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thebiglittlelibrary's Reviews (622)
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
4 ⭐️ I enjoyed this even more than the first book in this series
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ contemporary romance
✨ marriage in crisis
✨ he's a ex-marine and a man of few words
✨ she's lost and wants to find herself / open up a restaurant
✨ insane sexual chemistry
✨ 2.5/5 spice
✨ third act breakup
✨ HEA
My Thoughts:
This was a cute marriage in crisis romance.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ contemporary romance
✨ marriage in crisis
✨ he's a ex-marine and a man of few words
✨ she's lost and wants to find herself / open up a restaurant
✨ insane sexual chemistry
✨ 2.5/5 spice
✨ third act breakup
✨ HEA
My Thoughts:
This was a cute marriage in crisis romance.
4.5 ⭐️ Pure magic. That's the only way to describe this book.
They were the greatest song ever written, and he planned on singing their song for the rest of his life.
About:
Thirty years ago, the world famous Steel Birds broke up. Unfortunately, the two band members, Trina Gallard and Octavia Dawkins, left on terrible terms and swore never to reunite.
Years later, the lead singer's son, Beat Dawkins, is blackmailed for $800k with a secret that could destroy his parent's stellar reputation. Unfortunately, the only way to come up with the funds quickly means accepting a deal from a producer to reunite his mother’s band on live tv on New Years Eve with the help of the other bandmate's daughter, Melody Gallard.
Melody has done her best to stay out of the spotlight, but when Beat comes to her asking for help, she decides that maybe it's time to shake up her quiet life. Even if they can't pull off the impossible, at least it means she gets to spend time with the boy she met once, who during that brief encounter made her feel seen.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Christmasy rom-com
✨ MCs are children of rockstars
✨ plot: get the band back together
✨ insta love / connection
✨ second chance-ish (they met one time before)
✨ friends to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ soulmates
✨ 3/5
They were the greatest song ever written, and he planned on singing their song for the rest of his life.
About:
Thirty years ago, the world famous Steel Birds broke up. Unfortunately, the two band members, Trina Gallard and Octavia Dawkins, left on terrible terms and swore never to reunite.
Years later, the lead singer's son, Beat Dawkins, is blackmailed for $800k with a secret that could destroy his parent's stellar reputation. Unfortunately, the only way to come up with the funds quickly means accepting a deal from a producer to reunite his mother’s band on live tv on New Years Eve with the help of the other bandmate's daughter, Melody Gallard.
Melody has done her best to stay out of the spotlight, but when Beat comes to her asking for help, she decides that maybe it's time to shake up her quiet life. Even if they can't pull off the impossible, at least it means she gets to spend time with the boy she met once, who during that brief encounter made her feel seen.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Christmasy rom-com
✨ MCs are children of rockstars
✨ plot: get the band back together
✨ insta love / connection
✨ second chance-ish (they met one time before)
✨ friends to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ soulmates
✨ 3/5
3.5 ⭐️ A sexy romance with some heart
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ contemporary romance
✨ she's an interior designer doing her first home renovation
✨ he’s a bull rider from Texas turned foreman
✨ renovating home together
✨ age gap
✨ insta lust
✨ great banter
✨ lots of sexual tension and chemistry
✨ 3/5 spice
✨ third act conflict
✨ HEA
✨ found family
✨ reality tv show
✨ TW: anxiety disorder, trauma from foster care, substance abuse (sibling)
My Thoughts:
This was an enjoyable audiobook. I like Wes and Bethany. Their insta-lust romance, while sudden, was fun, endearing, and had some depth. I liked Bethany’s journey towards overcoming her anxiety but I know it would take a lot more than 2 weeks to work through this. Wes was also so unconditionally supportive of Bethany and provided her with a safe space to land. They were cute together.
Wes and his niece were super freaking cute. He might not have been her dad but he was giving daddy energy.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ contemporary romance
✨ she's an interior designer doing her first home renovation
✨ he’s a bull rider from Texas turned foreman
✨ renovating home together
✨ age gap
✨ insta lust
✨ great banter
✨ lots of sexual tension and chemistry
✨ 3/5 spice
✨ third act conflict
✨ HEA
✨ found family
✨ reality tv show
✨ TW: anxiety disorder, trauma from foster care, substance abuse (sibling)
My Thoughts:
This was an enjoyable audiobook. I like Wes and Bethany. Their insta-lust romance, while sudden, was fun, endearing, and had some depth. I liked Bethany’s journey towards overcoming her anxiety but I know it would take a lot more than 2 weeks to work through this. Wes was also so unconditionally supportive of Bethany and provided her with a safe space to land. They were cute together.
Wes and his niece were super freaking cute. He might not have been her dad but he was giving daddy energy.
