steca2's reviews
135 reviews

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

funny tense fast-paced

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

4.75

 By far Ali Hazelwood’s best work yet! Relied a little too heavily on the miscommunication and the self-sacrificing MMC tropes and I

still don’t fully understand Mick’s role… was he Thralled? Or just being blackmailed? And for how long??

but all in all a great read! Can’t wait for the sequel

with Keon and Serena! Also… maybe future were/vamp babies??

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

dark funny fast-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

4.25

I liked this as almost much as Butcher and Blackbird — definitely less gorey and gross ( by a long shot) — but there were plot and development points that weren’t fully hit or just flat out ignored. While B&B was primarily plot driven, I’d say this one was mainly character driven. I adored Ethel and I loved Bentley!  Almost was a cozy read if you ignore the degradation kink and murders/torture. Honestly the trigger warning made it sound significantly worse than it was, I’ll definitely be able to eat pizza and beer again but I’m still a little out off beef nicoise and cookies & cream ice cream.  The marriage of convenience/slow burn enemies to lovers was a lot of fun! Lark’s character development was great and Lachlan was a swoon worthy MMC. I do wish we got the background on what made Lark become a “multiple deleter” and how long ago did she start? Was her ex her first? My only big complaint is that I wish we got the scene where Lark tells Sloan she’s a multiple deleter… that would have been a really good friendship scene and I feel like those were missing in this book. Also, unlike in B&B when the David twist was so unexpected, the Abe/Phantom twist was so expected and honestly a little anticlimactic.

It was really unclear/confusing why he was targeting tangential people in Lark’s orbit if the goal was to kill her and blame it on Lochlan? Would have made much more sense if he was hired by the rivals and/or there were two different killers that just had overlapping targets…

I will definitely read the next book — 

Rose 100% lived but maybe her getting shot potentially caused a rift between Fionn and Lachlan? And that’s the tension we read at the end? We’ll see!

 

Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

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

4.75

 As a former assistant and definitely a little wayward in my twenties,  I definitely related to Georgie — I was honestly a little scared to even read this book bc it was like holding up a fictional mirror…. But I’m so glad I did! This is probably one of the best standalone books I’ve read this year. This gave me strong Book Lover’s vibes and I love that. While it’s technically a romance between Levi and Georgie, at its heart it’s a story about self acceptable and different kinds of love. The deep love between Georgie and Bel, Georgie and her parents, Levi and Hank (Hank!! Love a sweet pittie!), and even Levi and his siblings. Levi’s family history was heartbreaking and I loved the anxiety/depression rep. Only thing keeping this from being a full five star is I didn’t always believe Levi’s POV, the tone often felt off or too similar to Georgie’s.  I don’t always love first person because of this and feel like I would have enjoyed it more in 3rd person.  

Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold

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

4.25

Such a sweet, funny, and SPICY why choose rom-com! I found myself actively laughing out loud at parts and really feeling for the characters. My only complaint is — dare I say — it might have been too spicy? Like these scenes lasted CHAPTERS and it was pretty nonstop once Luke joined in. While all the spicy scenes made sense for the plot, I wish there were just a few relationship building scenes (like seeing Layla interact with Josh and Luke pre-arrangement just as friends. And Luke’s date!) in there too to balance it out. 

The Perfect Fit by Sadie Kincaid

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.75

A spicy why choose (established MMM turned MMMF) not-so-dark dark romance with BDSM and taboo kink representation (NCN, primal play, blood kink). The plot was fun; the twists were unexpected and well done! Lily was a great FMC and I understood her motivations throughout the book.  
The miscommunication-trope influenced breakup led by West and facilitated by Zeke frustrated me to no end but the author did a decent job making it believable for their characters to react that way — but also solidified Xander as my favorite MMC of the trio. The timeline got a little murky after the breakup and the author needed a proofreader bc there were a few typos but all in all neither were too distracting. 
My only big complaint is I wish we got the backstory of how Zeke, Xander, and West all got together. Like Zeke briefly explained how he was in foster care but it’s unclear if Xander and West were too or if he just met them while he was at his last foster home. There’s also hints that Zeke and Xander have matching/related tattoos but that’s not explained either. I wish we got that backstory even though it wouldn’t have done much for the plot… it could be a great prequel novella? 

