firstethicalpisces's reviews
190 reviews

Reel by Kennedy Ryan

challenging emotional funny inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.75

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

devoured this in one day. never felt this empty post read. Cant wait for the series. 

The Soul Feud by Juniper Jackson

medium-paced

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

1.0

First, I want to say I’m really thankful to have received an ARC of this book 💗. Second, I want to preface this by saying this is just my honest opinion and it should be taken with a grain of salt because though I didn’t enjoy it, there’s a chance you still might. 

On with the review:

I don’t have a problem with interracial romance books. In fact, I enjoy them every once in a while. My problem with this one is that the difference in the races of the characters is such a focal point that it takes a lot away from the romance and the couple themself. It’s hard to keep the vibe light, airy, and fun the way you’d want your romance novel to be when the backdrop is a constant mention of gentrification, rich vs poor, and black vs white. This makes it really hard to root for the male lead because he’s painted as a villain. He comes across very entitled, spoiled, and rude. I didn’t like him at all and at no point did I feel sorry or sympathize with him. He called the female MC ghetto and sassy and stubborn. There were several mentions of her having such a stubborn attitude and even an offhand mention of jungle fever from the MMC’s best friend. It felt like all the mean stereotypes were checked off. He rarely apologized and meant it. I say this because he would feel guilty and say sorry but still find a way to blame the FMC. I didn’t DNF because I wanted to see if he would improve and he did albeit marginally. My other problem was I felt no chemistry. They spent so much of the book bickering and hating each other and it seemed the only things they liked about one another were physical. The confession of love did nothing for me because I just couldn’t believe these two were in love. Like I said at the beginning, it just wasn’t for me but it doesn’t mean it can’t be for you. Writing a novel and putting it out there for others to read and judge is a daunting feat and I commend the author for doing so regardless of my feelings toward the book. 

Sunny Disposition by Deanna Grey

tense medium-paced

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

2.0

this was kind of a drag. it took forever to get interesting and the ending was kind of lackluster. I spent most of the book wishing they would just communicate with one another. Not sure if I’ll continue the series

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

I honestly wish I could give it more than five stars. I had a wonderful time reading this. I wish I knew these characters in real life because they just seem so wonderful. I loved the banter between the couple, the real life moments sprinkled in and the journey of forgiving yourself and finding yourself that the book highlights as well. Beautifully written, incredibly heartwarming, unbelievably funny. And this book now holds the record for most annotations I’ve done

Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle

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? It's complicated

5.0

A very cute 5 ⭐️ read and another reminder to absolutely NEVER settle for less because we all deserve a big love story 💗 Ebony LaDelle did her THINGGG ok!!! I loved this cast of characters and I had such a blast annotating my first physical copy. I laughed and I cried and I felt warm and fuzzy— all the tellings of a great romance book! 

Twisted Games by Ana Huang

funny medium-paced

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

2.5

maybe Ana Huang just isn’t the author for me because everyone said this one is their favorite of the series and it just didn’t click for me at all. I have a little hope for christianstella though

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

Finally finished my reread with chideraa and wow that’s history

The Last Minute First Lady by Tinia Montford

funny 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

4.0

This book was so cute I had a blast reading from beginning to end.
The banter between this couple was EVERYTHING!!!

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings

emotional sad slow-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? Yes

3.5

look I’m going to try to keep this short. I loved the writing. There was some excellent world building and character descriptions. It’s honestly the only thing saving the book and the series for me. Bj and magnolia are the worst most infuriating book couple I’ve ever had the displeasure of reading about. The back and forth was so tiring and at some times pathetic on magnolia’s part. I never felt any love between them just attachment. Just because you can read each other’s body language doesn’t mean you’re meant to be… at some point or the other every character annoyed me so idk what that says but it says something. I honestly don’t even want to continue with magnolia’s story because I know she’ll just end up with bj again even though he’s insufferable and terrible to her. If you like characters who make terrible choices this is perfect for you. If you want to really feel love and a connection between the leads…
Pick up something else