Scan barcode
wolfiereads's reviews
47 reviews
It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey
5.0
I'm a huge Tessa Bailey fan but try to read every new release as if it's from an author I've never heard of. Her work has noticeably improved with every new book, and this is no exception! Bailey has a unique gift of humanizing polarizing personalities - in this case, a 28 year old spoiled socialite whose world doesn't exist outside social media, or Los Angeles for that matter. If Piper was portrayed slightly different and we weren't given her internal conflict at realizing she's been coasting by and has no redeemable talents, I would've stopped reading after the first chapter. Even though I was rolling my eyes at her in the beginning, I found myself empathizing with her as the story progressed and in the end, I was happy with the person she grew into.
I love the grumpy, protective hero, and the chemistry between the two leads is a great slow burn that feels natural. It's a loose but refreshing take on both the riches-to-rags and enemies-to-lovers troupe and is perfect escapism read for this crazy time. I'm definitely buying a copy when it's officially released!
Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Avon Books and Harper Voyager for providing me an ARC to review!
I love the grumpy, protective hero, and the chemistry between the two leads is a great slow burn that feels natural. It's a loose but refreshing take on both the riches-to-rags and enemies-to-lovers troupe and is perfect escapism read for this crazy time. I'm definitely buying a copy when it's officially released!
Thank you SO much to NetGalley and Avon Books and Harper Voyager for providing me an ARC to review!
The Layover by Lacie Waldon
5.0
There's so much I want to say about this, but I think I can sum it up in one sentence: I've found my new favorite book!
I love stories about traveling, airports/planes specifically, so naturally I gravitated towards this. I read a lot of romance and every so often, a gem will pop up and leave me stunned. I was blown away by this book. It ticks all the boxes for me - fresh, smooth writing with perfect pacing and chapter breaks, well-rounded/fully fleshed out characters, believable emotional conflict, and an original, intriguing story that feels character-driven and not plot-driven. Also, it's hilarious. Rom-coms tend to reach too far for their humor and it makes me cringe, but this has a great subtle humor weaved in that had me cracking up.
If you're keen on a lot of steam or physical interaction between the two leads in your romance books, you might be disappointed over the lack of them here, but this story fares so well without it. I was so invested in Ava's story that I was far more interested in her character development than any naughty time between her and Jack. The author did such an excellent job at crafting characters that feel like real people with flaws and that's what kept me reading - this book felt so genuine and not far-fetched, it felt like one of those "you're not gonna believe what happened to me last weekend" kind of stories from your friends. I love a healthy dose of realism in my books and if you do too, you're gonna love this one.
Very rarely do I read epilogues because, strangely, most end up ruining the story for me, but curiosity got the better of me and it ended up being the icing on the cake. Without spoiling it too much, two supporting characters get their happy ending in the sweetest way, and it's the perfect end to an amazing book.
If you're a fan of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne or Beach Read by Emily Henry, you're gonna wanna check this out. It feels like newer titles get those comparisons and don't live up to those high standards in my opinion, but this deserves it. This book feels like it's gonna be a big hit when it's released. Seriously, all the props to Lacie Waldon - you've written an incredible book! I'm already itching to re-read it and am gonna pre-order a copy now!
Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review!
I love stories about traveling, airports/planes specifically, so naturally I gravitated towards this. I read a lot of romance and every so often, a gem will pop up and leave me stunned. I was blown away by this book. It ticks all the boxes for me - fresh, smooth writing with perfect pacing and chapter breaks, well-rounded/fully fleshed out characters, believable emotional conflict, and an original, intriguing story that feels character-driven and not plot-driven. Also, it's hilarious. Rom-coms tend to reach too far for their humor and it makes me cringe, but this has a great subtle humor weaved in that had me cracking up.
If you're keen on a lot of steam or physical interaction between the two leads in your romance books, you might be disappointed over the lack of them here, but this story fares so well without it. I was so invested in Ava's story that I was far more interested in her character development than any naughty time between her and Jack. The author did such an excellent job at crafting characters that feel like real people with flaws and that's what kept me reading - this book felt so genuine and not far-fetched, it felt like one of those "you're not gonna believe what happened to me last weekend" kind of stories from your friends. I love a healthy dose of realism in my books and if you do too, you're gonna love this one.
Very rarely do I read epilogues because, strangely, most end up ruining the story for me, but curiosity got the better of me and it ended up being the icing on the cake. Without spoiling it too much, two supporting characters get their happy ending in the sweetest way, and it's the perfect end to an amazing book.
