ditten's reviews
431 reviews

Look Closer by David Ellis

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Really great thriller with so many exciting twists. It was a really fun read, and every time I felt like I'd figured something out, I was thrown by the reveal. Great book

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.

I thought I'd figured out the ending and the book was really slow so I just abandoned the book and googled the ending instead 

The Hitman's Guide to Codenames and Ill-Gotten Gains by Alice Winters

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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

5.0

I am madly in love with this unhinged, utterly dysfunctional, yet entirely loveable found family that never fails to make me laugh so hard my face hurts!

Leland and Jackson continue to be madly in love while Leland drags Jackson and their friends along on his ridiculously funny schemes that they all pretend to hate but secretly somehow love. Mostly. It's fantastic to see Leland leaning on Jackson when he starts to get in his own head, and I love them both so much.

I also love how mad Leland gets over how cute Cassel is while obviously loving him in his own way that includes kidnapping Cassel and Jeremy for a fun double date. With Henry of course, who seems to be more and more into Leland's crazy ideas though he'll never stop grumbling and pretending he's above it all. I also freaking love that Henry is included in all of Leland's text chains.

And the new guys! I really enjoy both Tavish and Micah and omfg, Leland and Jackson's

accidental baby teen acquisition is fantastic!!

Cassel continues to be my baby darling fave (don't tell Leland though), I just adore him and his positivity and badassery.

The boat scene had me laughing so hard I nearly choked, it might be the funniest thing I've ever read and the narrator made it even better than I imagine it was in the physical book. Peak comedy!

Man, I'm so upset I have no more books in this series to read, I have a feeling these are books I'll come back to often as comfort reads. The audiobooks are so brilliant, I love when a narrator is so perfect for a book they make it even better than on paper.

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske

adventurous 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

4.0

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske is a fun, hot, low fantasy romp set in a queernormative world ⚔️ 

 

Matti has to hire a dualist for his upcoming marriage into a rich family which has been arranged to save his family's failing wool business. His bride-to-be has a very insistent admirer who may challenge Matti to a duel at the wedding, and so hiring a competing dualist who's good with a sword is crucial. The only person he can afford though, is Luca, the man who scammed Matti just the day prior. With no other choice, Matti pays (and blackmails) the mysterious, new-to-town Luca into becoming not only his dualist but also his new sword-fighting instructor. 

 

Their mutual attraction that neither initially plan on acting on only grows stronger the more time they spend together which is frankly incredibly inconvenient since Matti's set to be married. While this arrangement was only meant to be one of business, soon Luca and Matti are falling into bed together, and Luca starts helping Matti trying to figure out if his family's business failing might be due to sabotage rather than accidents while also desperately trying to keep his own past a secret. 

 

Swordcossed is full of hot, flirty fun between Matti and Luca while also diving into lots of schemes and secrets - from multiple sides. There are crushes, sword-practice used as foreplay, trickery, arranged marriage where neither party's particularly into it, complex family dynamics, honour, and quite a bit of insight into the wool trade 😆 

 

Matti's a gentleman, comes from a fancy family, and has the burden of running an entire business on his shoulders. Luca is chaotic af, impulsive, has forever unruly hair, a mysterious past he'd prefer to not get into, and a giant crush on Matti. Which is great since Matti crushes right back though he's more reluctant to act on things. Once he does though? Phew, these two get hot and heavy, and there's some kink that's juuust out of reach but definitely implied. It felt a bit like kink-teasing to be honest 😂 

 

I really liked the characters, and the plot was interesting but a little overly into descriptions of the intricacy of the wool trade at times. 

 

Overall, a very enjoyable book with a hot, fun romance, great characters, and a plot with mysteries and schemes. 

 

Thanks to Bramble, Macmillan, and Edelweiss for the ARC. Swordcrossed is out October 8 

The Hitman's Guide to Righting Wrongs While Causing Mayhem by Alice Winters

adventurous 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? No

5.0

Oh how I love these books! They never fail to make me burst out laughing, the narrator of the audiobooks is so freaking amazing!

And omg LELAND! It's only been maybe a week since I read The Former Assassin's Guide where he showed up but I've missed him. And Jackson, too. These two idiots are so much fun, and I don't know if Leland has become slightly less unhinged or if I've gotten more used to him but I felt this book really really worked for me. Him, Jackson, and the Fence are still my OT3 though 😂 

And Cassel! My baby boy! With Jeremy who's a total simp for him (understandable) and poor Henry who secretly loves all the shenanigans Leland drags him along for.

The found family in this series is just excellent and I read this in just over a day because I didn't want to stop. Love these guys!

Don't Look for Me by Wendy Walker

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Thriller about a woman who seems to have abandoned her family when her car is found at the side of the road after a big storm on the anniversary of her youngest daughter's death. 
Nicely paced though I guessed a few twists but really interesting nevertheless

The Former Assassin's Guide to Snagging a Reluctant Boyfriend by Alice Winters

adventurous 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

5.0

I really liked Cassel in the first 3 books in The Hitman's Guide and I was excited to see he got his own book, hoping it would be good. 

Now that I've finished it, I can safely say I'm fully in love with Cassel and this is possibly my fave book in the series!

