Scan barcode
paperandspines's reviews
156 reviews
Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder by Gracie Ruth Mitchell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
I’m sad to DNF this because I actually really loved the writing. This book had me cackling within 10 minutes and the flow is SO GOOD. However, the age gap emphasis is too much for me and I wanted a romcom not a murder mystery. 35 and 28/29 is normal. 23/17 is not okay and while the 23 yo guy was not the pursuer, this still gave me the ick. OH And the flash backs to when they were 14/9? NO. Also, Juniper was fine until a certain point and then she just comes across as extremely immature and I hated being in her brain.
ALSO, I find it weird that this is a CLEAN ROMANCE (not just closed door) but murder is totally fine and casual to include. Dead body? ABSOLUTELY FINE. Cussing? NONE ALLOWED. CUSSING IS BAD.
The FMC actually said “what the cuss?!” at one point and that’s when I knew this would be a DNF.
ALSO, I find it weird that this is a CLEAN ROMANCE (not just closed door) but murder is totally fine and casual to include. Dead body? ABSOLUTELY FINE. Cussing? NONE ALLOWED. CUSSING IS BAD.
The FMC actually said “what the cuss?!” at one point and that’s when I knew this would be a DNF.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent
Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I didn’t love the writing of this book. It is very choppy, and there are so many “says” that it was distracting. I also don’t care about the characters. Delilah’s attitude didn’t work for me-she is extremely immature. And I didn’t like how Delilah kept thinking of ways to use her attraction to Claire against Astrid. That just felt very icky to me. I’m sad because I was really excited to finally read this, but it just didn’t work out.
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
“Meaty underside” “juggled his sack” “lady business”…do I need to go on? The spice was so cringey that I can’t even hate finish this book.
Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt
Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 57%.
The age gap trope was too front and center-it was mentioned almost every chapter. The MMC (35) called the FMC (25) “kid” on more than one occasion and the FMC called the MMC “old man”. It gave me the ick.
I also dont like a dual timeline and kept getting confused about what timeline I was on.
The quotes at the beginning of each chapter kept pulling me out of the story.
I also dont like a dual timeline and kept getting confused about what timeline I was on.
The quotes at the beginning of each chapter kept pulling me out of the story.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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? N/A
5.0
The sweetest, most precious low stakes high fantasy. I was in happy tears by the end of it! It felt like a much needed hug from a friend.
The Roommate by Rosie Danan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
this book features a man who is an actor in the porn industry, and sex is a main theme of this story. There is a lot of instances of sexual discussions, sexual pleasure for various characters, and just a lot of sex. If you’re not comfortable with any of the above mentioned things, skip this book.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 44%.
Decent writing and interesting premise! This is a very sex positive book with sex as a main theme. While this book is not for me, I do think it could be enjoyable for someone else! The 44% that I listened to was enjoyable, but I just have some personal qualms with some things. But this DNF isn’t because it’s not written well enough, it’s purely for content reasons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Car accident
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Just…no.
the instant connection wasn’t believable for me. There was no buildup-it’s just two horny people that meet in an elevator and they literally only think about sex. They can’t look at each other without thinking about abs or cleavage and I just…hated it. And don’t even get me started on the talking during the sex scene. It was BAD- just not well done at all. I couldn’t make myself continue.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Did not finish book. Stopped at 66%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 66%.
I DNFed this at around 30% and then went back and continued because I couldn’t stand the thought of not finishing it. But here I am again. This book is so long and there isn’t much craft in the writing. It’s simply Michelle Obama telling you her story. Pure and simple. But it’s so boring and I can’t make myself listen to one more second. The thought of listening for 6 more hours makes me want to scream. What I did listen to was interesting and it was cool to hear her story but I just wish there was more craft to the writing-something special to keep my attention- some imagery ANYTHING.
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
I tried reading this twice: once with a physical book and tried again with audio. I just couldn’t do it. The plot is almost exactly the same as If We Were Villains (minus the Shakespeare), and that fact really made me mad. 7 elite students. One ends up dead. One is accused. Reader doesn’t know who did it. TOO SIMILAR.
I also just didn’t enjoy the writing and the MC Jessica was so annoying that I couldn’t stand to keep hearing her inner dialogue. The narrator for the audio made Jessica even worse. This just isn’t for me.
I also just didn’t enjoy the writing and the MC Jessica was so annoying that I couldn’t stand to keep hearing her inner dialogue. The narrator for the audio made Jessica even worse. This just isn’t for me.