paperandspines's reviews
156 reviews

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Beautiful. I loved the writing, the storytelling, and everything else about this book. I cried 3 times. 

Dawn of the Darkest Day by K.C. Woodruff
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

I tried so hard to push through this and just couldn’t. At 20%, I was loving this. From 30-50% I wanted to quit so I finally did at 50%. Repetitive writing. The FMC cries and wraps her arms around herself SO MANY TIMES. Ara is the complete opposite of the kind of FMC I like. She’s a pacifist to a detrimental extent. She was insufferable. Savant was an abusive ass. Stedd doesn’t even know what he wants and he is such a flat character. Ada’s dad is the absolute worst. I couldn’t root for anyone, and I got so tired of all the crying. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Argylle by Elly Conway
Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.

Rumor has it that Taylor Swift wrote this. There is NO WAY that the author of All Too Well (10 Min Version) wrote this book. Boring writing. Choppy sentences. Weird flow. Just not at all into it. 

Bunny by Mona Awad
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.

This book gave me a headache from the perma-scowl I had while reading it. This felt like trying too hard which was possibly the point? This was one of those cases where I felt too dumb for it. This just wasn’t for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Cursing

Rosie and The Dreamboat by Sally Thorne
Did not finish book. Stopped at 34%.

Simply not a fan of Sally Thorne’s writing. The humor wasn’t working for me and it just felt a little messy? No desire to finish.

Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

Didn’t LOVE this one like I did the first story. This felt like the same kind of thing only with letters instead of emails but with the sadness of losing a loved one. And the random

murder confession was WEIRD.

this one had potential but I’m just not here for the sad. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Dementia

The Exception to the Rule by Christina Lauren

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This left me with the biggest grin on my face. Precious. Funny. Sweet as candy. 100% recommend. It’s the perfect palette cleanser. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer

Tilly in Technicolor by Mazey Eddings

5.0

House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas

3.0

Rein Me In by Kayla Grosse
Did not finish book. Stopped at 63%.

I don’t like age gap romance because of the unnecessary emphasis and repetitive bringing up of said age gap. This “gap” is 5 years. 5. FMC is 29 and the MMC is 24. Not enough of an age gap to focus on. And the 29 yo FMC acts like she’s 40 and her life is over and how dare she be into this 24 year old. It’s weird. Also the spice was cringey. “Machinery” as a term for a ween didn’t work for me. Also “wet folds”. NO THANKS.  DNFing this so I don’t rate it low based on preference.