miyawakiss's reviews
153 reviews

Sticks and Stones by S.J. Sylvis, S. Massery

dark emotional sad tense fast-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

4.25

If you're looking to read something with a good almost thriller-like plot with a mix of steamy spice, this is the book for you! 

Some might say it's not true enemies to lovers but if anyone did what Stone did to Wren and vice versa, I would hate them with a burning passion. Do they literally want to kill each other? Of course not, they're college kids and they're good kids at heart, this is not a dark romance. But do they hate each other? Absolutely. I love how the hate was justified and turned petty fights into resentful actions. But I also really liked how it slowly fizzled into something else and when it came to a head, the conflict was properly resolved with all the cards being laid on the table. Love communication! 

This would have been a full 5 stars but I docked one for how it ended.

We find out that Stone's dad is Wren's abuser's defence attorney and freed the man from prison. While of course, he's just doing his job, I wish we could have seen a scene, perhaps at the hospital, of his dad regretting that his actions in defending a chronic druggie (someone he sneers down on) ended up hurting his son and an innocent girl very badly.

The ending was too anticlimactic and I wish it was fleshed out a bit more. 

Nevertheless, this was a very good read and a great start to my March.

Just Don't Fall by Emma St. Clair

funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

A solid read to end my February! Our main couple is very cute. We have Parker AKA Pete who is a girly girl (finally someone who is not "different from the other girls") managing the social media and marketing of the Appies hockey team. She's bossy and proud of it (you go girl), and amazingly, the team acknowledges her bossiness as a strength and respects her for it. No misogynistic comments about bossy women here! She has always had a crush on our man Logan who is the typical grumpy cat. He hates socialising, hates being in the spotlight, definitely does not want to do social media and barely has any friends. But he is definitely not cold or arrogant. He lets himself be dragged in by his new team and actually tries to fit in with them, which is really nice to see. Outwardly a grump but really, he's a warm softie. These two fit SO WELL together and their romance was fast and cute. The team were supportive while being protective of our girl (as they should). Mind you, even though there was no spice, it definitely lowkey felt spicy??? The TENSION, the CHEMISTRY and the PULL between our couple was undeniable. Loved it!

One of the reasons I lowered the rating was because I felt that it ended too fast and none of the "conflicts" were really resolved. Like Parker's brother Brandon HATED Logan for the way he cut ties with them and left town (even though he really has no right to be angry) but even though this point was brought up multiple times throughout the story, the way it was resolved was incredibly anticlimactic with just implied communication having taken place behind closed doors. So us readers don't see a word of it. Another point of contention was the fact that Parker's father was persistent and insistent to use her as a pawn to keep his business partners happy. He even made a disgusting suggestion that although she had a boyfriend (Logan - fake at the time), she could be shared. I have a hard time believing this horrible man gave his blessings for Logan to marry his daughter. I wish we got some insight to this if it was even just a "I had to threaten your dad" or "Brandon helped me convince him" comment from Logan or something like that. 

Otherwise definitely a great read and a good spiceless treat. 

Found by You by Victoria H. Smith

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

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

3.75

As an insecure plus-sized POC, this book really tugged on my heartstrings. Roxie is insecure but she's firm on her values and while some might see her as a 'damsel-in-distress', I find that she has great inner strength. Griffin is the typical jock but he's waking up from his past actions and shaking off the fratboi, fuckboi persona. He's starting to be serious about his life and future and he's sure he wants Roxie in it.

The romance was FAST, they fell hard and fast for each other but I'm not complaining. Luckily they're both mature enough to communicate properly to sort out their baggages in order to have a proper relationship. The plot was thick for the amount of pages but at the 90% mark, there were some noticeable grammar errors. 

Overall, a SOLID college romance book.

Never Lie by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Even though I thought I was considering every single plot twist and predicting every way the book would have turned out, it still managed to pull the rug out from under me. I was actually surprised at how much I liked that twist and how it ended. My first Freida McFadden book and very happy with my read.

