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jsreadingjournal's Reviews (237)
I didn’t expect to be flying through this series this fast, but I guess that goes to show how much I’ve been loving it so far. Josh is quite a contrast from the other Twisted men we’ve read about so far and I enjoyed seeing his personality shine through. The banter between Josh and Jules goes to show why they’re so perfect for one another. Also, can we take the time to appreciate that not only did this man take Jules to a bookstore for a date, but also incorporated a scavenger hunt AND bought her an entire bag full of books?! If that isn’t goals, I’m not sure what is.
Side note: I know the book focuses on Josh and Jules, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that one of my favourite relationships to read about was the bromance between Alex and Josh.
Side note: I know the book focuses on Josh and Jules, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that one of my favourite relationships to read about was the bromance between Alex and Josh.
Which book did you enjoy most from this series, and why? I can’t decide between Twisted Lies or Twisted Games. I really enjoyed this book, especially the way all the main characters from the previous books made so many appearances – it really tied the series together beautifully. It also had the perfect balance between heartbreak, romance, and comedy. I also loved the pacing of this book. I feel like most romance novels usually start off painfully slow, but I felt the attraction between Christian and Stella right away! Aside from the main characters, it was so fun seeing the friendship bloom amongst the Twisted men (someone tell Ana Huang that we need a fifth book simply for Alex and Josh content please and thank you – I don’t even care if there is no romance, I just want to see more friendship and bickering).
I’m not the biggest fan of nonfiction so I tend to stay away from memoirs and biographies. I remember being a massive fan of Jennette McCurdy as a child and I knew I had to give this book a chance (especially after it sold out the day it was released). I am genuinely shocked at how interested I was in this book! I thought I would have to force myself into completing it, but I couldn’t put it down! The way it’s written almost feels like you’re having a conversation with Jennette herself. Her story was absolutely heartbreaking - there was a whole other side of her life that we didn’t get to see before, and I am so glad that she finally got the chance to tell us her story.
I had read this book back in early high school and I don’t think I quite grasped the severity of the topics covered in it. I decided to give it another shot when I saw this book was exploding on BookTok and I’m so glad I did. This book was heartbreaking, and I had to constantly put the book down because I was sobbing. I really like how this book shines a light on domestic abuse (although I do see how some people really don’t like this book and see it as romanticizing DV). With the topics covered, I really do wish this book was taken more seriously instead of being advertised (and written) as a romance.
Moving on, I really liked how the story shows how hard it can be to leave an abusive relationship – it’s so easy to say, “if that were me, I would leave after the first time”, but this book shows how we hope to see the best in people and how we can delude ourselves into thinking “maybe this was a one-time thing”.
Now onto the characters of the story, can we talk about how Ryle was a massive walking red flag since the moment he’s introduced?!! There’s no hiding his manipulative and violent side so seeing him become more abusive throughout the book isn’t much of a shocker. On the other hand, I loved Atlas’s character and how he was always there was Lily despite not being in contact with her for years. I also loved Allysa advocating for Lily despite being Ryle’s brother.
Moving on, I really liked how the story shows how hard it can be to leave an abusive relationship – it’s so easy to say, “if that were me, I would leave after the first time”, but this book shows how we hope to see the best in people and how we can delude ourselves into thinking “maybe this was a one-time thing”.
Now onto the characters of the story, can we talk about how Ryle was a massive walking red flag since the moment he’s introduced?!! There’s no hiding his manipulative and violent side so seeing him become more abusive throughout the book isn’t much of a shocker. On the other hand, I loved Atlas’s character and how he was always there was Lily despite not being in contact with her for years. I also loved Allysa advocating for Lily despite being Ryle’s brother.
Most of the romance novels I read are heavily influenced by Booktok/Bookstagram and I’m completely okay with that. I read this book last year (so apologies if the review is a bit short and rusty). This novel alternates between the past and the present so it was interesting to read that. A note to start off is that I don’t enjoy YA novels as much anymore because I find them harder to relate to (much more prefer NA). Going into this book, I wasn’t aware that it alternates between the past and present tense. Personally, I quite enjoyed the present tense writing (as it’s more relatable) while I found a lot of the past tense to be slightly cringy (probably also because the main characters were teenagers during this time). There were a ton of heartbreaking moments throughout which I enjoyed reading however I also found the book to be dragged out much longer than it needed to be. With that said, I did like the book enough to finish it in one day so can’t complain too much.