4 ⭐️ This was cute
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Christmas novella
✨ best friend’s brother
✨ doctor x tech guy
✨ he fell first and hard
✨ “it’s always been you”
✨ forced proximity
✨ yearning/pining
✨ slight reverse age gap (2 years)
✨ 2/5 spice (1 open door scene)
✨ HEA
✨ single pov
My Thoughts:
Listened to the audiobook. The narrator was fantastic.
The story is cute with lots of yearning and a dash of spice. The fact they’ve known each other their whole lives only made this story sweeter. The spice was minimal and only there at the end. Wish there had been more since there was so much tension leading up to it but I know with novellas you usually have to sacrifice character development or spice, and in this case I’m glad it was the spice. I’d definitely recommend reading or listening to this if you’re looking for a short holiday romance.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Christmas novella
✨ best friend’s brother
✨ doctor x tech guy
✨ he fell first and hard
✨ “it’s always been you”
✨ forced proximity
✨ yearning/pining
✨ slight reverse age gap (2 years)
✨ 2/5 spice (1 open door scene)
✨ HEA
✨ single pov
My Thoughts:
Listened to the audiobook. The narrator was fantastic.
The story is cute with lots of yearning and a dash of spice. The fact they’ve known each other their whole lives only made this story sweeter. The spice was minimal and only there at the end. Wish there had been more since there was so much tension leading up to it but I know with novellas you usually have to sacrifice character development or spice, and in this case I’m glad it was the spice. I’d definitely recommend reading or listening to this if you’re looking for a short holiday romance.
5 ⭐️ This book makes my heart happy ❤️
"I'm in love with you, in an extremely non-platonic, never-leave-me way."
"I won't," he murmurs. "For as long as you'll have me."
Forever.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Holiday romantic comedy
✨ Best friends to lovers
✨ Quirky, stressed-out lawyer FMC
✨ Sweet, family-centered photographer MMC
✨ Grinch x Christmas lover
✨ 'It's always been you'
✨ 'Trying to get home for Christmas' plot
✨ Flashbacks over the past 10 year
Summary:
Molly and Andrew have been catching the same flight home back to Ireland for the last ten years. It's a tradition they look forward. But this year, due to a bad winter storm, their original flight is canceled. Even though Molly doesn't particularly care for Christmas, she knows how important it is to Andrew to spend it at home with his family. So she makes it her mission to get Andrew home, no matter how many flights, trains, ferries, and automobiles they might have to catch. And along the way, something magical happens between these two friends that will change their lives forever.
My Thoughts:
I absolutely ADORE this story!!!! And this is coming from someone who usually dislikes Christmas-themed books and friends-to-lovers.
Molly was the perfect FMC and Andrew was the perfect MMC. I love them alone, but I love them even more together! They know each other so well that they know what the other needs and aren't afraid of being honest.
I also really enjoyed seeing Molly come to terms with her unhappiness with her career and do something about it by the end. It was also so sweet seeing how supportive and encouraging Andrew was the entire time.
The banter was everything! Molly was so sarcastic and Andrew adorably takes it all in good fun, but he can dish it back when he wants. I loved the playfulness of their relationship.
Time jumps (flashbacks) can be tricky, but this was done so well. With these kinds of books, I usually get antsy to move back to the present, but I had a lot of fun seeing Molly and Andrew's relationship develop over the years, and I ended up looking forward to the flashbacks!
I am obsessed with the side characters, specifically Oliver and Zoe. They were a riot and I laughed so many times whenever they were around. And I just have to share this funny line between Zoe and Molly when Zoe goes into labor:
PS: Did anyone else think maybe Zoe and Christian could have a book together?????
The romance was sweet, nurturing, endearing, and fun. I was rooting for Molly and Andrew from the very beginning, and I hope they're living their best fictional lives.
There isn't much spice, but don't let that deter you. The romance is more than enough. Once the line between friends and lovers is crossed, the tension is so strong, and their chemistry sores! My spice rating is 1/5
"I'm in love with you, in an extremely non-platonic, never-leave-me way."
"I won't," he murmurs. "For as long as you'll have me."
Forever.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ Holiday romantic comedy
✨ Best friends to lovers
✨ Quirky, stressed-out lawyer FMC
✨ Sweet, family-centered photographer MMC
✨ Grinch x Christmas lover
✨ 'It's always been you'
✨ 'Trying to get home for Christmas' plot
✨ Flashbacks over the past 10 year
Summary:
Molly and Andrew have been catching the same flight home back to Ireland for the last ten years. It's a tradition they look forward. But this year, due to a bad winter storm, their original flight is canceled. Even though Molly doesn't particularly care for Christmas, she knows how important it is to Andrew to spend it at home with his family. So she makes it her mission to get Andrew home, no matter how many flights, trains, ferries, and automobiles they might have to catch. And along the way, something magical happens between these two friends that will change their lives forever.
