meg_'s reviews
480 reviews

How to Kiss Your Best Friend by Jenny Proctor

lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

This was just fine. I typically absolutely adore a childhood friends to lovers trope, but this one wasn't executed in a way that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think that the female main character clearly did not care for the male main character until she realized he was hot now. I know that sounds stupid but it was hard for me to trust that she truly cared for him after all of her feelings about him and their small town seemed to change in the span of a few weeks. In particular, I felt like the female main character thought about the male main character as "less than" because he stayed in their hometown when in reality he was an adventurer and super spontaneous and fun but she viewed him in a negative light because of the one factor of him staying near his family. This element made it hard for me to like reading from our female main character's perspective. I didn't dislike the book it just wasn't my favorite. I think most people would probably enjoy this.

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

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dark emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

This was my first fiction read of the year and I truly disliked it so much, which was very disappointing. The writing itself felt really juvenile. There was a lot of telling rather than showing what was happening or how the characters were feeling. The plot itself was so disjointed and just absolutely wild that I had to suspend my disbelief significantly to continue reading, which I just don't think should be the case when it comes to a romance book.

The other piece that I found to be one of the main factors that I disliked was how infantalized Archer was throughout the series. Not only from how Bree treated him but how the entire community treated him. I don't have too many more thoughts other than that I felt like this read like a 15 year old wrote it and I really am sad I paid money to purchase it lol.

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The Connected Parent: Real-Life Strategies for Building Trust and Attachment by Karyn Purvis, Lisa Qualls

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informative medium-paced

I'm not going to give a star rating on this because it is nonfiction and largely includes information about a person's life and experiences but I found there to be a lot of really helpful tangible strategies throughout the book. Would highly recommend to any foster/adoptive parents.

Daisy Haites: The Great Undoing by Jessa Hastings

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emotional fast-paced

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

4.0

I have a deep love for these books and this one did not disappoint. I am obsessed with Julian Haites. Like I want every good thing in the world for him and there is just absolutely no way that I can root for the other man in Magnolia's life after reading this book and these moments from Julian's perspective. I also think Daisy Haites is an absolute badass and Christian is the sweetest male main character in this fictional world. But if I'm being honest, I'm reading these books solely for Magnolia and Julian at this point. I love Magnolia and the fact that other people love her so much and understand her magnetism and angel status, while internally she is constantly questioning herself. And I especially love the dynamic between Daisy and Magnolia because of all of this.

This was great, I love these books, I will forever be obsessed. And Julian Haites deserves to get the girl.

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Powerless by Lauren Roberts

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medium-paced

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

3.0

This was just fine for me. Not great, but not bad either. Very middle of the road. I think that the magic system and the overall premise were just super overdone and the characters were pretty basic so all around it didn't hold my attention to well. To be fair, December was a really bad reading month for me so I felt this way about a lot of the books I read this month. Ultimately none of the book was memorable enough to stand out or feel truly engaging.

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I have complicated feelings about this book. Because I do love a sapphic romance with a cast of diverse queer characters and a super lovable gay friend group. However, I really did not enjoy reading about either of these main characters. There were times where I felt like it didn't make sense why these two women even liked each other because the only thing they really had in common was soccer. Their personalities were polar opposites and I felt a lot of the time that Grace just basically tolerated Phoebe, but didn't love her. I recognize there is nuance to that, but this just didn't feel as enjoyable of a read as my previous book from this author. It seems like Meryl Wilsner is a hit or miss author for me and so far I've only genuinely enjoyed one of the books she's written. I will undoubtably read the next one she puts out though.

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A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This was overall good, I just don't have too many thoughts or too much to say about it at this point. I think I wasn't as invested as I needed to be to truly enjoy the story in the way it deserved. I think most people would definitely enjoy this, as long as they were comfortable with moving forward after reading the identified content warnings.

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Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

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emotional lighthearted fast-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

3.0

This was a cute and easy read that I genuinely enjoyed. I think the characters were really well developed and felt easy to relate to. The dynamic that the TV show brought in was fun and made the story more engaging, and Astrid's journey of self discovery throughout was a more hard hitting element that I wasn't expecting to read in this story.

Overall I liked this read, it just wasn't necessarily one that stuck out to me or that I'll be thinking about for a super long time going forward. Hence, the medium tier rating.

Content Warnings

Magnolia Parks: The Long Way Home by Jessa Hastings

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I have complicated feelings about this book. I'm going to start with my positives. Similarly to the first book in this series, I still am absolutely obsessed with Magnolia Parks as a character. I think she is vibrant and loveable and even when she is being annoying or has her head up her ass I still love her. I also absolutely loved the relationship within this story between Magnolia and

Julian Haites. I LOVE JULIAN HAITES and I truly feel like he and Magnolia are way better suited for one another.

As I established within my review of book one, I am not a huge fan of BJ so this was a bit of a struggle to get through for me. I do think that this book provided so much more context for their relationship and the reasons they feel so intricately tied to one another. I also think there was a clear reason established for why BJ did what he did that lead to the end of their relationship that didn't just feel like a flimsy excuse.

On the negative side, I do think that BJ continued to do things to Magnolia that were objectively toxic. That made it really hard for me to feel happy about the overall arc of this book. Especially with the fact that I freaking love Julian.

I think the reason Julian and Magnolia's relationship ended was really dumb and a cop out. It was done in a way that could have been super damaaging to Magnolia considering her history of being cheated on and never feeling like shse's enough for others

Lastly, this book was way too fucking long. It rambled on for five million years and I feel like so much could have been left out without it impacting the plot too intensely.

The ending was devastating (as is required with the end of all Magnolia Parks Universe books) and as per usual, I can't wait to read the next one!

Content Warnings

Daisy Haites by Jessa Hastings

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emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

I'm going to keep it brief. I have an unhealthy love for these books and Daisy and Christian were just wayyy more loveable to read about than Magnolia and BJ's toxicity. Christian is such a thoughtful and sweet guy and I love him. I love Julian Haites despite all of his many flaws. Lastly, the ending of this book genuinely hurt my feelings. Can't wait to read the next one! lol

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meg_'s reviews 480 reviews

meg_'s reviews
480 reviews