loiereads's reviews
261 reviews

The Carmichaels by Natasha Ellison

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

If you like Stranger Things, you'll LOVE this! 
I really enjoyed how the story just develops almost straight away - it pulls you in and intrigues you from the first page. 
The characters are likeable and believable; Ottoline is such a sassy queen I LOVE HER, and Dean is also such a silly sweetheart 🥰
For a teen author, Natasha has done really well. She's created a story that's engaging and interesting, and is overall fun to read. I finished this one in a day, so that's explanation enough of how captivated I was! 
Perhaps a few adjustments in regard to punctuation and fluidity would make this book even stronger! 
I'm really excited to see what else this young creative comes out with next! 

Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.0

Wow, okay this was SUPER fun and interesting to read. 
I have no idea why I've never read Life and Death before now! I knew it existed, but for some reason I just never picked it up! 
Now that it's getting close to spooky month and autumn is in the air, I was getting in the mood to revisit Twilight. I was debating whether I should reread the first book or not, and then I remembered that this existed and thought it was the perfect solution! 
It was SO interesting to see the story but from a slightly different perspective. 
And DAMN, I love the surprise that Stephenie had for us at the end. Kudos, kudos. 
Overall, I really enjoyed this; it didn't blow me away or shock me too greatly, but I would definitely recommend picking it up and giving it a go if you love Twilight!

Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.0

I love a wholesome LGBTQ+ book, and this one was a lot different to something I would usually read. My fiancé loves Formula One, so when I saw this book, I thought it would be super interesting to read. Like, gay Formula One?? Bring it on, BUT sadly there’s no denying that I was expecting more. 

This one fell a little flat for me. The storyline was quite stale and I was always hoping that something more dramatic would happen. I mean the F1 is one of the most dramatic and gripping sports out there, so I feel as though this book didn’t really capture that. Every time there was a race, we would get like maybe a page about it - without much depth - and that would be it. Now listen, I’m not a motor racing expert AT ALL but from what I know about the sport, I really don’t think half the stuff that happens in this book would be tolerated in real life, so it all just felt unrealistic enough for it to become distracting. 

I didn’t like the characters or their relationship: it felt forced and unbelievable and didn’t make me feel all cute and giggly like I was hoping it would. 

There were also quite a few grammatical errors in the book, which felt disappointing to see. 

Another thing to note: I listened to the audiobook of this whilst reading along and boy did I HATE the audiobook. The narrator for Harper was SO QUIET. He did a lot of whispering and breathy voice work and it was very hard to hear what he was saying at times. Audiobooks aren’t cheap as well, so I do feel as though I’ve been cheated a little. And I do think that the quality of the audiobook has tainted my enjoyment of the book overall. 

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

funny reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Yeaaaaaah, what do I say about this book? 

I mean, the main thing I gotta say is the spice in this WENT HARD. I’ve never read so much in my life, and honestly it kinda ruined the book a little. It felt really forced and not very tasteful at times, I have to admit. 

When looking back on the book, I guess I feel as though not much actually happened. When I went into this story, I was expecting more of a focus on the actual characters played, but I didn’t really get that at all. Like, were they ever actually studying?? It was well and truly 60% spice, 20% partying and 20% skating. 

There were some sensitive topics covered in the book, which I I thought was done quite well, and I enjoyed reading about, but it felt like a very minor side story. 

I didn’t really feel that connected to any of the characters, either. There was a LOT of them, that at times I sat there in mild confusion and frustration trying to keep up with all the different names. 

The relationship between the two main characters felt a little forced too? From the blurb I was expecting more of an enemies-to-lovers situation but it wasn’t really that at all. It seemed unrealistic, unbelievable, and artificial. There’s also some morally questionable decisions made in regard to be sobriety and consent… idk it’s weird. 

Overall, this book was OK, I guess, but I was sadly expecting something better. 

The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

Okay, so I know my rating seems a little harsh, and it’s not because of Mariana’s writing. I love the way she writes and describes things. Buuuuuuut, after coming to this one after reading All Rhodes Lead Here, this one just didn’t compare. It was verrrrrrrry drawn out and the romance was verrrrrrrry slow burn. Slow burn is fun, but when the romance is crammed right in at the end, it just takes away from the appeal a little. The story also felt a little bland as well and I think it would have benefited from some sort of bigger plot twist. 

I do really love the way Mariana writes her characters though, so I’m definitely looking forward to reading more of her books. This one just didn’t grasp me the same way that All Rhodes Lead Here did. 

Fly on The Wall by E. Lockhart

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩," 𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙢𝙚. "𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩." 

