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shelbybooked's reviews
153 reviews
Ne'er Duke Well by Alexandra Vasti
5.0
Let me start by saying that there wasn't a single second of this book that I didn't love!!
From the beginning, I was having a blast! The way the characters weee introduced worked wonders for me.
Selina was a damn GEM. Peter was wonderful. The way they stood up for their families no matter the cost. Their traumas shaped them but they made sure to better themselves in spite of it. I loved their communication, I loved their banter, the spice was SPICY. I loved their friends and their family. The resolution had me clapping and kicking my feet.
I am so exited about this debut and I cannot wait for everything else Alexandra Vasti is going to come out with next!
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
From the beginning, I was having a blast! The way the characters weee introduced worked wonders for me.
Selina was a damn GEM. Peter was wonderful. The way they stood up for their families no matter the cost. Their traumas shaped them but they made sure to better themselves in spite of it. I loved their communication, I loved their banter, the spice was SPICY. I loved their friends and their family. The resolution had me clapping and kicking my feet.
I am so exited about this debut and I cannot wait for everything else Alexandra Vasti is going to come out with next!
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Perfect Fit by Clare Gilmore
5.0
This book was... perfect? The perfect love story, the perfect look into a life built around work and nothing else and the subsequent burnout, the perfect look into healthy communication, perfect friendships, JUST PERFECT, OKAY?
Maybe I'm being a little bit hasty with such a big word for a book but I genuinely did not dislike a single thing about it!!!!
Josie was so genuine and relatable. I saw myself in so much of how much she cares about certain things, like her admittance to being vain, which I found so damn refreshing. I was rooting for her the entire book.
Will Grant, a perfect specimen! An ex-finance bro turned consultant turned a secret third thing that I love so much?????? Endlessly supportive, incredibly wholesome, insanely fucking hot. His random acts of kindness toward Josie had me in tears multiple times. One of my favorite heroes, that's for sure.
I loved this book, the end. Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe I'm being a little bit hasty with such a big word for a book but I genuinely did not dislike a single thing about it!!!!
Josie was so genuine and relatable. I saw myself in so much of how much she cares about certain things, like her admittance to being vain, which I found so damn refreshing. I was rooting for her the entire book.
Will Grant, a perfect specimen! An ex-finance bro turned consultant turned a secret third thing that I love so much?????? Endlessly supportive, incredibly wholesome, insanely fucking hot. His random acts of kindness toward Josie had me in tears multiple times. One of my favorite heroes, that's for sure.
I loved this book, the end. Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Medium by Sarah Adler
4.75
something about sarah adler's writing that just feels like the warmest hug ever 🥺🥺
Whenever You're Ready by Rachel Runya Katz
5.0
I absolutely loved Rachel's debut "Thank You for Sharing" so I was truly beside myself when I saw she was coming out with a sapphic novel! I am so happy to have gotten my hands on this early because it's that much longer that I have this book in my life.
What a beautiful story about grief and platonic friendships. I loved the way Rachel emphasized how important our friendships are and how they're constantly looked at to be second to romantic love. You could really feel how much Nia, Jade, and Michal loved each other through the flashbacks and the present chapters in their grief.
I loved Jonah and Jade's relationship and I think this had one of the best sibling relationship dialogues I've ever read in a story. That reconciliation scene had me crying so hard; how fucking beautiful. (Side note: Rachel, I'd pay good money to read a follow-up Jonah book. Just sayin!)
And now for romance: I love me some sad angsty gay and bisexual pining!!! All the looks! All the touches! So many one beds! You could feel their love for each other during every interaction. The flashbacks, the pain from the years spent apart, the joy they bring each other. I loved every dang second.
I love the setting of the roadtrip and the Jewish History tours were fascinating. It's not the aunties job to teach us about minority history and suffering but I appreciate the work Rachel put into this story.
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a beautiful story about grief and platonic friendships. I loved the way Rachel emphasized how important our friendships are and how they're constantly looked at to be second to romantic love. You could really feel how much Nia, Jade, and Michal loved each other through the flashbacks and the present chapters in their grief.
I loved Jonah and Jade's relationship and I think this had one of the best sibling relationship dialogues I've ever read in a story. That reconciliation scene had me crying so hard; how fucking beautiful. (Side note: Rachel, I'd pay good money to read a follow-up Jonah book. Just sayin!)
And now for romance: I love me some sad angsty gay and bisexual pining!!! All the looks! All the touches! So many one beds! You could feel their love for each other during every interaction. The flashbacks, the pain from the years spent apart, the joy they bring each other. I loved every dang second.
I love the setting of the roadtrip and the Jewish History tours were fascinating. It's not the aunties job to teach us about minority history and suffering but I appreciate the work Rachel put into this story.
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
3.75
did i guess all the ~twists and stuff? yes. did i enjoy
it any less for the predicability? also yes
but that also doesn't mean i didn't enjoy it at all! it was sweet and wistful and it made me laugh
it any less for the predicability? also yes
but that also doesn't mean i didn't enjoy it at all! it was sweet and wistful and it made me laugh
The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center
4.75
If Katherine Center writes it, I'm going to read it!
