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cielosiluminado's Reviews (443)
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this was a heartfelt romance between a cowboy single dad and city girl single mom. the mmc was too perfect, so this yet another book that is totally ruining my expectations when it comes to men.
♡ holiday season
♡ cowboy romance
♡ single mom AND single dad
♡ reverse grumpy/sunshine
♡ small town ranch
♡ found family
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this gave off major legally blonde vibes. didn't hate it, but didn't love it either. it was a fun read nonetheless and i finished it in one day.
♡ corny and cringy (non-derogatory)
♡ pink and girly
♡ revenge
♡ spicy, hot, sexy scenes
♡ age-gap
♡ both mcs are balls of sunshine
♡ no third act breakup
♡ happily ever after
♡ corny and cringy (non-derogatory)
♡ pink and girly
♡ revenge
♡ spicy, hot, sexy scenes
♡ age-gap
♡ both mcs are balls of sunshine
♡ no third act breakup
♡ happily ever after
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Infidelity
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
what a perfect ending to the series. this was the best book in the series. don't get me wrong, i adored the other books, but this one was a masterpiece. i loved every second of it.
i could write a detailed analysis of the characters, plot, etc. but that wouldn't do it justice. you need to read it to understand.
this was a perfect grumpy/sunshine trope that had me laughing my ass off most of the time. santiago and chloe just worked SO well together and their banter??? *chefs kiss*
i could write a detailed analysis of the characters, plot, etc. but that wouldn't do it justice. you need to read it to understand.
this was a perfect grumpy/sunshine trope that had me laughing my ass off most of the time. santiago and chloe just worked SO well together and their banter??? *chefs kiss*
She’s my kaleidoscope in a world of gray.
this book felt so domestic as santi and chloe clicked instantly. it had deep emotions, humor, banter, love, spice, found family, and most of all, redemption. literally no complaints, nothing.
i thought the epilogue was amazing but then i read the extended epilogue and that was even more perfect. the best ending to a series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book got me fucked up. literally got emotionally wrecked from the first page to the last. the extended epilogue wrecked me even further. i'm a mess now.
I don’t need a happy ending. I need our ending. The one that might be messy and imperfect, but exclusively ours.
it was almost perfect but some parts felt like it was being dragged too long. that being said, i very much loved reading this book and really want to protect elena and jax from everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use, Murder
Minor: Addiction, Racism
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this book had me all over the place. there were times were i really liked it, then other times were i hated it. overall, disappointing second book in the series.
cannot even fathom how the characters, the plot, and the pacing of the story were all over the place at the same time. sometimes it was hilarious, other times cute, even inspiring at time. then more often than not, it was all downright cringy and insufferable.
cannot even fathom how the characters, the plot, and the pacing of the story were all over the place at the same time. sometimes it was hilarious, other times cute, even inspiring at time. then more often than not, it was all downright cringy and insufferable.
Screw platonic, I want catastrophic.
overall, such a strange reading experience for me because i've truly never encountered anything like it, which is shocking for me because i really enjoyed the first book in the series, Throttled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Grief
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
not really sure what i was expecting when i first started this series but after completing this book, it made me want to start watching F1.
this was a fun read with forbidden romance, brother's rival, close proximity tropes. and i ate it all up.
this was a fun read with forbidden romance, brother's rival, close proximity tropes. and i ate it all up.
[T]he most beautiful thing about her is how her eyes light up with happiness when she grins, an infectious smile.
maya alatorre is sweet, too patient, and kind. she is always so supportive of her brother's F1 career — even if it outshone hers — she rooted for him all the way and didn't hold grudges against him. she's as unproblematic as they come. not only that, she knows exactly what she wants and isn't afraid to say or do what she needed to achieve it. she's also emotionally intelligent and willing to set clear boundaries from the start, like she knew she couldn't do a FwB type of relationship with noah and turned him down, despite how much it hurt her at the time. very impressive.
Looks like I went to hell and back, scoring an angel along the way.
noah slade is your typical competitive, F1 "American Prince" driver. a damaged bad boy womanizer with a horrible upbringing — who secretly has a heart of gold and a romantic — and was always ready to man up for the woman he loves. i am still so impressed at the character growth he went through in the book. the man literally went to therapy to better himself to try and be even half the man deserving of maya's love. he worked so hard, truly redeeming himself.
“Maya?” his voice rasps.
“Yup?”
