sarahjgk's reviews
125 reviews

Wildfire by Hannah Grace

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

I really shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up for anything to measure up to Icebreaker lol Russ and Rory are sweet but I just lost interest and the conflict was a grand total of about 3 pages. 

Shifting: The Double Lives of Black Women in America by Kumea Shorter-Gooden, Charisse Jones

4.0

Fantastic book and valuable content, just got a bit redundant and repetitive 

The Fake Out by Stephanie Archer

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

What a sweet and cute and fun little hockey romance. I always enjoy Stephanie Archer’s books and this was no exception, the characters were so fun and easy to get to know, and there were some elements to Hazel’s background that really resonated with me. The spice did not disappoint and the fake dating trope is always a winner. Could've done with a bit more in the conflict department, but overall a good read!!

The Enforcer by Avery Keelan

emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I feel like this could’ve been one of my favorite hockey romances but it never fully reached its potential? I didn’t love Nash as the MMC and I didn’t feel like there was much character development until the very end, but it didn’t feel fully developed to me. I also had very high hopes for the spice but it wasn’t my fav. 

Off to the Races by Elsie Silver

medium-paced

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

1.5

I can confidently say I’ve never hated a MMC as much as I hate Vaughn Harding. I couldn’t even name a character trait of his other than “childish” until about 60% of the way through, and then it was all downhill from there. Billie deserves better lol all he did was act like a man-child, lack introspection, have a completely backwards moral compass, and expect Billie to understand and come around to his POV. I liked Billie but she had better chemistry with DD than with Vaughn, and DD was a more consistent, well-rounded character than Vaughn. Had a better story arc too. Giving 1.5 stars only bc I was able to finish the book, and bc the DD-Billie relationship was fun to read. Even though I knew they were gonna end up together, I was actually rooting for Billie to tell Vaughn to shove it, move on, and take DD with her

Hopeless by Elsie Silver

funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

This one was so sweet!! Love beau and bailey together, and seeing the way they showed their feelings with actions was really adorable. I do think leaning a little bit more into their background (beau’s MIA story and bailey’s childhood) would’ve added dimension, and incorporating that into the conflict probably would’ve been beneficial to the story, but I do get that it’s not the kind of book that you can expect to delve into that brand of demons and the shallower representation was probably more appropriate for what the book was. Automatic deductions for a ridiculous amount of typos/errors and the bits of cringe factor (e.g., “military precision” during that one scene…) 

Powerless by Elsie Silver

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

This is book 3 in this series but I’ve read them all out of order and I read this one 4th, but it’s my favorite so far!!! Not sure why but I felt very comfortable and familiar with the characters from the beginning, and I enjoyed that there was some plot external to their relationship that motivated their actions. Sloane’s dad and Sterling totally sucked from the beginning but I could have done with a little more nuance when it came to their behavior lol. This one definitely had the best spice in the series by far, so bonus 1/2 star for that. Automatic deductions for sooo many typos/errors and just a hint of cringe factor (stop using the word hella, pleaseeeee. It bothers me)

Heartless by Elsie Silver

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

I DNFed this book back in September at about 30% because I just lost interest in it, then picked it back up a couple days ago because I needed something to read and it was the only option that allowed me to skip the dreaded first 30% of a new book lol. It definitely improved and got wayyyy more spicy by 50-60% and then it was pretty consistently spicy. Thought it was fun , would love to find myself a Cade Eaton, and Luke was completely adorable. Automatic deductions for cringe factor and typos/grammatical errors 

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

This was a cute little holiday travel rom-com!! I thought it was fun and sweet, but I did find myself getting bored with the never-ending travel nightmare and the constant back and forth once they got to Ireland. I read Snowed In right before this one and I honestly think it set my expectations a bit high. I feel like Andrew’s character was kinda flat, possibly because the book was all from Molly’s POV (which was a bit unexpected), but their romance and banter was wholesome nonetheless. I also really liked the flashbacks to their first 9 flights together! Anyways, automatic deductions for errors (including but not limited to the use of commas to join independent clauses, and the lack of commas when the sentence called for one). 

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

If there’s one thing I love, it’s a fake-dating rom-com that makes me all giggly and optimistic about love🥰🥰 the dry humor and the witty banter and the extremely unserious characters were exactly what I was looking for when I picked up this book. You know that warm and fuzzy, at-home feeling that some books give you right off the bat? This was that for me. Will 100% be reading other Catherine Walsh books this holiday season. Only reason it’s not 5 stars is bc I found a few typos/errors and bc while I love a book with no 3rd act breakup, there wasn’t a super robust plot!