Reviews by bookrecsbyjess | The StoryGraph

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bookrecsbyjess

The Trouble with Anna

Rachel Griffiths

5.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to the author for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

What it's about:

Lady Anna wants to spend her time riding horses. When her grandfather's will states that she must marry the earl of Ramsay in order to inherit his estate and horses, she tries to find anyway around it.

What I thought:

I loved this book from the very beginning. It was so entertaining, and I loved the characters. I don't think I've ever read a book with so many angry kisses, and I loved it. The book made me laugh out loud, and it was just an overall great time.

⚠️ swearing, death of a grandparent, death of a parent (past), fatal carriage accident (past), infidelity (past), alcohol, alcoholism (past)

🌶️ multiple open door scenes & lustful thoughts throughout

Content Warnings

Silver Elite

Dani Francis

5.0

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

What it's about:

Wren has spent her whole life trying to hide her psychic abilities because they're forbidden. After making a careless mistake, she is forced to train in an elite program run by her enemy. She can't trust anyone, but her heart has other ideas.

What I thought:

I loved this whole book. It reminded me a bit of Divergent and Fourth Wing, so it makes sense why I couldn't put it down.

The plot kept me guessing, and I loved the main characters. The romance was good too.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: loved this narrator so much. It was so easy to listen to, and the different characters’ voices were good.

⚠️ violence, gore, swearing, death, & rape

🌶️ multiple open door scenes

The Assassin's Blade

Sarah J. Maas

5.0

adventurous dark emotional

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

What it's about:

This book takes place before Throne of Glass. It is multiple novellas in one book. Each story follows Celaena as she goes through different trials and events as an assassin. She overcomes a lot but also experiences hardship.

What I thought:

I liked these stories a lot. Novellas can be hit or miss for me, but these stories were all so good. I loved getting to know Celaena and her backstory. I felt so bad for her and all the things she had to go through.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: loved this narrator and how well she distinguished the different characters’ voices.

⚠️ death, slavery, gore, & violence

🌶️ just kisses

Content Warnings

Crown of Midnight

Sarah J. Maas

5.0

dark emotional medium-paced

What it’s about:

In this sequel to Throne of Glass, the story follows the same characters from the previous story as they pick up right where they left off at the end of book one. Relationships are tested, and new secrets are revealed.

What I thought:

I really enjoyed this book, and it made me excited to continue on with the series. There were definitely some things that surprised me. I liked the romance aspects in this one, and I’m excited to learn more about what is actually going on.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I really liked this narrator and thought she did the different voices well.

⚠️ lots of gore, injuries, blood, death, & violence

🌶️ fade to black

Content Warnings

The Knight and the Moth

Rachel Gillig

3.0

dark medium-paced

Thank you to Libro.fm for the gifted ALC. All opinions are my own.

What it’s about:

Sybil has been a Diviner for almost a decade when the new king and his knights visit to learn the king’s future. When the other Diviners start to go missing, Sybil must trust an irritating knight to help her discover where they went.

What I thought:

This world was interesting, and I was immersed in the story right away. I did wish that there would have been more exploration with the characters because I don’t feel like they stood out to me. I did love the gargoyles though.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I enjoyed this narrator a lot and thought she did a good job with this character.

⚠️ frequent swearing, violence, death, dr*g use, and emotional ab*se

🌶️ 2 open door scenes

Content Warnings

As You Ice It

Emma St. Clair

5.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC of As You Ice It by Emma St. Clair. All opinions are my own.

As You Ice It is the seventh and final book in the Appies Hockey series, and I am so sad that it’s over. While each book follows a different couple, there are minor spoilers in each book if you don’t read them in order.

This story follows Naomi and her son Liam as they make a big move to a new town where Camden, Naomi’s ex, lives and plays hockey.

This book was such a sweet story about second chances and overcoming past fears and trauma. I loved seeing the character growth of healing and becoming vulnerable. Each of the main characters in this story grew including Liam, and I loved the friendships that were built as well.

The romance was so sweet in this story, and I liked seeing Naomi and Camden give each other a second chance and work on communicating. They also had a lot of great kisses!

