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purple_reads's reviews
224 reviews
An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn
4.0
I enjoyed this but didn’t really like quite a bit of it. Which is odd, just hold out while I explain.
Benedict’s actions made me want to punch him quite a bit. I had to keep reminding myself of the time period but it still grated on my nerves. Nevertheless, I still love him; well the parts of him that didn’t make me want to knee him in the balls.
I liked Sophie because she held onto her principles but other than that there just wasn’t anything there for me to LOVE her.
Overall, the only thing that kept me wanting to read was the storyline and the two of them together. But even then, I wished Sophie gave Benedict hell — got to give her credit for tripping him over though.
I adore the interactions between Violet and the siblings. It’s always entertaining, especially Eloise and Hyacinth.
Stars ~ 4
Benedict’s actions made me want to punch him quite a bit. I had to keep reminding myself of the time period but it still grated on my nerves. Nevertheless, I still love him; well the parts of him that didn’t make me want to knee him in the balls.
I liked Sophie because she held onto her principles but other than that there just wasn’t anything there for me to LOVE her.
Overall, the only thing that kept me wanting to read was the storyline and the two of them together. But even then, I wished Sophie gave Benedict hell — got to give her credit for tripping him over though.
I adore the interactions between Violet and the siblings. It’s always entertaining, especially Eloise and Hyacinth.
Stars ~ 4
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
4.0
I absolutely loved this book!
I adored Stella and she’s become one of my favourite mc’s. It’s great to have some autistic representation within romance books.
Overall, there isn’t much plot as it’s more character driven but I still found it enjoyable.
The reason I’m only giving it 4 stars is because I really didn’t like Micheal that much. It feels like he’s written by a male author. For example, a quote from his POV:
“After she considered the list for a moment, she bent down and picked up the pen, demonstrating the only reason why a woman should wear a pencil skirt: to show off the perfectly rounded curves of her fine ass.”
Him and his cousin, Quan, have conversations a bit like this quote where they talk about women as if they’re experts; it’s a bunch of mocking and assumptions. I also just wasn’t that keen on his character as a love interest.
However, I do like the concept of this book and it was definitely a fun read.
Stars ~ 4
I adored Stella and she’s become one of my favourite mc’s. It’s great to have some autistic representation within romance books.
Overall, there isn’t much plot as it’s more character driven but I still found it enjoyable.
The reason I’m only giving it 4 stars is because I really didn’t like Micheal that much. It feels like he’s written by a male author. For example, a quote from his POV:
“After she considered the list for a moment, she bent down and picked up the pen, demonstrating the only reason why a woman should wear a pencil skirt: to show off the perfectly rounded curves of her fine ass.”
Him and his cousin, Quan, have conversations a bit like this quote where they talk about women as if they’re experts; it’s a bunch of mocking and assumptions. I also just wasn’t that keen on his character as a love interest.
However, I do like the concept of this book and it was definitely a fun read.
Stars ~ 4
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
5.0
This might just be my favourite book I’ve read this year!
I loved both of the mc’s so much! I enjoyed reading about them and I wish there was more content! I NEED MORE ESME AND KHAI. THE FANART IS NOT ENOUGH.
I love autistic representation in romance books. Furthermore, I also enjoyed reading about a Vietnamese immigrant finding her way in a foreign country.
The reason I’m only giving this 4.25 stars, but rounding up to 5 stars because I loved it, is because I think a few things were downplayed or unsolved. For example, there are moments when Esme talks about the best days of her life and the best feelings she’s ever had, but it was implied they involved spending time with Khai and being in America; her daughter not mentioned, even though she states one of the reasons she went to America was for her daughter. Plus we don’t see her daughter much, she pops up at the end mainly but even then she feels like an afterthought. Additionally, Esme’s insecure about her status in life and whether Khai would accept her for who she is but I don’t think this is verbally addressed by the two of them; if Khai knows he doesn’t seem to care or acknowledge it and by the end of the book Esme has just come to terms with it, deciding she will rise and not let money and status define her. But there wasn’t a conversation between the two of them and I think there should’ve been because it was something Esme was extremely insecure about.
