clairemurray's reviews
91 reviews

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Begin Again by Emma Lord

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5/5 ⭐️

I was pleasantly surprised with this book. Honestly im not a slow burn friends to lovers kind of gal but i really enjoyed this! I would have liked the main character to figure out her feelings a little sooner but overall her growth was amazing. She starts out as unsure of herself but throughout the story she becomes more comfortable at her dream college and with her friends and she really becomes her own person. This is DEFINITELY a coming of age story! I can definitely see this book turned into a young adult romance move on netflix, kind of like the kissing booth (i love that movie this is a compliment). I can’t wait to see where this story goes and I know it’s going to resonate with so many young readers also trying to find their place in this crazy world!!

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and Emma Lord for allowing me to read this as an ARC in exchange for my honest review :)

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’ll be honest, I am not one for the friends to lovers trope but Sophie Sullivan wrote it so well I absolutely loved this book. These characters were so well thought out and described that I related to their issues, understood them, but still felt myself screaming inside “GOD JUST TALK TO EACHOTHER AND WORK IT OUT ALREADY!!!”. 

Hailey is an independent woman (go off queen) starting a business that has been hurt by exes and parents, causing her to want to do it all alone because the only person she can trust fully is herself. Wes is a successful businessman who spent majority of his life protecting his brothers from family conflicts. If Wes sees a problem, he wants to fix it and take the burden off the people he cares about. These two certainly butt heads because of their past. 

Hailey and Wes’s friendship was exactly what the needed and I didn’t even mind that it seemed to drag on forever (even though it was obvious to the readers that they obviously wanted more). If you like friends to lovers as a trope then you will DEFINITELY like this one. Also has a grumpy-sunshine vibe as well.

I didn’t realize this was a part of a series before reading but I definitely think it could be read as a stand alone as well! But i loved this so much and i enjoyed the side characters that I’ll definitely consider reading the other two of the series! 

Thank you Netgalley, Sophie Sullivan, and St. Martin’s Press for letting me read this as an ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker

funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

From a distance, Leah sees a man proposing to a beautiful woman and then sees that woman destroy his heart by saying no. Eli is now on a mission to win his girl Victoria back by turning into a man straight from a romantic comedy. But like a romantic comedy, it’s never the cold hearted girl who gets the guy, is it?

REVIEW:
This book for me was 3/5 stars. This book was a slow burn. As slow as molasses. And the male interest only comes to terms that he loves the girl after he finds out that his ex has moved on? It’s a no from me, girl. I would have liked for him to figure that out on his own, without his ex having anything to do with it. & what does he do when he finally gets the girl? Goes to the airport to pick up his ex and fix her relationship with another guy.. I felt like this story would have been fine without the ex showing up in the end. The found family trope was great, the female love interest’s back story was beautiful and showed her strength. So it was disappointing to me that in the end it still seemed like she was the second choice. This wasn’t a bad book,  but it just didn’t scratch that itch for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this in exchange for a review :)

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I genuinely don’t know if any book will ever top this for me. 

SYNOPSIS: 
After the events of under the mountain, Feyre tries to cope with the loss her human life as she figures out what it means to be high fae. Tensions are high between her and Tamlin as feyre honours her bargain with Rhysand.

REVIEW: 
I knew I would love this book, but it surpassed all expectations I had. SJM is the goddess of words i s2g. I really felt for feyre when she was trapped in her grief, literally and figuratively. Tamlin is the epitome of a man who needs therapy. I’m so glad to get more of Rhysand in this book and im OBSESSED with the inner circle, would do anything for them. This book showed found family so beautifully❤️ Tamlin can rot, justice for lucien and the archeron sisters xo

Covet by Tracy Wolff

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

SYNOPSIS:
Recovering bad boy Nolan Shaw signs on to a hallmark-esque christmas movie to repair his name in the media. Unbeknownst to Nolan, the producer of this movie also owns a porn studio and he is about to replace his missing costar with one of his porn stars.

REVIEW:
EEEEEEK THESE TWO JUST DO IT FOR ME!! I love the hallmark feels of the setting, but that’s about ALL that screams hallmark to me lol. The spice and sexual tension between these two? FANTASTIC. The “let’s keep us a secret so the world doesn’t implode” was fine for a bit but then like Bee, i was starting to get annoyed and just wanted the conflict to be done and over with. STILL i really enjoyed this book. The love seemed pure even though it was still pretty steamy lol. Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a sexy christmas novel!

Crush by Tracy Wolff

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I curse myself for loving these books so much LOL. Even though a lot of what goes on has me screaming “OKAY SERIOUSLY WTF IS GOING ON??”. Either way i have to see this series through even if i think it’s garbage. I’m a trash can clearly bc i can’t get enough

Just Like Magic by Sarah Hogle

adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

I’m so glad i read this so close to the holidays!! It’s definitely one of those grumpy meets sunshine books for sure. I really enjoyed the golden retriever christmas energy Hall was bringing to the table and how his joy brought Bertie’s family together. Towards the end i was SO sad bc i knew a conflict was eventually going to show up (bc that romance genre rlly loves to play with our hearts) and i just wanted these two to end up together. The growth Bettie has in this book was admirable and she worked through a lot of relatable issues & once she did, her & hall were better for it. I love this book and can definitely see myself rereading next christmas to get me in the spirit!