steca2's reviews
158 reviews

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.  

Wreck & Ruin by Emma Slate

dark emotional lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

I was not expecting to love this book but it was surprisingly really enjoyable to read! Made me laugh, cry (a lot), and even though it was an instalove, it didn’t bother me because of the plot. Really loved the world building and character development. My only complaint is that the author doesn’t write spice all that well — it felt forced and repetitive at times.

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

funny lighthearted 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

Super cute hockey rom-com and surprisingly very spicy. Loved the emphasis on consent, discussions about therapy, addressing disordered eating patterns, and  harmful non-romantic toxic relationships. I also really enjoyed that Henry was Autism coded.  My only big complaint is that it felt like the author had a lot of big plot points that she wanted to hit with lots of details and in turn, it made the overarching plot feel almost insignificant. It’s also clear that this is the first book in what the author hopes to be a big series, but there were too many secondary characters that could have been cut. But I loved Nate, he might be my new favorite hockey book boyfriend! 

This book had the potential being a 5 star read but needed some serious edits. As fun as JJ is as a character, he could have been cut and his character traits of being POC and queer? (mentioned only once in passing at the end which tbh felt forced) and storyline of being an emotional support for both Nate and Stassie and cooking partner for Stassie could have been absorbed by Robbie and Lola. They were two big secondary characters and the longtime best friends of Nate and Stassie but they both felt wholly underdeveloped. I also wish Russ was a more developed character since his book is next because it felt more like the author was setting up Henry’s book instead.  Also plots points were introduced that weren’t needed — like how Stassie used to date her former partner and that’s the reason she claimed to not date… but the author never explained what happened between them and why it caused her to be a commitment-phobe. And when we meet him briefly in Seattle, there’s no further conversation… felt unnecessary to even include him in that scene. And the author never really fully explored Aaron’s motivations for being so awful.  We knew he was a manipulative narcissistic (Stassie explained that it was because of his parents and being emotionally stunted) but was he also super jealous and angry that Stassie wasn’t into him? Was that why he always slut shamed her? And as fun as the Colorado storyline was, that should have been cut (Stassie’s fall after Aaron’s two weeks off could have been the catalyst injury for her talk with Henry). Also, the author didn’t need to make Nate’s dad cheat on his dying mom to make the reader not like him, he could have been just completely absent after she died and that’s why they have a strained relationship. Also I hated that Stassie’s pregnancy epilogue was only 2.5 years later, it should have been 5 years and two Olympics later (tbh it felt too similar to Garrett and Hannah’s part in Legacy, the epilogue book for the Off Campus series).

 

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

funny lighthearted fast-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

So flipping cute! Definitely a good palate cleanser after finishing TOG. This book relied heavily on the miscommunication trope which always annoys me but I got over it pretty quickly.