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fossilreads's Reviews (170)
"You were beautiful on the stage. That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Not that you're a thing! You're a goddess! I mean, I... I'm going to shut up now."
Even though it's a novella, we managed to have some good slow burn too!
This couple was *chef's kiss* with their dynamic, Shane was an adorable, shy, inexperienced witch and Elle a gorgeous domme succubus. I was absolutely drooling after her right along Shane! Their communication skills were great, maybe even a little too perfect at times. Not many people know how to word everything so well right off the bat. I truly enjoy when people don't really leave space for misunderstandings even when they might hesitate over how they read a situation.
The spice was fun and got a bit kinky too, an absolute plus for me!
Loved the sex work positivity and multiple queer characters, including NB side characters. Shane and Nathan's friendship was really great too, such healthy masculinity and platonic love!
"You're already getting some tonight, but thank you."
This one was mostly fun and interesting, but no girl, his D will not "ruin [you] for any other man" no matter the size or how it's used. That's just not how this works. And what on earth is he packing if your fingers don't reach around, a baseball bat?
I love a fake dating story and this was quite well done. There was so much tension and drama and it all just added to the story. The spice was a pretty good addition too!
I found the characters well built. I liked the complex family histories the main characters had and loved having a POC rich story! In the beginning we kind of skipped the fact that they still had a long drive they could chat during, so the characters felt like they had to go through things "one last time" before it.
fast-paced
“I hate to disappoint you, Shelly. Kraken don’t have sex like humans. We do it much, much better.”
This was a quick romance read to help me get back to reading and it did it's job. The blurb had me hoping for more, this could have worked better for me as a full novella.
I wasn't a huge fan of the main characters but they were fine. I liked the FMC's type of clumsiness, for the MMC.. he's a rich kraken :D
This is an instalove short story as a prequel to a series. It could've been slightly longer in my opinion, to fit everything needed for a well rounded experience.
I picked this up for a quick romance and kraken spice, romance was delivered, but it could've used a little extra time to build. The spice was fine for me, I was hoping for a little more from it, and with the shortness of the story we only got there at the end.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was my first audiobook I've listened to fully and it was a great experience. I think I would've gotten slightly more out of this one if I'd read it in text, or better yet, combined audio and text! The narrator was perfect for this book!
This is a beautiful coming of age story and it had me laughing out loud, crying and so much more. It's heart-warming and gut-wrenching at the same time, addressing multiple sensitive issues in a gentle, yet realistic way through the Latinx community's eyes.
This book is so magical and I enjoyed getting a closer peek into a culture that's somewhat familiar, but I haven't really dived into. The characters were delightfully teens doing teen things and I feel their choices might sometimes feel irresponsible and odd to an adult, but made sense in the context of what might feel important to a teenager.
The big plot twist was kind of a big surprise to me, but I think I would've noticed more foreshadowing if I'd read the book in text instead of listening. There was a lot of intensity in the form of either action or different kinds of grief. I did guess some plot advancements but for me that's a good thing, as long as I don't get everything spoiled too early.
I will absolutely be picking up the next part when I get the chance, I already miss Yadriel, Maritza and Julian's shenanigans in an intense environment!
This is a beautiful coming of age story and it had me laughing out loud, crying and so much more. It's heart-warming and gut-wrenching at the same time, addressing multiple sensitive issues in a gentle, yet realistic way through the Latinx community's eyes.
This book is so magical and I enjoyed getting a closer peek into a culture that's somewhat familiar, but I haven't really dived into. The characters were delightfully teens doing teen things and I feel their choices might sometimes feel irresponsible and odd to an adult, but made sense in the context of what might feel important to a teenager.
The big plot twist was kind of a big surprise to me, but I think I would've noticed more foreshadowing if I'd read the book in text instead of listening. There was a lot of intensity in the form of either action or different kinds of grief. I did guess some plot advancements but for me that's a good thing, as long as I don't get everything spoiled too early.
I will absolutely be picking up the next part when I get the chance, I already miss Yadriel, Maritza and Julian's shenanigans in an intense environment!
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Thank you to the author for the chance to ARC read!
“All I know is right now, my happily ever after is between your thighs. Lay down. Let me take care of you again.”
This book is the second part to a series, but can absolutely be read without having read the first part. I don't feel like I was missing any vital information even though I haven't read the first book, maybe I would've had some extra fun things to notice if I had!
I enjoyed the plot and most of the story, though I did get frustrated by how stubbornly Dex just wouldn't listen to Lennox. Let your wife finish her sentence so you know what the hell happened. The twists were fun and kept me a bit on my toes until the confirmation of my guesses!
The spice was great and it was nice to see some kinks included too! Maybe just stop putting food and random oils down there? Sometimes the logistics were a little confusing to me, but for the most part I loved these scenes.
I however was NOT a fan of the casual sexism they just dished out. No, grilling is not genetic, it's a learned skill like any other. While I understand why Dex was so bitter towards women in the beginning, I still feel his hatred perhaps went slightly too far. If I heard his thoughts about women as Lennox, I would get the hell out.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thank you to the author for the chance to ARC read!
“If you can’t take down the walls you’ve built around your heart, build a door. Give someone you love the key.”
This was a complicated read for me. On one hand, I loved the romance and the characters but on the other hand, there were a few tropes I'm not a huge fan of. Overall this was an enjoyable experience and I will be checking out the rest of the series!
I'm not always a huge fan of the professor-student dynamic, but I have experienced that it can be done tastefully too. This was for sure on the better side, but the power dynamic still slightly threw me off.