Furthermore, Esme annoyed me slightly when she was saying she would persevere on her own but then letting Khai in again and again. I think she clings to hope too much, and I’m not going to fault her when hope is one of the only things she had.
Stars ~ 4.25
I loved both of the mc’s so much! I enjoyed reading about them and I wish there was more content! I NEED MORE ESME AND KHAI. THE FANART IS NOT ENOUGH.
I love autistic representation in romance books. Furthermore, I also enjoyed reading about a Vietnamese immigrant finding her way in a foreign country.
The reason I’m only giving this 4.25 stars, but rounding up to 5 stars because I loved it, is because I think a few things were downplayed or unsolved. For example, there are moments when Esme talks about the best days of her life and the best feelings she’s ever had, but it was implied they involved spending time with Khai and being in America; her daughter not mentioned, even though she states one of the reasons she went to America was for her daughter. Plus we don’t see her daughter much, she pops up at the end mainly but even then she feels like an afterthought. Additionally, Esme’s insecure about her status in life and whether Khai would accept her for who she is but I don’t think this is verbally addressed by the two of them; if Khai knows he doesn’t seem to care or acknowledge it and by the end of the book Esme has just come to terms with it, deciding she will rise and not let money and status define her. But there wasn’t a conversation between the two of them and I think there should’ve been because it was something Esme was extremely insecure about.
Furthermore, Esme annoyed me slightly when she was saying she would persevere on her own but then letting Khai in again and again. I think she clings to hope too much, and I’m not going to fault her when hope is one of the only things she had.
Stars ~ 4.25
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
4.0
I enjoyed the previous two instalments of The Kiss Quotient series which led to a big shock when I found the third book lacklustre in comparison.
The start had me expecting more of Hoang’s gripping writing but as the narrative went on I found myself becoming bored and not as interested.
One of the big things that annoyed and shocked me was Quan. He changed a lot from the previous two books and we don’t get to see this development. Going from comments such as, “She has a great fucking body,” while imitating the shape with his hands or making assumptions about females grouping them into one category. Furthermore, we don’t even know the length of the time jump from when we last saw him in The Bride Test to The Heart Principle. Also, I would like to have seen more about his cancer; that whole plotline felt like it was there just for the sake of having him be at a convenient spot in his life for the book to take place. We got to see his mental recovery and how he is dealing with things after the surgery but it still felt as if something was missing and that we could’ve seen a lot more things that would’ve kept me gripped. There are other ways to develop a character without giving them an incurable disease, which isn’t even going to be given the proper development within the plotline. I think the lack of development in general made him less attractive as a love interest for me, which is a shame because it is due to the writing not the character.
Something I did like was the inner turmoil we got to see when Anna was trying to break free of the masks she had forced upon herself. As well as the family dynamics she had, especially with her sister.
I also liked how it wasn’t until years later that Anna finally found herself doing better with her mental health, and even then she was taking it slow and one step at a time.
Hoang put a lot of her own journey into this book and, while some elements of the writing were subpar for me, I do think she depicted mental health and toxic family dynamics really well.
Stars ~ 3.5
The start had me expecting more of Hoang’s gripping writing but as the narrative went on I found myself becoming bored and not as interested.
One of the big things that annoyed and shocked me was Quan. He changed a lot from the previous two books and we don’t get to see this development. Going from comments such as, “She has a great fucking body,” while imitating the shape with his hands or making assumptions about females grouping them into one category. Furthermore, we don’t even know the length of the time jump from when we last saw him in The Bride Test to The Heart Principle. Also, I would like to have seen more about his cancer; that whole plotline felt like it was there just for the sake of having him be at a convenient spot in his life for the book to take place. We got to see his mental recovery and how he is dealing with things after the surgery but it still felt as if something was missing and that we could’ve seen a lot more things that would’ve kept me gripped. There are other ways to develop a character without giving them an incurable disease, which isn’t even going to be given the proper development within the plotline. I think the lack of development in general made him less attractive as a love interest for me, which is a shame because it is due to the writing not the character.
Something I did like was the inner turmoil we got to see when Anna was trying to break free of the masks she had forced upon herself. As well as the family dynamics she had, especially with her sister.
