shaylee_reads's reviews
207 reviews

Things We Haven't Said: Sexual Violence Survivors Speak Out by Erin Moulton

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

Note: Before reading this book please look at the content warnings and make sure you are in the right mental space for this book. It talks about so dark, hard, and triggering topic. Please do what's best for your mental health!
This month being SAAM (Sexual Assault Awareness Month) I decided to pick up two books involving sexual assault and I decided to pick up Things We Haven't Said as a nonfiction option.
This book was a beautiful written anthology written by a diverse cast of writers, that tells you their stories dealing with sexual violence and abuse. I agree that this book is one that every young adult should read because it goes through and talks about a lot of different ways sexual assault can present itself. This book make sure that if you have ever gone through sexual assault that you are aware that you are not at fault for what happened to you, you are not dirty, and most importantly it will get better. The interviews with the writers definitely added a very important aspect to this book allowing them to go deeper into their recovery and their life's after and let's them talk about important things such as rape culture, law enforcement and how they deal with sexual assault, victim blaming, coping mechanisms, and what they would say to people dealing with sexual violence.
All together I highly recommend this book to anyone who is in the right headspace to read it and I'm extremely glad I picked it up.

Content Warnings

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romance:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Diversity:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Sadness:💧💧/5

People had told me that this book was good but nobody told me that it was THAT GOOD!! This book was fantastic and I am so angry with myself for how long it took me to pick it up.

At the moment I can't think of one thing that I disliked about this book so here is a list of all the things I loved.

This book was such a 180 from The Shadow and Bone Trilogy in not only its writing but also the plot. The plot was so well thought out and was so well done. This book was such a rollercoaster with all of its twists and turns and I loved every minute of it! A Lot of people said they had a hard time getting into this book but I did not have a problem. This book had me by the throat from the first page and did not let me go! Bardugo does a great job at keeping your attention.

I'm someone who normally love's character and romance driven books and this book definitely did that. I fell completely in love with all of these characters and got excited whenever I saw anyone's name at the beginning of each chapter.

One thing I think you have to praise this book for is it's diversity. Inej and Jasper are both people of color, almost every single one of them is dealing with trauma, especially Kaz who has severe PTSD. Kaz has a physical disability and it is a point in this book that no part of him is broken and he isn't less strong because of it. Jasper and Wylan are part of the LGBTQIA, Nina is a plus size girl who is shown as beautiful, wanted, and someone who is able to seduce men and as someone who is on the bigger side this was really appreciated.

I have ADHD and dyslexia and in this book even though it isn't explicitly said, I'm 100% Jasper has ADHD and Wylan has dyslexia and here's why. Jasper is said to be very talkative and to have a lot of energy, after a fight he is shown to be very jittery and he can't seem to stop moving, he himself says that he has a lot of restless energy, which are all clear signs of ADHD. Wylan is clearly dyslexic, he is shown to be very smart but his one downfall is read. The sentence that made it very clear to me that he was dyslexic was "Music. Numbers. Equations. They're not like words. They… they don't get mixed up" and if you don't know that is what happens with dyslexia, words get mixed or letters flip. The thing I loved the most about Wylans story throughout this whole book was that he wasn't shown as dumb he was actually shown as someone who is extremely smart, Jasper even says that he's probably smarter then all of them combined. I actually cried at the scene with Wylan father and the fact that he didn't care if his son died just because he couldn't read and called him a moron and he sent him letters to mock him because I understand how it feels to feel like you aren't good enough or smart enough because you don't process information just like everyone else.

I honestly loved the relationship between Nina and Mattias. There's was actually my favorite and I absolutely loved both of their points of view. I just love how much angst their relationship had and how their relationship grew and how they were able to get past their differences and I loved seeing how Mattias grew and how his opinions about Nina and the grish changed. I think him and Nine are my favorite characters from the book so far.

I know that Kaz and Inej are everyone's favorite and believe me I love them too! And I can't wait to see their relationship grow in the next book.

All together I absolutely loved this book and it has made it onto my favorite list.

Content Warnings

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Diversity:⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Sadness:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I was really excited to pick this book up after I saw and loved the play version that my school put on last year. As someone who is neurodivergent and is on the autistic spectrum and who has family members who also have autism, I also have done peer tutoring at my school ever since I was in middle school. I was extremely excited to read a book about an autistic boy.