"𝙄'𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚," 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮. "𝙎𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚." 

"𝙉𝙤, 𝙣𝙤," 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮'𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜. "𝙎𝙞𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩."

-

I’m honestly not too sure how to feel about this book. It was strange, kinda weird, pervy and uncomfortable. 

Having really enjoyed reading E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars and Family Of Liars, I did have high, high hopes, I have to admit. So coming from those and reading this, you can kinda see why I feel disappointed. 

I just feel as though there wasn’t that much change that came from Gretchen’s experience. Like yes, it allowed her to understand boys a bit better, but it never lead her to achieve much aside from talking to the boy she fancies. And I just feel like it gives off the message that the only thing a girl can truly accomplish is become confident enough to talk to her crush. Staying true to herself and standing up to her art teacher by protecting her preferred art style was only minority touched upon, and I think this would have been a much better, more valuable outcome to the story. 

I don’t know, I’m sure there’s a much larger picture that I’m probably missing, but I can’t lie and have to admit that I just found this one a bit bizarre. 

Heartless by Elsie Silver

funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

I think I can already see a running theme with these books: not much happens aside from the spice and a minor background story. Like, I want some more drama, something to actually get my teeth into. These books are great if you just want something easy to get lost in, but I think I’m just so used to having some big, juicy plot twists in my books that this series feels really mediocre to me at times. 

And the writing is… not the greatest. But I don’t wanna sound like an expert, because I’m not in any way, but it just feels a bit cringe and fanfic-esque. 

I did enjoy seeing Cade’s harsh exterior start to soften around Willa as he comes to start caring more about her. If you know me, you know that I love some good character development. 

And Willa’s relationship with Luke is honestly so adorable and wholesome. That was probably my favourite part about this book. 

Also, side note: is Elsie Silver secretly a man? The way she writes women makes her sound like a desperate teenage boy… 🤢

One thing I do relate to in this book is when Willa says, “I’m in my cowboy era” because girl, same 🤠 

Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with a copy of the book! 

While the premise of this story had me intrigued, I didn’t really feel that it ever captivated my attention enough. 

I really liked the characters and the premise, but I don’t think it was executed all that well. It felt a little flat, same-y same-y and repetitive. It started off strong, but I kind of lost interested around halfway through. 

The writing felt too amateurish to the point that it was a bit distracting at times, but I think with a little more polishing and more attention to detail this could be a really great story. 

I will definitely keep my eyes open for more of Holly Stars’ work in the future!

Moon Dust in My Hairnet by J.R. Creaden

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook! 
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Seeing as I received the audiobook version, I think I should start off with my thoughts on that. It was okay, but I found the voice grating, and I didn’t enjoy the attempts at accents. It wasn’t seamless, and was a little distracting. I do think this audiobook would have benefitted from having several narrators, rather than just one trying to do all the different voices and accents. 
In regard to the story; who doesn’t like a good space novel? I love seeing different people’s creative visions of what the future might look like, specifically moving the human race off Earth and onto another planet. It’s a book that is different from a lot of books I’ve read, and that was refreshing. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with polyamorous relationships in it, so that was a new experience for me as well! 
Admittedly, I didn’t really gel with the characters that much. Lane was decent; I liked her inner monologue and her style, but aside from her, I kind of dislike everyone else. But I do think this might have something to do with how the narrator portrayed them. Because of the different accents they attempted, it just made me feel irritated with the characters. Perhaps if I had read this book rather than listened to the audiobook, I might have liked the characters a bit more. 
The flow of the book felt a little slow, and at the start I was a little unsure of what direction the story was going to take. But JR Creaden did a good job of just about keeping my attention - thankfully - and in the end I really enjoyed hearing about Lane and her partners in a modern-day intergalactic romance story. 

Overall, I really enjoyed getting the chance to listen to this audiobook - I’ve kind of become obsessed with audiobooks at the moment; they’re just so convenient! So I’m definitely looking forward to listening to more! 

Flawless by Elsie Silver

lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.5

From seeing so many positive reviews for this book, I feel extremely let down by it.
The romance between Summer and Rhett felt a little whiplash-inducing. There wasn’t much of a gradual bond forming between the two of them… they suddenly just were head over heels and it felt forced and unrealistic. 
The story itself was… boring? That’s probably the best way to put it. Like, I’m sitting here thinking, “what even happened?” because honestly, not much. 
I didn’t particularly like the characters themselves either. They were a little annoying and Rhett just kinda made me wanna punch someone. 
I really wanted to like this one more than I did, but I’m still going to read the second book in the series with my fingers and toes crossed that it’ll be better than this one… 🤞