kimalah's reviews
1425 reviews

George and Frances Roll the Dice by Dianne Freeman

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

A light novella of a honeymoon infused with murder and race-fixing. It’s short and not complicated but an enjoyable read with a couple that I continue to like reading. It was a nice break from the world today.

Never Date the Minister by Julia Kent

emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.25

Another enjoyable, funny, fun romance (closed door this time) from Julia Kent. The Whatever It Takes series is a kind yet goofy world where people learn and grow and come to embrace love, this time with wedding project manager Nessa and UU Minister Matt. Looking forward to the next book about Nessa’s mother.

Holy Terrors by Margaret Owen

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

A fantastic ending to a fantastic YA trilogy (and I rarely read YA). I dearly love Vanja and her journey. So many wonderful supporting characters and the evil ones, whoo boy, are they evil. If you have the ability to read the author’s AO3 installments under the title “The Fallow Year” before reading Holy Terrors, you will get more out of certain characters and mentioned situations. 

Also a warning for arachnophobes: there are a lot of spiders, especially in the last sections. I can give this book no greater compliment that I, serious arachnophobe, continued reading without skipping a page. Yeesh. But worth it. So worth it.

Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

I read positive recommendations for this book so I signed up for and won a copy in a Goodreads giveaway. I couldn’t even finish the first chapter. No consent, abuse of power over an employee in an internship …what?? No. DNF with extreme prejudice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment

A Measure of Menace by Jennifer Ashley

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

A good novella featuring Lady Cynthia’s father and the murder of a moneylender with a vicious reputation. The mystery is straightforward, but any story with Lady Cynthia is good in my eyes. There is a lot of private interaction between Daniel and Kat (and a little between Lady Cynthia and Mr. Thanos) which is just lovely. I really love this series.

The Fallow Year by Margaret Owen

emotional tense 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

10 chapters that cover the time period between Painted Devils and Holy Terrors. Oh my heart. 

A Wallflower's Guide to Viscounts and Vice by Manda Collins

adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

4.75

A Wallflower’s Guide to Viscounts and Vice is delightfully fun and romantic. It is related to Collins’s previous series, Ladies Most Scandalous, with multiple characters from those books included in this one. Lucy and Will continue the line of smart, witty, curious, adventurous and romantic main characters with an interesting mystery and a lovely romance. It was a great balm for a reading slump I’ve endured, which is a high compliment from me. I hope we get to see more of these characters sometime in the future.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. All opinions are solely my own.

Against a Wall by Cate C. Wells

emotional lighthearted 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

4.0

I guess I would call Against a Wall a bully redemption romance. Cate C. Wells books pull me in and I end up reading the story in one sitting when I only intended to take in a couple of chapters. I’ve been jumping around in her timeline, but never have a problem following what is going on. In this book, Cash is absolutely gone for Glenna, bonkers over her. There are small town issues, drama and prejudices to deal with in the story, but Cash is always there for Glenna. It’s an engrossing book. I need to catch up on the rest of the Wall family booklist.

A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander

emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Lovely historical romance with a transmasc lead character falling for his new, and first, valet. The power differential is handled well, the romance is a sloooow burn, and the characters are all well drawn and endearing. This is a kind and humane book, something we need a lot of right now.

Speculations in Sin by Jennifer Ashley

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

Another excellent addition to the Below Stairs Mysteries. This time, the story revolves around Kat’s oldest and dearest friend Joanna, who cares for Kat’s daughter Grace along with her own four children, and Joanna’s husband Sam, who is accused of embezzlement and later murder in the bank where he is employed. Kat is determined to prove his innocence and to keep Joanna and all the children safe. She receives help from Daniel, Mr. Grimes, Lady Cynthia, Miss Townsend, and James among others. A small secondary story involves a glimpse into Mr. Davis’s life outside of the Bywater home. Anne-Marie Piazza does another lovely job of narrating, adding to the storytelling. Can’t wait to the next novel about Daniel.