“Keep talking. I love hearing your voice.”
noah and maya's relationship was sweet and spicy. their chemistry… explosive . it started off as insta-lusty, but developed into something so deeply beautiful. some of the scenes made me swoon so hard, smiling like an idiot. they were always supporting and encouraging each other to strive and be the best. and the communication these two partook in and owning up to their own mistakes and shortcomings? *chefs kiss* like their overall relationship, the spicy scenes were sweet and spicy. just how i like it.
the reasons why it isn't rated higher is because the overall conflict and resolution fell flat to me. it was lackluster. i would've liked to see more drama. also, there was some cringey dialogues here and there, but that wasn't that big a deal for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this felt like a hallmark movie but book version. i literally read this one sitting.
two divorcees, 24 hours, a car accident, a concussion, a dozen stitches, kicked off plane, a missed train ride, another missed plane flight, another bus car accident, walking in snowstorm after snowstorm, old and dirty motel room, stolen luggage, a two-hour sing-along truck drive…
two divorcees, 24 hours, a car accident, a concussion, a dozen stitches, kicked off plane, a missed train ride, another missed plane flight, another bus car accident, walking in snowstorm after snowstorm, old and dirty motel room, stolen luggage, a two-hour sing-along truck drive…
“I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. I sure as hell didn’t intend to stay in love with you.”
all with a happily ever after!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
read my review of the first half of this duet (The Blood we Crave: Part One) to get an overview of my thoughts on the beginnings of thatcherlyra and the introduction of the plot in this part.
not gonna lie, the big bad villain and plot in this book was predictable. but it was written so well that i'm not too hung up on it.
not gonna lie, the big bad villain and plot in this book was predictable. but it was written so well that i'm not too hung up on it.
The nightmare of Ponderosa Springs and his darling phantom.
and what happened throughout the story, and thatcherlyra's journey together, was so fucking good and keeps it as 5 stars.
favorite quotes:
I warned them what I would become if they took him from me. Now there is no need to fear the reaper. They should fear the woman who loves him.
I’ve felt his heart beneath my hands, committed the steady rhythm to memory, and I know it matches my own. It’s a pair, his and mine, created from the same flesh and muscle, cleaved into two separate bodies.
“Maybe I’d die for you, Thatcher Pierson,” I mumble. “But death is inevitable for us all. It’s what you’d do for me that matters.”
Thatcher was perfectly made, but I was made perfect for him.
“Darling.” He traces the front of his white teeth with his tongue, a starved animal ready to feast. “I’d rid the world of men who breathe the same air as you.”
“You taste like my favorite nightmare.”
I wish I could say that I don’t believe in fate, but if it was real, I think I would’ve been made for her too.
My lack of a soul wasn’t because of the evil that had infested my mother’s womb or my father’s corrupt DNA.
No, I didn’t have one because it belonged to her.
I think when we were created, instead of splitting our spirits in half, they gave both of them to her in order to keep them safe. To remind me, when the time was right, that all I am is hers to carry.
He is both their nightmare and my daydream.
This could’ve stayed only an obsession, but it had bloomed into something lovely and dark. A rosebush with twice as many thorns, but still breathtaking.
She is my obsessed angel, and I am her possessive god.
We are two halves of a broken hole. Two mangled people trying to find solace in all the darkness we’d been given.
If she wanted my heart, I’d give it to her. She could keep it on a shelf in one of her jars—it was never mine to begin with. Not when it’s always been hers.
“Death is trivial. He can’t keep you from me. I’ll follow you to the grave every time and find you in each life after.”
in the end, no thoughts just thatcherlyra ♡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Trafficking, Grief
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i wanted to know more about these two psychos when they debuted in The Lies we Steal and what we learn in The Truths we Burn had me wanting to know their story even more.
this duet. book three in the series. the slowest of slow burns. oh, but so worth it.
the first part of the book gave us an in-depth look inside their heads and their awful upbringings. we learned how these two characters think and (not) feel.
MJ knew what she was doing by breaking their story up into two parts because after the half way mark, i ate it all up and wanted so much more.
the story of these two, thatcher and lyra, starts off when they are seven years old. on the night thatcher's father killed scarlett's (lyra) mother. what we discover is that scarlett's mother was in love with thatcher's father, but she discovered what he really was — a sadistic killer — and was going to report him to the police which lead to her being murdered. but just before she was killed, she hid little scarlett inside a closet, unknowingly giving her daughter a front row seat of her murder.
that same night, little thatcher was there. with a task: find and kill scarlett. in an attempt to get him away from her mother's corpse, she comes out of the closet and throws a shoe at him, making him bleed. the first person to make thatcher bleed. he saw something in her which didn't allow him to kill her; instead, he told her to hide, become a ghost. survive.
this duet. book three in the series. the slowest of slow burns. oh, but so worth it.
the first part of the book gave us an in-depth look inside their heads and their awful upbringings. we learned how these two characters think and (not) feel.
MJ knew what she was doing by breaking their story up into two parts because after the half way mark, i ate it all up and wanted so much more.
the story of these two, thatcher and lyra, starts off when they are seven years old. on the night thatcher's father killed scarlett's (lyra) mother. what we discover is that scarlett's mother was in love with thatcher's father, but she discovered what he really was — a sadistic killer — and was going to report him to the police which lead to her being murdered. but just before she was killed, she hid little scarlett inside a closet, unknowingly giving her daughter a front row seat of her murder.
that same night, little thatcher was there. with a task: find and kill scarlett. in an attempt to get him away from her mother's corpse, she comes out of the closet and throws a shoe at him, making him bleed. the first person to make thatcher bleed. he saw something in her which didn't allow him to kill her; instead, he told her to hide, become a ghost. survive.
