Reviews by bookrecsbyjess | The StoryGraph

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bookrecsbyjess

Worth the Risk

Clara Mott

4.5

inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to the author for the ARC of Worth the Risk by Clara Mott. All opinions are my own.

This was such a lovely debut novel. I ended up reading it all in one day!

I loved how the author was able to write realistic characters with real problems but also kept the story mostly light-hearted. It was honestly the perfect balance.

I felt bad about how many negative situations Emilia found herself in. She was kind-hearted but didn’t always make the best decisions when it came to her safety. I do feel like her upbringing had a lot to do with that, so it was nice to see her grow despite her past.

Liam was adorable and such a kind friend. I loved how he built up a friendship with Emilia and went out of his way constantly to do thoughtful things for her.

This story is definitely a slow burn when it comes to the romance, but I did like how quickly the friendship formed between the main characters.

Liam’s family was super sweet, and I hope to see more of them in future books. I also hope to see more about Emilia’s best friend in other books because she was really interesting.

This book had so many sweet and romantic moments that made me grin ear to ear.

If you’re looking for a sweet college romance, then I would definitely recommend this one!

Content Warnings

Faceoff

Mari Loyal

4.5

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to the author for this ARC of Faceoff by Mari Loyal. All opinions are my own.

What an amazing debut! If you’re looking for a closed-door college hockey romance, then I would recommend checking this one out!

One thing that was unique about this story that I enjoyed was that both main characters were hockey players. It was fun to see the rivalry between Max and Luz. I also enjoyed that hockey was talked about throughout the story, unlike some other hockey romance books.

The family dynamics were interesting in this book, and I’m excited to learn more about each character’s family in the coming books.

Max and Luz had such great chemistry! While this book is closed door, their kisses were sizzling and descriptive.

I loved how sweet and wholesome Max could be. While he was very charming, there were also some really sweet moments for him.

It was nice to see chronic pain representation in this book, and I really felt for Luz with her struggles. I loved how supportive Max was towards her without making her feel weak.

Overall, this was such a cute romance, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Content Warnings

His Treasured Bride

Jody Hedlund

4.5

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Thank you to Sunrise Publishing and the authors for the ARC of His Treasured Bride by Jody Hedlund and Patti Stockdale. All opinions are my own.

After reading Finally His Bride, which is book one in the Bride Ships: New Voyages series, I knew that I wanted to read the next book to find out what happened with the treasure.

His Treasured Bride is both a romance and a sort of adventure story with characters facing danger and getting to know one another through a marriage of convenience.

Marriage of convenience is one of my favorite tropes, and it was done so well in this story. Seth was very protective of Daisy, and I love how he would do anything for her even though he hadn’t known her for very long.

The romance in this story wasn’t as strong as some of Jody Hedlund’s other stories, but I still enjoyed it. I feel like this book focused more on the friendship between the love interests instead of the romance (although there were a few really sweet romantic moments throughout).

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun, closed-door historical romance.

Content Warnings

Sword Catcher

Cassandra Clare

4.0

Thank you to PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook.

What it's about:

Kel has been trained to protect

Prince Conor since he was a child.

Lin is a healer not accepted by her people. When both their lives are intertwined with a criminal called The Ragpicker King, they must decide who to trust and what they're fighting for.

What I thought:

This was a re-read for me. I had forgotten how slow the pacing was, but I did still overall enjoy it. The big reveals and plot twists were still great, and I'm excited to continue on with this series.

> I enjoyed this re-read but forgot how slow the pacing was

> I liked seeing all the details and foreshadowing that I missed the first time through

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I liked these narrators, but I didn’t enjoy when Fiona did voices for other characters. Her voice for Lin was great though.

⚠️ violence, injuries, blood, medical content, death, swearing, and more

🌶️ the characters do spend some time at a pleasure house, so there are some slightly open door scenes

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

DID NOT FINISH: 18%

I’m just so confused with all of these time jumps, and I don’t care about what’s going on.

Walking on Hidden Wings

Rachel Scott McDaniel

5.0

adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Thank you to Kregel Publishing and the author for this gifted copy and ARC of Walking on Hidden Wings by Rachel Scott McDaniel. All opinions are my own.

When the author reached out to me and described what this book was about, I was really interested. However, I didn’t know that I would end up loving it as much as I did!

This book is so interesting, romantic, and mysterious. I loved everything about it!

The 1920s New York historical setting was so fascinating to me. I especially enjoyed learning more about flying and how it was to be both a woman and pilot during this time. There were also some other fun historical details throughout the story that I loved, but I won’t spoil anything.

The romance was so well done! I have read very few books with this romance trope, but I really appreciated it. The characters were so sweet, and I love how they grew and learned to communicate.

I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this story and never could guess what would happen next with the plot. I suspected so many different people, and I was still surprised at the end.

The author did a great job weaving the characters’ Christian faith throughout the story in a natural way, and I appreciated how the characters grew in their faith.

The dialogue between characters was so good, and I laughed out loud quite a few times at the things that Geneva would say.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone! I feel like a lot of people would enjoy this book because it is a great combination of genres.

I don’t know if the author is planning to write a sequel to this book with the way some things were left at the end, but I would be really interested to learn more about Geneva’s sister.

Content Warnings