My Thoughts:
I absolutely ADORE this story!!!! And this is coming from someone who usually dislikes Christmas-themed books and friends-to-lovers.
Molly was the perfect FMC and Andrew was the perfect MMC. I love them alone, but I love them even more together! They know each other so well that they know what the other needs and aren't afraid of being honest.
I also really enjoyed seeing Molly come to terms with her unhappiness with her career and do something about it by the end. It was also so sweet seeing how supportive and encouraging Andrew was the entire time.
The banter was everything! Molly was so sarcastic and Andrew adorably takes it all in good fun, but he can dish it back when he wants. I loved the playfulness of their relationship.
Time jumps (flashbacks) can be tricky, but this was done so well. With these kinds of books, I usually get antsy to move back to the present, but I had a lot of fun seeing Molly and Andrew's relationship develop over the years, and I ended up looking forward to the flashbacks!
I am obsessed with the side characters, specifically Oliver and Zoe. They were a riot and I laughed so many times whenever they were around. And I just have to share this funny line between Zoe and Molly when Zoe goes into labor:
"I can't have a December Capricorn."
"It turned out okay for Jesus."'
"The man was crucified, Molly!"
PS: Did anyone else think maybe Zoe and Christian could have a book together?????
The romance was sweet, nurturing, endearing, and fun. I was rooting for Molly and Andrew from the very beginning, and I hope they're living their best fictional lives.
There isn't much spice, but don't let that deter you. The romance is more than enough. Once the line between friends and lovers is crossed, the tension is so strong, and their chemistry sores! My spice rating is 1/5
2.5 ⭐️ I was . . . underwhelmed
"A girl who can only love broken things, and a boy so broken he can only love what he cannot have. A perfect match."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ fantasy romance
✨ vicious vampires and meddling gods
✨ quest to the underworld / Dante’s inferno vibes
✨ she's a vampire prisoner once blessed by the sun god
✨ he's the bastard son of the Shadowborn vampire king
✨ captor x captive
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ cold/reserved x sunshine
✨ slow burn
✨ 2/5 spice
✨ action-packed
✨ high stakes
✨ skeleton dog companion
✨ heavy descriptions of world building
✨ found family
✨ secrets
✨ single POV
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: OW drama (an ex consistently shows up), violence, grief, religious indoctrination and manipulation, emotional abuse
‼️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS‼️ but I will announce when they are about to happen.
My Thoughts:
Carissa Broadbent is an auto buy author for me. I love the Crowns of Nyaxia series and I was so excited for this next installment of the series. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed and ultimately disappointed by this novel.
But before I disclose what ultimately led to my disappointment, here's what I enjoyed:
This world continues to fascinate me. Throughout the story, we learn more about the relationships between gods, humans, and vampires and dive deeper into divine politics, ancient power, and the precarious balance between the different realms. I specifically enjoyed learning about Mische's relationship with Atroxus (the sun god) and seeing first hand how the gods manipulate for their own pleasure and gain. Additionally, the journey into the underworld, which is inspired by Dante's Inferno, adds a haunting, horror-esque aspect to this story where the characters are forced to face the deepest, darkest parts of themselves.
I like Mische as a character and thought she was such a strong individual to embrace gentleness and kindness when she has been the subject of much cruelty and felt so much grief. It’s an admirable quality that makes her a standout character.
Asar is a sweetheart and has a quiet strength that complements Mische's own vulnerabilities. I like him, but I also don't really feel strongly about him either. I’m still waiting for that deeper emotional pull to make me care more about his personal stakes in the story.
Luce, Asar's skeleton dog sidekick, was the real MVP. Her unwavering loyalty and love to Asar was heartwarming, and it was so adorable when that loyalty and love started to extend to Mische as well. She's also a fearless protector - stepping in to save the day more than once, by fighting off enemies and offering support in moments of crisis. Her presence brought a sense of comfort and security to both Asar and Mische (and even the reader). I hope we get to see more of her in the next book.
So what didn't I enjoy?
The pacing of this book felt like a tedious pendulum, constantly swinging between intense action scenes and painfully slow moments of rest afterwards. This repetitive back-and-forth quickly became exhausting, making the entire experience feel monotonous. Also, the story supposedly spans several months, but the jumps in time made it feel like it only took a few weeks. The timeline was off and negatively impacted the flow of the narrative.
Mische passing out from exhaustion or deadly wounds was overkill. It’s just boring and predictable how many of the high stakes situations ended the same. Also, ending chapters with Mische passing out and starting the next one with her waking up felt like something a less experienced author would do. So I guess I was disappointed with this writing choice.
