bookishobsessedmama's reviews
412 reviews

Royal Hearts by Margaret Rose

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5.0

This was such a cozy, feel good christmasy hallmark vibe good time. šŸ˜Š 

Margaret does a phenomenal job and making the writing feel as cozy as the town that theyā€™re in. Her writing is bingable and enjoyable. She created such warm and relatable characters which i find impressive as one of them was royal and still felt relatable. 

I really enjoyed the overall plot of the book! As someone who enjoys reality dating tv, it felt like a fun ā€œbehind the scenesā€ love story that you wonder actually happens on some of the shows we watch. 

Mix in the TOP TIER angst that was built on top of a rivals to lovers trope and you has the best recipe for a cozy winter romance. 

The banter was well done and I went from hating winter, to being on his team, to being his #1 fan. 

I didnā€™t read book 1, and wasnā€™t confused or lost on any of the topics! I will absolutely go back and read book 1 now because I enjoyed this one so much! I would absolutely recommend it to me peers and will be reading more by this author in the future! 
The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

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2.75

2.75/3 ā­ļø 

I really wanted such a good horror story, and this one was recommended to me from a bookseller at B&N. While i did enjoy the writing style of the author i felt like the story was lacking overall. 

It felt like it was extremely drawn out and slow. I didnā€™t feel like it was very scary. It was described to me as ā€œjump scare, edge of your seat horrorā€ and i didnā€™t feel like i was on the edge of my seat at all. 

I have seen that this is one of the authorā€™s earlier works, so i would potentially try a later work, but this one was just not for me. 

I did consume via audiobook, primarily, but also used the physical book at times. I believe that the audiobook did a disservice to the story, personally. There wasnā€™t much emotion to being that horror side of the story out. 

Overall, i donā€™t think i would recommend this and it felt a bit lack luster overall. 
Worth the Chance by Clara Mott

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5.0

the way i was SUCKEDDDDD into this book almost immediately šŸ‘šŸ¼ 

Clara wrote characters that were soooo relatable and enjoyable! Her writing is so bingable and enjoyable! i loved all our main characters and side characters and will absolutely be back tracking to her other book! 

El & Gar are the sweeetest! They both struggle with their own personal battles but when they came together it was the sweetest thing. Plus i will always love a fake dating book šŸ‘šŸ¼ 

The Celiacs Disease representation was done so well. I adore books that have characters that have some extra special to them because as someone who battles daily i relate to these characters so much! 

šŸŒŸ Tropes šŸŒŸ 
Brothers best friend 
Forced Proximity 
Fake Dating 
Hockey Romance 
Autoimmune Representation
Nicknames šŸ§
He gives up GLUTEN for her ā€¦.. swoon 

& i mean i adored that he got into Love Island for her (as a love island lover) i adored this little tidbit. 

I will absolutely recommend this to my peers and will be reading anything Clara puts out! She has easily won me over with this one! šŸ‘šŸ¼ 

She Doesn't Have A Clue by Jenny Elder Moke

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4.5

This was actually so fun! The audio was very well done and kept me engaged from start to finish! The FMC was a quirky and funny and kept a murder mystery plot pretty lighthearted and i enjoyed that!

It gave me comedy / mystery clue game vibes and i ate every second of it up! 

During reading how the FMC kept going back to what her character in her book would do - i actually totally 100% believe thatā€™s how authors are! šŸ˜† 

I would absolutely recommend this book to my peers and would read more by this author. Def recommend consuming via audio! 
Holiday Wedding - Spicy by Melissa Dymond

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3.0

I feel like there was so much going on, but also nothing going on at the same time? 

Holiday Wedding is marketed as a romance, but it really is a combination of spice, suspense and basically just tag tropes. It didnā€™t feel like there was much romance imo. When you got the ā€œromanceā€ side of the plot - it was just semi cringeworthy spice scenes, but not a ton of real build up. 

The first 40ISH% of the book, i was really bored. I kept putting it down and picking it back up later because I just couldnā€™t get into the plot, the characters or just the book in any way. I couldnā€™t figure out what was even happening cuz it felt like a lot of ā€œbusy workā€ writing the first half and not much plot. 

The second half of the book was a lot better in my opinion. Some aspects were cringy or not my favorite but the suspense aspect of the kidnapping etc. was intriguing and kept me wanting to read more. I feel like once she was rescued and they got married the story should have ended though. 