Ruin My Life by Luna Pierce

dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.5

✨Includes some spoilers✨

Every woman's dream is to get a green flag man and the FMC gets three?! Alec, Miller and Silver are all very different in character but have the same morals and values regarding the treatment of women. They all take note of what the FMC likes and dislikes. They all want to protect her but respect that she has her own choices and decisions. They want to pamper and spoil her in their own ways. I'm so jealous of Cora. Definitely a book that raises the standards sky-high. Especially loved the moments each of the guys realised that Cora loved them all and asking her to choose would hurt her so they each came to the consensus on their own that they would never ask her to choose. They each accepted that if thay want her, it would be a package deal. The ending was satisfactory but I wish we learned more about Miller's past, had more scenes with Silver, and fleshed out Alec a bit more in depth (like when he spent some time away from them). It would have also been so nice to have a window in their future together. 574 pages have never felt shorter. So happy I chose to end my January with this book.

God of Malice by Rina Kent

dark slow-paced

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

2.0

While I do like dark romance, this was too dark. Normally I don't mind dark romance being too dark, but here, there wasn't enough romance to balance it out. The way Glyndon fell in love with Killian felt very out of place. In most dark romances, there's usually a carrot-and-stick  approach in the formation of the relationship so that it doesn't feel "out of nowhere" that the characters fell in love but in this book, both Glyndon and Killian had absolutely nothing in common and they didn't share ANY chemistry. 

The "he fell first" trope also fell flat because it wasn't explained HOW Killian fell for her. It was just "ok I saw her, Imma fuck her" then BAM she ain't gonna leave me. Glyndon was also constantly teetering between terrified, defiant and horny rather than romantic attraction. 

Personally, I felt they didn't have any chemistry and the romantic relationship felt very forced by the author like she was forcing two mismatched puzzle pieces to fit. If she had spent more time fleshing out the romance aspect to balance out the dark, it would have made more sense and the story would have been more harmonious. This was my first book from Rina Kent and after it was so hyped, I feel really let down. I won't completely write her off, I'll try other books from her, maybe another one from this series or the Royal Elite series. Hope the next book I pick up from her will be better

Wickedly Sweet by Steph Macca

adventurous dark lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

I am an absolute sucker for the brother's best friend trope and here we got TWO. From the getgo, Brac and Nate were very sweet and kind to Audrey while her brother Tyler was a bit of an ass (but well, he IS her brother). Also, I am another sucker for the masked man trope and here we have TWO again! Once the Witch Hunt started, the story and smut picked up and it was impossible to look away. Both Brax and Nate had dark fantasies and even though there was knife play, they were still sweet and accommodating to Audrey. I forgot it was ger first time with how far they took it lol. The ending was also really sweet. I did not expect the author to give us a bit of closure on where their relationship stood. Lowkey wished there was an epilogue or side story where Tyler finds out she's with both his BFFs. That would have been great. Overall, this novella was chock full of sugar and spice! 

The Best by say_no_more

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.

The Medium Between Life and Death by NinjaPandaScholar

dark funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

Little Nightmare by Melissa McSherry, Dana LeeAnn

dark medium-paced

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

1.25

Very dark, please check your trigger warnings. 

The book started out pretty good, basic Stockholm Syndrome stuff. Then there was some action which was cool. And then we get into the fluff and domesticities with a side of smut. At this point, the book was like 3 stars - points docked for the MMC and FMC's character inconsistencies.

But the rating went completely down the rabbit hole at the ending because wtf was that???

It was basically a cheating trope thrown in at the end. It didn't even make sense that the MMC was turned on by this because he would kill if FMC so much as interacted with another man but this is ok??? Hypocritical much??? This is where the meme "I can excuse murder but I draw the line at cheating" VERY MUCH APPLIES. Completely ruined my mood and turned me off the whole book. Wish I didn't bother reading the sequel. Some people might say it's not cheating but it counts.