buffyreads's Reviews (575)

“You’re the bane of my existence. Did you know that?” She grins. “I hoped.”

Characters:
Celine is an ambitious overachieving alien loving tiktoker who dreams of being a lawyer (a barrister as the british say) and is working hard to make that dream a relatively. Bradley is a bisexual footballer with OCD with dreams of becoming a Sci-fi writer but if asked, wants to be a lawyer like his father. The pair used to be best friends until they had different schedules and Bradley joined the popular kids and Celine was left behind. Making them become archenemies of epic proportions.

Plot:
The archenemies end up sharing a class together, reintegrating themselves into each other's lives. This lead to them both applying and ending up in a competitive outdoors excursion to win a scholarship from Celine's career idol.

When learning about their friendship breakup I was biased because I understood Celine and where she was coming from. Bradley could assimilate and Celine couldn't. He wanted her to do what he did and when she didn't want to he blamed her for it. He also did not recognize that she might have some issues with feeling abandoned because of her father that might have influenced her behavior. (Which, I understand why connecting those dots might be hard for a teenage boy but god open your eyes kid.) However, I really liked their path to forgiving each other and becoming friends (and then more) again.

More than anything I enjoyed the personal journeys they each went through. They were so deep and their problems felt real. I loved both of them so much and I loved them together so much.

Secret Sauce:
The banter is well written and they sound like teenagers arguing. This was actually friends to enemies to lovers done well in YA romance which is rare. This was more than any tropes could encapsulate. I loved their relationship and their growth apart and together.

Rating: I give this book a 5/5

“Joyce Parker. Thirty-year-old African American female. Time of death is 4 p.m. Sorry to inform you, but you are dead."

Characters:
Joyce is a lawyer who was unceremoniously killed by her wacko definitely guilty client. Aiden is a reaper who is in deep shit after making a mistake on the job. These two have great banter from their first interaction and it gets better throughout the story.

Plot:
I loved this whole concept from the very start. After being murdered by her client Joyce is given two opinions: Hell or becoming a lawyer for the Grim Reaper in their new court system. I loved the pacing of this book. It draws you in immediately and gives you a brand new and interesting world. There is a surprise "twist" in the story that I felt it was out of nowhere and then
I also wasn't invested in their love story as I felt as though the emotional connection wasn't earned. However I did enjoy the ending and the overall plot itself.


Secret Sauce:
The sauce was lacking. I didn't find the intimate scenes between Aiden and Joyce enjoyable but I think that comes down to personal preference. The whole dom-type possessive alpha stuff makes me cringe really bad.


Rating: I give this book a 3/5

Ra's Mini Review!~

*This is a reread from many years ago*

Characters:
Jude was full of rage and arrogance and I loved it. I love characters who just want power for themselves. Cardan was a nutcase loser but in a good way. Taryn made me want to rip my hair out. I had forgotten the "plot twist" and rolled my eyes so hard at her.

Plot:
I remember liking this book a lot so I was shocked at how bad they get bullied in the beginning. Their "father" was either willfully ignorant or prideful to send them to school with people who could easily kill them. I prefer fantasy like this that lack a crazy adventure and is character focused so this was good. The romance aspect was lacking for me but I love Jude so it was okay.

Secret Sauce:
I loved this world building and how cruel (no pun intended) the fae are. I realized 20% into the book how much it reminded me of Hana no Dori (Boys over Flowers) with the bullying, the friend group and the demands of begging for forgiveness. This may be way I was okay with how aggressive it got.

Rating: I give this book a 3/5

"I hope you don’t resonate at all, because that’s the worst punishment I can imagine for you—to know that you stole women and then you have to give them to everyone else.”

Highlights:
I'm only reading this to complete the series so I don't have much to say. I loved the new women and felt truly bad for them. I wanted to give Elly a hug and years of therapy. I did start to like them together when they went to the cave by themselves. Bek's personality got way better and more understanding/patient.

Lowlights:
Bek is such a loser. I understand that he cannot comprehend the concept of slavery but he really pisses me off. And again, men in the tribe continue to do bad things because no one is ever truly punished for their actions. Not a one has had long term actual punishment for their behaviors and therefore don't care about "exile". It means nothing!

Horn Level: 2/5

This novel was a twist of the popular "vampire turns teenage girl and loves her for eternity". The antagonist in this story seemingly has an obsession with replaying this fantasy with different girls every few decades.

The Good:

I enjoyed the implementation of new vampire lore. From the literally being frozen in time, the addition of heirlooms, to the always having to be tied to their sire's location these were interesting worldbuilding elements that made me want to know more about the vampires in this world.

The Bad:

I unfortunately did not enjoy the characters nor the pacing of the book. I felt that having to collect all the heirlooms in order to kill him was introduced too early so the middle chunk felt super slow. The fact that Parker annoyed me as a character also lead to me feeling like the story was dragging on. She felt like a teenager, which I at first thought was the point, until the main character fell in love with her. My dislike continued as every character introduced grated my nerves in some way. The ending was okay but didn't leave an impression on me. The concept of them losing their memoires was new and different but because I didn't care about the romance aspect it had no effect on me.

The Rating:

I originally gave this a 3/5 but changed it to a 2/5 after thinking about whether I actually liked what I read or the idea of the book. I liked the concept more than the execution, which is why this was so disappointing. I wouldn't recommend this book unless they have a high threshold for annoying characters.

Wow. I feel a lot like Princess Leia in a Star Wars movie, right down to the collar.

Highlights:
I love Cat and Tarekh! I also like that this story adds time jumps and really focuses on the development of their relationship. I liked the way they teased each other.

Lowlights:
These are beginning to get repetitive so I need something more to happen dynamic or plot-wise.

Horn Level: 2/5

Highlights:
Melina and Kaemon care so cute together. This book have the perfect amount of fluff, angst, and plot to make it an enjoyable read. I liked that the relationship was developed well and built up to them loving each other.

Lowlights:
The spicy scenes were pretty boring and would've worked as fade to black with the same effect.

Horn Level: 1/5

The Rating
I give this book a 3/5

Highlights:
I love arranged marriage stories and I loved how Taegan and Zorvut just jump into it.
Taegan's protectiveness over Zorvut was so sweet. There were ups and downs in their relationship but it felt real and they tried their best to deal with any conflicts. I found the mental bond a new element I haven't seen in an arranged marriage or orc story and it worked well here.

Lowlights:
I wish we got Zorvut's POV! I'd like to hear his thoughts more.

Horn Level: 3/5

The Good
Such an improvement from book one! I loved Verity and I adored Theodore as well. Each of their stories were well developed and made me empathize with them both. Everything about them was so cute. The confession, their honesty, and their laughter. Two inverts falling in love and really craving and understanding each other. Forbidden love is a favorite trope of mine and seeing them fight internal and external forces was wonderful. I legitimately cried listening to the audiobook.

The Bad
A flaw in these books is the overbearing nature of almost all side characters. It is supposed to be charming but it often makes my eyes roll. Also the Fitzwilliam plot-line again was so cartoonish it made me roll my eyes. I didn't care and wanted the focus to be back on Theodore and Verity. Also I didn't like Theodore's bastard status being waved away at the last hour after spending the whole book as a main issue. It felt less interesting than having them actually deal with his status and living with it.

Format:
Audiobook — Libby

The Rating
I give this book a 4/5