I also liked how it wasn’t until years later that Anna finally found herself doing better with her mental health, and even then she was taking it slow and one step at a time.
Hoang put a lot of her own journey into this book and, while some elements of the writing were subpar for me, I do think she depicted mental health and toxic family dynamics really well.
Stars ~ 3.5
The Help by Callie Rose
1.0
I’m not even entirely sure what this book was.
Plot? Non-existent
Characters? Plain as fuck
It turned into some murder mystery halfway through and that was not what I signed up for. This made it drag, the author should stick to one thing, especially if they can’t pull it off properly.
Originally, I kept reading because it was trashy but the type of trashy that I could kind of keep reading about.
But then it just got so much worse.
The main character, Harlow, has no personality besides being horny and thinking she is tough. I cannot name one thing she likes to do which isn’t something she feels like she has to do. I think the author tried to make her badass by having her be great at poker and smoking. Yet it felt so shallow and empty with the lack of a baseline personality, it even got undermined when she got.
It felt like certain moments could’ve been developed more and other moments just needed to fucking end.
The four guys were so generic. They had no diversity in dialogue despite the emphasis on different vibes.
Furthermore, the development of the relationship between Harlow and the guys was just weird. There was barely any lead up, it didn’t make sense.
Harlow just needed to shut up sometimes. She had her moments and then it was just “omg, he makes me so horny, I hate him, I’m aroused” but not in a good enemies to lovers way. It was cringy, it was painful.
Being naïve wasn’t even a reason for her behaviour because the author had already established her as somebody who grew up when she was younger because she is a “badass”.
Stars ~ 1
Plot? Non-existent
Characters? Plain as fuck
It turned into some murder mystery halfway through and that was not what I signed up for. This made it drag, the author should stick to one thing, especially if they can’t pull it off properly.
Originally, I kept reading because it was trashy but the type of trashy that I could kind of keep reading about.
But then it just got so much worse.
The main character, Harlow, has no personality besides being horny and thinking she is tough. I cannot name one thing she likes to do which isn’t something she feels like she has to do. I think the author tried to make her badass by having her be great at poker and smoking. Yet it felt so shallow and empty with the lack of a baseline personality, it even got undermined when she got
Spoiler
beat by RiverIt felt like certain moments could’ve been developed more and other moments just needed to fucking end.
The four guys were so generic. They had no diversity in dialogue despite the emphasis on different vibes.
Furthermore, the development of the relationship between Harlow and the guys was just weird. There was barely any lead up, it didn’t make sense.
Harlow just needed to shut up sometimes. She had her moments and then it was just “omg, he makes me so horny, I hate him, I’m aroused” but not in a good enemies to lovers way. It was cringy, it was painful.
Being naïve wasn’t even a reason for her behaviour because the author had already established her as somebody who grew up when she was younger because she is a “badass”.
Stars ~ 1
Text Wars: May the Text be With You ... by Whitney Dineen, Melanie Summers
2.0
I’m disappointed with how cheesy and cringy this book was. It seems like it’s written by an adult who is trying to be cool by using “teenage” slang or someone who thinks they know what teenagers like. I mentally facepalmed a few times. On top of this, a lot of the stuff just felt a bit annoying.
I liked Sera but she got on my nerves a lot and I wanted her to shut up sometimes.
The ending was just horrible? Didn’t flow at all and was cringy.
I’m pretty sure the only reason I don’t hate this is because it has space and astrology related topics, but even then astrology was portrayed incorrectly.
Stars ~ 2
I liked Sera but she got on my nerves a lot and I wanted her to shut up sometimes.
The ending was just horrible? Didn’t flow at all and was cringy.
I’m pretty sure the only reason I don’t hate this is because it has space and astrology related topics, but even then astrology was portrayed incorrectly.
Stars ~ 2
The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout
1.0
Based on the previous two novels of this series, I had high hopes for this book. Yet I was incredibly disappointed.
I don’t even know where to start: the lack of character development transitioning, the overused jokes and witty banter, the pacing, the unneeded chapters or the cringeworthy romance.
To be honest, I did kind of enjoy the character Poppy became at the end of the book but the transition she had from the end of AKOFAF to the beginning of this book was just not there. It felt as if she changed overnight all for the sake of moving the plot along. She also moves with the plot and not the other way around; she never makes a choice in which she actually has another favourable option, the plot is forcing her to do things.
