perscoot's reviews
21 reviews

Murder at the Snowed Inn by Imogen Plimp

mysterious 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? No

1.0

I DNF’d it last year and decided to give it another shot. Unfortunately I think I’d have been better off leaving it DNF’d. The main character isn’t particularly interesting or likeable. The mystery isn’t particularly compelling. The people the main character is meant to be romantically interested in have almost no chemistry with her. She has more chemistry with the first murder victim than anyone else! 

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.5

This leans far closer to erotica than I realized it would when I first started reading. This was mostly fine, just surprising, and I wish I'd realized before going in that the murder-mystery aspect was actually going to take a backseat to the sex stuff. It starts off VERY strong, I really enjoyed it. I think I'd have enjoyed it more if it was a shorter straight up smut novel though. The characterization started to flag as things got closer and closer to the end, the characters making choices based on one or two character traits they have versus being well rounded people. It was also very clear at a certain point that the plot was running the characters versus the other way around. 

Overall it was pretty good, at least in the beginning, but I'll admit, my main reason for not DNFing by the middle of the book was because one of my goals this year is to reach a certain number of books read.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

emotional funny hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

How Not to Date a Dragon by Lana Kole

fast-paced

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

4.0

Very cute, very enjoyable. I do think it went off the rails a bit in places, but it certainly does what it sets out to do. 

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

sad slow-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

3.0

I did enjoy reading it, but I found myself a little disappointed by the end. It's not at all a bad story, the writing is well done, the characters are well rounded. It's just not the right book for me in particular. 

Get It Right by Skye Kilaen

emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I loved this story SO much, it made me wish I could've had longer to spend with it. I definitely put it down and was immediately in agony from the desire for more. 

The Fiancée Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

The main kick off for this entire plot is that the main character lies about something to save face in front of her family. She lies to make her life easier. Somehow, this perfectly juicy and interesting flaw doesn't come up more often. She literally lies one time and then spends most of the rest of the story...being pretty honest and communicating openly. 

I liked the premise of this book, it was very readable and easy to get through. The author definitely understands that a compelling story (particularly romance) is supposed to have tension-release-tension but...it's just not utilized as well as it could have been. The tension needed to be a LOT higher before being released in several cases. It's a shame because I came into this book SO excited, the prose is great, it's just...a little under seasoned.

A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.

It went from a promising adventure with thrills and romance to...extremely preachy (there was no indication that this was a religiously themed book) and frankly repetitive. The characters fall flat, I don't really buy that the main character is actually wrong in her assumptions that she has to mind her family for their (and her) own good, and there's a lot of promise that isn't picked up on. The first three chapters are intriguing, but not enough to slog through the last half. I gave it my best shot but I have other books I want to read and I'm tired of dragging my heels through this one. 

My Boss's Stalker: Spoiler It's Not Me by Adrian J. Smith
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.

I usually try to get through at least the first chapter before DNFing a book, but this one very obviously needed another round of editing/revising. Not to my taste, but may be to someone else's.

Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites by Joy Demorra

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I desperately want to sit and write out all my thoughts in detail, because I had such high hopes coming into this book. In fact, the first 50% of the book is extremely strong, tapering off slowly until about the 80% point and then it just nosedives completely. A good portion of the story has the main characters slowly learning more about one another past their initial instant attraction. The chemistry is palpable and their interactions are natural, easy. As eager as I was for the polyamory aspect of the novel, I have to say I was deeply disappointed by the execution of it. The third side of the triad feels very shoehorned in. It was hard to keep myself in the story during the scenes where she was getting to know the main pairing, as they all sort of...instantly fell together. It was a stark difference to the slower build of the main pairing. Overall I did enjoy the book, but the ending did no favors for it.