True Biz by Sara Nović

informative fast-paced

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

3.75

Ok so I have really mixed feelings about this book. I loved a lot of this book but the ending really tanked it for me. It probably would have been a 4.5/5 star read if the ending wasn’t so rushed and left so many loose plot points untouched. At least give us an epilogue if your not going to write it all out on the page! After reading the author’s note at the end, I now understand that the author wanted to make a statement that the future of these characters is up to the reader. While admirable, it wasn’t all that well done… instead of making me curious, it made me frustrated. 
What I loved— 
I loved the amount of representation in this book (not just within Deaf community but also in regards to race, sexuality, SES, and briefly religion) and it was highly educational without feeling preachy or like an infodump. I also found parts of it endearing, especially Austin’s family. 
What I did not like was

Charlie’s direct involvement in the robbery as it felt forced and unrealistic, Austin’s unquestioning acceptance and participation in domestic terrorism (felt out of character for him tbh),

and the ending. There were just too many loose strings! I feel like only 1 of the 5 main plot points actually got wrapped up.

Like what happened with Feb/Mel/Wanda? What about the future of the school? Where did  the students all end up? Did Charlie’s parents force her to get another implant? How did that conversation go? Did Skylar end up getting a CI?

Also, Slash/Kyle gave me the creeps (especially bc of his age) and he was supposed to be not only a love interest but this seemingly great ally? His entire group felt off but apparently there’s no issue there… I also didn’t love  Austin being a love interest too. It would have made sense to either keep them as crushes and at the end share a kiss or they should have stayed platonic as their romance added very little real meat to the story. 

Whiskey & Sin by Emily Rath

emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was my first non-shifter omegaverse and it was great! I wouldn’t expect anything else from Emily Rath — she’s quickly becoming an auto-read writer for me — and she handled such sensitive topics with clear effort and care.  Not only did she appropriately address her characters’ depression and anxiety, but she portrayed Silas’ PTSD and the range of triggers (and the struggles to identify the triggers) so well. It was so clear she hired a good team to beta read because Silas’ complex trauma history (parental neglect, human trafficking, SA) was so well done.  My only (very minor) complaint was I wish we saw more of Bear’s depression in his POV - maybe as flashbacks? - only because I feel like the focus was more on Silas’ journey and I loved Bear! I wanted to know more about the Pack because they all felt so real but at the same time, didn’t have a ton of page time.  
Also, Bear’s insta-love was a little much at first

before scent bonding was brought up and explained

but part of me wonders if I would have picked up on it immediately if I had known the lore... 
I hope Emily decides to do another book in this universe! Would love a  prequel of Georgia-Henry-Reed-Liam or a Jared-Claire-Yumi 

Puck Pact by Kristen Granata

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.75

Ok so I LOVED this. I already knew I loved the Black Cat/Golden Retriever trope but wow was this so good. Aarya was our funny avoidant attachment FMC and Alex was our single dad, secure attached (who went to therapy for his GAD/panic attacks!) MMC. And don’t even get me started on Giuliana and Annie! Plus the whole hockey team and characters from the first two books. Everyone was fantastic in this one.

Even the whole “our entire team posted videos on a porn/dating site” plot point from the last book made sense in this one!

Only minor complaint was that I was  confused by the timeline but I easily ignored it. This book had great spice and made me laugh out loud, giggle and kick my feet at the banter, and ball my eyes out

the coma chapters HURT in the best way bc I knew it was a HEA…

 what more could you want in a KU hockey romance? 

Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

Ok this was solid! Britta was our avoidantly attached FMC with daddy issues and Sumner was our “calm cool collected about everything except you” MMC. I actually really loved the time jumps in this, especially since it’s a quick 150 page Novella. I would have loved this to be a full length novel, especially to delve into Britta/Bryce’s family drama, but all in all a very good and  standard Tessa Bailey book!

Leather & Lies by Emma Slate

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow this is probably my favorite in the entire series! Hayden and Bones/Royce are so unbelievably cute, their humor was top tier (literally laughed out loud a few time), and the spicy was great with a strong mix of closed door and on the page (and a little kinky). This one and Brooklyn/Slash’s are probably most distanced from the MC world and tbh, I loved that about this story. The tie in with the SINNERS books was also noticeable,

especially when the Russian names were being dropped as the people behind her dad’s death and her assassination attempt…

so if those books ever end up on Libby or KU, I’m 100% reading them! Also — hallelujah, Brooklyn finally had her baby! So I guess Brooklyn, Willa, Sutton, and Logan’s stories all happen in the span of 10 months? 
My biggest complaint is the timeline — I feel like the timeline got a little muddled a few times during the story but it was fine, bc instead of reading like insta-love it was more of a whirlwind romance (I’m telling myself they were together 6 weeks before the gala night).

I also feel like Arthur’s betrayal could have been hinted at earlier in the story bc it did feel a little out of left field. And Darcy’s death was so sad and unexpected, but it didn’t hit me the same way. I wish we could have had a Darcy-Hayden moment to really remind the reader how much we loved the unofficial mom of the MC

Can’t wait until the next one! Maybe a Savage and Charlie love triangle? Or Brielle and a prospect?? Whoever’s story it is, I’m reading it!