bookrecsbyjess's reviews
1038 reviews

The Geographer's Map to Romance by India Holton

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

What it's about:

Professors and estranged spouses

Elodie and Gabriel Tarrant find

themselves both requested to help stop a magical storm that threatens England. Forced to work together, they have to decide how they really feel about each other.

What I thought:

This was such a fun book! There was so much longing in this book, and I loved how witty Elodie was. Gabriel didn't seem to know what to say half the time, and I loved watching him get so flustered by Elodie.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I love this narrator. I do wish there had been an additional narrator to narrate Gabriel’s POV, but it was still excellent.

⚠️ swearing and injuries

🌶️ open door scenes & lots of innuendos

Content Warnings

Petals and Plot Twists by Jenny Proctor

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Thank you to the author for the ARC of Petals and Plot Twists by Jenny Proctor. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read several of Jenny Proctor’s books in the past and absolutely loved them, so please take that into consideration that my thoughts on this book are not critiques of how great of a writer she is (because she’s fabulous) but more just my preferences of tropes and plot points.

What I loved about this book:

Peter was an absolute dream for a main male character. He was sweet, thoughtful, and just such a kind friend to Sophie. I also appreciated that he had a normal job instead of a stereotypical romcom career. His love of Legos was so fun, and I liked how he had such a close friendship with Sophie but that he also made an effort to get to know Archer.

I also really liked how good of a friend Willa was in this book. Her friendship with Sophie was great, and I really appreciated their conversations. A lot of times in romcoms, the best friend seems to give bad advice, but I think Willa had a lot great things to say to Sophie without being mean.

Why I didn’t rate this book higher:

My biggest issue with this book was Sophie and her insistence on making choices based on the magical flower. Even though she could see that Peter would be a perfect boyfriend for her, she allowed some magical flower (that she just recently learned about) to make her final decisions regarding who to date. Her willingness to trust in some magical object instead of her longtime friendship with Peter was so frustrating.

While I absolutely love friends to lovers stories, I have a hard time when the main character continues to date a bunch of people while the love interest is hurt over and over again. I know some people don’t mind this type of plot, but it’s very hard for me to read and not get upset with the main character. If they’re going to date a bunch, I prefer it to be more in the past.

Overall, this was a cute romcom with the sweetest main male character. I think some readers will love it, but it just wasn’t for me. That being said, I will absolutely read anything Jenny Proctor writes!

To Con a Gentleman by Sarah Adams

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

What it's about:

Rose Wakefield has been conning people for most of her life. When she accidentally cons the wrong man, she finds herself whisked away to his family's estate where she has to pretend to be the doting fiancée of Carver Ashburn, Earl of Kensworth.

What I thought:

I absolutely loved this book! It has the amazing humor and writing style of Sarah Adams but in a regency romance! The characters were so charming, and I loved the banter between them. All of the characters were just so lovable.

⚠️ grief, death, miscarriage, & injuries

🌶️ just kisses

Content Warnings

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

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funny lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

The Ragpicker King by Cassandra Clare

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

What it's about:

This book picks up soon after the events at the end of Sword Catcher.

There's new characters and many new POVs. There's also more romance in this book than book one.

It leaves a lot of questions about what will come next.

What I thought:

I liked this book more than Sword

Catcher because I felt the pacing was better. I also appreciated that there was some more romance in it.

There's so much going on in this book that I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters.

> there was a huge cast of characters and a lot of POVs

> I liked not knowing what would happen next

> I enjoyed that there was a little more romance in this book

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: while the narrators were good, this book would’ve been better with a full cast for all the different POVs.

⚠️ violence, swearing, and more

🌶️ multiple open door scenes

Content Warnings

A Time Traveler's Masquerade: A McQuivey's Costume Shop Romance by Sian Ann Bessey

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Pub and Proper Romance for the ARC of A Time Traveler’s Masquerade by Sian Ann Bessey. All opinions are my own.

I don’t have much experience reading time traveling books, but this book sounded like it would be a lot of fun, and it explored a time period that I knew very little about before reading it.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Isla, the main female character, was so interesting, and I loved how quickly she adapted to her life in 1605. It had to be quite a big shock for her to time travel so far into the past where she had to adjust to life without modern inventions.

