Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kfalsreads's reviews
286 reviews
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
3.0
This is one of those books that is going to nag at me.
First, I want to say this is described on the back as an “endearing and humorous novel,” “joyful and uplifting,” and I couldn’t disagree more. This is not a light, romantic read. *See my note at the bottom.
It kind of reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation where the author uses past and present timelines to build up to the break up and how they deal with being back together after years apart. The difference for me with this one was I never really felt invested in them as a couple. Their chemistry and physical attraction happened really fast, was glossed over—no steam here—and never really grew from there. There was no banter, no common interests, nothing that connected them on a deeper level during their entire relationship. It was pretty tumultuous the whole time and I still wasn’t convinced at the end that they should get back together.
This is a story mostly about toxic relationships and the effect they have on one’s feeling of self-worth. Most of these characters are flawed and the hook for me was seeing how it was going to all play out and how they would overcome them. However, I still kind of felt icky at the end. They all still have A LOT of work to do and the story felt far from resolved.
There was also a twist in here I didn’t expect that wasn’t really necessary to the story involving a character who, also, wasn’t necessary to the story. I’m looking at you Rodney.
First, I want to say this is described on the back as an “endearing and humorous novel,” “joyful and uplifting,” and I couldn’t disagree more. This is not a light, romantic read. *See my note at the bottom.
It kind of reminded me of People We Meet on Vacation where the author uses past and present timelines to build up to the break up and how they deal with being back together after years apart. The difference for me with this one was I never really felt invested in them as a couple. Their chemistry and physical attraction happened really fast, was glossed over—no steam here—and never really grew from there. There was no banter, no common interests, nothing that connected them on a deeper level during their entire relationship. It was pretty tumultuous the whole time and I still wasn’t convinced at the end that they should get back together.
This is a story mostly about toxic relationships and the effect they have on one’s feeling of self-worth. Most of these characters are flawed and the hook for me was seeing how it was going to all play out and how they would overcome them. However, I still kind of felt icky at the end. They all still have A LOT of work to do and the story felt far from resolved.
There was also a twist in here I didn’t expect that wasn’t really necessary to the story involving a character who, also, wasn’t necessary to the story. I’m looking at you Rodney.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
5.0
I waited at least three months for this book from the library and, boy, was it worth the wait. I loved this story! I loved the slow build of Alex and Poppy’s friendship, their trips, experiences, banter, connection, chemistry and backstories.
This was my first friends to lovers romance and the execution of it will set the standard for similar stories moving forward. I was fully invested and thought the author did a great job of articulating the anxiety and trepidation that comes with the idea of crossing that line with a best friend.
There has been some criticism over what causes the fallout of their relationship but I found it was pretty realistic and I was glad it wasn’t over something random or stupid.
This story and Alex and Poppy hold a special place in my heart and look forward to revisiting their story again in the future.
This was my first friends to lovers romance and the execution of it will set the standard for similar stories moving forward. I was fully invested and thought the author did a great job of articulating the anxiety and trepidation that comes with the idea of crossing that line with a best friend.
There has been some criticism over what causes the fallout of their relationship but I found it was pretty realistic and I was glad it wasn’t over something random or stupid.
This story and Alex and Poppy hold a special place in my heart and look forward to revisiting their story again in the future.
The Great Pretenders by Laura Kalpakian
4.0
The Great Pretenders is a great read for fans of historical fiction, family drama, and romance. It covers a lot of issues during the mid-50s: the effect the Second Red Scare had on the studios, people, and pictures in Hollywood; the civil rights movement; inter-racial relationships and sexism.
I really enjoyed this story and the boldness, bravery, and morality of Roxanne’s character. I also appreciated her naïveté and vulnerability. However, it did start off a bit slow for me as the author provided context and backstory for the existing family dynamic and its stature in the industry.
After some quicker, lighter reads this was definitely a change of pace for me. It took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the story, but it was really impactful, especially when thinking about the parallels of what is happening now in the country. I highly recommend this book.
