ourxstorybegins's reviews
609 reviews

The Wingman by Stephanie Archer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

I am just not a hockey romance girly, at least not when they’re so straight lmao

Just for the Cameras by Viano Oniomoh

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

5.0

• Started and ended with a bang with a wholleeeeee lot of bangs in between holy shit
• Friends to lovers, in which two of them are already in a relationship and are also in love with their best friend. Relationships and feelings are already established when the book starts, so it's just a matter of making things happen. And also a lot of sex.
• The fact that they managed to have THAT much sex and also get pretty into the relationships each of them had with their parents, their work, etc.? Truly well done
• The FATNESS was sooo well written in so many different ways (by which I mean positions yes)
• Did I mention that there's a lot of sex in this?

Single Player by Tara Tai

emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

3.0

• Apparently gaming is a male-dominated industry? Who knew? Lmao we got to deal with some GateGate style bs in this one and some of the aftermath as far as how it impacted the victim.
• The boss/employee dynamic was sort of lost to the wind, would've loved that to have been addressed differently
• The added fake drama of Cat fake-dating Andi's ex but Andi not realizing it was fake while she falls for Cat? Very good yes I love it
• But also...Andi's ex (yes I forgot her name, don't worry about it) was annoying. I was nervous about the whole situation but also I was like, unfortunately I don't care about you girl!
• There were just a few things that needed to be sorted for this one to stick the landing but I did have a fun time with it

On My Side by Katie Duggan

emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

• OH MY GOD REN AND AUDREY ARE THE CUTEST
• He had a crush on her as a kid and also she listens to his audio erotic performances and doesn't realize it's him and they are both just VERYYYY into each other
• Ren is really into Star Wars, some might say TOO into Star Wars (I am not "some")
• Audrey's daughter Piper is like a 3rd main character and I WILL DIE FOR HER

Sweet Obsession by Katee Robert

emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

• I did not plan on enjoying this one as much as I did
• Poseidon is a...sweet lil teddy bear? OKAY SURE
• Honestly him and Icarus are maybe the sweetest couple that we've had so far in this series every time they were together I was like uGH SO CUTE!!
• I am STRESSED about what's coming next in the big Olympus plot
• Icarus calls Poseidon “big guy” and for whatever reason Poseidon is into it but I simply did not understand, happy for them though

Down South Bayou by Aricka Alexander
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

• Lots of telling, not enough showing
• The emotions I saw felt unearned because of it
• The tenses were changing between past and present constantly, sometimes in the same sentence 😭

Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da’Shaun Harrison

informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

• A look at anti-fatness as anti-Blackness through the lens of gender, particularly how these things impact Black men/mascs
• Even if you recognize the concept of anti-fatness as anti-Blackness, this is super informative and changed how I looked at certain things
• Harrison also approaches the subject from a trans perspective, leading to important reflections on how anti-fatness and anti-Blackness impact gender
• Loved this in audiobook form!

Finale by Stephanie Garber

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

• An absolute DELIGHT and a great way to wrap up this series!
• No spoilers but I have THOUGHTS about the girls’ mother
• I just really love Scarlett, Julian, and Scarlett’s dress
• I do stand firm in this book doesn’t really feel like YA — every once in a while I’d be reminded that they were teens and I drawn out of the story lmao
• I am FASCINATED by Jacks and am glad to know there’s more to learn about him, but also fans of his series will NEVER make me a Tella hater

The Flowered Blade by Taylor Hubbard

emotional hopeful medium-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? No

4.5

• Do I…like romantasy?
• Orcs kidnap a prince for politics, orc chief ends up falling in love WITH said prince
• Partially cuz evil king’s son turns out to be a sweet cinnamon roll who just wants to help people and learn about medicine and plants 🥰
• Prince (Silvyr) is trans and LOOK AT THE SCARS ON THE COVER they’re so pretty
• Very queer normative world, no issues with them being gay or him being trans, which is lovely
• The spice is spicing
• Cry count: 2
• Honestly my only issue is that sometimes it felt a little too much “tell” and not enough “show.”
• BUT THEY’RE CUTE AND IN LOVE SO I DON’T CARE

Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood

lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

• This was cute!
• Love Kelsey Navarro Foster and really enjoyed her audiobook performance
• Holy Miscommunication Trope, Batman! Literally these two have both been into each other for a while but they just thought the other person wasn’t into it/didn’t like them because of misunderstandings from their past 💀
• I do love it when adults communicate appropriately
• Once they get together the rest of the story is just SPICE TOWN