I chose to read this book this month due to the fact that it's autism awareness month and I wanted to get into the mind of someone who is higher on the autism spectrum to me so I could better understand their mind and that was the aspect of this book that I enjoyed the most. It did a really good job of putting you in the mind of an autistic person and showing you what is really happening in their mind. It did make me cry a few times because I just felt so bad for the father and everything he was going through and it made me think of some things that my family has gone through and how certain members of my family were going through.

The one thing that disappointed me the most was the fact that it could be pretty boring at moments and I found myself skimming some parts.

I also felt like I was just a little to dumb for this book because even though he was definitely dumbing down some of the things he was explaining but I still had no idea what he was saying.

I also had a hard time with the second half because it caused me to feel kinda icky not because of anything the book was doing but because what was happening in the book was causing me some anxiety.

All together I enjoyed this book but it just wasn't exactly what I wanted.

Content Warnings

The Risk by Elle Kennedy

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emotional funny lighthearted sad 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

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Diversity:⭐⭐ /5

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Sadness: 💧💧/5

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Tropes: enemies to lovers, rivels (sorta), fake dating, hockey romance, sport romance, and college romance.

The Risk by Elle Kennedy, the second book in the Briar U series which is the spin off to the Off-Campus series which I absolutely adore follows two of the new character's we were introduced to in The Chase, Breanna Jensen the daughter of the Briar U hockey coach and Jake Connelly the captain of the Harvard hockey team, Briar U biggest rival.

This book seems to be the Briar U series version of The Score. A book that everyone seems to love and be obsessed with and once again I kinda have an unpopular opinion on this book. Though I did love this book, it is by no means my favorite of the series and honestly I didn't love it as much as I thought I would. There's nothing that I can say to explain why I did love this book as much as everyone else. It just didn't live up to the hype.

This book perfectly combines two of my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers and fake dating.

My favorite aspect of this book has to be the banter between Breanna and Jake. Their conversations were just always full of sexual tension and sass and I absolutely ate it up. I loved the casually flirting between the two and the sassy comebacks they always had for each other. I loved how when they did start seeing each other the way they talked to each other never really changed, they still had some amazing sassy things to say to each other.

I thought their relationship was really cute and I absolutely loved how Jake was always very clear with his intentions with Breanna and how he wanted to be with her. I loved watching their obvious sexual tension turn into romantic feelings and loved seeing them both start to trust and care for each other. It broke my heart to see Jake give Breanna up because it was very obvious how much he cared about her and how it hurt him to let her go. It also kinda pissed me off that he did it right after she had trusted him with something very important and personal.

Another trope that I love that was in this book a little bit is the hidden relationship trope. Where two people who everyone thinks hate each other are actually together and you get that fake playful banter between the two and the secret smiles and looks that they give each other!! Ahh I just love it! all together I really enjoyed their relationship and thought it was extremely cute!

Just like all the other books, The Risk has some very steamy scenes that are very well written and are for sure gonna make you feel something.

There is one thing that I agree with everyone else about and that is Breanna is a bad bitch and I want to be her! I absolutely loved her and all of the sass that she had, she was also so hilarious and had some of the best lines for example during one of my favorite scenes Breanna goes to the bar and flirts with one of the Harvard players and says this iconic line

"If you mess with my life, I’ll mess with yours. Keep accusing me of distracting your guys, and guess what, I’ll start doing it. And based on what I just saw, it won’t be difficult at all.”

Like come on!! That was such a bad bitch move!! I just absolutely loved her attitude and confidence.

Another aspect I loved from this book was Breanna's relationship with her father which is definitely strained due to some things that happened in their past. In the beginning of this book Breanna's relationship with her dad isn't very good and she has a hard time spending time with her father. It broke my heart to hear the reason why they don't have the best relationship and I cried so hard when her and her father actually had a talk about what happened that day because it was so clear that they loved each other so much and how much that day scared him. I just absolutely loved watching their relationship grow and heal.

