul and has worked tirelessly his entire adult life to get where he wanted to be. So, working hard to get who he wanted to be with was a task he had no problem taking on, Israel longed to be the number one man in his best friend’s life, and in an attempt to win her heart, he turns to the one thing he knows will get her attention and keep it.

The way that this series was advertised to me was The Billionaire Brothers series by Lauren Asher but it’s black love stories and it was. It was beautifully written. Even though it was a short book, it was packed with so much – brotherly love, a friendship group who have all got their own issues but are there for everyone, an adorable dog, trauma that is discussed, no miscommunication and a love story I adored. The whole way through this book, I wanted to hug Amelia and Israel, they were both so heartbreaking real and I love them for it. Amelia overthinking everything and thinking Israel is going to get bored of her was just so sweet and close to him considering I overthink EVERYTHING. This was one of the friends-to-lovers that I actually liked, and I think it’s because there was no jealous ex who knew they would end up together.

There were no weaknesses in this book. I wanted this book to be longer, some people may like that it’s only 150 pages, but I wanted 1500 pages and I'd still want more. I cannot wait to read more of this series and more from these brothers.

Content Warnings

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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 wanted to read more from authors that I've enjoyed in the past. I loved Marissa’s Cinder series and when I saw she was writing a young adult romance book, I was intrigued to see how it would go. Let's just say Marissa has made me hate a character almost as much as Belly from The Summer I Turned Pretty.

This book is based on chronic overachiever Prudence Barnett, and she is always quick to cast judgement on the lazy, rude, and arrogant residents of her coastal town. Her dreams of karmic justice are fulfilled when, after a night out with her friends, she wakes up with the sudden ability to cast instant karma on those around her. Pru giddily make use of the power, punishing everyone from public vandals to mean gossips, but there is one person on whom her powers consistently backfire: Quint Erickson, her slacker of a lab partner. Quint is annoyingly cute and impressively noble, especially when it comes to his work with the rescue centre for local sea animals. When Pru resigns herself to working at the rescue centre for extra credit, she begins to uncover truths about baby otters, environmental upheaval, and romantic crossed signals – not necessarily in that order. Her newfound karmic insights reveal how thin the line is between virtue and vanity, generosity and greed, love and hate.

One of the main issues I had with this book is that Prudence is not a nice person. Like at all. She shouldn’t have this “power” for the instant karma because she deserves the karma and all the shit to come down on her. She is so immature and selfish, and her thoughts were exhausting. I found myself skimming over her thoughts because I was bored and just didn’t need to hear them. I am aware it’s a young adult book, so they aren’t going to act mature or normal, but I was still rolling my eyes throughout the whole book. This was the time where I wanted the physical book instead of reading it on my kindle so that I could physically throw the book at a wall. Quint has a funny way of showing that he liked her, he is constantly belittling her and just throwing random ass accusations at her and just trying to piss her off which makes her more annoying. I’m aware again that it’s a young adult book and it’s like oh he is picking on me, so he likes me, and he told his mum about me, like get better standards. Plus, Quint just instantly accusing her when the whole town was struggling for money instead of building on the trust, they had spent the whole book figuring out just drove me nuts.

I liked the save the animals side and I wanted more from Jude and his crush and whether they got together, and I liked Ari and Ezra and wanted to see more from them. The side characters saved this from being 2 stars.

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beckyyreadss's reviews 578 reviews

beckyyreadss's reviews
578 reviews