itskatashley's reviews
173 reviews

Entangled Fate by Alexandra Isobel
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

This book just felt like it was dragging for me and I could not get into it. As much as I didn't want to DNF it because I received it as an ARC, I just was not enjoying this read at all. I may try to come back to it another time, but we'll see. 

I Can Be The One by Ellie Blackbourne

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

✨ I received this book as an ARC ✨

Overall, I thought this book was super cute, but just too short. I wanted more. I wanted more about Blake and Alexis and I feel like we never figured out what exactly was going on with Blake’s mom… 

There was a really strange part of the book where Blake and Alexis went to Blake’s mom’s house, it was a wreck and basically abandoned, but after the left, it was never spoken about again. What the heck happened to the house? Where was his mom? It felt irrelevant to include this in the story if it wasn’t going to be expanded upon more. 

I think the basis of the book was super cute. It was a fun idea - Blake and Alexis start fake dating for a competition at their school so Alexis can win scholarship money and finish out her degree. They end up actually falling for each other and I love their story, but again, I just wanted more. 

This book/story has soooo much potential to be absolutely amazing, but to me, there was just so much that could’ve been expanded on to enhance the story and with all of that missing, it was hard for me to give this a high rating. 

Regardless, it’s a sweet, short little romance book that I did find quite cute and enjoyable, so I do recommend it! ♡

Dashing For Love by Valerie Pepper

hopeful lighthearted slow-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

2.75

I received this book as an ARC. 

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t really for me… it’s a cute love story and there’s some decent spice in it, but there were parts I found so cringe and moments where I just couldn’t wait to be done with the book. If you’re looking for an easy ready with some middle of the road spice, maybe this one is for you, but idk it didn’t stand out to me.

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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 thoroughly enjoyed this book and wish that I could get all of the Twilight books from Edward’s POV. I found reading from Edward’s voice rather than Bella’s to be a lot more enjoyable. It was a lot of fun to see more of the vampire side of things in the Twilight world and to get a bigger glimpse inside of Edward’s head. I’m gonna have to reread this one in the future and annotate it for sure. Easy 5 stars! 

Queen of the Crimson Throne by Kaitlyn Swanson

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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'm a bit delulu because I JUST finished reading this and I'm CRYING and need Book 3 NOW. lol 

If you don't want to stick around for the entire review, just know this: THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. I think it is a true work of art and Kaitlyn Swanson has a serious freaking talent for weaving together an AMAZING love story while simultaneously building this beautiful fantasy world. GO READ THIS BOOK!

Now for the people who want to stick around for a bit longer... I always like to be honest in my reviews when I received an ARC copy of a book. I received this book as an ARC and had to read the first in the series before reading my ARC copy to catch up. Queen of the Crimson Throne is Book 2 in a trilogy series. Book 3 is set to release in 2025 as well (if I'm not mistaking). 

Queen of Blood and Stardust is Book 1 and I rated that one 4 stars. It was good, don't get me wrong, it was really good, but something just felt like it was missing a bit for me. 

Fast forward to Queen of the Crimson Throne and I'm 100% obsessed with this series and the characters. Queen of the Crimson Throne was an EASY 5 stars for me. 

This is romantasy gold in my opinion. The way I LOVE Luka and Lennox more than I can even tell you in this review is unreal. 

I honestly don't want to give too much away - you need to just read it yourself, but let me leave you with this...

"I'd help heal her heard even if it meant breaking mine."

GO READ THIS SERIES and thank me later ♡  

Queen of Blood and Stardust by Kaitlyn Swanson

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

✨ Picked this book up because I am on the ARC team for the second in the series! ✨

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I actually enjoyed it more than I thought it would. The story was fun and engaging from the very first chapter and I really enjoyed the writers writing style. 

I wish we learned more about the vampires in this book because they seem to be very different than your average, immortal vampire. These vampires seem to be injured and killed quite easily and the only thing that seems to make them vampires is the fact that they drink blood to survive… but this is more of a curse than anything else. Can they turn others into vampires? How long do they live? Why are they injured so easily? So many questions in regards to the vampires haha 

I found our two main characters super likable, and even relatable. I loved the way their stories were weaved together and this book definitely left us on a bit of a cliff hanger so I’m excited to dive into book 2 immediately since I have the ARC! 

My one other qualm with this book was that there were a lot of minor errors that I was able to catch while I was reading. No big deal to me, but I know that irritates some. 

Also… just curious why the author chose to use the words “male” and “female” almost exclusively when talking about the men and women in the book? 

As much as I hated to admit it, the prick might just be the most stunning male I’d ever laid eyes on.

“When your father first proposed the idea of your brother marrying a female from the Blood Court, the hope was the deal would help ease the tension between, not only the Blood Court and the Star Court, but the Blood Court and all of Lethenia.

I just found that to be a bit odd, but wondered if there was a reason? Lol who knows. 

But, overall, I really enjoyed this book! It was a fun romantasy! ✨💕

Melania by Melania Trump

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

Wow. 😮 This book taught me so much about the First Lady’s role in America that I most likely never would have learned otherwise. Melania is a strong, fierce woman and I commend her for the way she has handled her life. I loved getting to know her through her own words in this book. It’s hard, and it SHOULD be hard to read through the parts where she is speaking on the difficulties her and her family have faced due to cruel people in our country… regardless of your political beliefs, I urge everyone to be compassionate and caring to one another. As Melania says, we are all human and that trumps any political views. I couldn’t handle what Melania has handled throughout her life. I’m proud to have her as a First Lady. 

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-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

✨REREAD✨

I honestly have no words. I just love this book so much and I will forever hold Addie LaRue close to my heart. ♡ if you haven’t read this one yet, you NEED to! I have no clue how V.E. Schwab wrote this story so well, but it is beautiful. 

Good Boy by Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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? No

4.75

I read the Wags novels out of order, but I thoroughly enjoyed both of these books so much!! 

Good Boy was just such a fun and lighthearted read. I loved getting to know Blake and Jess more throughout this book! Since I read Stay first, I got to see them in that book, but getting to see how their relationship started was such a fun time. 

Blake comes off as your average f*** boy jock and him and Jess are friends with benefits at best. As the story progresses, Blake realizes that he is catching feelings for Jess and his behavior completely changes so that he can be the best boyfriend he can be. It was so sweet to see that development with him, but we also got to know some of Blake's back story which I found super interesting! Blake is not your average f*** boy. He's a big ole teddy bear who just wants to do right by everyone, even those who have hurt him, and even if it means sacrificing his own happiness. Blake is actually pretty dang amazing and I loved his and Jess's love story. ♡ 

Wistful Whispers: A Small Town Tale of Justice, Trust, and Unspoken Temptations by Dani Elias

hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

1.5

‼️ ARC copy ‼️

As much as I HATE to leave such a low review on an ARC that I received, this is the rating I feel this book deserves from me. 

Besides the dedication: 

To those who carry the scars of their past but refuse to let them define their future. And to the ones who stand by their side, turning pain into hope and fear into courage. 

This is for the love that heals, protects, and endures — even in the gave of the darkest shadows. 

There wasn’t much else I enjoyed about this book. 😭 and it wasn’t for lack of trying. I just didn’t find the story to be engaging… I didn’t care for our characters, and I didn’t really like the writing style either. It just wasn’t for me. 😢