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lightsnack's reviews
62 reviews
Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
3.0
This book has a really amazing and fun premise, and a ton of promise. Unfortunately, the pacing made it sometimes difficult to get through. The first 75-80% could be tightened up a good bit, and then from 80-98% was really good. The last chapter (or two) could have been stretched out so it didn’t feel so rushed.
Pacing aside, all of the characters are fun, and like I said the premise is as wonderful as the description makes it sound. I wish that the main couples were developed more in their relationships, but it was overall a very fun story. I read the ARC, and since the release is still the better part of the year away I’m hoping some last minute changes can be put in to tighten it up. This has SO MUCH potential to be a really really top tier book.
Pacing aside, all of the characters are fun, and like I said the premise is as wonderful as the description makes it sound. I wish that the main couples were developed more in their relationships, but it was overall a very fun story. I read the ARC, and since the release is still the better part of the year away I’m hoping some last minute changes can be put in to tighten it up. This has SO MUCH potential to be a really really top tier book.
10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
What a wonderful romcom! As always with Alexis Hall, the characters are all so well done and fleshed out that you feel attached to all of them by the end. As this is part of the same universe as Boyfriend/Husband Material, you can expect the same 90s romcom vibes and humor.
The main character and love interest are so well done and so wonderfully flawed and human, I loved them instantly. Even though Johnathan is in fact a MAJOR grumpy jerk. I cannot wait for the final version, as it is it’s difficult to not go back and immediately read it again.
The main character and love interest are so well done and so wonderfully flawed and human, I loved them instantly. Even though Johnathan is in fact a MAJOR grumpy jerk. I cannot wait for the final version, as it is it’s difficult to not go back and immediately read it again.
A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles
FANTASTIC sequel and well worth the wait!
KJC has such a hand for action filled romances, and this one absolutely delivers on that.. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book, and the twists continue to the literal last page. It is swoony, has a daring rescue, wonderful chemistry, practical yet beautiful acts of love, and old, dark secrets. What more could you want!?
Oh? Cameos from the previous book? You get that too.
Overall very fun, very gripping, very romantic.
KJC has such a hand for action filled romances, and this one absolutely delivers on that.. I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book, and the twists continue to the literal last page. It is swoony, has a daring rescue, wonderful chemistry, practical yet beautiful acts of love, and old, dark secrets. What more could you want!?
Oh? Cameos from the previous book? You get that too.
Overall very fun, very gripping, very romantic.
Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
3.0
I don’t envy anyone who is given the task of rewriting Jane Austen. That said, Most Ardently does a very decent job of it. I have been a fan of the other books in this series, so I was very quick to request an ARC of this one as soon as I saw it.
The premise is great and it was well executed for the most part. The main thing that didn’t translate well, and that kept bringing me out of the story, was the way sexism was handled. Several times during the book, misogyny was treated as a bad thing because it was happening to Oliver, and therefore he was being misgendered, but the misogyny itself wasn’t treated as bad in its own right. Some of this was because it came from the original story (Charlotte marrying Collins, even though he is awful, and in this story she is in love with someone else), but Oliver’s criticism and insistence that he would never lower himself to make the same decisions feels very different than Elizabeth’s in the original, because he is a man. Others just made Oliver seem kind of unlikable at times, because it often felt like he thought he shouldn’t be subjected to it because he isn’t a woman rather than that he shouldn’t be subjected to it because no one should. This was made worse because very few female characters have any actual presence. They were two demential and didn’t seem to exist beyond what Oliver needed them for, even though Oliver has 4 sisters, a mother, and a female best friend. And the ending made me very concerned for his future friendship with Charlotte, though the book didn’t seem to even remember her existence by that point.
That aside though, the book was great. A quick and easy read, a wonderful version of Darcy, a fun twist to the classic. I loved how Oliver’s double life influenced the story, and especially his romance with Darcy.
The premise is great and it was well executed for the most part. The main thing that didn’t translate well, and that kept bringing me out of the story, was the way sexism was handled. Several times during the book, misogyny was treated as a bad thing because it was happening to Oliver, and therefore he was being misgendered, but the misogyny itself wasn’t treated as bad in its own right. Some of this was because it came from the original story (Charlotte marrying Collins, even though he is awful, and in this story she is in love with someone else), but Oliver’s criticism and insistence that he would never lower himself to make the same decisions feels very different than Elizabeth’s in the original, because he is a man. Others just made Oliver seem kind of unlikable at times, because it often felt like he thought he shouldn’t be subjected to it because he isn’t a woman rather than that he shouldn’t be subjected to it because no one should. This was made worse because very few female characters have any actual presence. They were two demential and didn’t seem to exist beyond what Oliver needed them for, even though Oliver has 4 sisters, a mother, and a female best friend. And the ending made me very concerned for his future friendship with Charlotte, though the book didn’t seem to even remember her existence by that point.
