jessanicolesingh's reviews
135 reviews

The Lonely Hearts Trivia Night: A Novel by Lauren Farnsworth

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

3.5

*I thrifted an ARC of this book, so I am not sure if anything was different in the official publishing

This book was cute and occasionally funny, but overall a fairly emotional read. A group of strangers come together to form a bar trivia team, each going through various relationship, employment, financial and mental health struggles. Their respective journeys show that life can honestly be shit sometimes, and finding friends to go through the hard times with can make all the difference. I was happy with the resolutions laid out for each character in the end, but I felt the book still left a slightly depressing taste in my mouth rather than the hopeful feeling it was likely going for.
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HER by xochitl Garcia Guillen

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dark 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

3.0

I stumbled upon this book through a stuff-your-kindle promotion. It had an interesting enough premise, but the pacing was not the most consistent. Considering it was framed as a redemption plotline, I felt like not enough time was spent on the main antagonist, and by the time it got around to addressing him in what should have been a pivotal climax, the conclusion was rushed and practically swept under the rug. Additionally, there were multiple times that Spanish dialogue was randomly thrown in, with no translations, which would have been very limiting in print if I had not been reading this on my Kindle. 
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Scythe & Sparrow by Brynne Weaver

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dark emotional 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

4.5

If Brynne Weaver writes it, I am going to LOVE it!

Finishing off the Ruinous Love trilogy, Rose was by far the most realistic FMC of the series; she want so badly to be a serial killer but keeps fucking it up and is too squeamish for the gore that comes with the job. She and Fionn had great chemistry, and I was happy with the pace in which they got together. There were plenty of laughs as well as spice, and as always, some uncomfortable things done with food and body parts šŸ˜‰ I enjoyed how it weaved in the other bookā€™s main couples, giving them all a nice ending and setup to what seems to be the next spinoff from Weaver!
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Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

Our Valentine by Liz Gavin

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

1.0

I thought Iā€™d do a quick spicy Valentineā€™s read from my last stuff-your-Kindle-day, but this was just smut for the sake of smut with no plot. The time jumps in this book were bonkers, and the novella ends with a baby making sessions and & surprise wedding? I just couldn't find a saving grace to this one folks.
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Opposites Attract by Camilla Isley

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emotional funny 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

4.0

This was a cute, slow burn rom-com about a divorce lawyer and a couples therapist, a true night & day opposites attract. There wasn't anything groundbreaking or overly memorable about the book, but it was sweet nonetheless.
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A Very English Murder by Verity Bright

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

3.0

This book was, in a word, meh. I didn't feel consistently engaged while reading but rather wavered in interest. I was also fairly disappointed in the ending; it was not a straightforward investigation where the MC put all the clues together and solved the mystery, she more or less stumbled into a confession by baiting the killer, which felt like cheating.
Leave Me Behind by K.M. Moronova

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Damn, this book right here might just put me in a reading hangover! I knew going into it that it was a bully romance, but boy was it brutal. The plot had great action, leading up to a suspenseful climax and quite an emotional ending, all the while still delivering some heated scenes. We are technically given an HEA, but itā€™s at a pretty big cost that makes it just shy of perfect. 
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Phantom by H.D. Carlton

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dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.0

Sigh šŸ˜ž I really wanted to love this as I am a BIG fan of HD Carlton and her writing style, but alas I found myself fairly underwhelmed with this book. Seeing as this prequel to the Cat & Mouse duet was based around Gigā€™s diary,  I was looking forward to getting an expansion on her 1940ā€™s stalker romance, but this was painfully slow and too long considering nothing new happened. It also felt incomplete, as it never never hit a real climax or addressed the tragic end to Genevieveā€™s life; I would have loved to have gotten Ronaldoā€™s perspective on her murder and the resulting fallout. I think it would have worked better as a novella, maybe that wouldā€™ve helped with the plot redundancy and not so wrapped up ending.
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Emperor of Wrath by Jagger Cole

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dark tense 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

4.0

Warning, the FMC of this book is a HUGE spoiler for the previous book by this author, ā€œMonstrous Urgesā€. If you plan on reading multiple works of his, I HIGHLY suggest considering the interconnected timeline order.

Cole has done it again! He manages a true enemies-to-lovers mafia romance full of tension, both sexual and action packed. The only part that felt somewhat incomplete to me was the connection between the earlier attacks on the couple (at the engagement party & wedding), to the eventual main antagonist. I feel like I can safely assume that they were the one terrorizing them all along, but it was never officially confirmed during the final blowout. Otherwise this was a captivating, thrilling and spicy ride, and I will definitely be back for more from the author!
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