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1.07k reviews by:
bookrecsbyjess
DNF @ 7%
Why I chose to read this book:
I had heard good things about this author, and I was able to get a copy at a library book sale last year.
My thoughts:
I think this author’s writing style just isn’t for me. The dialogue kept pulling me out of the story because it didn’t feel realistic to me. It could be because there was slang and pop culture references that were from several years ago. There were also some news articles included, and they honestly sounded fake. I know a lot of people love this book though, so it might still be worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death
Moderate: Drug use, Car accident
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to Thomas Nelson for the ARC of If All Else Sails by Emma St. Clair. All opinions are my own.
I’ll honestly read anything this author writes, but wow does this book stand out as one of my favorites from her. I read the book in two days because I just didn’t want to put it down.
If I had to describe this book with one word, it would be tender. I don’t use this word a lot, but the character interactions and romantic moments were so tender, and It really made me love this story.
This book follows Wyatt, a professional hockey player that is supposed to be recovering from an injury. Instead, he has become reclusive and is staying in a beach house left to him by his late uncle. His agent Jacob is worried about his mental and physical health, so he decides to send his own sister to go stay with Wyatt. Jacob’s sister Josie is an elementary school nurse, and she has no idea that she’s been sent to get Wyatt back on his feet. She thinks she’s going on a sibling summer vacation with her brother.
Because Wyatt and Josie aren’t expecting to see each other, their first interaction is hilarious. There’s also so many other funny moments between them (especially the pigs!). Besides the humor in this book, the author did a fantastic job creating emotional depth between these characters.
Each of these characters is dealing with different issues, so it was beautiful to see how each character grew to not only accept themselves but to not settle for the situations they found themselves in. I loved the vulnerability these characters shared with each other, and it was so nice to see them lean on each other through their difficult circumstances.
This story has a slow burn romance that is so sweet because the characters build a friendship before they’re finally ready to share their feelings with each other. I loved seeing Josie and Wyatt learn from each other, and their sailing trip was such a fun part of the plot.
Overall, I can’t recommend this book enough! If you want a heartfelt and tender romance between two hurting people, this is the book for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Medical content
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
What it's about:
This book follows Haymitch and his Hunger Games experience. It takes place during the second Quarter Quell, when the number of tributes was doubled. It gives backstory to Haymitch's character, and it explains the events that lead him to be the way he was in The Hunger Games trilogy.
What I thought:
This book hooked me from the very beginning. It was tragic all the way through, and the Hunger Games was even more gruesome than the ones from the other books. I really liked seeing this different side to Haymitch, but wow was it devastating.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I really enjoyed this narrator and would recommend this format.
⚠️ lots of violence, death, gore, and other traumatic content.
🌶️ just kisses
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
funny
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What it's about:
Elizabeth Ashburn has been best friends with Oliver Turner for years. It's her turn to have her first season in London, but she's dreading having to find a suitor when she's always had feelings for Oliver.
What I thought:
I enjoyed this book a lot. The friendship between Elizabeth and Oliver was sweet and fun. I did get frustrated with how much back and forth there was about admitting their feelings to each other.
⚠️ Oliver’s character had a very bad father and childhood. There’s also pregnancy complications in this story.
🌶️ just kisses
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Blood
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to PRH Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.
What it's about:
Professors and estranged spouses
Elodie and Gabriel Tarrant find
themselves both requested to help stop a magical storm that threatens England. Forced to work together, they have to decide how they really feel about each other.
What I thought:
This was such a fun book! There was so much longing in this book, and I loved how witty Elodie was. Gabriel didn't seem to know what to say half the time, and I loved watching him get so flustered by Elodie.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I love this narrator. I do wish there had been an additional narrator to narrate Gabriel’s POV, but it was still excellent.
⚠️ swearing and injuries
🌶️ open door scenes & lots of innuendos
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to the author for the ARC of Petals and Plot Twists by Jenny Proctor. All opinions are my own.
I’ve read several of Jenny Proctor’s books in the past and absolutely loved them, so please take that into consideration that my thoughts on this book are not critiques of how great of a writer she is (because she’s fabulous) but more just my preferences of tropes and plot points.
