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crispycritter's reviews
467 reviews
Whirlwind by Kayla Grosse
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Shoutout to Kayla Grosse for getting into the weeds of climate science and storm chasing. I always appreciate when authors go all-in on the subject matter. We're experiencing a Romance Crisis where research is mostly dead. Some author says their character plays hockey yet understand nothing about hockey? No hockey takes place in the book? Sure, let's call it a hockey romance. But I digress.
There was nothing really wrong here, I just wasn't connecting much to either character. When it's a book with a forbidden romance and high stakes life-or-death scenarios and I'm feelin meh? I literally put this book down when our future couple got caught in a tornado and thought they were going to die. That doesn't bode well for my interest later on in the book. Respectfully DNFing.
There was nothing really wrong here, I just wasn't connecting much to either character. When it's a book with a forbidden romance and high stakes life-or-death scenarios and I'm feelin meh? I literally put this book down when our future couple got caught in a tornado and thought they were going to die. That doesn't bode well for my interest later on in the book. Respectfully DNFing.
Good Duke Gone Wild by Bethany Bennett
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Thing are moving too slow, Big Mystery™️ included. I don’t think the Frost Faire was really necessary albeit it was an interesting tidbit. It felt like the book was starting in the wrong place (too early) just to squeeze in that setting. And I don’t feel like Caro or the Duke have distinct personalities. Caro writes spicy books and the duke has blue eyes and nice hands. I just need a lil more to keep going.
Bennett added a lot of modern terms and modern social conventions. Which is cool- it’s not like I’m an educated enough reader to identify every anachronism. BUT it’s a little annoying that we still have to focus on a Duke/titled dude. The book almost seemed self aware, but not to the extent in the Surprise! Dukes series, which felt like the better balance. I dunno, I think I’m just getting more critical of HR where writers want to have their cake and eat it too. How are we gonna go rah rah down with the patriarchy in the beginning and then marry some bro with a title and give up your money, your IP rights, and bodily autonomy? It’s a weird move to make a character who is arguably doing better on her own in a time when marriage means becoming the chattel of your husband and . . . Make the end goal marriage. Even if brotato has beaucoup bucks.
Bennett added a lot of modern terms and modern social conventions. Which is cool- it’s not like I’m an educated enough reader to identify every anachronism. BUT it’s a little annoying that we still have to focus on a Duke/titled dude. The book almost seemed self aware, but not to the extent in the Surprise! Dukes series, which felt like the better balance. I dunno, I think I’m just getting more critical of HR where writers want to have their cake and eat it too. How are we gonna go rah rah down with the patriarchy in the beginning and then marry some bro with a title and give up your money, your IP rights, and bodily autonomy? It’s a weird move to make a character who is arguably doing better on her own in a time when marriage means becoming the chattel of your husband and . . . Make the end goal marriage. Even if brotato has beaucoup bucks.
Fight by Sloane St. James
3.0
An inoffensive unmemorable KU romance. St. James had some nice messages on breaking free of purity culture, but unfortunately everything else felt like a repackaged and repurposed box of tropes.
The next two books are written by different authors so I probably won't continue.
Absolutely bangin' covers, tho.
The next two books are written by different authors so I probably won't continue.
Absolutely bangin' covers, tho.
Up the Ladder by Ana D'Arcy
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
I can already tell that this is going to be the most cliche romance novel built around one thing: the MMC having a Jacob’s ladder. No thanks.
Unloved by Katy Regnery
1.0
This book was unbelievably bad. I am astounded.
She referred to the clitoris as a “turgid bud.”
No one took care of Brynn’s cat for the entire month this book took place in.
Brynn should get her st-st-st-stutter looked at.
Kate Regnery is not familiar with the concept of nuance. Like the red pill movement, she is a disciple of the cult of nature - people are the way that they are due to biology and nothing can really influence that. Nurturing does not impact behavior. For Regnery, people are just born evil. If your pawpaw was a killer, you’re gonna grow up to be a killer, too. Thank God with a capital G that our hero was switched at birth with the serial killer’s real son, who is actually the evil one! Our poor righteous hero - secretly the pastor’s son - “innocent” (yes, the author’s actual words) the whole time. Exsqueeze me, what???
The resolution of the primary conflict was done in such an unsatisfying, hamfisted way. There were so many permutations of how this could have gone down that would have been better and MORE ROMANTIC. You wanna know what’s more romantic than telling our heroine you can’t be with her because of your evil genes? Just saying FUCK IT and trying to be a good man regardless of who your pappy was. Cause love conquers all?!?! Love didn’t conquer anything here. There was a convenient turn of events which paved the way for love to have a bit of an easier time. Is this romance?!?! Didn’t really feel like it at the end.
Brotato drugs her and leaves her unconscious outside a police station. This is not supposed to be a dark romance. This is some mafia bullshit I will not accept from contemporary romance. Reconsider your life choices, Kate Regnery.
I fear Regnery did not do ANY research on how police investigate crime. My goodness this small town police station has the world’s fastest DNA processing time and good for them for closing a suspicious death /missing person case before they found the missing person.
There was a massive lack of clarity when it came to expressing characters’ dialects. These folks are Mainers. In dialogue everyone kept saying “yore.” It’s considered “better” writing to write dialogue plainly and to imply dialect or accent. And then when they said words like “here” it was written out plainly but then Brynn’s internal thought would repeat “hee-ah.” Not only is this inconsistent. But I kept imagining these Mainers sounding like fancy Tennessee Williams southerners. Words like “here” are not super New Englandy sounding words. Ya know what words ARE? Coffee. A cop offers Brynn coffee at one point. I relentlessly make fun of the way my partner, a New Englander, says this word. You’re picking the wrong emphasis words to hear that dialect.
Perhaps I’ll write more behind a spoiler tag later. But for now - da fuq?
She referred to the clitoris as a “turgid bud.”
No one took care of Brynn’s cat for the entire month this book took place in.
Brynn should get her st-st-st-stutter looked at.
Kate Regnery is not familiar with the concept of nuance. Like the red pill movement, she is a disciple of the cult of nature - people are the way that they are due to biology and nothing can really influence that. Nurturing does not impact behavior. For Regnery, people are just born evil. If your pawpaw was a killer, you’re gonna grow up to be a killer, too. Thank God with a capital G that our hero was switched at birth with the serial killer’s real son, who is actually the evil one! Our poor righteous hero - secretly the pastor’s son - “innocent” (yes, the author’s actual words) the whole time. Exsqueeze me, what???
The resolution of the primary conflict was done in such an unsatisfying, hamfisted way. There were so many permutations of how this could have gone down that would have been better and MORE ROMANTIC. You wanna know what’s more romantic than telling our heroine you can’t be with her because of your evil genes? Just saying FUCK IT and trying to be a good man regardless of who your pappy was. Cause love conquers all?!?! Love didn’t conquer anything here. There was a convenient turn of events which paved the way for love to have a bit of an easier time. Is this romance?!?! Didn’t really feel like it at the end.
Brotato drugs her and leaves her unconscious outside a police station. This is not supposed to be a dark romance. This is some mafia bullshit I will not accept from contemporary romance. Reconsider your life choices, Kate Regnery.
I fear Regnery did not do ANY research on how police investigate crime. My goodness this small town police station has the world’s fastest DNA processing time and good for them for closing a suspicious death /missing person case before they found the missing person.
There was a massive lack of clarity when it came to expressing characters’ dialects. These folks are Mainers. In dialogue everyone kept saying “yore.” It’s considered “better” writing to write dialogue plainly and to imply dialect or accent. And then when they said words like “here” it was written out plainly but then Brynn’s internal thought would repeat “hee-ah.” Not only is this inconsistent. But I kept imagining these Mainers sounding like fancy Tennessee Williams southerners. Words like “here” are not super New Englandy sounding words. Ya know what words ARE? Coffee. A cop offers Brynn coffee at one point. I relentlessly make fun of the way my partner, a New Englander, says this word. You’re picking the wrong emphasis words to hear that dialect.
Perhaps I’ll write more behind a spoiler tag later. But for now - da fuq?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Magic Steals by Ilona Andrews
5.0
Dali might be one of my favorite characters in the Kate Daniels universe.
Heart of Hope by Lucy Score
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 52%.
I fear it’s time to break up with Lucy Score. I feel like every book of hers I read is an increasingly more watered down version of her good good stuff.
So much cringe here. A super wise 8-year-old pleading with the MMC to please dat her mommy? The whole town calling the FMC to wish her good luck getting laid? A brain dead joke? (I say this as a massive fan of dark dark humor - this was awkward af)
So much cringe here. A super wise 8-year-old pleading with the MMC to please dat her mommy? The whole town calling the FMC to wish her good luck getting laid? A brain dead joke? (I say this as a massive fan of dark dark humor - this was awkward af)
Gentle Tyrant by Lucy Gillen
It's kinda wild that novels written in the Victorian era feel more progressive than this. BUT this is still such a cute lil book to add to my collection. Keeping it for aesthetics only, as what's inside the pages is absolute hot garbage.
1.0
I should have expected 1970s romances to have some . . . problematic elements. But hooboy reading this was quite the experience.
- The author frequently used animal metaphors to describe the heroine - in particular, that she was like a wild horse that just needed to be broken *barf*
- Nothing happened. She was a secretary for a brother who did . . . something. And took lots of rides on the moors where she constantly ran into other people from the house.
- The hero was one of those old school dudes who said awful things, shook her like a doll, then kissed her passionately (and against her will!!!!).
- The only other woman with lines is evil, naturally.
- At the line level this was just terrible. Run on sentences, weird word repetition.
It's kinda wild that novels written in the Victorian era feel more progressive than this. BUT this is still such a cute lil book to add to my collection. Keeping it for aesthetics only, as what's inside the pages is absolute hot garbage.