While I liked the continued world-building and the setting of the underworld, much of it felt overly abstract and took away from the core plot and drama. There were just so many descriptions but instead of grounding me into the story, it was so tedious to get through that I lost interest and ended up confused as to what was being described to me. And even though each level was supposed to be different, they all felt like variations of the same thing. This only added to the sense that the story wasn’t progressing.
While I like the MCs, I wasn't convinced of their romance. They go from indifference to suddenly having a deep emotional connection, which feels abrupt and unearned. I think there should have been more romantic buildup.
‼️MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD‼️
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Do not keep reading unless you want the story spoiled!
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.
.
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I mean it!!!!
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The OW/ex drama didn't work for me, either. Asar's dead lover being the main villain hunting Asar and Mische through the underworld? Come on.
"A girl who can only love broken things, and a boy so broken he can only love what he cannot have. A perfect match."
WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ fantasy romance
✨ vicious vampires and meddling gods
✨ quest to the underworld / Dante’s inferno vibes
✨ she's a vampire prisoner once blessed by the sun god
✨ he's the bastard son of the Shadowborn vampire king
✨ captor x captive
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ cold/reserved x sunshine
✨ slow burn
✨ 2/5 spice
✨ action-packed
✨ high stakes
✨ skeleton dog companion
✨ heavy descriptions of world building
✨ found family
✨ secrets
✨ single POV
✨ cliffhanger
✨ TW: OW drama (an ex consistently shows up), violence, grief, religious indoctrination and manipulation, emotional abuse
‼️THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS‼️ but I will announce when they are about to happen.
My Thoughts:
Carissa Broadbent is an auto buy author for me. I love the Crowns of Nyaxia series and I was so excited for this next installment of the series. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed and ultimately disappointed by this novel.
But before I disclose what ultimately led to my disappointment, here's what I enjoyed:
This world continues to fascinate me. Throughout the story, we learn more about the relationships between gods, humans, and vampires and dive deeper into divine politics, ancient power, and the precarious balance between the different realms. I specifically enjoyed learning about Mische's relationship with Atroxus (the sun god) and seeing first hand how the gods manipulate for their own pleasure and gain. Additionally, the journey into the underworld, which is inspired by Dante's Inferno, adds a haunting, horror-esque aspect to this story where the characters are forced to face the deepest, darkest parts of themselves.
I like Mische as a character and thought she was such a strong individual to embrace gentleness and kindness when she has been the subject of much cruelty and felt so much grief. It’s an admirable quality that makes her a standout character.
Asar is a sweetheart and has a quiet strength that complements Mische's own vulnerabilities. I like him, but I also don't really feel strongly about him either. I’m still waiting for that deeper emotional pull to make me care more about his personal stakes in the story.
Luce, Asar's skeleton dog sidekick, was the real MVP. Her unwavering loyalty and love to Asar was heartwarming, and it was so adorable when that loyalty and love started to extend to Mische as well. She's also a fearless protector - stepping in to save the day more than once, by fighting off enemies and offering support in moments of crisis. Her presence brought a sense of comfort and security to both Asar and Mische (and even the reader). I hope we get to see more of her in the next book.
So what didn't I enjoy?
The pacing of this book felt like a tedious pendulum, constantly swinging between intense action scenes and painfully slow moments of rest afterwards. This repetitive back-and-forth quickly became exhausting, making the entire experience feel monotonous. Also, the story supposedly spans several months, but the jumps in time made it feel like it only took a few weeks. The timeline was off and negatively impacted the flow of the narrative.
Mische passing out from exhaustion or deadly wounds was overkill. It’s just boring and predictable how many of the high stakes situations ended the same. Also, ending chapters with Mische passing out and starting the next one with her waking up felt like something a less experienced author would do. So I guess I was disappointed with this writing choice.
While I liked the continued world-building and the setting of the underworld, much of it felt overly abstract and took away from the core plot and drama. There were just so many descriptions but instead of grounding me into the story, it was so tedious to get through that I lost interest and ended up confused as to what was being described to me. And even though each level was supposed to be different, they all felt like variations of the same thing. This only added to the sense that the story wasn’t progressing.
While I like the MCs, I wasn't convinced of their romance. They go from indifference to suddenly having a deep emotional connection, which feels abrupt and unearned. I think there should have been more romantic buildup.
‼️MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD‼️
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Do not keep reading unless you want the story spoiled!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
I mean it!!!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The OW/ex drama didn't work for me, either. Asar's dead lover being the main villain hunting Asar and Mische through the underworld? Come on.
For non-book records, review text and ratings are hidden. Only mood, pace, and content warnings are visible.
4 ⭐️ Didn’t know that wanting to f*ck Daddy Death would be on my bingo card this year but here we are