I liked how this book discusses the misogyny women face in the sports industry and how it is still believed that women can't possibly understand sports and properly report on it. I loved how this book showed that and showed how women get treated in the industry.

I wish we got to see more of Breanna and Summer's friendship in this book because for two people who are supposed to be best friends they don't seem to spend that much time together. This goes back to what I said in my review of The Chase. I feel that one of the things that's missing from these books are the strong friendships that the Off-Campus series had.

A character in this book that nobody talks about but I desperately want to know more about is freaking Nate. Nate is the new Briar U team captain and I absolutely loved him and I desperately want to see his story. He was so funny, kind, and deeply cared about his teammates and I just loved him.

Another thing I loved about this book is getting to know more about the Harvard team members and honestly I want to know more about them. They were so funny and I loved the dynamic between them. Honestly I would love a book series following the Harvard team, I think it would be amazing! I also absolutely loved Brookes and I want more of him! He's just so hilarious and seems like my kind of guy.

Just like all the other books in the series, this book is hilarious! It has so many funny conversations and one liners. There are so many moments where I was just dying of laughter, seriously these books do not get enough praise for how funny they are!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and loved the story between Breanna and Jake. This book is funny, cute, heartbreaking at moments, steamy, and all together a great addition to the Off-Campus/Briar U world.

Content Warnings

The Play by Elle Kennedy

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Ratings:
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Writing:⭐⭐⭐ /5
Characters:⭐⭐⭐ /5
Romance:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5
Diversity: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐⭐ /5
Sadness:💧 /5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Tropes: friends to lovers, hockey romance, sports romance, and collage romance
The Play by Elle Kennedy, the third book in the Briar U series which is a spin off of the Off-Campus series follows Hunter Davenport who we were introduced to in The Score is now the captain for the Briar U hockey team and due to an incident that had cost the Briar U hockey team state championship last year Hunter has sworn off girls and sex in order to focus on hockey. Then Hunter is paired up with a girl named Demi for a psychology project, the good news is that Demi is in a long term relationship so Hunter doesn't have to worry about her distracting him from his goal that is until Demi's boyfriend screws up and they end up breaking up. Now Demi is on the hunt for a rebound… a rebound she wants to be Hunter.

Honestly I hadn't heard much about this book so I didn't really know what to expect. All I knew is that it was a Briar U book so I was pretty sure I was gonna love it because Elle Kennedy hasn't let me down yet and she didn't let me down with this one.
Though there are quite a few things that I didn't love in this book, I enjoyed reading it.

I liked how Hunter and Demi's relationship wasn't like any of the other one. Before anything romantic happened they had started out as friends and I absolutely loved their friendship. They had some hilarious conversation and I loved how Hunter was there for her when she was going through her break-up. I thought they were extremely cute together and I like how their relationship was built on friendship and not just sex. Honestly their relationship reminded me a lot of Hannah and Garrett's relationship.
There are a few things that I didn't like about their relationship, at some moments I felt like there was a lack of connection and honestly I think I would have loved them as friends just as much as I would have liked them in a relationship. I feel like Demi jumped into a rebound way too fast and we didn't really get any development to get her to the point where she was ready for that. I also don't really like how much she pushed Hunter on the no sex thing and how she just kept trying to push him to have sex with her even though she knew that he didn't want to and that it was important to him not to. If the roles were reversed and it was Hunter pushing Demi, he would have been shown as creepy and it definitely would be considered sexual harassment so why is it okay to be done to Hunter? The answer is it's not. Honestly Demi should have just found someone new.

I've said this in my reviews for the last two books but I think one of the major things Briar U series is missing that they Off-Campus series had was a lack of friendship and I feel like that was really shown in this book. Both Demi and Hunter don't seem to be really close to any of the people they call their friends. For example Demi had no idea about any of the things that was going on with T.J. someone she considered to be one of her best friends. Hunter seems to dislike all the people he is living with and didn't have close bonds with any of them.

I loved all of the scenes with the hockey team! They were so funny and I loved the friendship they all seem to have. One of my favorite scenes in this whole book was the scene where they asked the coach for a pig for a mascot and he gave them an egg to take care of and I absolutely loved every scene that had to do with that egg. Whenever there was a scene with any of the hockey players together I could not stop laughing and I just absolutely loved it.
We are also introduced to Connor in this book who I absolutely loved and I can't wait for his book.

