jumbledjess's reviews
284 reviews

Flawless by Elsie Silver

4.0

I yee’d my first haw 🤠 Not that I need to tell anyone, because this book is EVERYWHERE, but damn was it a fun time. Grumpy/sunshine with forced proximity, dual POV, one bed, and banter - SIGN ME UP. This definitely screams ‘Save a horse (bull), ride a cowboy’ vibes and the steam steamed. 

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

4.25

“Love was an invitation into the wild unknown, one step at a time together.”

I RAN through this book; thank you for living up to the hype! I love a magical realism story and this one HIT! It’s such a quick, impactful read about timing and where we are in our lives at any given point. This is definitely a heavier romance with some of the topics covered (please check trigger warnings!) but to me that makes the characters feel real. The humor in this surprised me but was done so well and who knew I could love the nickname “Lemon” so much. 

P.S. Absolutely loved the dedication and I know have the strongest urge to watch Eternal Sunshine.

The Crown of Oaths and Curses by J. Bree

4.0

Rating: 3.75-4⭐️

Before you go into this book, I absolutely recommend reading the 2 novellas to set the stage, but if you do read them just know some of the info will be repeated in Oaths; not all of it but they give really good backstory for why the characters act the way they do. This is a slooooooooowwwww buuuuurrrnnn, not just the romance part (which there is none in this-enemies to lovers) but all aspects are built slowly. For me this was a smart way to write the story since there is A LOT of trauma & prejudices for the characters to over come. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and can’t wait to see how it moves from here (Soren has some atoning to do). I will say that I do feel it was a tad too long, but I never got bored and already have book 2 preordered.

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

3.25

To be perfectly honest, I vacillate between 3-3.5 stars on this book depending on what part of it I think about on any given day, but I think the 3 moments out weigh the 3.5’s. I’m not disappointed by HOFAS (though I am super disappointed in you, Bryce Adelaide Quinlan-you know what you did) because despite it being over 800 pages long I still breezed through it and had a good time. Were there moments I rolled my eyes at? Yes, a lot. Were there moments I wanted to scream at the characters because WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK were you all doing? Absolutely, yes. But SJM knows how to write a damn book (forever an SJM girlie) and while I feel this was my least favorite version of one she’s written, she still had me wrapped around her finger. 

Unbroken Bonds by J. Bree

4.0

Rating: 4⭐️

I’m so sad my time with the Draven Bond Group has come to an end😭. I’ve had a blast, gasped a million times, and kicked my feet more times than I can count. This series found me at the right time and I ATE👏🏻 IT👏🏻 UP👏🏻 I’m gonna say it again and just say this series is a good time. It’s simple, easy, spicy, and it was hard to look away. For me the series as a whole is a 4⭐️, but it holds a 5⭐️ place in my heart. 

Tragic Bonds by J. Bree

4.0

A lot of the reviews point out that the books follow a very similar pattern of: cliffhanger from last book gets resolved very quickly, let the god bonds do god bond shit, 🌶️🌶️🌶️, new cliff hanger, and repeat and honestly, yes, but I AM HERE FOR IT.  I do feel like with this one we did get a lot of the other character’s backstory and family dynamics which I think added a layer to the story. Again, is this high literature? No-but damn it’s a fun time. 

Forced Bonds by J. Bree

3.75

WOW WHAT A RIDE THIS WAS. I really don’t want to give anything away since we are cemented in the Bonded world now but THE DRAMA. This has to be my form of a daytime soap opera because I cannot, nor do I want to, look away. While I’m loving being in this world, this was more about character development 😉 than moving the plot forward, but in true J Bree fashion she drops the most twisty cliffhanger right when you think things are okay. 

The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen

adventurous

3.75

The Bridge Kingdom starts off with one of the most captivating scenes and immediately hooks you. The world is really interesting but towards the middle it slows down and kind of sits there for longer than I wanted. I do find it interesting that this is classified as fantasy when there weren’t any fantasy elements and it’s more of an adventure/fiction story about warring nations and political maneuverings. Overall, I enjoyed it but didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. I’ll def be picking up the next one because I can’t just leave the story hanging like that and I need closure.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

I’m glad I went into this blind because it packed a surprising punch since I had no idea where it was going to go. I don’t know how to describe this book; it’s definitely historical fiction, but has a sci-fi/fantasy element to it as well that elevated the story telling. Kindred is probably one of the most creative ways I’ve seen a story about enslaved people being told. It’s hard to look away even when atrocious things are happening because you become so engrossed in the story. Due to the subject matter in the story (slavery, racism, abuse, violence, rape, and literally so much more) please check trigger warnings, but this book is a powerhouse and will be one of my top books of the year. 

Blood Bonds by J. Bree

medium-paced

4.0

So glad this series is complete because OH MY GOD. 

Normally I have an easy time pacing through a series (nobody likes burn out) but this series literally has me in a vice grip. J Bree, what did you put in these books?! They’ve made me completely feral. Does this mean I’m a paranormal romance stan?! I don’t want to say much for fear of spoiling anything since this was book 3 but just know I’m having a great time and while some of it felt repetitive, this continues to lay the relationship foundation of Oli with her bonds.