skyhigh_99's reviews
173 reviews

Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book was exciting and I did enjoy it in the moment. But had I known what I know now about the second book…. I probably wouldn’t have read it in the first place.

The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I really enjoyed listening to this as an audiobook, there’s different narratives for each female character and I feel like it gave the book a lot more feeling than had I just physically read it. This is a slower paced book, but the tension slowly builds on and makes you not want to put it down. I loved that this story was focused on the women’s perspective and that even though Aiden is the center of their worlds, his impact on each person was completely different.

I also enjoyed that there wasn’t an immediate escape plan. It’s very frustrating to see the missed opportunities that would’ve led to Rachel escaping earlier, but she’s also severely traumatized. It’s so easy for people to say “well i would’ve done this…” but in reality we don’t know what we would actually do in these situations or what our thought process would be like. 

(Slight spoilers)

A few issues I had with the book was Emily as a whole. She acts like a high schooler who is getting attention from guys for the first time. I understand why she was written the way she was, but given that her and Aiden only talked for seemingly a few weeks, she needed a serious reality check. I also didn’t like that towards the end we focused more on Emily coping with everything vs Rachel’s perspective after everything that happened. 

This is a little issue, but I wish the women had actually come together to save each other. It seemed like that was the premise of the book, but Rachel really was the only person to help herself and she didn’t connect with the Cecilia or Emily really at all.

Flawless by Elsie Silver

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

This was so sweet and fun to read, I knew I’d love it because who doesn’t love a good cowboy story, but this was *chefs kiss*. My only complaint is that we didn’t get a moment between the couple in the truck under the stars since those moments were mentioned so much in the book. Also the milk jokes were 10/10.

Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.25

This was very boring and forgettable. The huge cliff hanger it’s left on isn’t even interesting enough to want to read the rest of the trilogy. The plot was confusing and the romance was so dull, no part of this book was enjoyable.

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

4.75

It reminded me of a mashup of ‘Despicable Me’ & a 2000’s rom com… It was just so much fun to read and I can’t wait for the rest of the series! However, since finding out this is going to be a trilogy, I believe the romance and plot will get better in the next two books. I didn’t realize this was a series so when I was almost done with the book and the characters hadn’t even kissed I was very confused. As a stand alone though, this book doesn’t really hold up. Since this book is advertised as a romance first, I really wish they would’ve at least romantically kissed. Overall, it was a fun read, but I really hope for more for the rest of the trilogy.

Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-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

4.25

Katee does not ever miss. This was so good and I loved seeing more of the enemy side (Minos and his people) of the start of the fall of Olympus. The only negative thing I can think of is that i constantly wanted Aphrodite in a power pant suit instead of her work dresses. I also wish we saw more of Aphrodites and pandoras relationship develop, but with four main characters it’s hard to fully develop every relationship in the poly knot. Given how much is going on in this book, I think the story does a good job of developing the relationships while also diving deeper into the bigger issues regarding Minos and the future of Olympus.

You Shouldn't Have Come Here by Jeneva Rose

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This ended up being a really creepy and intriguing thriller to read. Since the start, it felt like something was off with both characters and as time goes on, there are more questions to be asked. The plot keeps you on your toes and even with knowing both characters, I wasn’t able to predict the ending. Everyone else in the town also left an uneasy feeling as you never knew their intentions or if they were telling the truth.
I listened this this on audiobook and I was entertained the entire time, which is exactly what I wanted in a thriller. Some of the dialogue was cringey, but it was mostly from Calvin and I chalked it up to him being a man… thinking he was deeper and smarter than he actually was. 

 i know the point of the book was for Grace to have had the upper hand all along, but with how cruel Calvin ended up being I wish there was a bigger fight scene at the end. The ending as a whole just felt a little easy and not exactly the “good for her moment” I was expecting. I also wish we could’ve found out why Calvin had liked killing so much and if it started with his girlfriend or before that. For as creepy as he ended up being, I wish we could’ve had more answers from him. 

Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.75

It’s cute, but it’s also the same tropes and storyline as the other novellas and books Ali has written. It actually was growing on me more than the other novellas, but there was a missed opportunity with them being stuck in the elevator. It also hit me while listening to this novella how cringey some of the the dialogue is in these books are.

Thank You, Next by Andie J. Christopher

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

For someone who didn’t believe in marriage or love, Alex cared a whole lot about it. Understandably, it hurt to see her ex’s get married after her, but the whole premise of going back to her ex’s to ask why they didn’t work out didn’t make sense. One that could’ve been a phone call, but anyone could have told her in the beginning why she couldn’t hold on to relationships. It was just slow pacing and didn’t add to the story since every ex had seemingly the same response. However, everything with Will was amazing. They had great chemistry and they worked through their issues (knowing there’s still more work to be done and that it won’t be easy).

Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara

adventurous lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This is more of an adventure story than a romance. So much is touched on in the book that every element is very surface level, including the relationship between Psyche and Eros. It was interesting to read and after the first few chapters everything picks up in the story, but so much happens that everything sort of gets lost in each other.  There is also a constant message about Psyche being a hero and the definition of love, which also gets lost within the story. It is fun to read and definitely a good retelling of their story if you’re not familiar with the origins!