“Be a ghost, Scarlett. Don’t let him see you, ever.”
“If I become a ghost, how will you see me?”
“I won’t.”
and so she became his ghost. and he never saw her again... or so she believes.
The girl who floats through doors and hallways without a second glance. The ghost. The ghost who haunts the only person who ever saw her. The only one who made her feel not so alone. The one she’d killed someone for.
scarlett lyra abbott, bug queen. his darling phantom. most sane, insane person ever. quirky goth girl. what no one knows though is that the night her mother was murdered, she became obsessed, infatuated with the boy who spared her life: thatcher alexander pierson. in his presence, she stops feeling alone and her obsession hyperfixates on him, so much so that her traumatized mind thinks of him as her angel. she stalked him for over ten years, but now she was done being his ghost. she wanted him to see her.
Contrary to what people believe, the apple did fall very far from the wicked tree.
Because I never wanted to be my father.
I never wanted to be like him.
I wanted to be better.
And I am.
thatcher alexander pierson, the psycho. her angel. i loved him, he didn't disappoint. morally gray. this was man trained since childhood by his father to become exactly like him, a serial killer; but instead, thatcher kills the killers, not because he wants to play hero BUT to prove he's BETTER THAN his father. thatcher is sophisticated and sarcastic, narcissistic and cold, to everyone. but when it comes to his little ghost, his darling phantom, who he pretended to ignore, he hates her. for what she represents to him: the first person to make him bleed and the only person he couldn't kill. oh, and he also hates and refuses to admit how much he has looked out for her.
I love being his ghost. But now, I want him to see me. It’s not enough to haunt him. I need more from him.
the slow shift in their relationship felt as "natural" as an obsessive, chaotic, unhinged, toxic relationship can be. there was no sudden switch flipped when it came to thatcher's feelings for lyra. she was still the same obsessive stalker and he was still the same annoyed, cynic, tired of his stalker who he hates and mostly ignores.
“Death will have to wait for you. You’re mine now.”
“He can’t have either of us,”
seeing the progress of him starting to become jealous and possessive while still fiercely hating her... *chefs kiss* and somehow, slowly but surely, lyra burrows herself deep under his skin... freaking him the fuck out. he doesn't do emotions so he begins to question his beliefs and the way he functions as a person, all because of her and how she now makes him feel.
i must admit that my favorite part of the book was thatcherlyra, their relationship. but i also have to commend the already-existing storyline that has been there since the first book. vengeance for rosie.
the outcasts starting to unearth the web of deceit, corruption, and wickedness that lies within ponderosa springs is so jarring and thrilling. coupled with the fact that towards the end of the book, the storyline of vengeance the hollow boys were living transformed into a story of survival. the hunters became the hunted.
AND THE FUCKING CLIFFHANGER. AGAIN, WHAT THE FUCK!!!
it could've done with more proofreading for inconsistencies and grammatical errors BUT! nonetheless, i loved it and this has become one of my all-time favorites.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Stalking
Moderate: Trafficking
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i must admit, i wasn't sure how i would handle silas falling in love again, as i adored his unbreakable bond with rosemary going all the way from the first book. but of course, MJ exceeded any and all expectations.
“Life left you empty so that you’d have room to fill it. We are not hollow if we allow ourselves to remain that way … You lived for a reason. Figure out why.”
silas and coraline's story wasn't easy to read. they both lived through, and survived, hardships. and they made it out stronger on the other side. their love was natural, coming from very deep part of their souls that left no question about its authenticity.
“Hex code #dd4a3d.” He grins. “Its name is Coraline.”
“I’m your favorite color?”
“You’re my favorite everything, Hex.”
their chemistry was obvious very early on, they had a bond that was firstly carved from their pain but turned out to be an unstoppable force. i loved them together, they were hot and cold and it is undeniable that they were meant to be together. silas being such a secret romantic also had me swooning. and his dirty talk????? JFC. hottest in the series.
and i want to thank MJ, for giving rosemary such a beautiful, respectful farewell, a much needed closure for the characters and the readers.
there is so much to say about the hollow boys but you truly have to read it yourself to experience and understand it. finishing the last book of the series was bittersweet, they were all grown up. it was beautiful to read their happily ever afters, but i still wasn't ready to say goodbye. the characters and the world stole my heart; it belongs to them now.
“To the Styx?” I offer. In the dawn of death, with a fresh start on the horizon.
“To the Styx.” This is the echo that is heard across lifetimes.
that being said, i am so looking forward to the next generation: The River Styx Heathens.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Sexual violence, Death of parent