This book definitely did it for me with the overuse of jokes. How many times do we need to hear someone mention Poppy stabbing someone or Poppy asking Kieran questions? The witty banter didn’t even feel like banter anymore. It was boring and not fun to read about.
Furthermore, the pacing was totally off. The build up and lack of climax and then the amount of info-dumping we got was just totally off-key with each other.
Then there’s the amount of unneeded scenes and chapters. I almost DNFd because of these.
The romance got worse. The smut was horrible.
I only stayed for the plot and the cliffhanger was such a let down.
Great ideas and a lot of potential but the writing wasn’t handled well.
The only good thing to come of this were the plot twists.
Stars ~ 1
I don’t even know where to start: the lack of character development transitioning, the overused jokes and witty banter, the pacing, the unneeded chapters or the cringeworthy romance.
To be honest, I did kind of enjoy the character Poppy became at the end of the book but the transition she had from the end of AKOFAF to the beginning of this book was just not there. It felt as if she changed overnight all for the sake of moving the plot along. She also moves with the plot and not the other way around; she never makes a choice in which she actually has another favourable option, the plot is forcing her to do things.
This book definitely did it for me with the overuse of jokes. How many times do we need to hear someone mention Poppy stabbing someone or Poppy asking Kieran questions? The witty banter didn’t even feel like banter anymore. It was boring and not fun to read about.
Furthermore, the pacing was totally off. The build up and lack of climax and then the amount of info-dumping we got was just totally off-key with each other.
Then there’s the amount of unneeded scenes and chapters. I almost DNFd because of these.
The romance got worse. The smut was horrible.
I only stayed for the plot and the cliffhanger was such a let down.
Great ideas and a lot of potential but the writing wasn’t handled well.
The only good thing to come of this were the plot twists.
Stars ~ 1
A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout
3.0
After TCOGB, this definitely redeemed JLA’s writing for me — just a little bit.
Do I think it’s a work of art? No
But did I hate it? No
I preferred this world to that of FB&A. It was much more enjoyable to read and kept me somewhat interested.
JLA has never had the best of abilities when it comes to the way she gives the readers information, but the info-dumping in ASITE wasn’t as bad as her previous works. I think there could’ve been something sprinkled in the middle few chapters to keep the narrative from being less stale and repetitive but other than that it wasn’t terrible.
The dialogue between characters was very similar to FB&A. It read like mediocre fanfiction and was pretty cringy. That “Daddy Nyktos” line was horrible.
Furthermore, the characters were also very similar to FB&A. I appreciate that it was a gender swap but the vibes were pretty much the same. It was a bit like a replica, but I liked ASITE characters more for sure.
There were a few plot holes — e.g. mix up with the dying woods and red woods, the deal — and a lot of typos and grammatical errors, as well as repetitive and frustrating writing, but overall it wasn’t a bad book, and I enjoyed it when it wasn’t dragging.
Stars ~ 3
Do I think it’s a work of art? No
But did I hate it? No
I preferred this world to that of FB&A. It was much more enjoyable to read and kept me somewhat interested.
JLA has never had the best of abilities when it comes to the way she gives the readers information, but the info-dumping in ASITE wasn’t as bad as her previous works. I think there could’ve been something sprinkled in the middle few chapters to keep the narrative from being less stale and repetitive but other than that it wasn’t terrible.
The dialogue between characters was very similar to FB&A. It read like mediocre fanfiction and was pretty cringy. That “Daddy Nyktos” line was horrible.
Furthermore, the characters were also very similar to FB&A. I appreciate that it was a gender swap but the vibes were pretty much the same. It was a bit like a replica, but I liked ASITE characters more for sure.
There were a few plot holes — e.g. mix up with the dying woods and red woods, the deal — and a lot of typos and grammatical errors, as well as repetitive and frustrating writing, but overall it wasn’t a bad book, and I enjoyed it when it wasn’t dragging.
Stars ~ 3
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
DNFing because I wasn’t a fan of the writing. The show is much better and the book was pretty boring as far as I read.