itskatashley's reviews
173 reviews

Both by Joan Farraneau

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

1.5

Why am I letting my curiosity get the best of me 😅🤦‍♀️

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I’ll be honest… I don’t think I care much for Margaret Atwood’s writing style with this book… 😩

I really like the idea and premise of this book, but just didn’t like how it was executed.

At times, I felt so lost because of how things were written and other times I felt like I was read someone’s diary.

I don’t feel like Margaret Atwood did that great of a job of painting a picture of the world she created in this book. I think a lot of things are left in the dark and then revealed to the reader WAY TOO LATE in the book. 

It lost my attention at times and at a certain point, I just couldn’t wait to be done with it. 

Idk about this one, but I’ve heard great things about the show so I might give that a try. 

Freely Shared at the Party by Natalie Rose

fast-paced

2.75

Not sure why I read this, but it was interesting 😅

Stay by Elle Kennedy, Sarina Bowen

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

Where do I begin?! I really enjoyed this book. It was so much fun. It had me literally laughing out loud. 🤣 I was rooting for the two main characters so hard! This was just such a fun and sweet read. 

I also LOVED the mention of Harry Potter during conversation between a few of our characters. Haha. 😆 

   “Drink this. It’s medicinal. Scares off dementors.”
    “I thought that was chocolate,” I say, taking a glass. 
   “Pfft,” Estrella replies, handing one to Katie. “You can’t tell me those grown-up witches and wizards weren’t hitting the hard stuff after a rough day with Voldemort.”

Now I need to go read more Elle Kennedy 🥹

Starry Night Kisses by D.L. Darby

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

4.5

✨ This was an ARC read for me. I was also sent the first book in the series since I had not read it yet and rated that one 5 stars!

Overall, I really enjoy D.L. Darby's writing style and had a fun time with both of these books. I actually am looking forward to reading more by this author. 

Funny Quote:

Way to go, Evie. You look guiltier than Bagel when he breaks into the treat container.

Quote that I LOVED!!!

“I don’t know what your ex-husband did to you to make you so scared to talk about it. But you need to know that you will never have anything to fear from me, okay? I want you to tell me everything that goes on in your mind. I want to know all your secrets and all your dreams. Because I’m going to make sure they all come true.”

At its core, Starry Night Kisses is a love story! It's time for two characters from Darby's other books to finally get their happy ending and I LOVED IT!!

I haven't read our MMC's book yet, but our FMC's book is the first in this series and I absolutely adored her story. Starry Night Kisses picks up right where Peppermint Wishes left off. 

Evie and Eric just met on New Years at their mutual friend's party. They kiss at midnight and continue to build their relationship throughout the course of Starry Night Kisses. Eric is OBSESSED with Evie. He's been watching her travel blog for the past year and he already KNOWS she's the one. Creepy or kinda cute? That's up to you. Lol. He's also kept up with all of the books that she has been reading and he took it upon himself to read all of the books that she has rated highly... 😉 He wants to make sure that he satisfies her deepest, darkest fantasies. I loved it. 

I will love you until the stars abandon the sky in search of other galaxies, and even then, I’ll find a way for us to follow them.”

Eric loves Evie without boundaries - he will do anything for this woman and he is ready to change his life to make her happy. 

Starry Night Kisses released January 15 (the day I am posting this review) and I definitely recommend reading it, especially if you're looking for a little spice. ♡

I do recommend reading Peppermint Wishes first so that you can experience Evie's entire story. I promise it will be better that way! They are both short novellas, so just read them both and thank me later. ◡̈ 

Peppermint Wishes by D.L. Darby

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This little novella had me from the dedication all the way to the very last page! I did NOT want to put this book down.

Full transparency, I received the second book in this series Starry Night Kisses as an ARC and was also sent the first one so I could catch up! 

Dedication ✨👇🏻

For everyone who believes in unexplainable miracles… 
…and second chances.

This book had me highlighting quotes/sections of the book from the very beginning! ✨ I was INVESTED!

Some of the notes I took in my highlighted sections:

• WOW. What a way to start a book!!!
• YES GIRL
• Bringing tears to my eyes and I literally just started reading…

This was my first time ever reading a D.L. Darby book and I was thoroughly impressed. I can’t tell you how excited I am to dive into the ARC I received as well as read more of her books. 

Peppermint Wishes is MAGICAL. ✨ I thought it was unique and fun! 🤩 I read it in the middle of January, but it’s the PERFECT holiday read. I may just need to reread it next Christmas because I had so much fun with it! 

At face value, it’s a short little Christmas novella with a hint of spice - but it’s really SO much more than that!! Our characters were there for each other when they needed it most and there was a TRUE Christmas Miracle in this book! It was sweet while also being heartbreaking. It was a TWIST that I did NOT see coming and I thoroughly enjoyed it! It made me DEVOUR the last several chapters of the book to know what happens! 

I loved this book! Well done, D.L. Darby!! I look forward to reading more of your work!! 😊✨📚

Healing The Billionaire by Brooke Burton

hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

✨ARC Review📚

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It's a short and sweet read, but it's a fun read! I loved Brooke Burton's writing style and am excited to read more of her work (already added to my Kindle Library!)

But, let's get more into Healing the Billionaire...

Our billionaire MMC is Matt and I'd say he's not your average billionaire MMC that we get in books. He's sweet, caring, thoughtful, humble. Matt was previously engaged to our antagonist, Sophia. Sophia left him at the altar AND was cheating on Matt with Matt's best man/best friend. I know, right? What a B****!!

Matt is BROKEN, so he works with a breakup specialist to try to put all the pieces back together again. He ends up also using this breakup specialist to help him get into a new relationship. Yes, our breakup specialist is also a matchmaker. This part of the book gave me dating show vibes and I loved it. I am always down for a good dating show so that was fun to read about!

Matt and out FMC, Lilyana meet at the matchmaking event that Andrea hosts. They share a hot, blindfolded kiss and the rest is history. 

This is instalove, it's opposites attract, it's an MMC who is kind, gentle, supportive, and just has the BIGGEST heart ever. I mean heck, I don't blame Lilyana AT ALL for falling for this man! This, at it's core is a LOVE STORY and it's a really good love story. 

Our two main characters would do anything for each other. They truly love each other unconditionally and watching their story unfold was super sweet. They tackle insane hurdles together that might tear apart most relationships, but just makes their relationship stronger. They are a power couple. I adore these characters! 

I am so incredibly thankful to have been on the ARC team for this book and look forward to reading more of Brooke Burton's work. 

If you're looking for a quick, sweet love story, this is the PERFECT book for you! ◡̈ 

Ivy + Bean Doomed to Dance by Annie Barrows

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

I read this book with one of my students. I think that the Ivy and Bean books are super cute. They are easy enough to get through and the plots are interesting enough to keep kids interested. My students always have a good time when we get to spend a little time with Ivy and Bean! ◡̈ 

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

medium-paced

3.5

I tried really hard to finish this book before the end of 2024, but that did not happen so this is officially my first finished book of 2025. 🎉 

I hate to say it, but I enjoyed the first book more which seems insane to me considering how confused I was for the first half of One Dark Window. 

I wanted more Elspeth and Ravyn. I loved that the series had a HEA, but idk I really wanted more Elspeth and Ravyn! I feel like that was the biggest missing piece for me. 

Overall, I did really enjoy this duology, but idk something was definitely missing for me in the second book.  

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

5.0