talkflowers2me's reviews
261 reviews

Mortal Skin by Lily Mayne

3.0

I love Lily Mayne, but this wasn’t it for me. It was very slow - I had to convince myself to keep picking it back up. It felt unremarkable. I don’t think I’ll be reading the next book

The Last Hour of Gann by R. Lee Smith

4.25

I am really at a loss at what to rate this. I’m currently giving it a 4.25 but I might come back to change it. This book was intense and dark. And very long, but also not in a repetitive way that got really boring. So, it was a big time commitment, but I don’t regret it.

The characters and dialogue were so interesting, and I am shocked by how many times this book made me literally laugh out loud. The lore and world building in this book is really deep, so at times it’s a lot to wade through. But it’s vital to understanding this ambitious story. The theme of faith/religion was handled with a lot of nuance that I appreciated. 
I wish the ending had given us more in terms of seeing Amber and Meoraq finally happy and safe. 

The Barbarian's Vow by Keira Andrews

3.25

This was… ok. I appreciated that we got to see Jem grow up some more, (and the part where he finally was able to get on the horse to rescue Cador was great!) but cador’s whole personality was gone and he was just this pathetic dude. I wanted a grovel but this wasn’t it. I also feel like the plot was lacking. I was pretty bored and it felt like maybe the author bit off more than they could chew with the scope of things and didn’t know what to do so they kind of copped out with the resolution. Overall I liked the series based on the strength of the first book, but definitely wanted something different from this book

Wed to the Barbarian by Keira Andrews

4.0

The beginning didn’t grab me, but I’m glad I pushed through. I really like both Cador and Jem and I liked them together. I felt like the plot and the romance were well balanced and I thought their chemistry was good. It was believable why they fell for each other. Cador better grovel to get jem back in the next book! 

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

4.5

I heard that this book was amazing so often so the bar was high. And you know what, it was great. Just sweet, crazy kids falling in love over a decade. Adorable. I was worried about there being a bad plot twist towards the end of the paparazzi finding them out, so I was anxious. But I loved the scene with Shane’s parents. I was so happy that’s what happened instead, and now that I know that’s what will happen, I will enjoy the story more whenever I do a reread of this. Which I will because it was so good. The dialogue was so engaging. I love how the whole story was “showing” rather than “telling.” Ilya made me laugh out loud at a few points in the story 

On the Care and Keeping of Orcs by Kass O'Shire

3.0

I wanted to like this more than I actually did. It had a lot of things I love: single mom finding herself after losing her identity to motherhood, childhood friends to lovers, big gentle orc. Unfortunately, all the pieces didn’t come together in the best way. While I liked Torsten’s backstory and his general sweet/teasing demeanor, the sex stuff really didn’t do it for me, and that was basically all the character we got from him was. He talked so much during sex. Like, yikes. It felt like it was trying to hard to be hot and dirty and it felt cringey. I wished there had been more chemistry between them. I was just kind of bored. The road trip plot felt uninspired, and kind of confusing. The whole inn scene where she unknowingly dresses provocatively and gets harassed in the tavern? There was no point for that except to lead into alley sex between the two MCs. It felt like the author had specific sex stuff she wanted to write, and loosely tried connecting them with plot that didn’t really make sense. I also didn’t get the footnotes thing, and I ended up skipping them all after about a quarter of the way through the story. The world building in general was confusing and I skimmed over most of it because it didn’t feel worth it to try figuring out

Beauty and the Mustache by Penny Reid

4.0

This was ann emotional read and I liked it very much. With the journey of Ashley’s mother dying, not only was it about the relationship between her and Drew, but also her reconnecting with her brothers. And I liked those relationships just as much I think. I’m glad we only got Ashely’s pov throughout the book because Drew’s epilogue pov was over the top and if I’d had to have read much more of that, I would not have liked his character as much a I did. If I’m being nitpicky, I don’t see what the point was of saying Ashley got second place in a beauty pageant. That seemed odd and didn’t affect anything. Also the whole high school ex boyfriend I didn’t think was necessary or particularly compelling 

Love vs The Scarecrow! by Cassandra Gannon

4.5

Look, I’m a simple gal. All I need is a genius, hot, rich, virgin who has been obsessed with his girl since they were kids and who then creates an elaborate decade-long plan to trick a whole town into thinking he’s an idiot while he bides his time to be with his beloved while at the same time sabotaging any men who try to date her because they’re not good enough because they’re not him (duh) and the girl has no idea about any of it 

Wed to the Lich by Layla Fae

4.0

Virgil and May were both heartbreaking in different ways. I liked how monster-y Virgil was and how he cared for May 

Work: Strictly Professional by Jesse H Reign

4.0

I read the first book a while ago, and while I don’t remember it super well, I remember thinking how I wasn’t excited to read the dad’s book because he sucked. But I was wrong! This book was surprisingly sweet and I ended up really loving Derek. I thought his vulnerability was very touching. I do wish there had somehow been some more acknowledgment of how much he sucked in the beginning. Was it just because he had given up carbs and caffeine? And then when Wyn started feeding him those, he immediately became a better person? Like, I know the whole idea of it was because he was finally becoming true to himself and he had made himself miserable his whole life by denying who he was. I wish there had been a little more showing that change for Derek, in more ways than sex. But Wyn was the far and away best character. He was so funny and cute and clueless but in a know it all kind of way. I loved his type A personality and how he used it to help the people in his life. Something about the way the fake dating, lessons tropes were used felt less heavy handed than is common, which allowed their sweet relationship and getting to know and care for each other be the focus. The part where Derek asked Wyn to describe who he was in one breath and then he did the same for him, was just so sweet and dear. I laughed out loud at multiple parts in this. I can see how some would get annoyed with Wyn, but I got him and I loved him