lifeonasofa's reviews
232 reviews

Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients by Adam Kay

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.25

Undoctored 👨🏽‍⚕️ Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.25 stars

Adam Kay‘s ‘This is Going to Hurt’ is one of my all time favourite books, I always recommend it. I also really enjoyed ‘The Nightshift Before Christmas’. Safe to say, I was SO EXCITED about this new release. 🤩

Undoctored opens with the same humourous but infuriating accounts of working in the NHS. Our nurses and doctors deserve better! This book was more about Kay after leaving medical and building his comedic profession, it felt quite personal. 🩺

Whilst I can’t say anything negative about Kay writing about his life experiences (it’s brave) - this book wasn’t a stand out for me this time. I appreciate his openness, I couldn’t help but feel for him. I’m sure a lot of people will enjoy reading about his journey but this was just very different to his previous books. 🩻

The humour felt forced at the start and almost disappears as the rest of the book gets quite heavy. Looking back, I enjoyed this book more than I did whilst actually reading it - if that makes sense? I found the audiobook a little difficult to get into, I’d recommend reading his memoirs physically. 🎧

There are several TWs so please check. For me, I didn’t expect the r*pe and the e*ting d*sorder sections so I had to mention those - it was hard to read. 📖

Content Warnings

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

“But that’s the thing about almost: you can be ninety-nine per cent there, you can be an inch away from doing it, but if you stop yourself from stepping over that line, nobody will ever know how close you were” - Beth O’Leary 🚶🏻‍♀️

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.25 stars

I adore Beth O’Learys writing, I find her books so easy to pick up. The Flatshare was actually the reason I got into chick lit reads. I just love how she combines fluffy and cozy with funny and real characters. 💕

Unfortunately, this one wasn’t my favourite but that’s okay! I’m not big on second chance romance anyway and this particular pairing didn’t win me over. I enjoyed Addie and her sister, wish the other female characters got their chance to shine ✨

The males in this book were all toxic! Don’t get me wrong, it added to the plot and some parts were SO FUNNY but it wasn’t the perfect set up for a romance. Dylan was such a wet wipe, Marcus was so predictably dickish, and Rodney well I’m not against him being inserted for some extra drama but it was random 😂

I understand why the use of ‘then’ and ‘now’ was needed to unravel the story. I felt O’Leary was trying to mix up her style with a deeper plot, but personally I think it took away from her usual loveable style. The beginning was pretty fun but as the book went on, I could’ve done without flashbacks. TW: Sexual Assault ⚠️

I’m still an O’Leary fan but this one didn’t hit the mark for me 💍

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The Wicked King by Holly Black

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adventurous hopeful 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

4.5

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“For a moment,” he says, “I wondered if it wasn’t you shooting bolts at me.”
I make a face at him. “And what made you decide it wasn’t?”
He grins up at me. “They missed.” - Holly Black 🏹

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 Stars

Thank you hotkeysya for sending this copy of The Wicked King as part of the second tandemcollectiveuk The Folk of the Air Readalong! 💝

An applause for Holly Black for making the sequel better than the first! I’m always weary of the second book in a trilogy, they can often be slow but THE DRAMA in this book! 👏🏻

Jude really grew as a character in this, I love her even more! I love that we got to understand the way she thinks before she carried out her plans. I’m glad we got to see more of the spies - still my favs. The scenes between her and Cardan were SO much better too. 💕

Cardan really came into his own by the end of the book and I’m LIVING for it! I was waiting for him to really take his king role seriously. Don’t get me wrong - I’m fuming with that ending but he’s smart right? I feel he has a long term plan. 👀

Loved how we had danger and deceit coming from all sides! I still do not trust ANYONE in this whole damn book - Taryn and Madoc being the worst imo. But it just made it all the more exciting, I had no idea what twists were coming! BOOK 3 READALONG END OF NOV!🤯

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The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

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adventurous 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

4.25

The Cruel Prince 👑 Review
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“What do you think about stealing a crown? Right in front of the kings and queens of Faerie?” Her grin curls up at the corners. “Just tell me what I get to blow up.” - 💥 Holly Black

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.25 Stars

A big thank you to @tandemcollectiveuk @hotkeybooksya and @blackholly for sending The Folk of the Air series across as part of the readalong. It was one of the most enjoyable readalong chats - we were all very immersed! 💬

I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read The Cruel Prince 🙈 and whilst I wasn’t feeling it the first 60 pages or so - wow did I get sucked in! I found it hard to close the book and save the next section. 📖

Minor Spoilers ⚠️
I really enjoyed Jude, she’s so badass and so clever, I loved her one liners and I didn’t know what she was going to do next. Taryn, I’m sad she accepted feeling weak but I think I see where her character is going - and I’m here for the chaos! Also Vivi, what a gem, I love that she was completely in on that ending 💪🏻

All the men in this book are trash - honestly, I knew they were not to be trusted. I’m unsure how I feel about Cardan, I’m glad it wasn’t a quick “oh suddenly I’m nice” switch but I’m still on the fence about who he is. 👑

My favourite characters were hands down the spies - love their dynamic. I found myself really looking forward to their banter, so I hope we get more of them in book 2! I’m excited to see how they run the kingdom 👀

Within the first 100 pages, we really had a good plot. I wasn’t a fan of the bullying but it kinda makes sense given the girls are human. I did NOT see the ending coming at all - I was shocked alongside everyone else 😂 I like how it’s been left wide open for the rest of the trilogy.

Buzzing for next month - which book so your favourite?! 📚

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Content Warnings

The Guilty Couple by C.L. Taylor

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

My first C L Taylor read, and I must say, I’m impressed. I went in blind and was HOOKED on the first page. The premise was different and I had NOT A SCOOBY where it was heading. 📖

The twists and turns and all the individual plans going on were so unpredictable. I found it hard to put the book down. I love how it made me question all the friendships and family members. 🙋🏻‍♀️

Whilst all the characters were unlikeable on the surface, I really enjoyed getting deeper into them as the book went on. I HATED Dom and Dani, like WOW. Also, that ending 👏🏻 both satisfying and infuriating.

Content Warnings

The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh

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challenging emotional mysterious 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

2.5

“It’s not exactly as I remembered, but that’s the thing with memory: it makes up its own stories. They harden and calcify in just the same way as facts, and most of the time we have no idea which is which” - Rosie Walsh 🧠

⭐️⭐️💫 2.5 Stars

I was a big fan of Rosie Walsh’s ‘The Man Who Didn’t Call’ so I was so excited to find a her newest thriller! The book started with a similar light vibe. Walsh is brilliant at writing couples and family units. 🥰

As expected the story slowly became more confusing as it took some twisty turns. Walsh doesn’t write fast past thrillers, you definitely have to be patient and read carefully but the reveals are often unexpected. 😮

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t quite as surprising for me. I imagine it’s hit or miss for readers which is risky. I did start to get a little impatient and didn’t feel like it paid off this time. The last section turned into a different genre again! It was jarring. 📖

I’m not sure I’ll be jumping at the chance to read the next release. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Content Warnings

Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

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adventurous hopeful 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

4.25

Serpent & Dove 🐍 Review

“Why the fuck is everyone in this kingdom trying to murder my wife?” - Shelby Mahurin 💖

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.25 stars

I’ve had this book on the shelves since I joined booksta. It was so hyped! But with the hype came a lot of “meh” review too, so I just never got around to it. I opted to listen to the audiobook because why not? 🤷🏻‍♀️

I actually really liked this book! The start was a little slower but I still loved all the witchy vibes. Yes, it was predictable, your classic “I’m a monster and he’s a hunter” love story. But I found it written in quite a humorous way, I loved both Lou and Reid - they were so feisty! 🙈

I have to say, I don’t think I ever really felt the “enemies” part, we defo could’ve had a bit more fighting between them. I did like that it wasn’t just an easy acceptance from Reid, it made it all the more funny when he ended up with coco. Love her btw. 💪🏻

Whilst this book remained pretty surface level, it was a great set up. It left endless possibilities for the series and I already have book 2 ready to go! It’s odd because I wouldn’t necessarily force this book onto people, it’s not mind blowing. I just really enjoyed listening to it! I had my lunch in my car several times just so I could read more 👀

Have you read the series? Which book was your fav? 💕

Content Warnings

The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

The American Roommate Experiment 🛋 Review

“Lina me va a cortar las pelotas” - Elena Armas 😂

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 Stars

Thank you @tandem @bib @simon for sending me this copy of The American Roommate Experiement as part of a readalong. ☺️

I was SO excited to get my hands on this! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I’ve been in a slump for quite some time, but this had me invested pretty early on. 💕

I’m a big fan of the forced proximity trope and the best friend banter throughout was top tier. It gave me The Flatshare flashbacks, which is the book that got me into rom com reading 2 years ago. Sure the plot was predictable but if you’re after a cozy, light and fun read - this is perfect. 👌🏻

