jennstrub's reviews
41 reviews

Powerless by Elsie Silver

challenging emotional funny reflective tense 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

5.0

this one was a close tie to my favourite of the series (tied with heartless). i don’t know what it was, but at first i thought i’d find the plot line of she’s-been-in-love-with-him-for-ten-plus-years-and-he-never-batted-an-eye-beyond-friendship and he’d-been-through-hell-and-a-bucket-load-of-trauma-with-an-anxiety-disorder-left-in-the-ruins-and-she’s-the-only-one-you’d-ever-tell-the-whole-truth-to boring or predictable but i didn’t experience either of those. sure, all sloane wanted was for jasper to see her in the same light , but even without that she was the most supportive person and friend anyone could ask for and you can easily see that beyond the romance side of things. but this book really has be attached from the beginning…i will also never get over this one.

Heartless by Elsie Silver

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

by far my favourite book of this series!! maybe it’s the grumpy-nanny thing, and the way he smiles and actually had a personality just for her, i don’t know but their tension was everythinnnggggggg. i will never get over this one 😖

Flawless by Elsie Silver

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

dear santa, 
i wish for a gruffly cowboy (specifically of the rhett variety = bull rider) 🙂

Meeting Dr. Praigale by Marie-France Léger

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

to be frank this book really was the epitome of life. although a “love story”, leger does a breathtaking job at exploring the intricacies of the things, the stories, and the pasts, of others that we don’t know about. the characteristics of peoples personalities that are curious or unique to others, their empathy and why they care, or why they are rigid and caged come from experience; from trauma. a beautifully written story where i found myself wanting to reach into the pages and give astra (stargirl) a big hug, to stitch her back together. watching her overcome her past, her trauma, and grow was a magical experience.

for me this was a 5 star read for the quality that is this book. the quantity could be debated, but a story of this magnitude needed this length and detail. this book is one that i think everyone should read, not because i said so, but to understand that we don’t know everything about everyone, and sometimes all people need is a little bit of kindness, care, and empathy. 

please look at the trigger warnings before reading :)

Meeting Doctor Praigale by Marie-France Léger

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

this book really was the epitome of life. although a “love story”, leger does a breathtaking job at exploring the intricacies of the things, the stories, and the pasts, of others that we don’t know about. the characteristics of peoples personalities that are curious or unique to us, their empathy and why they care, or why they are rigid and caged that come from experience; from trauma. a beautifully written story where i found myself wanting to reach into the pages and give astra a big hug, to stitch her back together. a 5 star read for the quality that is this book, one that i think everyone should read, not because i said so, but to understand that we don’t know everything about everyone, and sometimes all people need is a little bit of kindness, care, and empathy. 

TW; abuse, alcoholism, sexual assault, domestic violence, toxic family dynamic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

first five star of the year. holy crap what a book. I have no words, my eyes are puffy from sobbing. this book is so powerful in many different ways. a fiction love story where the fmc, dannie, runs her life around numbers and plans. when she’s on the job interview of her life, she knows what the next 5 years of her life will look like: when she’ll get married to her current boyfriend, where she’ll be living, how high up in the company she’s currently interviewing for. her entire life is planned. after a long night and one heck of a realistic dream where dannie finds herself in a different apartment, with a different man, and a different ring on her finger, exactly 5 years into the future to the day, to the hour; 11:59pm. her whole life begins to unravel in front of her. what she once could plan for, is not out of her control and she doesn’t understand how to live a life she has no control over. over the next couple of years, we see dannie try to reel in this life, to protect and keep the ones she loves the most, and when tragedy strikes, she is left to learn that before the clock turns everything is not planned, unexpected things happen, and that there is a life that exists in color, there’s suffocating love & devotion, that isn’t black and white and by the book. even with no plan, there is still lots of life to live. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

The Right Move by Liz Tomforde

emotional funny 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

4.0

Ryan shay is a isolated loner who plays in the NBA. When his sisters bestfriend needs a place to stay, he’s roped into giving her the extra room. Forced proximity leads Indy and Ryan to redraw the roomates line or discover if they have something more. Book #2 in the “Windy City” series, whereas the first one I felt it powerful and saw myself in the story, but found a huge part of it repetitive and in some aspects unbelievable or unrealistic. This book includes an infertility storyline and a lot of relationship conflict and some resolution which I was more drawn too. Realism in romances just seem to my cup of tea, and It seems I’m into “the plot” for more then just one reason ☺️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Juniper Hill by Devney Perry

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-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

3.5

I think I said this in my review of the first book of the series “indigo ridge” but this book defenitley reminds me of lucy score’s “things we never got over” series. This book continues the pattern of being a romance with the hint of adventure,  or I would also call it crime, and these types of romance always keep me on the edge of my seat. The only reason I gave it 3 stars was because the pase was extremely fast. As I don’t particularly love slow burn, I just felt this book was one that could have been dragged out a little more. The ending felt rushed and I felt rushed reading it. Overall it was a good book though. 

Mile High by Liz Tomforde

adventurous funny inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

another review, another book, where all I mostly have to say is that I ate this sh*t up. spice was good, plot was okay, I’m not a huge hockey romance lover, but I will be reading the next in the series. the book probably didn’t have to be 500 pages long.