Cordelia (student) kept coming off as stalker-ish but somewhat aware of trying to avoid it. Alitha (prof.) lived very much in denial of her feelings and I was happy to see her fight those urges in the end.
I adored the familiars and really enjoyed the magic system! I loved that accessibility issues were what brought our main characters together. They ended up complementing each other in furthering the project. Alitha's friendships were adorable and I loved how supportive they were of each other!
The spice was great and I especially enjoyed the power dynamic shifts during their spicy times! I liked the vacation Alitha and Cordelia had together, but I was sad to see how different their views of that time were. I just wish they'd talked through their expectations of the relationship more clearly. A lot of heartbreak could have been avoided by going through their expectations before their vacation.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really enjoyed this witchy murder mystery! I picked this up from a stuff your e-reader day and I'm happy I wasn't disappointed!
I loved the main character and the setting, I will absolutely be returning to this series. I enjoyed the writing style and especially the descriptions of the cats were to my liking! It took me a few chapters to warm up and really get sucked into the story, but I'm glad I stuck with it and ended up loving this cat-obsessed town and its inhabitants.
The way Amber ended up in places she needed to be, felt reasonable and I had a great time guessing what would be revealed next! The twists were interesting and I was on the edge of my seat when the mystery untangled.
I loved Amber's magic and how she used it. This was the perfect read for the fall!
I loved the main character and the setting, I will absolutely be returning to this series. I enjoyed the writing style and especially the descriptions of the cats were to my liking! It took me a few chapters to warm up and really get sucked into the story, but I'm glad I stuck with it and ended up loving this cat-obsessed town and its inhabitants.
The way Amber ended up in places she needed to be, felt reasonable and I had a great time guessing what would be revealed next! The twists were interesting and I was on the edge of my seat when the mystery untangled.
I loved Amber's magic and how she used it. This was the perfect read for the fall!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As the name of the series suggests, the novella is set on a seven-day cruise.
I loved the Greek couple that took care of Olivia, she got very lucky to end up being so safe there AND in the cruise bar.
Some of the side characters felt to be feeding into stereotypes, like the Turkish shop keeper. Could we have portrayed them as something more too, than just asking for a beautiful girl to marry? Our Greek couple was a little more rounded out, but felt a little off to me. Stereotypes of course are rooted in something, but there's also so much more to the people who fit those stereotypes.
Reading this, I learned I like slow burns and tension in my romances. There wasn't much tension between Olivia and Elliot, but that's just how this couple worked! There were some unsure feelings but they just dove in and all ended well.
I found the focus on details somewhat misplaced, at least from my perspective. I wished to hear more about what our lovebirds in denial got up to AT the locations they went to, instead of reading through detailed itineraries of the place names.
Not my favorite in terms of the writing itself, but still much better than some others I've read. One more round of proofreading would have been great too, the typos took me out of the story sometimes.
The epilogue was a great peek into the future, the characters felt true to themselves and I truly felt they were a couple that works out!
I loved the Greek couple that took care of Olivia, she got very lucky to end up being so safe there AND in the cruise bar.
Some of the side characters felt to be feeding into stereotypes, like the Turkish shop keeper. Could we have portrayed them as something more too, than just asking for a beautiful girl to marry? Our Greek couple was a little more rounded out, but felt a little off to me. Stereotypes of course are rooted in something, but there's also so much more to the people who fit those stereotypes.
Reading this, I learned I like slow burns and tension in my romances. There wasn't much tension between Olivia and Elliot, but that's just how this couple worked! There were some unsure feelings but they just dove in and all ended well.
I found the focus on details somewhat misplaced, at least from my perspective. I wished to hear more about what our lovebirds in denial got up to AT the locations they went to, instead of reading through detailed itineraries of the place names.
Not my favorite in terms of the writing itself, but still much better than some others I've read. One more round of proofreading would have been great too, the typos took me out of the story sometimes.
The epilogue was a great peek into the future, the characters felt true to themselves and I truly felt they were a couple that works out!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was a super quick read I picked up from a stuff your e-reader day.
I felt the story had much more potential than it ended up being. There seemed to be too much plot to set the scene for such a short story. It was like we were rushing through many interesting things so we could get to the spice. This had enough ideas to write a full book but we just rushed most parts that added complex plot points.
I did really like the spice with our sapphic main characters and I found those parts written a bit better than others. For me, it felt like perhaps the author was more focused on writing the juicy bits and just had to get the rest out of the way for a full novella. This was my first book including tentacles and I've got to say, I wasn't disappointed in them!
The novella could've benefitted from one more extra thorough proofreading, there will always be some typos that end up slipping through but unfortunately this time there were so many that it affected my enjoyment and took me out of my story enjoyment. Some of the dialogue felt slightly clumsy, but not too bad.
I found it kind of tacky but also funny that the other Cecaelia heir was named Cecelia.
I felt the story had much more potential than it ended up being. There seemed to be too much plot to set the scene for such a short story. It was like we were rushing through many interesting things so we could get to the spice. This had enough ideas to write a full book but we just rushed most parts that added complex plot points.
I did really like the spice with our sapphic main characters and I found those parts written a bit better than others. For me, it felt like perhaps the author was more focused on writing the juicy bits and just had to get the rest out of the way for a full novella. This was my first book including tentacles and I've got to say, I wasn't disappointed in them!
The novella could've benefitted from one more extra thorough proofreading, there will always be some typos that end up slipping through but unfortunately this time there were so many that it affected my enjoyment and took me out of my story enjoyment. Some of the dialogue felt slightly clumsy, but not too bad.