Simon was such a sweet male main character. I appreciated his willingness to change his opinions of Isla after getting to know her. I also really liked his sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. They were all so welcoming to Isla.

Before reading this book, I had heard of but didn’t know anything about the Guy Fawkes’s Gunpowder Plot. I appreciated the research the author did regarding this time period and historical event. I learned so much.

Besides Isla and Simon’s points of view, the author also decided to include the POV for Guy Fawkes. I honestly didn’t really like his chapters as much as theirs. They weren’t terrible, but I just wasn’t that interested in his point of view.

The ending also seemed too quick for me. I felt like the ending was rushed and not discussed enough especially considering what happens to the characters.

Overall, I thought this book was cute, and I had an enjoyable time reading it.

Content Warnings

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What it's about:

This book picks up in the aftermath of Iron Flame. Some of the characters have to go on a quest, and new alliances are formed. There are so many secrets revealed.

What I thought:

I loved this book! It was such a fun time, and I loved not knowing what would happen next. The romance was so sweet, and I liked learning more about the surrounding land. There was also a lot of great snarky banter.

⚠️ lots of violence, gore, & swearing

🌶️ quite a lot of explicit scenes, but I was able to skim for dialogue and skip over them

Content Warnings

Secret or Shutout by Leah Brunner

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Thank you to the author and Booked with the Emilys for the ARC of Secret or Shutout by Leah Brunner. All opinions are my own.

Secret of Shutout is the fourth book in the DC Eagles Hockey series by Leah Brunner. I’ve read and loved each book in this series, but this might be my new favorite.

I read this book in two days because I didn’t want to put it down. The characters were just so lovable, and I was rooting for the romance the whole time.

This story follows hockey goalie Bruce McBride and Farrah Remington, the sister to hockey captain, Ford Remington. Throughout the other books in this series, I could see that Bruce was wanting to settle down with someone, but it just wasn’t his time yet. I loved finally getting to see his happy ending.

Bruce was such a wonderful main character who was completely gone for Farrah from the very beginning. I loved seeing him pine over her throughout this book. He was so sweet to her, and I loved how well he took care of her.

Farrah was a very lovable character, and I liked how strong she was coming back from past heartache. I also appreciated that the author included her experience of PCOS through Farrah’s character.

Another highlight was the friend group between the hockey players and their partners. They were so much fun when they got together, and I liked how they encouraged and teased one another.

This book had me laughing and smiling so much, and I just can’t recommend it enough! I would say that the best reading experience would be to read these books in order, but this book can technically be read as a standalone.

Content Warnings

His Unforgettable Bride by Patti Stockdale, Jody Hedlund

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hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Thank you to Sunrise Publishing for the ARC of His Unforgettable Bride by Jody Hedlund and Patti Stockdale. All opinions are my own.

This was such a sweet book overall. I’ve enjoyed each of the books in this series so far, and I loved getting to see some of the characters from other books in this series make an appearance in this story. Although part of a series, this book can be read as a standalone.

The characters is this book were very sweet for the most part. I liked both Henry/Gray and Juliet. Henry was charming, and Juliet spoke her mind. I liked how they complemented each other. The sisters were very nice on one hand, but I didn’t like how they kept trying to make Juliet more “proper.”

I enjoyed how the amnesia trope was used in this story, and how the identity reveal was done. I thought the characters’ reactions made sense, and I really felt for Henry because of all the conflicting feelings he had about his own identity.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and would recommend it.

Content Warnings

The Secrets Beneath by Kimberley Woodhouse

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

What it's about:

This story follows a female paleontologist in the late 1800s. She and her father discover the bones of a dinosaur on the property of a family that no one in town likes. When someone goes missing, they have to decide who they can trust.

What I thought:

I thought this book was so interesting because of the paleontology focus, the mystery, and the sweet romance. I'm excited to read the other books in this series soon.

> I loved learning more about paleontology, especially as it was becoming more popular in this time period

> the mystery aspect surrounding the missing people was so interesting

> the romance was very sweet

> I liked the faith themes throughout

> I appreciated the way the author handled the topic of grief

⚠️ there’s a lot of heavy content in this book including a lot of past trauma and death.

🌶️ just kisses

Content Warnings

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bookrecsbyjess's reviews 1038 reviews

bookrecsbyjess's reviews
1038 reviews