jay_da_bookworm's reviews
64 reviews

funny inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

3.0

Broken Beyond Repair follows Beatrice Russel, a 51-year-old actress, and her assistant, Sydney Mackenzie as they are forced to spend the summer together while Beatrice recovers from a broken leg.

At the beginning of the story, Beatrice is depicted as being hard to work for due to her cold demeanor. Her lack of patience for incompetence has made keeping a PA nearly impossible until Sydney comes along. Right off the bat, it is obvious that Sydney is good at her job. As a matter of fact, she’s exceeding all of Beatrice’s expectations and slowly melting the older woman’s icy walls.

It’s at this point that we see the romantic interest form between the two women but it is a slow journey to get to the endgame. There’s a good chunk of time where I question if anything is actually going to take place between them until it finally happens and even then it’s short-lived.

Overall, the romance aspect doesn’t take place until closer to the end of the book. Which left me wanting more from a relationship that felt a little underdeveloped.

Content Warnings

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Kalynn Bayron is an author whose books are an instant buy for me. I really enjoy her ideas and the way she executes them through storytelling. Although, her stories tend take a little bit longer to get to the action. I totally get what she was going for when it came to this duology but after what took place in This Poison Heart I was expecting things to go a little quicker in This Wicked Fate.

I thought we were going to hit the ground running with nonstop action. Instead, Briseis and the gang spend 21 days out of the 28 they had to save her mom sitting around waiting for documentation in order to leave the country. Then that’s when things finally started to pick up.

Overall, if things would have been a little bit more exciting then I would’ve rated it higher. I also wanted to see more interaction between Briseis and Marie because I totally forgot they had started dating in This Poison Heart. So it made believing they were head-over-heels in love kinda hard to do.

Content Warnings

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

When I first started Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, I was a bit apprehensive about the premise. I’m not big on one-night stands especially in romance novels but this was surprisingly right up my alley. I enjoyed how a disastrous hookup turned into fake dating which turned into something more.

But I swear the chokehold that third-act breakups have on Ashley Herring Blake is astonishing. I was really hoping that Iris and Stevie would break the cycle but apparently old habits die hard. I mean Stevie’s love confession with the spicy scene afterward was *chef’s kiss*

I just don’t get why these characters need to breakup in order to have their a-ha moment. Just let them be cute and happy… I’m begging you.

Also Adri could catch every single one of these hands from me. Because why she was out here doing the most and being jealous over Stevie dating Iris when she was the one that ended the relationship? Girl really said I don’t want you but I don’t want other people to want you either… the audacity these Ex’s had in these last two book was insane.

Content Warnings

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

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funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

After reading both Delilah’s and Astrid’s stories, I found Astrid’s storyline to be more enjoyable. Although, I will admit there were some parts that I found to be a bit cringey like Astrid being compared to a Twilight vampire on more than one occasion. I loved the exploration of her character with the self-doubt about who she is, who her mother wants her to be, and who she wants to be. It was nice to see Astrid grow as an individual and slowly discover the person she wants to be instead of the person she believes she has to be.

I also felt like the romance was a tad bit more developed; it really played into the theme of self-discovery. One aspect I did have an issue with was the third-act breakup. I’m not a fan of the trope to begin with and the fact it was done in the previous book made it that more annoying. There was no need for it except for maybe introducing Jordan's ex and honestly, I could have gone the whole book without that.

I would have also loved some more representation as far as POCs go, other than the random side character here and there. Just because a book is queer doesn’t mean that it is also diverse. Hopefully, Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date will make up for some of the issues I had with the last two books.

Content Warnings

Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.25

Delilah Green Doesn't Care was an objectively good book, but it wasn't the 5-star read I was expecting. It was a cute sapphic romance but something was missing for me. It just didn't give the same butterflies I usually get when I read these types of books.

Sure, it was spicy but the connection between Claire and Delilah just didn’t feel complete. I wanted more from their relationship than the casual, just-for-fun sex we got for the majority of the book. I wanted the cute domestic coupling we got sprinkled between the hook-up scenes.

Maybe then the ending wouldn’t have left me wanting more from a story that was nearly 400 pages long.

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

The main reason I am giving this book 3 stars is because it had a lot of potential. There was a decent amount of thought put into the exposition of this story that kept me hooked. However, as I continued reading, I couldn't help but wonder when were things going to start picking up?

I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on with Sutton until approximately 12 pages before the end of the book..Which made everything else that took place afterward feel rushed..There were so many aspects of The Shadow Sister that would’ve made it a 5-star read if the author had spent more time on those ideas instead of over-explaining Sutton’s and Casey's declining relationship.

Content Warnings