celeste_velocci's reviews
490 reviews

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

I’ve always been a Britney Spears fan but I honestly learned so much from this memoir. This was raw , real , and sad. I’m grateful she has taken back her life and is stronger than yesterday (see what I did there lol) 

I’ll always be a fan and hearing her life story and all she’s gone through since she was younger makes me an even bigger fan and advocate for using your voice loud and proud. 

First Wife's Shadow: A Novel by Adele Parks

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Many thanks to MIRA Books, The Hive, and NetGalley for the gifted copy of First Wife’s Shadow. I really loved this one! It was a twisted and unique thriller. The twists kept on coming in the last 25% of the book and I really did not see a few of them coming which is rare for me. 

Emma an extremely independent hardworking woman gets swept off her feet when she meets the swoon worthy Matthew. Matthew a widower quickly wins Emma over and has her making room in her very structured life for a new love. As time goes on strange things start happening and Matthew reveals more and more about his late wife Becky. Emma begins to compare herself to Matthew’s late wife and feels that she is in competition with a dead woman who was with her husband before her. Can these strangers occurrences have anything to do with Matthew’s late wife? How is that possible when she is dead? Is Emma  losing touch with reality? 

Told from multiple points of views you’ll be tossed into this twisty thriller and questioning everyone. 

The Neighbor by N.L. Hinkens

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

This author is very hit or miss for me. The last book I read I really enjoyed while this one unfortunately missed the mark for me. It had major lifetime movies vibes. As a kindle unlimited thriller reader I  often read them as palette cleansers aside from some of the hidden gems. This did the trick to move along my reading goal but it fell pretty flat for me. It was fine! Another popcorn thriller that’s hit or miss. 

Rally by Devney Perry

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this one! It was my favorite so far in the series - I can’t wait to read the final book but sad it’s ending. I’m not usually a romance reader but this one had me in my feels. I loved the characters , their story, growth, just everything! Any book that makes me emotional is usually a contender for a five star read so the fact that this book made me cry and I finished it in less than a day it deserves a glowing five star review! 

Blitz by Devney Perry

emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

This was a solid sports romance. I have been loving this series and I can’t wait to read the rest. One thing about this author is she creates likeable characters and is not cringy when it comes to romance and spice. I’m not the biggest romance reader but I always enjoy Devney Perry’s writing and her characters. 

Missing In Flight by Audrey J. Cole

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.0

This started out super strong but then it kind of flopped for me. A lot of it seemed far fetched and there were so many different story lines happening I just couldn’t get back into it after it lost me at about the halfway point. 

The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

This was short , sweet, and cute! I honestly wish it was a full length book…pretty predictable but made me laugh and I really loved the characters 

Sociopath by Patric Gagne

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

I love listening to memoirs especially on topics I don't know much about or have a stigma around them. It is no secret mental health and psychology have a stigma surrounding them in the world we live in today. Being able to educate myself is something I thoroughly enjoy from reading memoirs and hearing someone's story. 

I always listen to memoirs and this one was read by the author - Patric Gagne. Patric Gagne is a diagnosed sociopath who is also a psychologist, mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. This was so incredibly interesting to learn more about sociopaths. There is such a stigma surrounding this topic that it is often taboo to talk about but something I learned from this book is that we are surrounded by sociopaths everyday without even realizing and that they are human too they are just wired differently than people who are not sociopaths. I learned a lot from this memoir and I look forward to reading more memoirs pertaining to mental health in the future.

The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was very meh to me. I usually love a domestic suburbia thriller read. None of these characters were likable and I found them all to be a bit annoying. Some of the things in the book just didn't make sense to me or seemed far fetched. If you are newer to the genre of thrillers I think you'll enjoy this one but if you are a seasoned thriller reader you may find it to be underwhelming. I do love this author and I plan to read the rest of her books but so far nothing has wowed me quite like The Drowning Woman has!

Kill Yours, Kill Mine by Katherine Kovacic

2.0

Review coming soon