Rosie was warm and kind and just lovely. Nothing we haven’t seen in a romance before but I wanted a happy ending for her. Lucas STOLE the show. He was perfect, definitely too perfect. I couldn’t WAIT for their dates and sofa scenes, I was like a moth to a flame. 🔥

The food scenes were great, the Spanish family were TOP TIER, I wanted even more Lina and we got the dog too! What’s not to love? I like that they both had back stories though these could’ve been more fleshed out. I loved how they both became what the other needed in this book. 🥰

I’m not sure what happened to the pacing by the end of this book. The airport moment didn’t play out how I expected, it didn’t feel very them. And whilst the ending was great, I needed a bit more. I wanted to see what happened NYE 👀 I almost wanted Ro to give a bit of push back too! For a 400+ page book, it all came to an abrupt stop. 🙈

Content Warnings

The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

2.75

The Awakening Zodiac Academy ♍️ Review

“Tears never did anyone any favours, but sometimes they just needed to fall” 😭 - Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

⭐️⭐️💫 2.75 Stars

It only took me 2 weeks, but I got there. Shout out to @buddy for keeping me going. The hype surrounding this series is pretty intense and I didn’t realise quite how many HUGE books there were already! The first book was sat on my kindle for a while so I thought why not. 🤷🏻‍♀️

First of all, I know I went in blind but I heard NOTHING about the sheer amount of bullying in this book. Wow. The WHOLE plot…bullying. I’ll be honest, a good 65% of this book was slow and painful. Very little happened, also everyone is so GROSS. 🙈

I was/still am intrigued by the school, the world and everything the Vega twins have yet to explore. The whole zodiac thing was pretty cool, but we really didn’t get a whole lot of info tbh. I have more questions than answers. 🤔

I like the twins, they both have likeable personalities, lots of strength. They both however, lost themselves around boys. Said boys (and teachers) are so awful they don’t deserve a paragraph, they will never redeem themselves. 👎🏻

The last 35% was full of friendship, lust and action which I actually read in one sitting. So I don’t know what the authors were playing at with the first 300 pages! The ending made me so uncomfortable, but I’ll hand it to them…I’m intrigued. Darn it! 🙃

Overall, I do not understand the hype. But I do want to read book 2. Please check TWs before reading as this whole bullying thing seems wildly unnecessary to me. 👀

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Content Warnings

The Goal by Elle Kennedy

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“Me: If I say yes, it doesn’t mean anything. Him: It means yes. Me: But I’m not committing to anything beyond this one date. Him: Kinda presumptuous, no? I only asked for one date.” - Elle Kennedy 📱

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 3.5

Okay, this book was a total cheese fest, but…I couldn’t get enough. I’m still low key thinking about if this book was TOO MUCH and insensitive. But honestly, I think that’s what I went into Kennedy books expecting? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Overall, not as wholesome as The Deal (Book 1) or The Score (Book3). But better than The Mistake (Book 2) 👍🏻 I adored Tucker, what a sweetheart. And I have to say, although Sabrina might have dragged this out WAY too long, I did relate to her on some level. 💕

Their chemistry was 🔥. I personally LOVED the start, it was a nice change having such a strong, sexual female character taking charge. Arguably the best smut scenes? I dunno. The second half wasn’t as gripping for me personally. It could have worked but it just fell flat at times. 🙈

We got some lovely scenes with the rest of the gang and it joined the stories together nicely but I wanted more. I wanted group dates and movie nights in the boys house. But we did get quite a grown up relationship in comparison to the others which makes it different. ❤️

Spoilers ⛔️ I’m not sure how I feel about all the lust surrounding this pregnant woman. On the one hand I thought POWER TO HER. But then felt a bit grossed out by some of the wording, actions or thoughts at other times. I think we needed the love scene wayyy sooner. It didn’t help with Sabrina’s SLIME BALL stepdad frequently turning up. EW. I know Kennedy likes a deep backstory but he was too much for me. DELETE. Also, I’m sorry but the baby name, I’ll never be onboard, I audibly laughed and had to close the book. 😅

“The tallies keep racking up. Time in labor: 19 hours. Time between contractions: 60 seconds. Number of times Sabrina has threatened to kill me: 38. Number of broken bones in my hand: who knows.” 🤰🏻

Overall, loved them together but I don’t think their story had as much momentum as others. 🥰

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lifeonasofa's reviews 232 reviews

lifeonasofa's reviews
232 reviews