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marie_22's reviews
305 reviews
Falling for Gage by Mia Sheridan
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Rory and Gage meet after Gage’s car breaks down and he and his friends end up in the bar Rory works at. They spend the night together but go their separate ways the next morning, thinking this was a one-time thing and that they wouldn’t see each other again.
But Rory’s search for her father takes her to Gage’s hometown, and they are thrown together again to figure out who her father is.
I listened to the audiobook for this, and I do really love audiobooks. But I’m so bad at finishing them, they always take forever, no matter if they’re good or bad. And this one was really good!
Gage had it bad for Rory from the very start, which isn’t necessarily my favourite especially if the heroine is also immediately into the guy. But I was okay with it here because it was more like insta-lust than insta-love. Rory and Gage had great chemistry, the sex scenes were fine, and I really enjoyed their dynamic for most of the story. The mystery about her father was entertaining but drawn out a bit too long.
Overall, I really liked this story and would have given it 4 stars, if it wasn’t for this one thing that happens, that was just so weird to me. I wish this would have been left out entirely, or at least dealt with more quickly.
I’m going to explain what I mean below to avoid spoilers, even though I don’t really think it is that much of a spoiler. But just to be sure, if you don’t want to know anything more than what I’ve already talked about, don’t continue.
Spoiler:
Again, I would have given this 4 stars, if it wasn’t for the whole ‘we had sex, but maybe we’re also siblings’ thing that was so weird and unnecessary? Like, Rory’s reasoning for this was a stretch at best, but I guess there was a possibility. And despite that possibility, they were still lusting after each the whole time while they waited for the DNA test results, like wtf..
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
But Rory’s search for her father takes her to Gage’s hometown, and they are thrown together again to figure out who her father is.
I listened to the audiobook for this, and I do really love audiobooks. But I’m so bad at finishing them, they always take forever, no matter if they’re good or bad. And this one was really good!
Gage had it bad for Rory from the very start, which isn’t necessarily my favourite especially if the heroine is also immediately into the guy. But I was okay with it here because it was more like insta-lust than insta-love. Rory and Gage had great chemistry, the sex scenes were fine, and I really enjoyed their dynamic for most of the story. The mystery about her father was entertaining but drawn out a bit too long.
Overall, I really liked this story and would have given it 4 stars, if it wasn’t for this one thing that happens, that was just so weird to me. I wish this would have been left out entirely, or at least dealt with more quickly.
I’m going to explain what I mean below to avoid spoilers, even though I don’t really think it is that much of a spoiler. But just to be sure, if you don’t want to know anything more than what I’ve already talked about, don’t continue.
Spoiler:
Again, I would have given this 4 stars, if it wasn’t for the whole ‘we had sex, but maybe we’re also siblings’ thing that was so weird and unnecessary? Like, Rory’s reasoning for this was a stretch at best, but I guess there was a possibility. And despite that possibility, they were still lusting after each the whole time while they waited for the DNA test results, like wtf..
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Plot Twist by Breea Keenan
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Becca, a teacher and aspiring writer, decides to leave her hometown Glasgow and visit her online friend and fellow writer, Riley, in Ireland after the sudden death of her best friend. Once there, she is in for a surprise when Riley turns out to be a man and not a woman like she had assumed.
This was a sweet romance and a great debut. I thoroughly enjoyed it and finished it in two days even though I listened to the audiobook and usually, it takes me a while to finish those.
I struggled a bit with Becca getting over the initial shock of finding out that Riley is a man in what felt like five minutes and the romance felt a bit rushed.
But overall, i really liked it.
Special mention to the narrator. She did a great job and has a Scottish accent, which I think really added to the story (Becca, the main character, is Scottish) and made it very immersive. It did take me a while to get used to it, but that might just be because English isn’t my first language.
Thank you to Netgalley and Headline Audio for the arc.
This was a sweet romance and a great debut. I thoroughly enjoyed it and finished it in two days even though I listened to the audiobook and usually, it takes me a while to finish those.
I struggled a bit with Becca getting over the initial shock of finding out that Riley is a man in what felt like five minutes and the romance felt a bit rushed.
But overall, i really liked it.
Special mention to the narrator. She did a great job and has a Scottish accent, which I think really added to the story (Becca, the main character, is Scottish) and made it very immersive. It did take me a while to get used to it, but that might just be because English isn’t my first language.
Thank you to Netgalley and Headline Audio for the arc.
Pointe of Pride by Chloe Angyal
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
2.75
I was really intrigued by the premise of this story. The main characters, Carly and Nick, are ballet dancers (or former dancer in Nick’s case), who travel to Australia for their friends’ wedding. I love ballet, so I was excited to read a story about ballet dancers, which I don’t see very often.
At first, I struggled to get into the story. The writing style seemed a bit clunky, the characters barely talked to each other, it was a lot of inner dialogue. But after the first 20% or so the story definitely picked up, and I enjoyed myself, even though it was a bit ridiculous at times (the third-act conflict was definitely over the top).
One thing I want to point out is that this book depicts pelvic pain and Carly’s struggle with it. This isn’t a topic I see very often (or at all) in romance books, even though it’s an issue for a lot of people and I think it was realistically represented here; the author even put more information on it at the end of the book, and I just thought that this was really great and important.
I struggled with the writing style, but overall I enjoyed the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
At first, I struggled to get into the story. The writing style seemed a bit clunky, the characters barely talked to each other, it was a lot of inner dialogue. But after the first 20% or so the story definitely picked up, and I enjoyed myself, even though it was a bit ridiculous at times (the third-act conflict was definitely over the top).
One thing I want to point out is that this book depicts pelvic pain and Carly’s struggle with it. This isn’t a topic I see very often (or at all) in romance books, even though it’s an issue for a lot of people and I think it was realistically represented here; the author even put more information on it at the end of the book, and I just thought that this was really great and important.
I struggled with the writing style, but overall I enjoyed the story.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!