If you're a fan of The Hating Game by Sally Thorne or Beach Read by Emily Henry, you're gonna wanna check this out. It feels like newer titles get those comparisons and don't live up to those high standards in my opinion, but this deserves it. This book feels like it's gonna be a big hit when it's released. Seriously, all the props to Lacie Waldon - you've written an incredible book! I'm already itching to re-read it and am gonna pre-order a copy now!
Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review!
The Turnout by Megan Abbott
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review.
I'm torn on this one. I have a love/hate relationship with Abbott's writing style - it's a unique prose that's intentionally unsettling and haunting but borders on annoyingly pretentious sometimes. I love the lucid attention to detail - it reads like horror at times - but the clipped writing style doesn't flow well for me and feels distracting. Having picked up two of her previous works before, it's frustrating to get past and I've only barely managed to finish one of her books. With that being said, I had to stop reading a couple chapters in.
The plot is intriguing, the characters are vivid and raw, and the creepy tone both terrifies me and draws me in. But there's something about this book that I can't get myself to move past. I feel like it might be the underlying dread that builds after each paragraph, or maybe it's the contractor's wolf-like, looming presence that's making me incredibly uncomfortable. All I know is, this was a tough one to push myself through.
I may revisit this after some time has passed and try it again.
I'm torn on this one. I have a love/hate relationship with Abbott's writing style - it's a unique prose that's intentionally unsettling and haunting but borders on annoyingly pretentious sometimes. I love the lucid attention to detail - it reads like horror at times - but the clipped writing style doesn't flow well for me and feels distracting. Having picked up two of her previous works before, it's frustrating to get past and I've only barely managed to finish one of her books. With that being said, I had to stop reading a couple chapters in.
The plot is intriguing, the characters are vivid and raw, and the creepy tone both terrifies me and draws me in. But there's something about this book that I can't get myself to move past. I feel like it might be the underlying dread that builds after each paragraph, or maybe it's the contractor's wolf-like, looming presence that's making me incredibly uncomfortable. All I know is, this was a tough one to push myself through.
I may revisit this after some time has passed and try it again.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
3.0
I love a good Faustian re-telling so naturally this piqued my interest, but it just didn't do it for me. It's an intriguing premise and I loved it in the beginning, but the pacing is ridiculously slow and couldn't hold my interest. There's a lot of unnecessary scenes that seem to serve the same purpose. The constant hop between the past and present timelines was incredibly frustrating to read and the characters are flat and hard to root for. There's a lot of quotable, heartfelt lines in here but unfortunately, they're lost in a bloated plot.
Yes & I Love You by Roni Loren
3.0
A light, funny read and an honest depiction of what it's like to live with social anxiety and Tourette's. I empathize with Hollyn and appreciate how her character was written with brutal honesty. I love the premise and lighthearted tone, but it was a bit of a drag to read as the story progressed. There's quite a few subplots that aren't unnecessary and distracting and as a whole, the story isn't too engaging and feels far-fetched at times. The author has a fantastic voice and humorous writing style, but this misses the mark for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC to review!
The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer by Jennifer Jordan, Liza Rodman
4.0
Absorbing, compelling writing that blurs the line between non-fiction and fiction. The dual narratives were distracting at times and it felt like the author's story overshadowed Costa's quite a bit. Still a fascinating read!
My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
5.0
Haunting and powerful. Vivid storytelling that hurt to read at times and I'm glad Vanessa was freed at the end. Looking forward to more titles from this author.
Much Ado About You by Samantha Young
1.0
Not sure why I keep trying with Samantha Young's books. I read every new release hoping her writing has improved but nope, disappointed every time. The concept of this book is cute and promising, but the execution... is a total mess. It reads like a first draft from a debut author, not like a polished final draft from an experienced writer.
The writing is awkward and clunky, the dialogue is cringe worthy, the conflict is thinly written and so unbelievable, the heroine is on my current top five people I want to backhand some sense into. Also, the f'ing twist at the end/the reason the heroine breaks off the engagement to an A+ hero - are you f'ing kidding me?! Where the hell did that come from and how is it an issue?! I normally don't write this negative of a review, but y'all, this is so bad I'm stunned.
Here's to hoping Young takes a few months or years off to re-group, work on her writing, maybe surround herself with new editors/agents/etc. that'll be brutally honest with her.
The writing is awkward and clunky, the dialogue is cringe worthy, the conflict is thinly written and so unbelievable, the heroine is on my current top five people I want to backhand some sense into. Also, the f'ing twist at the end/the reason the heroine breaks off the engagement to an A+ hero - are you f'ing kidding me?! Where the hell did that come from and how is it an issue?! I normally don't write this negative of a review, but y'all, this is so bad I'm stunned.
Here's to hoping Young takes a few months or years off to re-group, work on her writing, maybe surround herself with new editors/agents/etc. that'll be brutally honest with her.