That aside though, the book was great. A quick and easy read, a wonderful version of Darcy, a fun twist to the classic. I loved how Oliver’s double life influenced the story, and especially his romance with Darcy.
Wolfsong by TJ Klune
I was hesitant to read this at first because of the age gap and the fact that they met when the younger was 10 (older was 16), and the younger “imprinted” on the older when he was 10 as well. But I’m glad I gave into my trust in TJ Klune because this book, like all of his writing, is just so amazing.
The deepest theme of the book is found family, so if that’s something you like this book is definitely for you. It’s also about overcoming abuse (physical, emotion…all of it) and rising above those determined to break you. It’s also, even in the face of my initial wariness at their ages, and some (what would in almost every other story be alarming and Not Good, but works here for various reasons) high tier possessiveness, a very swoony romance.
If you’re a fan of TJ Klune and/or shifter romances…please give this one a try. You won’t be disappointed
The deepest theme of the book is found family, so if that’s something you like this book is definitely for you. It’s also about overcoming abuse (physical, emotion…all of it) and rising above those determined to break you. It’s also, even in the face of my initial wariness at their ages, and some (what would in almost every other story be alarming and Not Good, but works here for various reasons) high tier possessiveness, a very swoony romance.
If you’re a fan of TJ Klune and/or shifter romances…please give this one a try. You won’t be disappointed
One Night in Hartswood by Emma Denny
This book!!!
Sweet and romantic, tempered by achingly painful moments and excruciating longing. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath through moments of disaster…a fun and wild ride that pays off beautifully.
I loved almost all the characters, not just the main two…and those I didn’t love I loved to hate. I love a book that has real feeling characters, that feel like whole complete people on their own.
The romance was so top tier it made me cry a little. I am going to make so many friends read this with me.
Sweet and romantic, tempered by achingly painful moments and excruciating longing. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath through moments of disaster…a fun and wild ride that pays off beautifully.
I loved almost all the characters, not just the main two…and those I didn’t love I loved to hate. I love a book that has real feeling characters, that feel like whole complete people on their own.
The romance was so top tier it made me cry a little. I am going to make so many friends read this with me.
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian
This book has one of the BEST prologues I've ever read. Which probably seems like a weird thing to open with, but I very rarely get so attached to not just one but two main characters so fast. Instantly, I was rooting for them, and it made me feel at the beginning of chapter one the same way I usually feel about 100 pages into a book I really enjoy...completely invested and absorbed into the story and characters. It was almost physically painful to put this book down to go to work, and work was the only thing that managed to make me take a pause.
The two main characters are both lovely, and while there is certainly tension and stakes...this book is ultimately so sweet and romantic that I can already tell it's going to be a comfort read for me in the future, even though I legit cried at one point (not because of anything upsetting that happens, I was just...genuinely moved)
I have read other books by this author but this is by FAR my favorite. Please please do yourself a favor and give it a go.
The two main characters are both lovely, and while there is certainly tension and stakes...this book is ultimately so sweet and romantic that I can already tell it's going to be a comfort read for me in the future, even though I legit cried at one point (not because of anything upsetting that happens, I was just...genuinely moved)
I have read other books by this author but this is by FAR my favorite. Please please do yourself a favor and give it a go.
Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall
Oh gosh, this book is so lovely.
This may be my most anticipated book of the year, and it did not let me down. It was funny, it was riveting, and it was so, so fun. The narrator is an absolute joy, and often stole the show. All of the main characters are immediately likable, though I wish Lady Georgiana leaned into the title of "The Duke" because I think it would be really cool of her, but that's just me. The inclusion of various deities was delightful. I love when Alexis Hall gets a bit experimental and weird (in the best, most wonderful ways!) with his writing, and this is that with the humor and tempo of Something Fabulous.
I've been talking about this book non-stop to friends since it was announced, and I plan to continue doing so now. I cannot wait to read the final version and be able to enjoy the story again
This may be my most anticipated book of the year, and it did not let me down. It was funny, it was riveting, and it was so, so fun. The narrator is an absolute joy, and often stole the show. All of the main characters are immediately likable, though I wish Lady Georgiana leaned into the title of "The Duke" because I think it would be really cool of her, but that's just me. The inclusion of various deities was delightful. I love when Alexis Hall gets a bit experimental and weird (in the best, most wonderful ways!) with his writing, and this is that with the humor and tempo of Something Fabulous.
I've been talking about this book non-stop to friends since it was announced, and I plan to continue doing so now. I cannot wait to read the final version and be able to enjoy the story again
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
I started this book in the evening and stayed up past 4 in the morning to finish it because it was so captivating and so good, it was impossible for me to put it down. And now I can’t sleep, because the book was just So Much. In a good way, but. Wow.
It’s hard to say much without spoiling everything, but whatever you think this book is going to be, you are underestimating it. I promise.
It’s hard to say much without spoiling everything, but whatever you think this book is going to be, you are underestimating it. I promise.