steca2's reviews
151 reviews

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.75

All you need is a little faith, luck, and pixie dust! The spirit of youth and joy reimagined. Super imaginative and genuinely sweet. Only thing that would have made this a five star read is if we had an extra 100 pages to build their love a little more, felt a little insta-love on Hook’s side because he had only known Pan as an adult for a few days. I desperately want a sequel to see what life has in store for James and Peter (and Ernest!) but it ended beautifully. 

Avidly Reads Guilty Pleasures by Arielle Zibrak

funny informative slow-paced

2.0

Felt overly repetitive and slow at times. Had to push myself to finish it even though in theory it should have been a very quick read. It was funny but far too many tangents, references, and anecdotes to feel consistent and concise. 

The Nanny by Lana Ferguson

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

4.0

Super cute, fluffy little romcom! Sophie was adorable and very believable. Multiple spicy scenes but had a good plot so it was well balanced. Wish the epilogue was longer but all in all a great time!  

Thrust & Throttle by Emma Slate

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

4.25

Really loved Willa and Duke! Only complaint is that it felt like there were two stories — like the first two thirds was a well done slice of life/friends to lovers and then the last third was a very rushed MC vs. cartel storyline. I wish it was two books because I really enjoyed the story up until the

kidnapping. It felt a little repetitive and unrealistic for it to be so random and rampant. Especially with Willa/Duke adopting Sailor, very similar to Silas’ story with Mia/Colt.

Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton

fast-paced

3.75

Listened to the audiobook and it was enjoyable! I didn’t know much about his life and, while I loved the Potter sections, I wish he spent more time dedicated to his mental health journey. It felt almost like editors cut out chunks of his rehab/mental health section and made him expand on Potter to make it more marketable for fans of the franchise

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

medium-paced

3.25

Listened to audiobook and read for book club. It was fine. I didn’t love it  but listened while on a big road trip. Did not like that there wasn’t a trigger warning — multiple suicides. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Madness & Mayhem by Emma Slate

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? No

4.5

My favorite of the series so far! A character driven/slice of life book.  This one was far lighter than the first two (with little to no MC plot) and it was significantly more romantic. Slash was a great MMC (maybe a little too perfect though…) and Brooklyn was very relatable.  Never thought I’d like the surprise pregnancy trope but maybe I do… Only thing I would  change Slash’s nickname for her — he called her “Woman” and I really hated that. Also, they never mentioned her right to choose which felt unrealistic. But all in all really fun and enjoyable! 

Crash & Carnage by Emma Slate

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

I liked this more than the first book! Linden was very relatable —  she made complete sense to me — and I loved Boxer’s humor and charm. Love a reverse grumpy sunshine!  Linden and Boxer’s relationship felt way more grounded in reality than Colt and Mia’s and that may be why

the cartel/kidnapping part of the book felt so out of the blue and almost unnecessary. The author laid the groundwork for a great conflict to be based as a class issue/with Linden and her parents involvement in her relationships. I would have found that more interesting and her internal challenges/changes could have been similar without her losing her identity as a surgeon.  Also, Reap and Bishop’s deaths weren’t truly impactful to the storyline — unlike Cheese and Shelley’s from the first book— so it felt like the author was just like checking it off a to list…

But all in all, really enjoyed it! Boxer was a great MMC and the author was a lot better at writing spicy scenes in this book! 

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

lighthearted 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

4.0

Great second book by Helen Hoang! The pacing was significantly better compared to the Kiss Quotient (only the very end felt a little rushed) and the characters and plot felt a lot more grounded in real life. Only thing that felt unrealistic was

Esme graduating from Stanford. It would have made more sense for her to go to State school (or Berkeley like her dad).

It was interesting reading Khai and My/Esme’s perspectives bc they are unlike any MMC/FMC I’ve read. Hoang did a great job showcasing the variability with ASD and how impactful SEL could be. I kept thinking how many of Khai’s “issues” could have been “solved” if he had SEL interventions earlier in his life. 

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

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

4.0

The plot relied heavily on the miscommunication trope but it wasn’t annoying bc of the dual POV. Great to read a romcom with  realistic autism rep in the FMC! Michael was a great MMC, super supportive of Stella but also very flawed himself. I feel like his dad’s drama was a little anticlimactic though… could have been a bigger storyline (that could have been why Stella’s dad didn’t like him?) especially bc it was Michael’s main issue. My biggest issue with the book though is that the story felt a little rushed at times and  like it was jumping around week to week. Maybe it’s because I’m used to 500+ page books, but I wanted more from the plot.