saw_knee's reviews
183 reviews

The Spy by Sophie Lark
Did not finish book. Stopped at 76%.

I wanted to be obsessed with Ares and … (already forgot her name). But idk the flashbacks were annoying and I just didn’t care enough about the family drama to warrant all the time spent on it. Plus the impending miscommunication volcano was giving me stress not excitement. 

Cirque de la Lune by Emma Hamm
Did not finish book. Stopped at 66%.

Wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. 

Those Three Little Words by Meghan Quinn

3.5

Bonus points for being a hockey player and scratching the surprise pregnancy itch I’ve had lately. But like the boys’ names were all kind of confusing and Penny was so annoying and cringe. And of course she was a platinum blonde bombshell, but also quirky 😒.  And so much of the pregnancy brain humor just fell flat for me. Penny was obnoxious and I would’ve left her if I was in Eli’s shoes. Also Eli not being able to communicate his feelings was rough. I’m glad he had a therapist but he still made things unduly complicated for him and Penny. I hate miscommunication grope, but especially when it’s “I love her but I’m not good enough” and “he doesn’t even care about me”. 

Cheat Codes by Emily Goodwin

2.0

Brothers best friend, surprise baby. Exactly the fix I was looking for, but the fact that this is a cliffhanger and the sequel isn’t available on Kindle Unlimited is an automatic 1 star deduction. Also slightly too many moments that build sexual tension and then someone interrupts. It was funny or believable the first time, but by the 7th I was mostly annoyed. Also the fade to black moments were annoying. I guess this book was a tease and I wasn’t vibing. 

Smooth-Talking Cowboy: A Cowboy Romance by Maisey Yates

3.75

Okay so hot cowboy with calloused hands? Yes please 😍. Young woman experiencing her sexual liberation? We love to see it! But moments in this book took away from the whole: The small town and conservative/traditional worldview, the completely overbearing mother, the word vomit that Olivia does when confessing her love to Luke (big ick!). Overall, I would say that I liked it and it helped to get me through a reading hurdle. 

The Bully by Sophie Lark

4.75

Cat and Dean are my favorite of this series, so far. I’ve always had a thing for Dean and his redemption arc hits so good. Also Cat is so much more than the mousy girl everyone believes. The kinkiness was fun and done well. 

The Rebel by Sophie Lark

4.5

Like Miles and Zoe more than Anna/Leo. Miles helping Zoe find herself was very good. 

The Heir by Sophie Lark

4.0

Better than the Brutal Birthright series and the setting of the mafia boarding school was good. The cousins angle was a little too much, but the dual virgins was *chefs kiss*. I don’t see Anna as being submissive like some of the later spicy scenes. 

Heavy Crown by Sophie Lark

3.25

Hmm.. I like Sebastian and I like Yelena. But like I didn’t really like them as a couple. The meet-cute was hot, but to go from strip pool to I will marry you was like a whiplash. Definitely felt like a regency romance, forced marriage to save the woman’s honor (unless I’m reading a period romance, I DON’T want this kind of patriarchal bullshit).

I totally saw the Red Wedding coming from a mile away. As a conclusion to the Brutal Birthright series, it was good. I did not expect Dante and Nero to abandon the family business like that, leaving Seb to take over. Whoa.

But the set-up to the Kingmakers series was soooo good! Let’s go!

Broken Vow by Sophie Lark

3.5

Okay, Raylan and Riona are super cute. I love how he coaxes out the fun-loving, adventurous, and happy side of Riona. I always love a good Southern cowboy. I would say the spicy scenes didn’t fully hit for me, but they were fun. I guess its hard to see Riona as submissive, because she absolutely dominates every other aspect of her life. (I know that’s kind of the point — Raylan lets Riona lower her guard and give up control; Idk, it just didn’t fully hit within the plot.) I loved the forced proximity and protector tropes. The whodunnit hired assassin plot does seems pretty similar to the last book (Dante and Simone’s book), but I would say that this one was executed better. (I also totally figured out who wanted Riona dead very early in the book. Go me!).