booksbytheglass's Reviews (904)

coming back into the world of SHATTER ME was a dose of nostalgia I didn’t know I needed 🥲 having one of the POVs be from a character we knew (james will always have my heart) while introducing a new character in the other POV was absolutely genius!!

while it’s clear that james and rosabelle had an obvious attraction, I appreciated how the romance wasn’t front and center to the story!! in fact, it was barely there!! other than james is too heroic and trusting for his own good… 

what made the story the success it is was choosing to focus on the new republic and its development in creating an order to peace. james is 100% the product of aaron and adam’s brotherhood & I loved seeing how he interacted with all of the familiar faces in a more adult scenario 🥹🥹

I’ll forever be obsessed with aaron warner & kenji thank you - if anything happens to them, we riot at dawn 🙂‍↕️

give me all of the world building and lore in the next one too!! choosing not to introduce a ton of new characters was a smart choice, but I’m ready to see what happens next!! 

rating: 4 stars 
wine pairing: sonoma coast rosé

another win from katee robert in the books!! every time I pick up another installment from this series, I’m reminded of how sexy, bingeable, and downright fun they are!!

it took me a while to warm up to ariadne and the minotaur, especially after getting glimpses of them from previous books in the series. and the minotaur (asterion) was soooo possessive which happens to one of my 🚩 and even though he came around at the end to be more sweet and caring, it still put me off a lot about the couple

however, the politics and overarching plot in this one was SO good! the past few books in this series have felt like filler books leading up to this big moment, and I loved how the chaos of the olympus took center stage over the romance portions!! 

big shoutout to dionsyus actually having a characterization flesh out in this one too that had me PINING for him to get his own book 🥺 and my queens hera and hermes and their scheming? say less

definitely not my favorite in the series but one of the more invested stories for me!! would risk it all for the dark olympus crew in fact

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: portugal port 

dear GOD freida’s twists always get me!!! there’s something so addicting and bingeable about her books, even when they’re cringey and predictable, that I absolutely adore!!

and this was one of her better ones, following an engaged couple who decide to take in a tenant to help make ends meet financially (and of course chaos ensues). let me tell you, I was GAGGED throughout this entire book, so much so that I binged it in three hours!!

does freida have the best style of writing? no… but does she always create the wildest plot twists and crazy scenarios? absolutely. her books are my guilty pleasure, and I was so invested in the train wreck this time around!!

the ending was a bit out there, but I loved how it all came together, even when the characters’ own idiocy led them to their fates!! and come on, how can you not love a good ol sociopath story?!

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: walla walla pinot noir 

DNF @ 10% - the entire writing style just wasn’t for me. the atmospheric setting was fantastic, even though the characters felt like clear stereotypes of the southern hippie cult-like persona… I didn’t get too far into the mystery and horror elements as the writing style and cliches kept pulling me out of the book, but I’d be willing to try another story by this author!! thank you to atria thrillers for the advanced copy & I’m sorry I wasn’t able to finish strong 😭

“it’s not the one year of his death, it’s the one year of your survival” 😭💔

this book was absolutely heart wrenching and beautiful all at the same time. I had to keep stopping and reminding myself that this was indeed a memoir and not a fiction read - mostly because the mind dissociates death when it’s not closely related to you - and every passage just gave me the chills ❤️

as someone who has been through grief in a very similar manner, I applaud amy for putting every single emotion on paper. from allowing herself to be sad and take up space, to relating the dark thoughts about surviving without him, to simply existing because it’s impossible to do anything else… I’ve never felt more seen… 

grief is a fickle beast - and there are so many passages and quotes I highlighted throughout this memoir because amy captured it perfectly. I wish with all of my heart that I could not relate to her story, but I’m glad to know that we aren’t alone, as much as it feels that way sometimes ❤️

I’m still sitting on my thoughts for this one… emily henry has the ability to craft any story into a masterpiece - and I’m constantly in awe of her!! this one was no exception, even if the romance was the b plot this time around 🫢 

contemporary romances are my JAM - they touch on my heartstrings every single time!! I love when I can relate to the characters, really get into their minds, and feel every single emotion with them - which was why I was so thrown off when I felt so detached from hayden and alice in this one!! 😭

insta love is not my jam, contrary to my fairytale views, and I think we spent so much time on margaret’s story (more about that in a minute) that I couldn’t connect with alice and hayden as much as I wanted to… however, I’m a sucker for groveling and second chances, and the ending was EVERYTHING to me!!

