blewballoon's Reviews (763)

This felt a little too immature for me, it is YA so maybe an actual teen would enjoy it more. I probably could have pushed through if I had liked the characters, but the three POVs were all unpleasant and/or tedious in different ways. I have many books I want to read, so it didn't feel worth spending more time on this one. 

A great follow up to How to Bite Your Neighbor & Win a Wager. This time I knew to expect a deeper story than the title might suggest, and I was surprised at how much it continues the overarching plot from the first book. Like many romance series, the books can technically work as a standalone and the main characters from the previous book will make a cameo at best, but I think the context and running threat/mystery of the pharmaceutical company ties these together a bit more closely than usual. 

I adored Justin, and I found myself relating to Clementine to a level that caught me off guard. I don't think I've read such an overt depiction of

demisexuality

before, and the combination with an

autistic/OCD sort of neurodivergence

made his painful yet relatable experiences doubly impactful for me. 

This book is a little more explicit in the spicy scenes than the previous book, and the ending feels like a bit more of a cliffhanger as well. I'll probably pick up the 3rd book much sooner than I did the 2nd, but me following up with a series at all is a pretty high compliment considering how easily I will bail after a first book, even when I liked it.

I really liked the romance here; this is how you write chemistry. Sawyer and Mason were great together and you could feel the pull between them in every interaction. I loved their dialogue and casual intimacies. They also didn't feel too similar, their POV chapters had a different tone to their internal monologues and approach to the world. Mason was a sweetheart trying to stay on the bright side and Sawyer was highly observant and overthinking, but clearly had such a good heart. They felt like real people who would compliment each other.

The audiobook narrators both did a great job. I'd recommend the audio and I'd also recommend this as a Christmas read, since there are a lot of winter holiday events. 

I remember enjoying Feed by M.T. Anderson when I was a teenager, and a bookseller recommend this one. The premise sounded really interesting and I was in the mood for something a bit different after reading a lot of contemporary romances, but unfortunately this writing style isn't working for me. It's dense in a way that seems to be emulating older classics, and it's also trying to be funny, and the combination of the forced humor and style makes it just feel nonsensical. I won't be able to connect with any of these people or this plot. 

Hell yeah. Feels so good to read a book I'm genuinely excited about and don't want to put down. 

This is a fantastic follow up to Nightmare before Kissmas with a similar blend of silly goofy stuff and serious emotional and political drama. It was clear from the last book that there was a lot going on under the surface for Kris and it was very rewarding to peel all the covers back and then watch him untangle the knots of himself. 

The romance was spicy and intense, and I love how they were both artists and their different mediums (painting and writing) factored into the pivotal scenes of their growth. 

It was a real treat to see how far Coal has come as well since the last book. The relationship between the brothers is absolutely lovely. 

I didn't enjoy this as much as Ready or Not, even though this book had the advantage of not having to work with tropes that I don't normally like. I think the audiobook narrator, which is the same as Ready or Not, once again did a great job capturing a lot of emotion in the reading. I will happily pick up more of Cara Bastone's books, but this wasn't my favorite. 

I feel kind of terrible saying this, but I just had a hard time reading the grief of the main character. Not because it made me sad, but because I found it annoying😬. I think it's partly how the grief was juxtaposed with her level of quirkiness that was way too high. She had many moments where she said things that were, frankly, batshit crazy. Miles was fine, I liked him. But, this book is really just about someone grieving the most important person in their life while an extremely patient and considerate man carries her through and she falls in love with him for it.

I wasn't sure about this one at the start, the opening made me think I was going to find the characters too annoying, but they grew on me and I ended up enjoying this quite a bit more than I expected. A solid sapphic romance. 

This is just as good as Dungeons and Drama, although if I was forced to pick a favorite it would be that one. This has the same charm and captures all the best things about YA romances, the way everything feels heightened and overwhelming when you're a teenager. 

Speaking of charm, Kristy Boyce I think writes the most charismatic love interests. Why are these teenage boys so smooth? My goodness.

I kept putting off reading this because I loved the first book but kind of hated how it ended. The setup from that book meant this book was going to start off on an angsty note.

In general I'm just not a fan of romances that involve memory wipes for drama, and I didn't want to read a whole book of Iris and Roman being separated and Roman not even knowing who Iris is. I was glad that he figures things out and they get to interact a lot sooner than I expected.

Ultimately, I think this is a strong duology. The main plot of the war of gods and how humans are pawns in their battles mirrors the sensation of powerlessness and chaos from the actual World Wars. The romance is compelling and the epistolary aspect of the letters going back and forth enhances it. The comradery and bravery of the characters helping Iris and Roman are heartwarming, and contrasted well with the more selfish and ruthless behavior of the antagonists. 

Sometimes I read a book that's not the best written, but the story and characters make it fun. Sometimes I read a book that I can tell was written well, but I just don't like what it's about. This series has been one of those special cases where the writing feels expertly crafted and the story and characters are worthy of all the intricately woven prose.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

This is my 3rd Timothy Janovsky book and it's my favorite so far! Once Upon You and Me is a beautifully sweet story. I adored Ethan and Taylor and I found their chemistry totally believable. I usually have a hard time with age gap romances, but this one felt respectful and balanced. I also thought the spicy scenes were well done.

The tone of the book is mostly light and silly, but there is depth with the exploration of Taylor's hyper-vigilant people-pleasing due to being responsible for his younger siblings growing up, and Ethan's grief and loneliness over the distance between himself and his daughter along with how his late ADHD diagnosis affected him. Both characters' lives are highly impacted by Amy, Ethan's ex-wife, and what could have been a shallow, villainous character was also given a more rounded treatment. 

I also really enjoyed the New England woodland resort setting, as well as the contrast with the scenes we got in the sort of LA West Coast area. So many of the side characters felt like they could have been cameos of characters with their own books; the world felt real.

Highly recommend to readers looking for a heartfelt mlm romance who appreciate some nice gooey cheese.