Jeremy and Cassel are grumpy/sunshine perfection, the book was fantastic and hilarious, and I adored watching them get together and take down a whole crime syndicate with the help of Leland, Jackson, and Henry.

Leland's cameos were so good, he never fails to make me laugh with his insanity, but Cassel wormed his way into my heart and is my new fave baby boy ❤️ 

Make sure you read this after the first 3 Hitman's Guide books, so you, too, can fall in love with Cassel and, perhaps more surprisingly, actually really like Jeremy! 😂

Oh and you NEED to do all these books on audio, the narrator is incredible!!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dark and twisted, and really good 

Everything for You by Chloe Liese

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-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

THIS BOOK! 😍🥰 Everything For You is rivals-to-lovers, grumpy/sunshine (but they're also both kind of a$$holes) perfection! 

 

Up-and-coming football (soccer for the Americans) superstar Oliver Bergman is made co-team captain alongside the legendary player Gavin Hayes. Neither of them are happy about this development as they've pretty much been avoiding each other for the two years they've been playing on the same team. 

 

Oliver is sunshine personified ☀️ He's always happy, and friendly, he's great at football, and everyone loves him. He's also got the most gorgeous smile and he's absolutely beautiful! Which is why Gavin has spent the past two years avoiding him and being even more of a grump around Oliver than he is normally - and that's saying something. 

 

Gavin is a decade older than Oliver and his body is in constant pain, yet he refuses to give up playing. He can't stand to see this younger guy being so carefree and playing so beautifully when Gavin himself has given his life to a sport that has wrecked his body. He definitely won't let himself look at Oliver's stupid face with his dumb smile because that's just a path to disaster that Gavin knows he needs to avoid. 

 

Oliver barrels his way into Gavin's life and refuses to leave, no matter how hard Gavin tries to make him. Both Gavin and Oliver have commitment issues, and mental health struggles they're dealing with, and they're both used to hiding it so no one can see how much they're suffering. Watching them slowly letting each other in, trusting each other, and finding friendship and love together was everything and my heart is still so happy from reading this book 🥰🥹 

 

There's excellent chronic pain and anxiety rep, and both Oliver and Gavin are openly queer (Oliver's bi, Gavin's gay.) There's also great (found) family - Oliver's entire family is fantastic, and Gavin's group of 70-year-old queer men he plays cards with was wonderful. 

 

I switched between the physical book and audiobook and they both were excellent. 

Exes & Foes by Amanda Woody

emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

3.0

#PRHInternationalPartner ✨

 

After loving the author's debut They Hate Each Other, I was really excited for their second book, especially since it also features disaster bisexuals. Sadly, Exes & Foes didn't quite live up to my expectations. It's always a bummer when a book you've been excited for isn't what you hoped it'd be but Exes & Foes did pick up by the end and I really enjoyed the last part of it. I buddy read it with Dana which was great, as always ❤️

 

Emma and Caleb are ex-besties who no longer talk but still see each other as they go to the same high school. Caleb still doesn't understand why Emma suddenly stopped speaking to him but it's been four years so he's moved on… ish. When new girl Juliet shows up at their school, both Emma and Caleb crush hard. When they realize the other likes her, they make a bet - whoever Juliet kisses first gets to date her. As they both try to date Juliet, Emma and Caleb end up spending an unexpected amount of time together and it gets harder and harder for them to pretend they no longer care about each other.

 

There are 2 POVs: Emma's and Caleb's. Emma's a bit of a troublemaker at school, she's disorganized, defiant, and has a troubled homelife she's trying to keep quiet about but she doesn't have it easy. Caleb, on the other hand, is neat, organized, and a strict rulefollower. While he no longer gets bullied, he's still awkward and a bit of a (loveable) nerd. He was definitely my favourite with his disaster ways and constant need to clean 😂

 

Because the book only has two POVs, it's obvious that Emma and Caleb get together. However, the first half of the book focuses on them trying to date Juliet, how wonderful she is, and how they both like her oh-so-much. For the majority of the book, all we seem to know about Juliet is that she's quirky, super clumsy, and very pretty, which had me wondering why exactly either of our mcs were so set on dating this girl in particular. Because so much time is spent on this setup, we also don't get a lot of interactions between Emma and Caleb beyond short exchanges, and I honestly was fairly bored the first 60% of the book.

 

I feel like it picked up once Emma and Caleb started interacting more. Especially the last 25% ish were great - we got to see the two spending time together, we got to see their chemistry and friendship, and I was really rooting for them! Even Juliet got a much needed personality and I ended the book with really liking all the characters. However, it just took way too long for me to get invested, and for the book to get to the good part.

 

That said, Exes & Foes had its funny moments, it definitely had me laughing out loud a few times, and it had great diverse rep. Basically everyone was queer, there was specific bi, demi, and ace rep, as well as great mental health rep. The book also did found family well, and dealt well with the trauma Emma especially was going through. 

 

Overall, an okay book that ended on a great note with lovely character development but it just took way too long to get there.

 

Exes & Foes by Amanda Woody // ⭐⭐⭐

 

Thanks to PRH International and Edelweiss for the ARC. Exes & Foes is out July 23