It has surprise pregnancy trope as well, it doesnā€™t bother me much, but it quite predictable throughout. 

Overall, it wasnā€™t BAD but it also wasnā€™t my favorite at all. If you enjoyed this book, i am so happy for you and i love that, it just wasnā€™t for me & thatā€™s why reading is the best because it is subjective! 
Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper

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4.0

this should absolutely be required reading for all high school students. Itā€™s tough, hard to read context, but the author does it in such a way that itā€™s relatable. You have narration, letters, news articles, flashbacks, therapy notes, etc. 

The topics are all relatable in some way or another - death, car accidents, underage drinking, depression, friend loss, scholarship loss, missing scouts, missing school, grades, anxiety, suicide. 

I absolutely loved this book and wish it would have found me earlier in life when i needed to hear this story. 

the audio was very well done. It has multiple narrators and kept me engaged. I would have even liked the book to be longer, but overall it was a hard to read, beautiful story. 
The Friendly Fall by Kristine W. Joy

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4.25

4/4.25 ā­ļø 

THE FINAL INSTALLMENT - honestly iā€™m sad itā€™s over. 

This was a joy to read - it was cute, funny and heartwarming and felt like the perfect ending to this series. You absolutely do not need to read the rest of the series to read any of the books within. 

Kristineā€™s writing is really enjoyable! Itā€™s bingable and the characters are quickly relatable which makes the story more entertaining as a reader. 

I feel like i could see this book as a movie so easily! It had all the  aspects that would keep you entertained on screen and the plot was enjoyable. I loved how the characters found themselves throughout it as well. Our FMC especially - when she told Devon where to shove it, I was cheering and the work bench & letter had me kicking my feet. 

It has allll the goods: fake dating, small town romance, he falls first, cinnamon roll MMC

Absolutely recommend to my peers and would definitely read more by this author in the future. 
The Cock Down the Block by Amy Award

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4.0

This was fun and quick! I really enjoyed the more lightheartedness of it, and actually liked it more than i thought i would! We love a plus size FMC and a protective MMC - and the way he worshiped her - obsessed. 

Itā€™s giving football romance, found family, friends to lovers šŸˆ 

I expected it to be spicier than it was, so i think i actually wanted more spice! šŸ˜† 

Overall it was super fun and cute! 

I would definitely recommend to my peers & will continue in the series! 
The Christmas Ornament by D.L. Gallie

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5.0

THIS WAS SOOOO GOOD. 
i think this has been my favorite of the entire series thus far - I may have said it before, but def this one. 

The banter was absolutely everything! I loved the best friend banter between Sab and Ruby, but the banter didnā€™t stop with them.. Between Ruby and Maddox the banter was so good too. 

I loved all the characters, their relationships between them and i loved seeing Dennis and Sidney in this one too. I truly love Evergreen Lake and will be so sad when the series is over! 

I LOVE a best friendā€™s brother/sister  with a MATURE best friend. I loved that Sab was secretly all for Maddox and Ruby getting together. OH & not just best friendā€™s brother - but ITS ALWAYS BEEN YOU WITH NO CHEATING šŸ‘šŸ¼ šŸ‘šŸ¼ šŸ‘šŸ¼ We love to see it. 

I even didnā€™t hate Joelā€™s character fully. Once we saw his development at the end, i felt like he was redeemable too. 

The spice was top tier too! it didnā€™t feel cringy and wasnā€™t over the top or unrealistic imo! 

Absolutely 10/10 recommend this one being read within the series or by itself! def pick it up! I will absolutely be diving deeper into to this author now too! 
Coffee Break with the Billionaire: A Sweet Billionaire Romcom by Holly Kerr

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3.0

this was a cute installment in the cinnamon roll and pumpkin spice series - but it felt like it had a different vibe than the others in the series. I didnā€™t feel like I was in the small town. Regardless of that, It was a cute story, and the two MCs were quite lovable. 

It is a cinnamon roll, small town romance that focused more on the simple joys in life - friendships, working, independence, etc. 

I enjoyed the story overall, but it felt a bit hard for me to get into. It felt more like a billionaire romance than a fall, cinnamon roll/cozy romance. 

Overall, i would recommend reading it if youā€™re working through the series, but it is def my least favorite of the collection.