margaret was 100% the main course of this story, and while it gave SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO vibes, it didn’t match the intensity in the slightest. the back and forth between margaret’s story and alice’s was too much of a whiplash for me and didn’t give me enough time to remove myself from one story before diving into the next.

however, I LOVED the old hollywood vibes of margaret’s story - and even though the big secret felt obvious to me, I lapped up every single detail of her family history and cried along with her 😭😭 I wanted so much more detail!!!!! 

all in all, I will continue to read anything and everything that emily henry writes because she’s a genius and we are not worthy!!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay 

mmm I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either… one thing that andrea bartz does extremely well is the LGBTQ+ representation!! I really enjoy when queer characters are written as the norm, as they should be, and not centered in the story as the “standout queer character” 

when abby visits a small island outside mexico where her fiancée passed away, she discovers a town full of secrets, groupies & influence stretching wider than the tourists and gringos combined 👀 I loved getting to know the characters super well, and I found their characterization to be unique and fleshed out perfectly!!

the mystery of the story itself, what happened to eszter, was dragging for me. I knew the ultimate payout wouldn’t be an accident per se, but I doubted it was full of true nefarious intentions as abby feared. and abby herself constantly steamrolled over eszter in flashbacks, arguing with her about her introverted tendencies & her willingness to work with her father… 

there’s a difference between admiring someone and loving someone, and this story was a great example of that. however, the main plot didn’t really do it for me - especially when the secrets being kept were kind of silly being secrets to begin with 👀

thank you to ballantine books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: brazil chardonnay

prefacing this review by saying that I’ve read over 300+ thrillers and mysteries in my life & it takes a lot to shock me these days 🥲🫣🫠

THE CHAIN is a fabulous thriller challenging the concept of how far would you go to protect your child… and boy, the choices made in this story are wild!! after rachel’s child is kidnapped at the bus stop and she gets a mysterious phone call with demands, she’s pulled into a larger conspiracy theory exploiting mothers and fathers 👀

while the first half flew by as I flipped page after page to determine what the heck happens next, the second half dragged for me. it alternated between present day where rachel and her family are dealing with PTSD & in the past to the beginning of the chain and the conspiracy… and I straight up didn’t care? it was more of a character study of neglect and abuse by parents and how that trickles down to their children 😪

I definitely wanted more from the members of the chain rather than a back and forth plot, and there wasn’t a huge plot twist that had me shocked. nonetheless, it was a unique and fun read!! 

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel 

I’ve been reading a lot less this month but I’ve been reading bangers 😗✌🏼 ENCHANTRA was just as good as PHANTASMA (if not better) with the dark romance elements, the spooky vibes, and of course the mystery of the whole game!!!!

genevieve is pulled back into another game as she follows a letter to her mother, straight into the lair of the silver family 😌 and what a family it is between the head of household who may or may not have been in love with tessa grim, rowin who is definitely way too invested on how genevieve fairs in the mansion, and all of his brothers and sisters with their murderous yet loving tendencies 😳

the amount of supernatural elements play a perfect part in the story, and I was kicking my feet in the air and screaming the entire time!! rowin and genevieve were so wrong yet so right for each other, call me obsessed!!

I truly fell in love with the entire silver family and their quest to free themselves from the demons (literally and physically). every moment was wholesome, even when they were trying to unalive each other 🤡

I love love love creativity in romantasy books and this was so well done! I’m in awe, an easy 5 stars!

rating: 5 stars
wine pairing: bordeaux cabernet sauvignon

if 13 REASONS WHY had a more sinister thriller tone, it would be this book 👀 and I’m still debating whether I truly enjoyed it or not…

julie soto’s writing is so captivating that I physically couldn’t put this book down until I finished it! reader, I did indeed stay up until 2:30am 🫨 and her ability to flesh out characters without being in their POV was fantastic! I really felt like I was part of the thrasher friend group (whether that’s for the better or worse)

the ultimate storyline, I fear, was a bit predictable… after two chapters in which the characters spoke about emily, their classmate who unalived themselves, I figured emily was way more than an innocent naive teenager… 

while it was quite bingeable and fast-paced, the ending left me unsatisfied, similarly to 13 REASONS WHY. all of the posthumous revelations about emily did nothing to make or break how I felt about the thrashers in the end… and I was wildly disappointed in the lack of “thriller” elements…

overall, a quick and fun read, but I wanted more! thank you to wednesday & macmillan for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay