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131 reviews
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
2.0
Characters:
Gwen is the princess of Camelot. She is introverted and wants nothing more than to be left alone and dream about female knight Bridget Leclair. She's very stubborn, cowardly, and anxious. I really liked her character. Art is the son of the lord Maidvale and Gwen's fiancé since birth. He's a prat and quite unlikable. Even for a teenage boy character I found him to be very immature and mean. Even when we as the audience are supposed to feel for him I failed to connect. He's very judgmental, projects a lot onto others, and can do so because he doesn't have the same responsibilities as the other two. Gabriel is Gwen's brother and heir to the throne. I loved how earnest he is about being a good king for all of his people as he believes King Arthur was even though the way he goes about it is not good.
Plot:
Since her birth, Gwen has been betrothed to Art and since her birth they held a childish dislike of each other. As their marriage looms Arthur is forced is spend the summer at court, Gwen sees him kiss a man. This leads to them brokering a deal of peace because Art figures out her crush on Bridget. I didn't like the blackmailing aspect. It's a personal pet peeve of mine. I also feel like the reason Arthur hated Gwen as much as it did needed to be bigger. She did nothing to him, it was all his own personal issues. The crux of my issue with this book is the setting. Since it was an infusion of being modern but also medieval it was hard to tell what the stakes were. The last 25% was a real shift that would have been more interesting if I had liked the characters more and cared about the world more.
Rating: I give this book a 2/5
Gwen is the princess of Camelot. She is introverted and wants nothing more than to be left alone and dream about female knight Bridget Leclair. She's very stubborn, cowardly, and anxious. I really liked her character. Art is the son of the lord Maidvale and Gwen's fiancé since birth. He's a prat and quite unlikable. Even for a teenage boy character I found him to be very immature and mean. Even when we as the audience are supposed to feel for him I failed to connect. He's very judgmental, projects a lot onto others, and can do so because he doesn't have the same responsibilities as the other two. Gabriel is Gwen's brother and heir to the throne. I loved how earnest he is about being a good king for all of his people as he believes King Arthur was even though the way he goes about it is not good.
Plot:
Since her birth, Gwen has been betrothed to Art and since her birth they held a childish dislike of each other. As their marriage looms Arthur is forced is spend the summer at court, Gwen sees him kiss a man. This leads to them brokering a deal of peace because Art figures out her crush on Bridget. I didn't like the blackmailing aspect. It's a personal pet peeve of mine. I also feel like the reason Arthur hated Gwen as much as it did needed to be bigger. She did nothing to him, it was all his own personal issues. The crux of my issue with this book is the setting. Since it was an infusion of being modern but also medieval it was hard to tell what the stakes were. The last 25% was a real shift that would have been more interesting if I had liked the characters more and cared about the world more.
Rating: I give this book a 2/5
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert
Characters:
Eve Brown is very relatable to me. Her struggles match mine as someone with anxiety and autism. I loved her personality. She reminded me a lot of myself. Jacob Wayne is real asshole with a secret soft side hidden deep beneath the surface. It took me a long while to like him because he was written very mean at the beginning and I didn't find it appealing at all. But once he started to be nice I warmed up to him a lot.
Plot:
After Eve's parents cut her off, Eve finds refuge at a bed and breakfast run by a grumpy man named Jacob. I didn't like that it felt insta-lusty. I didn't find Eve and Jacob's banter to be fun as I found Jacob to be quite mean. (“Is this negging? Are you negging me right now? was the funniest line of the book because it literally was what I was thinking.) However, once they began to get to know each other and connect (and he stopped being a dickhead) I began to like the story a lot more. Eve's journey was much different than her sisters and I related to her a lot. I found their relationship really sweet and their ability to understand each other was great.
Rating: I give this book a 4/5
4.0
Perhaps she was starting to understand that most of the time, his sharpness had more to do with himself than anyone else.
Characters:
Eve Brown is very relatable to me. Her struggles match mine as someone with anxiety and autism. I loved her personality. She reminded me a lot of myself. Jacob Wayne is real asshole with a secret soft side hidden deep beneath the surface. It took me a long while to like him because he was written very mean at the beginning and I didn't find it appealing at all. But once he started to be nice I warmed up to him a lot.
Plot:
After Eve's parents cut her off, Eve finds refuge at a bed and breakfast run by a grumpy man named Jacob. I didn't like that it felt insta-lusty. I didn't find Eve and Jacob's banter to be fun as I found Jacob to be quite mean. (“Is this negging? Are you negging me right now? was the funniest line of the book because it literally was what I was thinking.) However, once they began to get to know each other and connect (and he stopped being a dickhead) I began to like the story a lot more. Eve's journey was much different than her sisters and I related to her a lot. I found their relationship really sweet and their ability to understand each other was great.
Rating: I give this book a 4/5
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
The Good
Zetian is amazing. I love her anger and desire for revenge. I also love how she manipulates the system and men around her to her advantage. She's a master strategist with nothing to lose. The lore is amazing. Once the action starts and we get more information I was hooked into the story. Yizhi and Zetian have such sweet relationship. He is so devoted to her and though he has a difficult perspective in life, he understands her. Li Shimin is the love of my life. Forreal. He's a mess but cares so deeply and is protective of Zetian in a way no one had been before. This book is such a "fuck you" to love triangles and I'm obsessed. I like how subtly it was built and worked up to. They each have something the other needs and complete each other. I love how this book tackles sexism, classism, and even colorism. It also shows these issues in a more nuanced way. Women have have internalized misogyny. Misogyny in men is also deeper than hatred. It's about control, dominance, and power. I also loved how high the stakes were. Ever action or non-action had a consequence and ever win had a loss. Nothing is perfectly and that makes it all the more real. There is also a twist at the end I wasn't expecting at all. I love not being able to anticipate where a story is going.
The Bad
The biggest problem I had was visualizing the fights. It was difficult for me to really imagine what it looked like so it made the battle sections very confusing and hard to track what what happening. It might be due to me never watching shows with mecha's but I often got lost reading these parts.
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
5.0
"You've been living a dream for long enough! Welcome to your nightmare!"
The Good
Zetian is amazing. I love her anger and desire for revenge. I also love how she manipulates the system and men around her to her advantage. She's a master strategist with nothing to lose. The lore is amazing. Once the action starts and we get more information I was hooked into the story. Yizhi and Zetian have such sweet relationship. He is so devoted to her and though he has a difficult perspective in life, he understands her. Li Shimin is the love of my life. Forreal. He's a mess but cares so deeply and is protective of Zetian in a way no one had been before. This book is such a "fuck you" to love triangles and I'm obsessed. I like how subtly it was built and worked up to. They each have something the other needs and complete each other. I love how this book tackles sexism, classism, and even colorism. It also shows these issues in a more nuanced way. Women have have internalized misogyny. Misogyny in men is also deeper than hatred. It's about control, dominance, and power. I also loved how high the stakes were. Ever action or non-action had a consequence and ever win had a loss. Nothing is perfectly and that makes it all the more real. There is also a twist at the end I wasn't expecting at all. I love not being able to anticipate where a story is going.
The Bad
The biggest problem I had was visualizing the fights. It was difficult for me to really imagine what it looked like so it made the battle sections very confusing and hard to track what what happening. It might be due to me never watching shows with mecha's but I often got lost reading these parts.
The Rating
I give this book a 5/5
Single Dads Club by Therese Beharrie
3.0
The Good
Both Rowan and Delilah are interesting lead characters. We really get to see how their past leads their present actions and learn to understand them. Rowan was especially relatable to me as someone with social anxiety. I really enjoyed their separate growth and dealing with their personal trauma.
The Bad
The big issue with Delilah's past being an issue was hard for me to take seriously. Judging someone for being a socialite in the past and coming from money when you knew they were a nice person in the present was hard for me to take seriously. It just felt irrational. Though their characters had depth and real potential, their relationship itself lacked enough chemistry for me to root for them to be together. I think for the amount of issues they had it made it hard for me to believe in their love and root for their relationship. Especially since most progression was one step forward two steps back and usually required outside intervention for it to be resolved.
The Rating
I give this book a 3/5
Both Rowan and Delilah are interesting lead characters. We really get to see how their past leads their present actions and learn to understand them. Rowan was especially relatable to me as someone with social anxiety. I really enjoyed their separate growth and dealing with their personal trauma.
The Bad
The big issue with Delilah's past being an issue was hard for me to take seriously. Judging someone for being a socialite in the past and coming from money when you knew they were a nice person in the present was hard for me to take seriously. It just felt irrational. Though their characters had depth and real potential, their relationship itself lacked enough chemistry for me to root for them to be together. I think for the amount of issues they had it made it hard for me to believe in their love and root for their relationship. Especially since most progression was one step forward two steps back and usually required outside intervention for it to be resolved.
The Rating
I give this book a 3/5
Radiant Sin by Katee Robert
4.0
The Good
Cassandra is an interesting character. I love how she puts her needs and her sister before anything. Apollo is a great male lead. He is down terrible, he likes her so much. I like the plot here more than the previous book in this series. It's interesting to hear about the boundary and the creation of Olympus. The fake dating set up was great and I liked how their relationship progressed into them admitting their feelings for each other. The build up to their relationship and their chemistry was amazing. I loved that they both liked each other before hand and that they understood and cared for each other so much.
The Bad
I felt like the plot was so drawn out. This might be because I don't often read mysteries and want answers more quickly.
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
Cassandra is an interesting character. I love how she puts her needs and her sister before anything. Apollo is a great male lead. He is down terrible, he likes her so much. I like the plot here more than the previous book in this series. It's interesting to hear about the boundary and the creation of Olympus. The fake dating set up was great and I liked how their relationship progressed into them admitting their feelings for each other. The build up to their relationship and their chemistry was amazing. I loved that they both liked each other before hand and that they understood and cared for each other so much.
The Bad
I felt like the plot was so drawn out. This might be because I don't often read mysteries and want answers more quickly.
The Rating
I give this book a 4/5
The Grim Reaper's Lawyer by Mea Monique
Characters:
Joyce is a lawyer who was unceremoniously killed by her wacko definitely guilty client. Aiden is a reaper who is in deep shit after making a mistake on the job. These two have great banter from their first interaction and it gets better throughout the story.
Plot:
I loved this whole concept from the very start. After being murdered by her client Joyce is given two opinions: Hell or becoming a lawyer for the Grim Reaper in their new court system. I loved the pacing of this book. It draws you in immediately and gives you a brand new and interesting world. There is a surprise "twist" in the story that I felt it was out of nowhere and then
I also wasn't invested in their love story as I felt as though the emotional connection wasn't earned. However I did enjoy the ending and the overall plot itself.
Secret Sauce:
The sauce was lacking. I didn't find the intimate scenes between Aiden and Joyce enjoyable but I think that comes down to personal preference. The whole dom-type possessive alpha stuff makes me cringe really bad.
Rating: I give this book a 3/5
3.0
“Joyce Parker. Thirty-year-old African American female. Time of death is 4 p.m. Sorry to inform you, but you are dead."
Characters:
Joyce is a lawyer who was unceremoniously killed by her wacko definitely guilty client. Aiden is a reaper who is in deep shit after making a mistake on the job. These two have great banter from their first interaction and it gets better throughout the story.
Plot:
I loved this whole concept from the very start. After being murdered by her client Joyce is given two opinions: Hell or becoming a lawyer for the Grim Reaper in their new court system. I loved the pacing of this book. It draws you in immediately and gives you a brand new and interesting world. There is a surprise "twist" in the story that I felt it was out of nowhere and then
I also wasn't invested in their love story as I felt as though the emotional connection wasn't earned. However I did enjoy the ending and the overall plot itself.
Secret Sauce:
The sauce was lacking. I didn't find the intimate scenes between Aiden and Joyce enjoyable but I think that comes down to personal preference. The whole dom-type possessive alpha stuff makes me cringe really bad.
Rating: I give this book a 3/5
Entranced by the Basilisks by Lillian Lark
2.0
I guess snake's really aren't to be trusted...
Characters:
Emilia is a human archivist and was introduced in the previous novel of this series. She hold a lot of anxiety and that effects her a lot. I liked her quite a bit.
m Jasper is a grumpy overworked viper shifter who wants both Emilia and Ari but denies himself anything. I really liked him and understood his insecurities. Ari is another snake shifter who after several years in a causal relationship with Jasper want to be together for-real, he sees Emilia as a way to make that happen. I disliked him that he was so manipulative. It was hard for me to turn off my critical brain to get past that aspect of his personality when it was so constant. Like 70% in the book he was still keeping secrets and wanted to put his need's first.
Plot:
There were a couple plot points going on here that I found interesting. There was a conflict between Jasper and Ari and what a relationship between them would mean because of their class differences. Meanwhile, Emilia has been "cursed" by a book from her job and is basically medusa-fied. The possible cure? Pleasure from a serpent kin. Her life further entangles with the basilisk duo as they search for a way to remove the "curse" while also developing a connection.
This was very relationship development focused which I like in paranormal romance. However, the relationship dynamic between Ari and each person really grated my interest. It was better when it wasn't in his POV and he wasn't obviously being manipulative and hiding things for his benefit. I wish it focused more on the outside conflicts affecting their relationship and not Ari keeping secrets and being sneaky. (He isn't even sorry either — not really.
Secret Sauce:
There was good chemistry and development between the characters which made their more explicit scenes together all the better. The nicknames made me cringe a lot though.
Rating: I give this book a 2/5
Characters:
Emilia is a human archivist and was introduced in the previous novel of this series. She hold a lot of anxiety and that effects her a lot. I liked her quite a bit.
m Jasper is a grumpy overworked viper shifter who wants both Emilia and Ari but denies himself anything. I really liked him and understood his insecurities. Ari is another snake shifter who after several years in a causal relationship with Jasper want to be together for-real, he sees Emilia as a way to make that happen. I disliked him that he was so manipulative. It was hard for me to turn off my critical brain to get past that aspect of his personality when it was so constant. Like 70% in the book he was still keeping secrets and wanted to put his need's first.
Plot:
There were a couple plot points going on here that I found interesting. There was a conflict between Jasper and Ari and what a relationship between them would mean because of their class differences. Meanwhile, Emilia has been "cursed" by a book from her job and is basically medusa-fied. The possible cure? Pleasure from a serpent kin. Her life further entangles with the basilisk duo as they search for a way to remove the "curse" while also developing a connection.
This was very relationship development focused which I like in paranormal romance. However, the relationship dynamic between Ari and each person really grated my interest. It was better when it wasn't in his POV and he wasn't obviously being manipulative and hiding things for his benefit. I wish it focused more on the outside conflicts affecting their relationship and not Ari keeping secrets and being sneaky. (He isn't even sorry either — not really.
Secret Sauce:
There was good chemistry and development between the characters which made their more explicit scenes together all the better. The nicknames made me cringe a lot though.
Rating: I give this book a 2/5
When She's Pregnant by Ruby Dixon
3.0
Highlights: Ainar and Naomi are so sweet and charming together. I prefer couples like these than the angry caveman type.
Lowlights: The miscommunication was a but silly but not drawn out so it was forgivable. They simply didn't know each other long enough to be able to communicate well which is realistic.
Horn Level: 3/5
Lowlights: The miscommunication was a but silly but not drawn out so it was forgivable. They simply didn't know each other long enough to be able to communicate well which is realistic.
Horn Level: 3/5
Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon
The Good
This story was a wild and fun ride. I liked the Dracula references and the general world building. It made me finally really want to read all these books in order rather than randomly like I've been doing so far.
The Bad
There was a lack of spice in this book which I never thought I would complain about in a Dixon book but hey, here I am. It made sense for plot reasons but I wish we got more of them especially towards the end.
The Rating
I gave this book 3/5
3.0
Crulden is easy to love, too. Not that I'll allow myself to love him. If I could, though, I'd love his protectiveness, his interest in the world around him. I'd love that he listens to everything I say as if it's vitally important, and how we talk for hours in bed when we're supposed to be sleeping.
The Good
This story was a wild and fun ride. I liked the Dracula references and the general world building. It made me finally really want to read all these books in order rather than randomly like I've been doing so far.
The Bad
There was a lack of spice in this book which I never thought I would complain about in a Dixon book but hey, here I am. It made sense for plot reasons but I wish we got more of them especially towards the end.
The Rating
I gave this book 3/5