bookclubbitches's Reviews (2.32k)

Both of these characters are super cringy, and I just don't have the patience to read a whole book about them. I don't care about them at all. Plus the podcast on audiobook is terrible, especially at higher speeds

A love letter to the gaming community

I LOVED this story. I thought that there was the perfect amount of drama, lies, and flirting!!!
The characters are so well crafted and fully thought out. They each have a very established personality and backstory that really brought an authenticity to the story. 

The game store setting was beyond perfect, although most of the dudes hanging out at my local game store are not as adorable or charming lol 

I really enjoyed how the story unfolded, how Riley grew as a person, friend, and daughter, and how wonderfully the end worked out!

The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. 

WOW what a journey 

I didn't like this book and then I really liked it then I cringed but then I was totally hooked. 

I need to read book 2 immediately 

This book had some awesome potential. 

I love Saw-like settings, and trying to figure out how everyone fits together. But as more of the story was revealed, it felt more like the author was making it up as they went along, and especially Eva's backstory seemed to be very random and out of left field.  The story made sense but also wasn't very believable. 

The dual POV was thrilling, and I was racing against the clock with Rachel. I thought that was very well done. The ending, even with 17 minutes left on audio, had a few more twists!! 

I would read more from this author! I think they have a great style! 

A lovely little story about Trans joy! 

I really enjoyed Will and his shyness. I thought Ben was also VERY charming. I thought it was such a fun story and the halloween setting at the end was a lot of fun. 

Ohhhhhhhh Meredith.

I really enjoyed getting to know her and the dual timeline of past and present. I thought she was very well rounded for hiding away in her house for so long and her story was very interesting.

The characters felt very complete, I thought every character was quite tangible and believable. 

I was so happy she made a new friend, left her house, reconnected with her sister, that her mom died (lol bye bitch) and that she finally made a police report about what happened all those years ago. 

I was truly not expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did! 

WOW this book was difficult to read. 

The FMC, Penina was okay, however the rest of the characters, plots, and settings of this book were truly terrible. I had such a hard time with just how self sacrificing Penina was. I cannot imagine doing what she did for her family. I also wasn't a huge fan of just how self deprecating she was when she was apparently gorgeous, curvy, witty, and selfless. I did not understand why she was single either, tbh. 

The matches from the matchmaker were so comically bad that it just brought such a level of unbelievability to the plot. It made it more of a farce than a funny book.

The icing on the terrible cake was SAM. WOW. I hated Sam every second of this book. He was an absolute tool to Penina the entire time, and to everyone around them. The whole broody, 'i like you so much I am gonna be extra rude to you' schtick is VERY elementary and it did not bode well for a believable romance. 

Lastly, these two just had no chemistry. Nothing in common except their mutual appreciation for each other's looks. That isn't a strong foundation for a relationship in normal circumstances, but the fact that she was a practicing Orthodox Jewish woman added another layer onto their totally implausible relationship. 

2 stars, mainly for Penina and what a wonderful woman she was. But other than that........ *fart noise*

WOWOWOWOWIE.

So I was IMMEDIATELY skeptical of this book, when it mentioned Harry Potter in the first few minutes. However, I gave it a chance because the last book by Diana Urban that I read was so so so gripping.  When it was the movie score she was listening to, and that she was an aspiring music major/movie score composer, I found it very fitting and decided to let it slide. 

This book was bananas. Like a teenage version of Saw. Everyone had secrets. Everyone had motive. And at some point, everyone looked guilty. Around the halfway mark I was fairly certain I knew who was behind it all, and I ended up being right. That didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. I could tell who the culprit was, but not how the pieces were going to fit together. The ending was VERY satisfying and I cannot wait to read more from Diana Urban!

Random bits and bobs:
*The love triangle was everything I didn't know I needed in a locked door mystery.
*The timeline jumps that slowly revealed secrets were done really well.
*The timing of each reveal was PERFECT
*The characters all had established, unique personalities and ambitions
*This book made me SO GLAD I am no longer a teenager
*This book made me think of movie scores I resonate with

Terrible male narrator and the FMC is talking about Harry Potter. NO THANKS. 

I went back and forth on how many stars to give this book. At times, I found Olivia incredibly annoying, but other times, honoring family and cultural traditions had me tearing up. 

Overall I am giving this book 4 stars. I thought the romance was sweet, the plot was unique and I enjoyed the banter between Olivia and Bennett. I could see they were meant to be from a mile away, but watching that unfold was a great time.

The end was SO sweet and I almost cried. I really did enjoy this book. The antics were just a bit childish at times.