One of my biggest problems with this book was the ending. I just felt like it wasn't very thought out and was kinda pointless. I feel like it would have been better if we had seen and got to know more about T.J. and his relationship with Demi was more fleshed out. I honestly just didn't like the ending and could have done without.

People have pointed out that there is a lot of cuban stereotypes in this book, I can't really talk much about this due to the fact that I'm not cuban nor do I know much about the cuban community so I don't feel like I have a right to really discuss this but I felt like it was important to mention.

Overall, I did enjoy this book especially the friends to lovers trope and I'm glad I read it though it isn't my favorite in the Briar U series.

Content Warnings

The Chase by Elle Kennedy

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funny hopeful 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

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Diversity: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Spice:🌶️🌶️ /5

Tropes: Roommate, forced proximity, Shy boy and bubbly girl, Brothers friend, college romance, hockey romance and Sports Romance.

The Chase by Elle Kennedy is the first book in the Briar U series which is the spin off series of the Off-Campus Series. The Briar U series tells the stories of some of the side characters we meet in the Off-Campus Series such as Summer DiLaurentis, Colin Fitzgerald, and Hunter Davenport.

This book follows Summer DiLaurentis (Dean's sister who we meet in his book) and her potential love story with Colin Fitzgerald the tatted up nerdy hockey player who also happens to be her new roommate.

Honestly I was extremely excited for this book because I had loved the bits we had gotten to see of Summer in the Off-Campus Series and honestly I was already completely in love with Fitz from the moment he showed up in the last books and I was so ready to see their story together.

One of the reasons I was extremely excited for this book was because I had been told that Summer deals with ADHD just like me so I was extremely excited to see how Kennedy dealt with this in the book and honestly I was not disappointed. Summer's ADHD and learning disabilities was one of my favorite aspects of this book. I loved seeing someone like Summer who's normally very confident and secure in themselves also have some insecurities and be embarrassed about needing extra help, time, and attention with the things they struggle with. It showed how no matter how perfect someone's life may seem, everyone still has hardships and struggles with things that you may never see.

I loved how this book talked about how people with ADHD or learning disabilities can still read and enjoy material that some people would consider to be too dense and heavy for them.

I also loved how Kennedy showed that ADHD doesn't just affect your schooling but can also affect people's relationships and how they act around people. It's very common for people with ADHD to be very outgoing and bubbly and a lot of people will put them down because of it by saying their being too loud, or they talk too much, or that they are annoying and too much for people. Because of this a lot of people with ADHD put themselves in a box in order to fit in or to not be annoying. I loved how Summer didn't do this, Summer was just being her bubbly outgoing self no matter what people thought of her and I just absolutely loved that.

I loved how this book also touched on the fact that medication isn't always the answer for everyone and it can end up doing more bad than good and that's okay. I also loved how this book showed some different methods for dealing with ADHD for example body doubling, if you don't know what body doubling is it's a method that people with ADHD use in order to help them focus and get things done fast because we have found that just having someone in the room with us when doing a task allows us to focus more and work more efficiently. In the book Summer and Fitz study together and Summer says for some reason she finds that she is able to focus more and get things done faster when Fitz is there… aka body doubling. They also talk about different things that Summer and her teachers do in order to help her succeed in school.

As you can tell I absolutely loved the ADHD aspect of this book and could relate to it immensely.

Speaking of Summer, I absolutely adored her character. I loved her bubbly and outgoing personality and how she was unapologetically herself. I loved how even though she seems to have the perfect life, she's rich, beautiful, seems to be the perfect girl, she still has struggles and insecurities and has an outer shell that isn't always the person she is on the inside. I just loved her character so much and could relate to her so much more than I thought I would.

Another person we are introduced to in this book is Brenna Jenson, the hockey coach's daughter, who becomes fast friends with Summer and who I absolutely loved. I will talk more about my love for Brenna in my review of The Risk by Elle Kennedy (the second book in the Briar U series) that follows her story. I will say one thing about Brenna and that was I absolutely loved her friendship with Summer and honestly they have replaced Hannah and Allie as my favorite duo in the Off-Campus/Briar U universe.

