garbage_mcsmutly's Reviews (1.74k)

lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

📚 Mid. Cliched and kinda boring. Oh and there's zero sexytimes, they just kiss a couple times. No real diversity either

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-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

📚 This was a solid road trip romance with good tension.

🎧 Single 1st person POV (hers), one female narrator.

🌶️ 3.5/5 The sexual tension was really good and the scenes were excellent.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 Everyone is white and straight and cis and comfortable middle class.
funny hopeful 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

📚 This was an enjoyable book. There's class difference (he's aristocracy) and an age gap (she's ten years older) and they have wildly different backgrounds and also he's lying to her. But it all turns out in the end, obviously. 

🎧 Dual 3rd person POV, single male narrator

🌶️ 3/5 There were a few explicit scenes but nothing super intense or adventurous.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 There isn't any racial diversity. Cultural diversity only to the extent of class difference, everyone is British. Both MCs are bi, and the MMC is on the ace spectrum, likely demi. Also there are hints at neurodivergence but this is regency times so obviously it's not explicitly identified as such.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-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: No

📚 A solid read. A little goofy, obviously--it is the story of the Loch Ness monster falling in love--but enjoyable, and touching/emotional at times.

🎧 Dual POV 1st person. The narration was somewhere between dual and duet? They each did their respective MCs' voices, but in the FMC chapters she did all the voices except for the MMC, and in the MMC chapters, he did all the voices except the FMC.

🌶️ 4/5 There were several sexytimes scenes, including some uh... monster(ish) stuff.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 Everyone seems to be white. The book does take place in rural Scotland, and there's only a handful of side characters, so not a ton of opportunities for diversity. One of the side characters is queer.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

📚 This was a lovely progressive tale of a "villainess" and her redemption with the man who falls for her. I unfortunately have not read the other series that I believe the FMC and many of the side characters come from, so I didn't have all the context, but it was a fine read without. It does make me more interested in going back to that series.

🎧 Dual POV, 3rd person, single female narrator. She does a good job with the voices/acting.

🌶️ 2.5/5 Pretty low key couple of scenes, nothing stand-out.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 I don't recall there being any POC in the story. There is mention of at least one lesbian couple, although they're more background info than characters on the page. But there is a generally accepting/affirming view within the book that people love who they love and that's normal. And we get the FMC's perspective at one point about the fact that men and women should be equal, that oppressors are not inherently "better than" the oppressed, different races should be equal, etc. And the book does not shy away from feminism. So a good progressive, if not diverse, read.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

📚 This was a very touching story with a lot of emotional moments. I enjoyed the vignettes and the whole thing was very affirming, particularly of trans lives. And eldest daughter syndrome transcending gender is the realest.

🎧 Single POV, 3rd person, one trans masc narrator.

🌶️ 1.5/5 There was technically some sexytimes on page, but all the details were obfuscated and it wasn't at all spicy the way it was done, more factual.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ There's a lot of good representation in this book. The MC is a bisexual trans man. He and his family members are Jewish and have pretty deep roots in the Jewish community and customs. So is his love interest. Amongst the MC's friends, we have trans, lesbian, gay, and ace representation. I think sooner of those friends are POC but I don't remember the specifics.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional hopeful sad 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: Complicated

📚 This was a really lovely romance even though there was no spice. The story was beautifully written and original and there was great representation.

🎧 This book is 1st person, mostly one MC's POV, but there are little interludes of the other MC's POV as well. Two separate narrators.

🌶️ 1/5 Just some kissing and innocent touching. The MCs are intimate together at one point, but like, in a magical merfolk way? Not a spicy way.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 The primary MC (human) is darker skinned, likely Afro, Puerto Rican and gay. He also suffers from asthma in a setting where no treatment is available. The other MC (mer) comes from a society without strict definitions on gender and sexuality and he is completely confused about why humans care about such things as the gender of the person you love. The side characters include another gay couple, a gender fluid person, and a few POC. The performers that Benny gets to know are very diverse and also very accepting.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

📚 This was fine not great? Not a lot happened plot wise outside of the relationship itself and it was unremarkable. The bet thing was more gimmick than actual plot, and the 3rd act breakup was on real shaky premises.

🎧 Dual POV 3rd person, only one (female) narrator. The narrator did a good job.

🌶️ 1.5/5 There is only one on page scene, and it's described in rather roundabout terms--more like a blurry softcore image than any real spice. There are multiple times in the book that they are mentioned to have had sexytimes, but off page.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 The FMC is Latine and at least one of her friends is a POC. MMC seems white. Everyone seems to be straight and cis. The FMC also works at a victim's advocacy organization, and seems to care a lot about her job and the cause, yet we don't get any details from the job or what she does there or her other political beliefs. Nothing actually progressive, a missed opportunity IMHO.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

📚 I really liked this book, which surprised me. I have a hard time getting into sapphics but this one pulled me in pretty quickly. I don't usually like zillionaire MCs or military MCs, yet both FMCs were relatable and realistic (and not abhorrent due to money/politics); I think it helped a lot that both were women, since the rich/former military MCs I often come across have almost all been men (and terrible).

🎧 3rd person dual POV. Only one narrator. The POV switches back and forth within chapters so sometimes it was a little hard to catch that the POV had switched until it was a few sentences in.

🌶️ 3/5 Pretty standard romance novel spice, a few explicit scenes but nothing over the top or kinky or anything.

✊🏽🏳️‍🌈 Both MCs are lesbians. It seems like they're both white and cis. There are POC, queer, NB, and disabled side characters. And the politics of the two MCs/pretty much everyone in the book is one of acceptance and not putting up with intolerance or mistreatment.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings