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myblendedbookshelf's Reviews (195)
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
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
We are back to action packed almost instantly in the Queen of Shadows! I think this has been my favorite book of the series so far.
Aelin has embraced who she is and has fully accepted her purpose in life. The title, “Queen of Shadows” was perfect for this book. Aelin may be the only queen but the strength of so many female characters were spotlighted throughout. Not only does Aelin show everyone who she is and what she is worth but Lysandra, Kaltain, and Manon show their strength, dedication to those they love, and compassion throughout.
Things I loved:
👑Aelin being true to herself and refusing to give up
👑The growing relationship between Rowan and Aelin
👑Chaol’s demeanor (Listen, I know this is an unpopular opinion but I get why he is this way. He has one goal and he’s not going to stop until it is achieved).
👑The growing relationships among all characters as they grow together.
👑More backstory on the witches
👑The slow-burning relationships
👑An ever twisting plot
👑thrilling and action packed
👑Fleetfoot
👑Abraxos
Aelin has embraced who she is and has fully accepted her purpose in life. The title, “Queen of Shadows” was perfect for this book. Aelin may be the only queen but the strength of so many female characters were spotlighted throughout. Not only does Aelin show everyone who she is and what she is worth but Lysandra, Kaltain, and Manon show their strength, dedication to those they love, and compassion throughout.
Things I loved:
👑Aelin being true to herself and refusing to give up
👑The growing relationship between Rowan and Aelin
👑Chaol’s demeanor (Listen, I know this is an unpopular opinion but I get why he is this way. He has one goal and he’s not going to stop until it is achieved).
👑The growing relationships among all characters as they grow together.
👑More backstory on the witches
👑The slow-burning relationships
👑An ever twisting plot
👑thrilling and action packed
👑Fleetfoot
👑Abraxos
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Blue Sisters is a novel about grief, finding one’s self, and how all families have complexities, difficulties, and secrets that they deal with no matter what is seen on the outside. The story follows three sisters after the sudden death of one of the Blue sisters. The surviving sisters are all very different.
Avery is the oldest sister who is a 33 year old lawyer that is living with her wife and described as the sensible sister. Bonnie is the 2nd oldest who is a 31 year old female boxer and part time bouncer at a dive bar. She is described as being very stoic. Nikki was the 3rd born but died unexpectedly at age 27. She was known as the sensitive sister. Finally, the baby, Lucky is a 26 year old model struggling to find her place in the world after losing her sister.
The story follows the 3 sisters as they manage grief, addiction, heartache, relationships, and their own journey through life. It shares the importance of family as well as how our own secrets affect our lives and others. I will say that I personally struggled with the first 30-40% of the book but it was not at the fault of the author. The writing was spectacular but the beginning of the book is a lot of details and character building and very long chapters so I felt like I was losing focus and getting lost in the story. Once it clicked and I was able to decipher between sisters, I was hooked!
The story was beautifully written and leaves a reader feeling connected to each character. I cried, laughed, and found myself wanting to hug the sisters and help them through their battles. For anyone who has experienced family grief, I think you will find this book very relatable. This was the first book I read by Coco Mellors and I would like to read more.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lyla does it again! I have thoroughly enjoyed the Rebel Blue Ranch series and Lyla is a gem of a person. My only critique of any of her books is not even a knock on her, the book, or her writing. It is only because of my personal preference. I have realized that I do not enjoy the open door scenes and I am a giant prude.
I listened to Lost and Lassoed entirely on audio which makes it the first Rebel Blue book that I have not read physically. Can I just say that Amos' voice in the audio is TOP NOTCH! It brought tears to my eyes anytime I heard that sweet, gentle Western draw. Even at 2.5x speed, he made me want to sit on a wrap-around porch, drink coffee, and let him tell me all his stories. Gosh, he was even more precious than I originally thought.
Gus and Teddy. You finally got what you deserved. As a single mom, this book hit differently. Unfortunately, my co-parent relationship has been less than amicable and I cannot relate to being able to coparent so seamlessly but what I can relate to is the fear in a parent's heart when you start to date again. The first and only thing in my mind when I started dating again was my daughter. If one thing made me think they weren't going to be the loving father figured she so desperately needed, they were out. It is apparent that Gus is very careful with who he brings sweet little Riley around.
Teddy and Riley's relationship warms the heart and even though Gus and Teddy are enemies, he clearly feels it too. I love the enemies to lovers trope as well as forced proximity. These two were done oh so well in this book.
Lastly, if you have not read the note Lyla wrote her dad in the back of this book. Please go do so. Oh. my. gosh. I read it while she talked about it when she was in St. Louis and cried then. Then, I tried to read it to my mom out loud and cried like a baby. It is so sweet and heartfelt and I relate to it so much when I think of my own dad.