I really enjoyed this story and the boldness, bravery, and morality of Roxanne’s character. I also appreciated her naïveté and vulnerability. However, it did start off a bit slow for me as the author provided context and backstory for the existing family dynamic and its stature in the industry.
After some quicker, lighter reads this was definitely a change of pace for me. It took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the story, but it was really impactful, especially when thinking about the parallels of what is happening now in the country. I highly recommend this book.
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
3.0
I really wanted to love this one, but it ended up just being a like for me. It weighs on me heavily why a book just didn’t do it for me, and explaining it, spoiler-free, is even harder
The Acts Of Life by Kristin Mulligan
4.0
The plot of Kristin’s self-published debut novel was absolutely mind-blowing! What a wild ride it turned out to be!! There’s romance, STEAM ❤️
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
4.0
This book has been described as a cross between Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Get Out with the first two being the direct inspiration for the author’s idea, per her note at the end. It was all that and more in this page-turning psychological thriller tackling themes such as classism, racism, bullying, and homophobia.
I started this book while I was in the throws of a reading rut and its fast-paced, thrilling plot quickly snapped me out of it. There is so much going on and so many suspect characters. I was guessing the whole time who was trustworthy and who was duplicitous. I loved it!
Faridah did an incredible job crafting a relevant story that reveals many social ills and the effect they have on young Black people. My heart ached for Devon throughout the story and his character will stay with me long after I put this book away.
My one caveat with the story was the ending. It just didn’t sit right with me. It felt a bit random and was kind of a letdown after so much build-up. However, The Epilogue was really great and wrapped everything up nicely. I highly recommend this book!
I started this book while I was in the throws of a reading rut and its fast-paced, thrilling plot quickly snapped me out of it. There is so much going on and so many suspect characters. I was guessing the whole time who was trustworthy and who was duplicitous. I loved it!
Faridah did an incredible job crafting a relevant story that reveals many social ills and the effect they have on young Black people. My heart ached for Devon throughout the story and his character will stay with me long after I put this book away.
My one caveat with the story was the ending. It just didn’t sit right with me. It felt a bit random and was kind of a letdown after so much build-up. However, The Epilogue was really great and wrapped everything up nicely. I highly recommend this book!
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
4.0
All I could think after reading it was WOW! This one was a page turner. I don’t think I read more pages in one sitting before this book. The last half of the book flew and I couldn’t read it fast enough. And the cliff-hanger teeing up the next book in this new series was
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
5.0
This was my first CoHo and I loved it! I get the hype and I’m here to add to it.
I went into this kind of blind only knowing romance and domestic violence were the main themes. Needless to say, it was intense, sad, heart wrenching, heartwarming, and hopeful. The whole time I was reading it I knew the s**t was going to hit the fan and the anticipation was gut-wrenching.
I loved the care Colleen took to help the reader understand the complex emotions victims of domestic violence deal with: the love, the fear, the rationale, the hope, etc. Lily was an amazing MC and is one of my top female characters of all time.
The two men, Atlas and Ryle, were also well-rounded characters, and it was interesting how they portrayed the different ways people can deal with trauma. I definitely had some conflicting emotions with this one.
This was a top read of 2021 for me (that last line had me
I went into this kind of blind only knowing romance and domestic violence were the main themes. Needless to say, it was intense, sad, heart wrenching, heartwarming, and hopeful. The whole time I was reading it I knew the s**t was going to hit the fan and the anticipation was gut-wrenching.
I loved the care Colleen took to help the reader understand the complex emotions victims of domestic violence deal with: the love, the fear, the rationale, the hope, etc. Lily was an amazing MC and is one of my top female characters of all time.
The two men, Atlas and Ryle, were also well-rounded characters, and it was interesting how they portrayed the different ways people can deal with trauma. I definitely had some conflicting emotions with this one.
This was a top read of 2021 for me (that last line had me