I absolutely LOVED THIS. How cleverly done!! The breaking of the fourth wall at all times had me hooked. This had me laughing non stop. This had me grabbing at my face in full giddiness. This had me crying. What a delight.
I loved Charlie and Emma, together and apart. I loved their dichotomy in pretty much everything they do and believe in. But then you had the moments where he's trying to flip a dollop of whipped cream off his arm and into his mouth and then HUGGING HER and it was like OH OKAY YEAH THIS ALL MAKES SENSE BECAUSE OF THIS RIGHT HERE. And lemme tell you. I ate it UP. Line dancing! Pool shenanigans! Jack Stapleton!
This book is an absolute love letter and champion for the rom-com genre. I absolutely loved Emma's refusal to let anyone, not even her idol, not even The Charlie Yates, tell her that love isn't worth it, that it isn't real, that she's any less a writer because she loves rom-coms.
This was a joy to read and I already can't wait to re-read it again soon.
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely LOVED THIS. How cleverly done!! The breaking of the fourth wall at all times had me hooked. This had me laughing non stop. This had me grabbing at my face in full giddiness. This had me crying. What a delight.
I loved Charlie and Emma, together and apart. I loved their dichotomy in pretty much everything they do and believe in. But then you had the moments where he's trying to flip a dollop of whipped cream off his arm and into his mouth and then HUGGING HER and it was like OH OKAY YEAH THIS ALL MAKES SENSE BECAUSE OF THIS RIGHT HERE. And lemme tell you. I ate it UP. Line dancing! Pool shenanigans! Jack Stapleton!
This book is an absolute love letter and champion for the rom-com genre. I absolutely loved Emma's refusal to let anyone, not even her idol, not even The Charlie Yates, tell her that love isn't worth it, that it isn't real, that she's any less a writer because she loves rom-coms.
This was a joy to read and I already can't wait to re-read it again soon.
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
5.0
I knew this book was going to be my entire personality when I saw the cover. I am now prepared to dedicate my life to making sure everyone I know and have yet to meet will read this book.
Sage is maybe my favorite heroine of all time? She emulates everything I wish I could be and what a joy it was to get to know her. To view the world through her lenses. To chortle at her silly puns. To bask in the joy she finds in everything. Genuinely I wish she was a real person I could be friends with and now I have to live in a world where she isn't!!! But all it means is I have to re-read this a million times, which, well, is a win for me.
Sad boy Fisher. The exact kind of mix of sad and sexy crave to read about in MMCs. What a dreamboat!!! No one warned him about the tiny goats and especially no one warned him about what it means to find your people and let them love you. I loved watched him fall into the trap of small town love and support, especially when his precious experience was negative. His loyalty to Indy, even if he never saw it that way, warmed my cold little heart. His dedication to her above all else. His love for Sage, his eagerness to love her and love her well.
Indy and Gary and the pets, Spunes, the berries, all of it. What a triumph of a story. What a fucking joy it was to read. How fucking lucky are we, as romance readers, to have this book in our lives. Thank you, Tarah. I'm changed for having read this.
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sage is maybe my favorite heroine of all time? She emulates everything I wish I could be and what a joy it was to get to know her. To view the world through her lenses. To chortle at her silly puns. To bask in the joy she finds in everything. Genuinely I wish she was a real person I could be friends with and now I have to live in a world where she isn't!!! But all it means is I have to re-read this a million times, which, well, is a win for me.
Sad boy Fisher. The exact kind of mix of sad and sexy crave to read about in MMCs. What a dreamboat!!! No one warned him about the tiny goats and especially no one warned him about what it means to find your people and let them love you. I loved watched him fall into the trap of small town love and support, especially when his precious experience was negative. His loyalty to Indy, even if he never saw it that way, warmed my cold little heart. His dedication to her above all else. His love for Sage, his eagerness to love her and love her well.
Indy and Gary and the pets, Spunes, the berries, all of it. What a triumph of a story. What a fucking joy it was to read. How fucking lucky are we, as romance readers, to have this book in our lives. Thank you, Tarah. I'm changed for having read this.
Thank you SMP and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Right Where We Left Us by Jen Devon
4.75
I LOVED Bend Toward the Sun and I was so so excited to see there was a second book from Jen! I enjoyed this one a lot!! I am a sucker for second chance and this one was angsty and lovely.
Our hero Duncan is so damn KIND and full of pure goodness. Overworked to the bone, I just wanted to give him a million hugs!
Temperance, a little but stuck and a lot full of kindness, she just wants to be loved and wanted for who she is.
Seeing Harry and Rowan so happy was a delight! I loved being back with the large and lively Brady fam!!
Thank you NetGalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Our hero Duncan is so damn KIND and full of pure goodness. Overworked to the bone, I just wanted to give him a million hugs!
Temperance, a little but stuck and a lot full of kindness, she just wants to be loved and wanted for who she is.
Seeing Harry and Rowan so happy was a delight! I loved being back with the large and lively Brady fam!!
Thank you NetGalley and SMP for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!