Now let's talk about my favorite nerdy gamer, hockey player Colin Fitzgerald. I knew I was gonna love Fitzy from the moment we met him in The Score and I was not wrong… this man is EVERYTHING. He's a quiet, tattooed, gamer hockey player who loves to read and spends his time drawing like what's not to love about this man! I just absolutely loved him… like seriously I am a simp for Colin Fitzgerald! He is my favorite of the Briar U boys and honestly he and John Logan are fighting for the top as my favorite Off-Campus/Briar U boy.

I loved seeing Fitz's backstory and how it showed the long-term effects divorce can have on a child and how that situation can become abusive.

I will say that I feel like we don't get to know Fitz as much as we did with the boys from the Off-Campus series (and that's not just with Fitz's it's with all of the boys in the Briar U series).

Another thing I will say is I do wish there was more of a friendship between him and some of the other Hunter. I get it he's a loner and prefers to be by himself but the one thing that I feel like the Briar U series is missing that the Off-Campus series had was the hilarious strong friendship between the boys. One of my favorite aspects of the Off-Campus series was the relationship between Garrett, Logan, Dean, and Tucker. It just adds such a hilarious and fun aspect to the book that made me love the boys so much more and the Briar U series just seems to be missing that family aspect that I loved.

Let's talk about the relationship between Summer and Fitz in this book. I absolutely loved them together and honestly I think they have to be my favorite couple out of all of the Briar U series. I love the trope where the quiet, nerdy secluded guy falls for the bubbly, outgoing girl and this book just did it so well. This book is just sexual tension and you're just waiting for them to finally get together and when they do it's just amazing.

I do feel like there wasn't as much chemistry between them as there is with some of the other couples in this series. I also don't really love the way Fitz handled everything in the beginning between him and summer but I did love seeing them grow and work on some of the issues they both had.

I also feel like this book isn't as spicy as the other books and I feel like the smut is kinda on the back burner in this book which is totally okay, I just kinda wish there was a little bit more.

There is kinda a side romance happening between Summer and Hunter and honestly I didn't hate it. Even though I absolutely adore Summer and Fitz, ultimately if Summer and Hunter had ended up together I think I would have liked that as well.

One thing I love about Elle Kennedy books is how she talks about important topics that aren't always talked about but need to be. In this book she talks about rape culture and how sometimes a professor can abuse there power in order to get what they want from their students. It also talks about the idea that a girl being comfortable in their sexuality or dressing a certain way means they were asking for it. This book shows how hurtful these stereotypes can be and talks about things that are really important to talk about.

All together I really enjoyed this book and it happens to be one of my favorites out of the entire Off-Campus/Briar U universe.

Content Warnings

The Stopover by TL Swan

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐ /5

Writing: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Characters:⭐⭐⭐ /5

Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Diversity: ⭐/5

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Sadness:💧 /5

Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
Tropes: Boss/Employee romance and Billionaire romance

This book is hard to review because I didn't hate it, I enjoyed reading it but I wouldn't say I loved it or that it's anywhere close to being a favorite but honestly I did really enjoy reading it.

It's a very fast and addictive steamy read with a lot of angst and I really did enjoy my time reading it but there are quite a few things I just can't get over.

My biggest problem with this book was the writing. I just did not mesh well with the writing, it wasn't very detailed at all and I had a very hard time visualizing what was happening in the story. I was just not able to get with the writing.

Going along with that another thing that bugged me was her over usage of certain words. For example she would not use the word sweat… she only used the word perspiration and this reminds me of something a teacher told me one day And that was why use a dollar word when a ¢25 word will get the exact same message across. I don't know, this may seem like a little thing to other people but it just really bugged me.

She also said a lot that they would "screw up" their face and I have zero idea what that means and it really bugged me.

Another thing that bugged me to all hell and back is how many times she described things to be in slow motion. Anytime Jay would do anything it was happening in slow motion and it was so ANNOYING!!! the author says slow motion EIGHTEEN TIME in the whole entire book!! Find a different way to describe him kissing her OKAY??? Thank you!

Anytime Jay would smile it would be described as a slow, sexy smirk and that was the only way she described his smile throughout the entire book. Seriously, get a dictionary and figure out some different words.

