bookrecsbyjess's reviews
1019 reviews

The Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

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The Half King by Melissa Landers

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 62%.
Thank you to Red Tower for the ARC. All opinions are my own. 

DNF @ 62%

Why I chose to read this book:
I got the FairyLoot edition with my subscription, and Red Tower sent me a physical ARC of it. It sounded like a book I would enjoy.

My thoughts:
While the premise of this story was interesting. I had a few issues with the execution. The pacing was all over the place. Sometimes I didn't want to put the book down, but then other times I was quite bored. I also didn't like how the magic system worked or how conveniently things worked out for the main character. Also, the romance was too rushed for me.
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Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli

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adventurous tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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The Serendipity by Emma St. Clair

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you to the author for the ARC of The Serendipity by Emma St. Clair. All opinions are my own. 

The Serendipity had a lot of things that I loved about it. I appreciated the humor, the focus on mental health, and how the conflict wasn’t drawn out. 

As always, this author has such a great sense of humor that makes me laugh. There were lots of fun moments in this story (the opossum), and I loved how Willa, the main female character, had such a fun personality. 

I also appreciated how the topic of mental health was brought up for both main characters. They each experienced different kinds of anxiety, and I liked that they were trying to work through it as well as sharing this vulnerability with each other. 

The conflict in this story definitely made sense for these characters, and I liked how they handled it and didn’t let it become some long, drawn-out issue. This made the story light-hearted and not stressful, which is exactly what I wanted. 

One character that stood out was Bellamy, who was a side character. He was just so much fun, and I enjoyed his friendship with Willa. 

I don’t read a lot of contemporary stories where magic is involved, but I actually really liked the magical element of the apartment building in this story. I’m curious to see how this plays out in the rest of the series. 

Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it! It was a very cute romance with lots of great kisses. 
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Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

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tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Esther: A Woman of Strength and Dignity by Charles R. Swindoll

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

What it's about:
This is an in-depth study of Esther from the Bible. The author explains some of the historical context of events surrounding Esther as well as lessons to apply to our own lives.

What I thought:
I really enjoyed this book. I thought the author did a great job with his research, and I appreciated his thoughts on the different lessons from Esther's life that can apply to our own lives.

> this book was interesting 
> I liked learning about historical context for Esther
> while I flew through this book, you could also easily take your time with this book since there’s so much information 

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I liked this narrator. I listened at 2x speed because I didn’t want to miss out on information.


⚠️ if you’ve read the book of Esther, then you know what to expect. If not, the people at this time were very against the Jewish people that were exiled there. 

🌶️ none

You may also enjoy: I’ve read two other books from this series (David & Joseph) and would recommend those too. I plan to eventually read all of the books in this series (they don’t need to be read in any certain order).
Reckless by Lauren Roberts

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

What it's about:
This book picks up where
Powerless left off. It is more character-focused than the first book. Tensions are high, and secrets are uncovered.
Characters have to decide who to trust and what to believe.

What I thought:
I loved this! The tension between Kai and Paedyn was amazing, and I loved their chemistry in this book. I also loved the vulnerability between them. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.

> I loved this!
> the tension between Paedyn & Kai was 🔥
> I loved the vulnerability 
> while I loved the fast-paced plot of book 1, I  liked the character focus in this one
> that ending has me so anxious for the next book

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I loved all three narrators and appreciated having different narrators for each of the POVs. 

⚠️ violence, confinement, panic attacks, and more.

🌶️ kissing
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Powerful by Lauren Roberts

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funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

What it's about:
This story takes place during the events of Powerless. It follows Paedyn's best friend Adena. She is a seamstress trying to survive on the streets when she meets Mak, a man who needs her help getting into the royal palace.

What I thought:
Adena is so precious, and I loved her relationship with Mak. They were so cute and funny together. It was nice getting to know more about her backstory. It was also so heartbreaking.

> this story was so sweet and heartbreaking
> I loved getting to know more about this side character from Powerless
> I think if you read this in tandem with Powerless, it might be a slightly better experience but more heartbreaking 

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I really liked these narrators.

⚠️ death, violence, and some other heavy content.

🌶️ just kisses
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Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

What it's about:
Paedyn has been living in the streets and hiding her "ordinary" status from the elites. When she unknowingly rescues the prince, she finds herself thrown into deadly trials where she has to choose whether to trust the prince or not.

What I thought:
I loved this book! Paedyn and Kai had such great tension and so many great scenes together. The trials reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games, which I loved. I also enjoyed the side characters in this story too.

> I loved this!
> Paedyn is a great protagonist 
> Kai 😍😍😍
> the tension between Kai & Paedyn 🔥
> love the Hunger Games style trials
> so many cute scenes
> the dancing! 😍
> “who did this to you?” 🥹

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I really enjoyed these narrators and would recommend this format.

⚠️ lots of violence, death of loved ones, grief, panic attacks, and more.

🌶️ just kisses
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The Irish Girl: A Novel by Ashley E. Sweeney

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 68%.
Thank you to She Writes Press for the gifted ebook. All opinions are my own. 

Why I chose to read this book:
I was asked to read and review this book, and from the synopsis I was given, it sounded like something I would enjoy.

My thoughts:
This book was bleak the entire time I was reading it. The main character experienced one traumatic event after another, and the writing was so graphic at times. I just couldn't stomach the content of this book. If you like depressing stories with a LOT of triggering content, then I think you'll enjoy this book.
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