So I don’t read much poetry – it’s just never been my thing. I usually get bored and find it difficult to follow BUT I kept running into this author’s reels on my Instagram explore page and found all her videos so captivating that I kept watching more until I was stuck in an endless loop. I don’t know if it’s the way she writes poetry or if it’s the way she reads it with so much emotion in her voice. Either way, I pretty much ran to her website to buy the book as soon as I saw she had a paperback version of the book. The title really does hold up to the poems – the book perfectly describes being a hopeless (and hopeful) romantic in such a beautiful manner. The book covers topics such as heartbreak, longing, and self-worth. Honestly, reading some of the entries felt like I was reading my own inner thoughts, so it felt very relatable at times. I also really loved the concept of writing the book as a diary where the first poem starts in January and the rest are written in dated increments until we reach December – I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like that before, so it was very cool. I should also note that there were a few entries in Spanish which I didn’t mind at all – in fact, I quite enjoyed translating them and learning the beauty of those words.
Waiting eagerly for volume two to be released as a paperback!
Waiting eagerly for volume two to be released as a paperback!
Oof Archer Hale really has my heart. Going into this book, I thought it was a cute little romance, so the spice was quite unexpected (although I’m complaining). I feel like the entire time I was reading this book, my heart was in my throat just breaking for Archer and everything he had to go through at such a young age. I also absolutely loved both protagonists and the way they supported and pushed one another to be better without crossing any boundaries.
Also, can we talk about how Mr. Hale is raising everyone’s standards?! Like come on, walking through a storm so she feels safe?! Picking out all the folded chips for Bree because he knew she likes those best?! I feel like I need to stop reading romance novels or else I’m going to end up utterly disappointed when it comes to real men.
Also, can we talk about how Mr. Hale is raising everyone’s standards?! Like come on, walking through a storm so she feels safe?! Picking out all the folded chips for Bree because he knew she likes those best?! I feel like I need to stop reading romance novels or else I’m going to end up utterly disappointed when it comes to real men.
I downloaded this book on kindle right after completing Archer’s Voice. I absolutely despised Travis in Archer’s Voice, so I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to give this book a shot but then I saw a few reviews saying that Travis makes a great redemption. I don’t think I’ve ever gone from hating a character so much to loving them that fast, but in this book, Travis definitely makes up for his behaviour in the first book as we get to see his softer side. I found this book much more cutesy than Archer’s Voice, especially as we get to see Travis falling head-over-heels for a woman while still trying to respect her wishes of being “friends” (even though we know that Haven is also falling for him). This would definitely be a five-star read BUT it was a little too slow-burning for me. I mean, I was through 60% of the book before they had gotten together and I’m not about that (although I did love watching their friendship grow). Overall, a great (and fast) read! I’m really hoping we get a book about Easton in the future.
Okay so I'm a little late at reading this book but I was so excited to read it after seeing it go viral on BookTok/Bookstagram last year. I feel like this is one of those books that people either absolutely hated or loved – I fall within the latter group. It was an easy read and it had me blushing and smiling like a lovestruck teenager. I instantly fell in love with the infamous Aaron Blackford. I swear this man could do no wrong and he has my whole heart. Moving onto Lina, I'm not too sure how I feel about her character. I felt like she was a bit immature for her age, especially during the first half of the book. I kept forgetting she’s supposed to be nearly thirty because oof she did not deal with her issues the way a normal nearly-thirty year old would. Also, I think this book is known to be an enemies-to-lovers trope and a lot of people were upset since that's not really the case as Aaron has it bad since day one. Personally, I kind of liked whatever this trope is, better than enemies-to-lovers. Overall, I really enjoyed it and would definitely read it again! That being said, I can also see why some readers didn’t like it as much.
Similar to The Spanish Love Deception, this book was also incredibly heartfelt and romantic. Lucas and all his grand gestures definitely had me smiling throughout the whole book. On top of that, the amount of time and planning he put into their experimental dates.... Ugh what a sweetheart. *chefs kiss*.
One thing to note is that this book felt so incredibly slow and slow-burns usually aren't what I gravitate towards so maybe it was just me? Because of this I also found the ending extremely rushed and thought that it could probably do with a few more chapters to space things out.
Overall, I thought this series was very light-hearted and fun to read! It was different than my previous reads which was a nice change. There were also no major conflicts in either of the books and because of this it felt like a pretty easy read (maybe a good book for a beach read?)
One thing to note is that this book felt so incredibly slow and slow-burns usually aren't what I gravitate towards so maybe it was just me? Because of this I also found the ending extremely rushed and thought that it could probably do with a few more chapters to space things out.
Overall, I thought this series was very light-hearted and fun to read! It was different than my previous reads which was a nice change. There were also no major conflicts in either of the books and because of this it felt like a pretty easy read (maybe a good book for a beach read?)