Another aspect I enjoyed was Camden’s teammates. Their group texts were hilarious, and I liked how much they supported Camden and wanted him to be happy. Besides their friendship to Camden, they welcomed Liam and Naomi into their group so quickly and made so many special memories for Liam. The team’s girlfriends and wives were also so welcoming to Naomi, which was amazing to see since she didn’t know anyone besides Camden in this new town.

Overall, this was such a sweet romance with a lot of tender moments and great friendships. I would recommend it and the rest of the series!

Content Warnings

Look Before You Leap

Virginia Heath

4.0

funny medium-paced

Thank you to Uplit Reads and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Look Before You Leap by Virginia Heath. All opinions are my own.

Look Before You Leap is book two in a series following a group of friends that met during their time at Miss Prentice’s boarding school where they were taught to be upstanding young ladies in order to get good jobs in the future. While this book can easily be read as a standalone, book one in the series is good too. It follows a different girl from this friend group.

One thing that stood out in this book and the other book in this series is the humor. There were lots of scenes that made me laugh out loud, and the main characters had such great banter from the very beginning.

Lottie, the main character in this story, was so intelligent and adventurous, and I loved that she didn’t follow the standards of society. Because she grew up on a farm with four brothers, a lot of her habits and interests did not appear ladylike to some of the other characters in this story.

Guy, the love interest, was an interesting character. He slowly realized that he never dealt well with the grief of losing his father. He also had a hard time getting over his embarrassment of a failed proposal in front of other high society members.

The chemistry between Guy and Lottie was great. I enjoyed how many scenes they had where they shared their love of horses and how they both were against society standards.

My biggest issue with this book was Guy’s aunt and mother. While they could be entertaining at times, I had a hard time getting past the gaslighting. The whole book both of them repeatedly did things that they knew Guy would hate, yet they made themselves out to be the victim when Guy was the victim time and time again. I hated how there wasn’t any consequences for how they treated him.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and thought it was very entertaining. There is a couple open door scenes and lustful language throughout if you’re wondering.

Content Warnings

Throne of Glass

Sarah J. Maas

5.0

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

What it’s about:

Assassin Celaena Sardothien is chosen by Prince Dorian Havilliard to compete in deadly trials to choose the king’s champion. When competitors start to show up dead in horrific ways, Celaena tries to figure out what’s going on.

What I thought:

I really liked this book. The characters were interesting, and I liked the mystery with the other competitors. I also enjoyed the romance aspects of the story. I thought this was an overall great start to a series.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: this narrator did such a great job distinguishing the different voices, so I really liked this format.

⚠️ lots of violence and death

🌶️ just kisses

Content Warnings

Shield of Sparrows

Devney Perry

5.0

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to Red Tower for the gifted ARC. All opinions are my own.

What it’s about:

Odessa was never supposed to be the sparrow. It was supposed to be her sister that would marry a foreign prince to keep an alliance. Her sister trained her whole life for that role, yet Odessa is the one chosen by the prince to marry him and come back to his land full of deadly monsters.

What I thought:

I loved this book! The world building was interesting and unique. It was fun learning about different monsters and how the people learned to survive. I also loved the characters and all the surprises throughout the plot.

⚠️ swearing, blood, murder, death of a child and parent, violence, gore, alcohol, fire, & infidelity (off page)

🌶️ 2 open door scenes with explicit details

Content Warnings

Watch Me

Tahereh Mafi

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

What it’s about:

This story takes place ten years after the events of the Shatter Me series. It follows James as he tries to prove that he’s not a kid anymore by infiltrating The Reestablishment’s stronghold on Ark Island. He only expects to bring back information, so he’s surprised when he’s accompanied by the girl who tried to assassinate him.

What I thought:

I loved everything about this book! It was so good to be back in this world with these lovable characters. There was so much hilarious banter, and James was such a witty and funny character. I also liked how interesting Rosabelle was and how I never knew what she might do next.

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I loved the dual narrators. They fit their characters so well. I definitely recommend this format, but I also recommend looking at the physical book too if you want to save a bunch of funny quotes.

⚠️ suicide (past), violence, murder, blood, imprisonment medical scenes, injuries, & swearing

🌶️ none

Content Warnings

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