My second biggest problem with this book was the characters. The characters are supposed to be in their 30s and 20s but they acted like children. They were extremely immature and childish and never talked to each other like actual adults, anytime they were upset they would throw a fit and ignore each other and it was really annoying. I'm not even 20 yet and I act more like an adult than they do. They were either having sex or yelling at each other and it was over the most stupidest crap ever that could have easily been figured out if they just sat down and talked to each other like actual adults.

Jay bugged me a lot at some points, he was extremely hypocritical at moments. He would get mad at Emily for not talking and communicating with him and then he would just ignore her. At the end he did a complete asshole move that I had a hard time getting over and if I was Emily I don't know if I would ever talk to him again after he did what he did.

I didn't feel like we knew a lot about the characters and their life outside of what was happening during the story. The characters seem very one-dimensional and I never really felt like we truly knew them.

I don't feel like the plot and the story were very well thought out or planned. There were quite a lot of things that were kinda pointless to the story, for example Emily's boyfriend in the beginning was completely pointless and if that whole story line was not there it wouldn't have affected the story at all. I also felt that the whole mystery in this novel wasn't very thought out and felt more like an afterthought rather than an actual plot line. It left me with a lot of unanswered questions, like with Jay's relationship with Claudia, I just never felt like it was completely finished. The ending was a lot better than the beginning in my opinion.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It was very addicting and I read it in one day because I just couldn't put it down but there were also a lot of glaring issues with it that made it so I just can't give it a higher rating than three stars. I do plan on reading the next book but I absolutely love Tristan and I really want to read his story and get to know him more.

Content Warnings

Forbidden Fling by Kat Taylor

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fast-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

3.0

Ratings:
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Romance:⭐⭐ /5
Overall: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
Tropes & Kinks: Boyfriend Father, Taboo relationship, age gap, and daddy kink
For someone who doesn't like daddy kinks, I sure do read a lot of age gap and boyfriend father romances don't I but nonetheless this book does deliver what it promises, a short forbidden smut fest between a girl and her boyfriend's father. There is cheating and no HEA. Overall the writing is just what you would expect from Katee Robert (pen name is Kat Taylor) and it's a good mindless smut novella if that's what you are looking for.

Content Warnings

The Museum by Harley Laroux

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fast-paced

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

4.0

Ratings:

Plot:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Writing:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Romance:⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5

Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Harley Laroux has done it again, she has written another amazing short novella that is full of smut. One thing that I love about Harley Laroux is that she always seems to be able to fit some great romance and character development in such a small amount of pages. When reading a smutty novella that is as small as this one I don't really expect to love or even feel like I know the characters, I'm mainly reading it for the smut but that is not the case with this book, I felt like I actually knew the characters and I loved their romance. Of course it's not as much as I would want if it was a full length novel but for a 37 page novella there was just enough romance and character development for me to love it! Harley Laroux writing is phenomenal, she writes smut scenes like no other and I honestly believe that her books need way more hype because the writing is just so good.

Overall, I think this is a perfect book if you want a fast, steamy read but still want some romance and character development. Harley Laroux has officially become one of my go to smut authors and I will definitely be reading a lot more of her books.

Content Warnings

The Arcade by Harley Laroux

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fast-paced

4.0

Ratings:
Plot:⭐⭐⭐/5
Writing: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5
Romance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Overall:⭐⭐⭐⭐ /5
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5

Harley Laroux is definitely becoming one of my favorite smutty authors especially when it comes to smutty novellas! this is the third smutty novella that I have read by her and I absolutely loved it. Laroux does a great job at puting in romance and character development in her small novellas, yes there's not as much development as you would get in a full length novel but she does a great job at putting in enough to make it feel like you know her characters and are invested in their romance. Just like you would expect this book SMUTTY and one of my favorite things about Harley Laroux books/novellas is her writing especially in her smut scenes! her writing is absolutely spectacular and I absolutely love it! I would definitely recommend this book if you need a fast dirty read (honestly I would recommend all of her books for that purpose)

Content Warnings

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shaylee_reads's reviews 207 reviews

shaylee_reads's reviews
207 reviews