vinreads's reviews
70 reviews

Anywhere You Go by Bridget Morrissey

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Thank you Ace Pub Books and Berkeley Romance for the free book!! 

I think this is the first book in a while that wasn't a YA book that I truly had no issues with and loved every part of. I love slice of life and I love romance, and this was a perfect balance between the two. It was messy, but it felt real, and I loved the way that everything came full circle. Everyone got their ending, and it didn't feel like any character who was important to the story was slighted in any sort of way. Every character was incredibly loveable, and I loved the queer rep, especially Carson. I'm a sucker for a trans masc non-binary person. I don't see it a lot in books, much less books I love so much. The ending was so bittersweet and I loved that Eleanor got her family in the end, and that Carson finally felt seen and listened to rather than just pushed off as the trouble kid like he was used to. I actually have another book by this author on my TBR backlog, and I'm super excited to get to it now. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol

Check, Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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

5.0

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is a reread for me but one ill always love. I haven't read it since I picked it up in 2021, not long after it published. I'd heard it was an amazing book and I'd had trouble finding it on shelves, and for good reason too. I've since read other books by Àbíké-Íyímídé and she's amazing at writing dark academia books. I'd gladly eat up any book of hers in that genre. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

I don't care how well a book is written, or if it's a modern classic, I'm not reading a book that features an incestual relationship. 

Capitally Unexpected by Rachel Holm

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I liked the first two books in the series better than this one. I think because of how excited I was for this one, the more let down I was when I read it and the accidental pregnancy trope wasn't as good as I hoped. It takes a lot for me to like this trope, and this one just didn't do it for me. I couldn't really understand why Hunter and Michelle would've been good for each other, sadly. I'm always grateful for an ARC though, so thanks to the author! 

Technically Yours by Denise Williams
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

Just felt very lackluster with people thrown in all over the place with little to no explanation. Sad because this was the first book of hers that caught my eye. I ended up reading novellas of hers first before I realized I could get my hands on this one, and now I'm just sitting here disappointed because I want to finish but can't bring myself to slog through it. It's just so boring and slow. 

Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta

funny lighthearted relaxing 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

3.5

I didn't hate it! It was a nice fluffy filler and definitely a little cheesy. I got through it in a few hours which was a nice palate cleanser between bigger books. I would probably read another, especially because I want to get to book #5 in the series. I've also already had another of her books on my tbr for a while so I'm glad she ended up being likeable enough for me! 

Game Changer by Rachel Reid
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

The first sex scene was in chapter 5, there were 13 sex scenes total, and I don't care that it's the characters saying it; I will never be okay with anyone who isn't a lesbian or gay writing the F slur in any capacity-- even from one character to another in a bullying instance, or even self description. If you're not of an identity that has had that word used against their group of people, it should not be coming out of your mouth, or being put down into your word doc/paper etc. I'm also just... generally not fond of seeing that word in a book at all, and it feels weird to me that a cis woman is using it to describe a gay man in any capacity, self described, by another character, anything. It makes my skin crawl. I've heard this author is beloved but I just can't get past those things. Maybe I'll try again with this in the future. 

Hidden Roots by Clio Evans

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Clio Evans is the queen of BDSM (Ali Hazelwood, take notes). I always look forward to every book of hers, and this one didn't miss. This series is everything to me, and I love the dark grittiness of it all. Stolen Chances will forever be my favorite, but I do adore Hunter and Emma (sorry Cam and Haley you're my least fave..). I did very much enjoy the plot twist at the end that I should've seen coming but didn't. It was definitely on par with the other books in the series, but I enjoyed that it wasn't so cliche that I could see it from a mile away. I adored that Hunter was such a loving guy who wanted to fix and help everything but was constantly put down by his father (hated his father for that tbh). You could just tell that he was sweet and sensitive, which didn't really make sense with his whole possessive side, but I digress. The only thing I didn't enjoy, however,  was the fact that Hunter chased all of Emma's dates away because he wanted her yet made it seem like he hated her so she just sat there thinking no one wanted her ever. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Dancing the Dream by Michael Jackson

emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0