krutikasurve's reviews
67 reviews

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

5.0

Final Offer by Lauren Asher

5.0

Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma

2.0

Gah. I was rooting for this one. But god. I think per Brown Tik Tok, there has been this need to define diasporic South Asians. This makes complete sense because we haven’t really gotten the opportunity to explore it as a separate entity from people that are born and raised in South Asian countries. I get it. But I felt this book kind of put a whole essay in there. I think simply telling diasporic stories is enough. But this book just did too much. It’s definitely possible to integrate messages into stories but it wasn’t done well here because nothing seemed tangible? Like everything (except the sex) felt theoretical and it was hard to grab on to as a reader therefore it just felt messy. Like how are two people arguing about the existence of love while throwing food at each other? That’s weird. You want to relate to these characters and, to be fair, you do to an extent. But everything is so up in the air the whole time, it’s just like JESUS. 

 

They could’ve really leaned in on their backstories like with the mom and the fiancee but again, it’s simply brought up like it’s an idea. 

 

Also, it felt like during the editing process, they didn’t go and clean it up. There were times when something was set up only to be disregarded like it wasn’t supposed to be there. And it was frustrating. 

 

Also, the characters were annoying and were a bit extreme and nonsensical. It was cringe. 

 

Also, I said this before and I will say it again. PUBLIC DECLARATIONS OF LOVE ARE NAUSEATING AND EVERYBODY HATES IT. GAG. GROSS. 

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

3.0

I like this series a lot. The characters make sense even in this sci-fi/fantasy setting. Even when the story is set in something otherworldly, I can connect to the characters even when they are frustrating. The pacing is a bit slow but you can enjoy the ride. 

The Boy With Fire by Aparna Verma

3.0

Yeah, this was fine. but I’ll be frank…all that world-building went completely over my head. It’s kind of bad. I wanted more romance and that was the only feature that kept me engaged until the third act. That’s NOT to criticize the writing. Just my stupidity and general short attention span. Surprisingly, the romance plot is not as engaging as I would hope (my standards for romance are alarmingly low) but I think it is just one of those things that would develop. Nonetheless, I’m invested now. I’ll read the trilogy. Oh no, you got me. 

 

I will say I love how Indian culture was integrated into this while still maintaining the sci-fi elements. Every once in a while (ok very often) random words were thrown out and it was a bit overwhelming cause I didn’t know what they meant (back to my inherent disregard for world-building, if it’s not part of the romance it WILL go over my head) but then there will be a word thrown in there like diya or lehenga and I’m like “I know what that is”. It was very validating.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

5.0

No, listen cause Emily Henry has my whole heart, y’all. 

The chemistry between the two characters is ELECTRIC. I love it so much. I also love the idea of allowing yourself to be a little selfish. We are allowed to prioritize ourselves sometimes. 

 

After reading this book, there’s definitely a type when it comes to the male characters. In all 3 Henry books I’ve read, they have seemed to kind of blend into one. Is that bad? No. Cause I like the men. I like smart men to tell me how it is so I don’t have to think. I'm gonna reread this one.

Promises and Pomegranates by Sav R. Miller

3.0

You know what? I’m gonna say it. These mafia fools have no respect for personal boundaries. These clowns just don’t care. They’ll just be all touchy and gross anywhere and everywhere. And it’s too much! It makes me cringe. I’m not terribly versed in Greek mythology. I wasn’t into Percy Jackson cause I’m not a nerd. So I didn’t really understand the references or the similarities. And there’s not much of a story either. But let’s be honest. I wasn’t reading this cause of the mythological parallels or the story. 

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

2.0

This was fine. Smutty to the point where you’re like “okay, and?” Like I thought they didn’t like each other. The ending was bonkers though. Who would’ve thought? Tracy Morgan voice, “Twist!” I think I would continue this series simply for what happened in the third act. I think it’s a series. It felt like it was the beginning of one. I don’t know. I’ll check. If it’s not, this book is ass. 

Ok, the "#1" is indicative that this is part of a series. I will hold my full thoughts until I get my judgy eyes on the rest of it.

Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher

5.0

After a series of L’s, I finally got a win. This book reminded me why I got into reading. Cause it was fun. For the past couple of books, I've been pushing myself to get thru. It was just the right amount of escapism that pulled the warranted giggles right out of me. It’s so cute. I love grumpy men (in books, I don’t have the patience in real life). And Iris is so cool. She's genuinely lovable without being annoying. I’m tired of the “quirky” girl who just seems to have no common sense. Iris has common sense but she’s also funny and likable. And hot, I assume (I was picturing like a Lori Harvey vibe). Who knew women can be written like that?! That’s bonkers bruv. 

This book is just really cute. I couldn't read this in public because it created a reaction from me that I wasn't comfortable with people seeing.

The War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout

1.0

Well, this was just a big oof. What was the point of this? It truly felt like there was no outline to this and the writer just kind of went with it. Like a writing exercise. They kept on dropping elements of the world that they are building only to not bring it up again. What’s the point of bringing up stuff if it’s not integrated into the story? That’s so dumb. Unless you do it ironically. Then it’s funny. 

 

Besides the overall just lack of a story, my main problem with this is Poppy and her powers. They keep upgrading her and making her even more powerful. But why? Then what’s the point? All the stakes you built just go straight out the window. Literally nothing, and I mean nothing, in this book poses as a threat because she’s so powerful. But she still doesn’t do anything about it? And nobody dies? They all just live happily? And I guess that goes to why there’s no story. There’s nothing there to ground it and drive it. In the first book, she was insecure and coming into her own. Fine whatever. I don’t even remember the second and third books. But stop upgrading her. And it seems like her only weakness is her husband and friends but they all die and then come back to life. I ask again WHAT'S THE POINT?! This book was a waste of time.