kyras_reads's reviews
403 reviews

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

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3.0

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

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4.0

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas

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emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

This had the potential to be a 5 star book for me! It had so many things I love… age gap, forbidden, slow burn… but once that third act breakup set in, it really fell a little short for me. Not the breakup itself occurring, just the justifications and details of it. But, it still so good and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to! Exes dad may even be a new favorite trope… 🫠 

There’s not a lot to say about it, really. It was well-paced and the entire relationship played out in such a great way. I feel like no two books by Penelope Douglas I’ve read so far have been even a little bit the same, which is awesome. I love my favorite authors who give me exactly what I expect every time but I also love those that can throw a curve ball at me. 

And I LOVE that there was epilogue years in the future. That is becoming one of my absolute favorite things! I love the closure of getting to see the couple and what they’re up to a long way down the road. 

Overall, I’m a little mad at myself for keeping this on my TBR for so long and not getting to it sooner! I finally see the hype. 

Tropes: 
Ex’s Dad
Age Gap
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Fiery Little Thing by Avina St. Graves

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This surprised the hell out of me. I could tell from just seeing the fan art that the vibe of this book was going to be good but it was good in unexpected ways. 

The backstory for both characters was dark and tragic, they were cut from completely different cloths but came together all the same. The amount of trauma Blaze experienced in only the short amount of time she was at the academy was more than most could handle in a lifetime. The revenge for that was SO sweet. 

As a sucker for the obsessed “touch her and die” type of man… this was perfect. He fell first and fell hard. She was blind to it but once she saw the light… 🔥 

Honestly, the fact that the sass and attitude didn’t stop when she was his was part of what I loved about it. She didn’t change a single thing about herself (other than what she put in her body, of course) and I’m so glad because without the snark, this wouldn’t have been nearly as fun as it was. 

I had such a great time. This is only my second book by this author but so far the spice in both was SO well done and the characters are unique and memorable. 

Tropes:
Frenemies to Lovers
Kleptomaniac/Pyromaniac
Obsessive MMC/Brat MMC
Medical K*nk
Revenge

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

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4.0

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

I flipped back and forth between the Grinch theme being charming and annoying here. Some of the story narrators lines cracked me up, he was probably my favorite even though he wasn’t actually a character. 

The overall plot, taking out the Christmas aspect, was what you’d normally expect for a romance. There was angst and spice and banter, as expected. 

For a VERY heavily holiday themed book, it was pretty entertaining. I think you just have to be in the mood for exactly that if you pick this book up! 

Tropes: 
Enemies to Lovers
Fake Dating
Small Town
Slow Burn
Holiday Themed (like, seriously)

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Gothikana by RuNyx

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

Well, I figured this was going to go one of two ways… love or hate. Oddly enough, it felt very much *meh* instead. I’m a little bit disappointed but there were some good parts too.

I don’t think I vibed with the writing style and the romance seemed to have almost no build up and I didn’t really see the chemistry between the main characters. 

Even though the plot was kind of lacking for me, I still enjoyed a lot of aspects. The mysterious school and the history behind it kept me intrigued. And I love the gothic feel!

I wasn’t a fan of Vad, I felt like he was kinda childish and way too possessive but not in a hot way. And for some reason, the spicy parts were a little cringey too. 

I didn’t have a terrible time or anything. I just don’t think this was my vibe. 

Tropes:
Age Gap
Forbidden Romance
Student/Professor 
Dark Academia
Preternatural

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

How is this the last book in the series already? I had a great time with the Callahan clan and I am pretty sad it’s finally over.

I loved getting to check in with the other characters a little and see what they’re up to in their own lives. I also just LOVED seeing the relationship these two had play out! 

Izzy and Nik were a lot different than the other couples in the series and I really felt like their story was a lot deeper. They had history and such a strong connection. I really enjoyed how mature they approached most of the situations they were faced with. 

Weirdly, my biggest complaint with this book was that I listened on audio and didn’t really like the male narrator. That really came down to personal preference rather than an actual flaw with the character or writing. Just not my cup of tea! 

I’ll really miss this world and this family. I’m so glad I gave them a shot and read this series. 

Tropes:
Second Chance
Brother’s Rival
Forced Proximity 
Secret Relationship 
Sports Romance

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Well, this was cute! I am such a big fan of Molly and this whole little universe. I love that we know Molly so well that you don’t get frustrated with her lack of picking up social cues and hints about what’s happening around her. She is just the worst at solving mysteries and I love it! This was a sweet little novella and I am so glad I found out it existed! 
Catch the Sun by Jennifer Hartmann

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

Wow… I didn’t expect this story to be so deep and kind of dark. I thought this was going to be a sweet, light read but I should have known better. This author is the queen of trauma and building a beautiful backstory for her characters that provides so much depth… and this was SO good. 

Max and Ella are definitely on my list of favorite characters from her books. I think they’ll take a seat right next to Oliver and Sydney, my other friends to lovers couple from her books. Their romance was such a joy to experience. Even though they might not have been on the same page a lot of the time, they both knew that they were meant for one another and the level of patience displayed by both of them (okay, mostly Max) was almost more than I could stand.

I was not expecting a lot of that… from her brothers incarceration, to her drowning, to her assault/almost death, to her brother being home, to then a murder… I didn’t have any nails left at the end of this book! 

This story took so many turns I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of it. These two went through so much trauma and so much growth in such a short time. I enjoyed every single page. 

That HEA ending after she crushed my spirit temporarily by separating them?! PERFECTION! I always have to remind myself to trust the process because there has never once been an ending that left me unsatisfied.

And bonus… our favorite FMC is a die hard Dr Pepper lover?! Love to see it! 

Tropes:
Childhood Friends to Lovers
Angsty
First Love… First Everything 
Small Town

Spice: 🌶️🌶️
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