aislinghelen's Reviews (1.01k)

dark mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes

This was so close to 5 stars but the villain
an evil group who dress like owls?
was too YA/middle grade compared to the rest of the book. 
adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

I love this. The first one is still my favourite but this is a close second. It took me a little longer to get into and it’s sometimes a little hard to remember what the Russian words mean but I love that they are there.

I enjoyed it a lot, loved Lucas and Rachel but there was a lot I didn’t like. First of all, and this is not a spoiler it is mentioned in the first few pages, her college roommate/best friend is married to her dad. I hate that but she is for some reason completely fine with it? Rachel was living with them after her life went to crap in NYC and she had to move home, then she gets her high school job as a tour guide back and it comes with accommodation. 

That wasn’t enough to ruin the story for me because the relationship was very cute. It was a little fast, the whole book occurs over a few days. It’s a closed door romance. I also found the ending a little cringey. I think there needed to be a lot more to the story towards the end, it felt like it got cut off and left a lot unresolved. 

Overall, I finished it in about 2 hours and did enjoy it. While there was parts I didn’t like it was still cute. If you want a quick read this is it.
emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

I really enjoyed it. I was still predictable but the overall story was a lot more enjoyable. I do wish the love triangle hadn’t been included, it wasn’t even worth it.
emotional medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated

I’m honestly not sure why the book was this long because it feels like nothing happened. I was kind of rooting against their relationship for the first half and only by the end was I kind of ok with it. I have to be honest it didn’t have the angst, sadness or grovelling I was expecting. It was kind of sad but I wasn’t really feeling it. Then the whole his brother storyline kind of came out of nowhere and still felt incredibly unresolved by the end. All his attempts at groveling kind of just felt entitled to be honest. And while he should have realised there was an issue without her telling him, she should have told him a lot sooner. Maybe I wasn’t in the mood for this, because I love a marriage in crisis book but not this one. 

I think I liked it but I’m not entirely sure. I read it fast and I was hooked, but I think that was more because I love this series and Ana’s writing. The timeline did confuse me a little at points, I know a lot of time had passed but it felt like a couple weeks or so. This all sounds really negative but it was probably 2.5/3 stars, I didn’t hate it.
emotional funny mysterious 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: Complicated

I really love this series and this was no exception. It was such a fun book and that ending was not one I saw coming. I love Rafe and Isobel, they were so great. Charming Cove is officially a town I wish was real so I could move there. Everyone living there is so great and it really just shows why I love small town romances so much.
dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I finished the Edens series a few months ago and decided I needed to try this one next and I’m so glad I did. This is kind of Hideaway Heart by Melanie Harlow and Indigo Ridge combined and I loved it. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated

This one took me slightly longer to get into than the first one but by the end I think I actually preferred it. It felt real but in a romance book way, where the characters are realistic and flawed but the relationship is kind of unrealistic in how it starts. Fake marriage is one of my favourite tropes and this one was done right. There was a 3/4 trope that I don’t enjoy but it was needed for the story to make sense.
emotional lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes

This one felt a lot longer than the others despite being a similar length. That’s not really a bad thing. It’s because it had so many different layers, there was family drama/dynamics, their relationship and the history of the situation. I loved a lot of it, even the parts I wasn’t originally keen on when they popped up.
funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

who’s the real bully?

I kind of liked it but I didn’t like her. The whole book is about how much of an asshole Cal is to her and everyone else but she is actively being awful to him. Even by the end I don’t really like her. He basically grovelled for most of the book for his high school actions while she doesn’t do anything to apologise for her current day actions. He is not the bully, she is.

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