What I loved about this book:
Peter was an absolute dream for a main male character. He was sweet, thoughtful, and just such a kind friend to Sophie. I also appreciated that he had a normal job instead of a stereotypical romcom career. His love of Legos was so fun, and I liked how he had such a close friendship with Sophie but that he also made an effort to get to know Archer.
I also really liked how good of a friend Willa was in this book. Her friendship with Sophie was great, and I really appreciated their conversations. A lot of times in romcoms, the best friend seems to give bad advice, but I think Willa had a lot great things to say to Sophie without being mean.
Why I didn’t rate this book higher:
My biggest issue with this book was Sophie and her insistence on making choices based on the magical flower. Even though she could see that Peter would be a perfect boyfriend for her, she allowed some magical flower (that she just recently learned about) to make her final decisions regarding who to date. Her willingness to trust in some magical object instead of her longtime friendship with Peter was so frustrating.
While I absolutely love friends to lovers stories, I have a hard time when the main character continues to date a bunch of people while the love interest is hurt over and over again. I know some people don’t mind this type of plot, but it’s very hard for me to read and not get upset with the main character. If they’re going to date a bunch, I prefer it to be more in the past.
Overall, this was a cute romcom with the sweetest main male character. I think some readers will love it, but it just wasn’t for me. That being said, I will absolutely read anything Jenny Proctor writes!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
What it's about:
Rose Wakefield has been conning people for most of her life. When she accidentally cons the wrong man, she finds herself whisked away to his family's estate where she has to pretend to be the doting fiancée of Carver Ashburn, Earl of Kensworth.
What I thought:
I absolutely loved this book! It has the amazing humor and writing style of Sarah Adams but in a regency romance! The characters were so charming, and I loved the banter between them. All of the characters were just so lovable.
⚠️ grief, death, miscarriage, & injuries
🌶️ just kisses
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage
funny
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
What it's about:
Mystery writer, Finlay Donovan, is talking about the book she's supposed to be writing, when a lady incorrectly overhears her conversation and tries to hire her as a hitwoman. Chaos ensues, and Finlay finds herself in the middle of a situation with the Russian mob.
What I thought:
This book was so much fun!! loved Finlay as a protagonist, and I found it hilarious the situations that she kept finding herself in. I also loved Vero, her former nanny / accomplice. The romance elements were good too.
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: I would highly recommend this narrator! While this book only has Finlay’s POV, the voices she does for the other characters was excellent.
⚠️ divorce, death, murder, some gore, swearing, & domestic violence (off page).
🌶️ just kisses
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Violence, Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC. All opinions are my own.
What it's about:
This book picks up soon after the events at the end of Sword Catcher.
There's new characters and many new POVs. There's also more romance in this book than book one.
It leaves a lot of questions about what will come next.
What I thought:
I liked this book more than Sword
Catcher because I felt the pacing was better. I also appreciated that there was some more romance in it.
There's so much going on in this book that I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters.
> there was a huge cast of characters and a lot of POVs
> I liked not knowing what would happen next
> I enjoyed that there was a little more romance in this book
🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: while the narrators were good, this book would’ve been better with a full cast for all the different POVs.
⚠️ violence, swearing, and more
🌶️ multiple open door scenes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Murder
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Thank you to Shadow Mountain Pub and Proper Romance for the ARC of A Time Traveler’s Masquerade by Sian Ann Bessey. All opinions are my own.
I don’t have much experience reading time traveling books, but this book sounded like it would be a lot of fun, and it explored a time period that I knew very little about before reading it.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Isla, the main female character, was so interesting, and I loved how quickly she adapted to her life in 1605. It had to be quite a big shock for her to time travel so far into the past where she had to adjust to life without modern inventions.
Simon was such a sweet male main character. I appreciated his willingness to change his opinions of Isla after getting to know her. I also really liked his sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. They were all so welcoming to Isla.
Before reading this book, I had heard of but didn’t know anything about the Guy Fawkes’s Gunpowder Plot. I appreciated the research the author did regarding this time period and historical event. I learned so much.
Besides Isla and Simon’s points of view, the author also decided to include the POV for Guy Fawkes. I honestly didn’t really like his chapters as much as theirs. They weren’t terrible, but I just wasn’t that interested in his point of view.
The ending also seemed too quick for me. I felt like the ending was rushed and not discussed enough especially considering what happens to the characters.
Overall, I thought this book was cute, and I had an enjoyable time reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death