Great job, Lyla! You have done it again! I have already put Wild and Wrangled on my TBR and reserves list :)
I listened to Lost and Lassoed entirely on audio which makes it the first Rebel Blue book that I have not read physically. Can I just say that Amos' voice in the audio is TOP NOTCH! It brought tears to my eyes anytime I heard that sweet, gentle Western draw. Even at 2.5x speed, he made me want to sit on a wrap-around porch, drink coffee, and let him tell me all his stories. Gosh, he was even more precious than I originally thought.
Gus and Teddy. You finally got what you deserved. As a single mom, this book hit differently. Unfortunately, my co-parent relationship has been less than amicable and I cannot relate to being able to coparent so seamlessly but what I can relate to is the fear in a parent's heart when you start to date again. The first and only thing in my mind when I started dating again was my daughter. If one thing made me think they weren't going to be the loving father figured she so desperately needed, they were out. It is apparent that Gus is very careful with who he brings sweet little Riley around.
Teddy and Riley's relationship warms the heart and even though Gus and Teddy are enemies, he clearly feels it too. I love the enemies to lovers trope as well as forced proximity. These two were done oh so well in this book.
Lastly, if you have not read the note Lyla wrote her dad in the back of this book. Please go do so. Oh. my. gosh. I read it while she talked about it when she was in St. Louis and cried then. Then, I tried to read it to my mom out loud and cried like a baby. It is so sweet and heartfelt and I relate to it so much when I think of my own dad.
Great job, Lyla! You have done it again! I have already put Wild and Wrangled on my TBR and reserves list :)
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A fun little Christmas novella!
Eve is ready to make this Live Laugh Travel Christmas writing assignment her best and she makes herself comfortable on a train headed to Noelville. As she sits waiting for the empty seat next to her to fill with her editor, Blanca, her “penemy,” Will Fowler, appears and takes the seat. Will explains that he has also been chosen for the assignment and that the seat she believes to be Blanca’s is in fact his. Was Eves boss testing her to see if she could in fact stay professional while dealing with one of her most annoying coworkers or secretly trying to play matchmaker? Eve believes when she tells him “Happy Holidays” as she exits the train, that she will not have to deal with him anymore this trip. To her dismay, their cabins are next door neighbors. Cue the annoying huff again.
As the two of them work separately to write the best article for Live Laugh Travel, they begin to learn more about each other. They start to see each other as humans instead of that annoying coworker fighting for the top spot.
The way I see Noelville when I read this book makes me think of the movie Elf, the Grinch, the Santa Claus, and the Polar Express all mixed together and baked as a delicious Christmas cookie.
For fans of enemies to lovers, this was a quick and fun holiday novella. The middle was a bit slow and the ending felt rushed but overall, I enjoyed it! I give it 4 stars for an enjoyable Christmas read.
Eve is ready to make this Live Laugh Travel Christmas writing assignment her best and she makes herself comfortable on a train headed to Noelville. As she sits waiting for the empty seat next to her to fill with her editor, Blanca, her “penemy,” Will Fowler, appears and takes the seat. Will explains that he has also been chosen for the assignment and that the seat she believes to be Blanca’s is in fact his. Was Eves boss testing her to see if she could in fact stay professional while dealing with one of her most annoying coworkers or secretly trying to play matchmaker? Eve believes when she tells him “Happy Holidays” as she exits the train, that she will not have to deal with him anymore this trip. To her dismay, their cabins are next door neighbors. Cue the annoying huff again.
As the two of them work separately to write the best article for Live Laugh Travel, they begin to learn more about each other. They start to see each other as humans instead of that annoying coworker fighting for the top spot.
The way I see Noelville when I read this book makes me think of the movie Elf, the Grinch, the Santa Claus, and the Polar Express all mixed together and baked as a delicious Christmas cookie.
For fans of enemies to lovers, this was a quick and fun holiday novella. The middle was a bit slow and the ending felt rushed but overall, I enjoyed it! I give it 4 stars for an enjoyable Christmas read.
adventurous
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
I give this 2.5 rounded up to 3. I think the ending was the best part. I sat steady at a 2 the entire book. It was hard to listen to a book say “COVID” or “pandemic” or “vaccination” so many times especially when we have moved past that. I also chose this book because the cover was hilarious but I felt like I was sad a majority of the book. It touched a lot on divorced families and spending holidays alone without your children and that is a trigger for me. I did enjoy the look into their own family traditions and how different cultures celebrate. I have not read the previous book in this series and I think that may have helped me to see these characters as more loveable. Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
No
I would say 2.5-3 stars. Unfortunately, the book just wasn’t for me. The concept is super cute and the cover is adorable. As a big Wordle fan, it drew me in. I just felt like I couldn’t connect to the characters and after 50% in, I still had no love for the characters. I felt like the relationship between John and Emily was flat and pretty much non-existent and then all of a sudden they are kissing in a parking lot. I did thoroughly enjoy the scenes where Emily was helping the various elderly couples and getting life advice from them. That content felt on point. The rest of the book just fell flat for me. Thank you Amy James and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.