cielosiluminado's Reviews (443)

The Truths We Burn

Monty Jay

4.0

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

the sequel. i wasn't sure what i was expecting with this book but it completely surprised me, in a very good way.

the overall hollow boys plot line took a bit more of a back seat in this book compared to The Lies we Steal and this felt more like the story of rook and sage. which is not a bad thing!

There are only two people who can look the pits of hell in the eyes and not flinch.
Those in Hell and those who already made their way out.

this book has two acts; act I being when they're 18 and still in high school, pre-rosie's death, and act II is a year later, when they're 19 at hollow heights university, post-rosie's death where everyone is out for vengeance.

Criminally insane and psychotically hot … Fun to look at , but under no circumstances do you touch.

rook and sage. my babies. the enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies-and-AGAIN-to-lovers plot in this book was so fucking good!

They’d ripped her wings from her back, but she replaced them with ashes and eternal wings made of the hottest blue flame.
And in order for her to fly, I’m going to cut the chains keeping her rooted to the ground.

sage donahue, ponderosa springs' sweetheart. usually i'm not a fan of queen bees, cheerleaders, etc. but her character pleasantly surprised me with her depth and backstory; it showed how full of strength, resilience, and power she is. she was so broken and felt so alone to the point where she believed she had to hide behind masks to protect herself. she hurt people through her words when she was hurt as long as she kept up the façade. her having to break the heart of the boy she loved to protect her twin sister, only for that twin sister to meet her untimely demise shortly after, was devastating. but from the ashes, she rose. she survived. sage became a phoenix.

A scorned angel, filled with so much anger and hatred, but on the inside, he’s still that same angel. One that had lost everything when he was cast out of heaven...

rook van doren, my baby boy. the devil. always hiding pain through goofiness jokes. i wasn't sure what i was expecting with this arsonist who is also addicted to pain. the way he let people hurt him as long as he felt pain to atone for his "sins", which he constantly blames himself for, that aren't even his fault...! heartbreaking. a self-described masochist fell in love and he fell hard. became such a softie for her but unfortunately sage broke his heart, and trust, and it almost ruined him; but he also survived. by burning shit down, putting walls up, and seeking even more pain through self-harm.

“I’m keeping you.”
“You’ve always had me, Rook. Always.”

when sage came back to ponderosa springs, rook was still torn between believing her or not, because he just couldn't resist her. the amount of pain they both went through and how they both remained in pain for over a year without forgetting about each other or their love... *chefs kiss*

We are the star-crossed lovers who were doomed from the start, and here we stand.
Hand in hand.
All the dead poets who wrote of sweet, gentle love cry out in disgust at our sick, twisted version of the emotion.
But it’s us.
And we are the eternal flame.
Forever.

these two are pure fire. their immediate, intense chemistry — hate or lust — is so powerful and so dang hot. their relationship showed their softer sides, how their damaged pieces fit together. their love was strong, endless, enduring. even with all the shit in their lives, the way they loved each other was romantic.

She had never been the innocent Eve in the garden.
She had always been my Lilith.
My equal.
My queen.
A phoenix.

i'm not religious, but i can appreciate and applaud the well use of the literary allusions throughout the book - the fall of Lucifer, his wife Lilith, The Crucible, Dante's Inferno, etc. all beautifully written.

Content Warnings

The Lies We Steal

Monty Jay

3.0

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

2nd read:
ok so i missed them

1st read:
the beginning. sort of. it's the first book, the introduction to the hollow boys. what a story. and while i loved it in the long run, i still found some things... not right with the book.

alistair and brair. two damaged people who felt unloved and unwanted, but yet found the most beautiful match to their dark sides in each other. their love is unique.

“I’m not sure what I can give you, but whatever is left of me, whatever I have, it’s yours, for as long as you want it.”

alistair was intense, wrathful, a caveman, possessive when it came to his little thief and his boys. people fear him because he doesn't fear anything. not even death.

“I wanna know what it is that makes the shadows so great. I want you to show me.”

briar, beautiful little thief. she was so smart, strong, and sassy. her whole life she wanted to hide away and not be seen, and especially not be noticed in this new, dark town and school. that didn't quite go as... planned. when she met him, she had no option but to go into the darkness.

You don’t have to step into the light to find happiness. You just need to find the person willing to step into the grey area.

the romance was somehow both slow burn and insta-love and wanting to be together forever at the same time. they went from hating each other for most of the book to being in love almost overnight in the last quarter of the book. the sexual tension was always there, yes, but there was zero emotional connection or chemistry for most of the story.

i think my biggest gripe, and favorite part at the same time, with this book was the need to introduce everyone to understand the backstory, especially of the hollow boys. while this book was dual-POV (briar and alistair), it often felt like their friends were the main characters as well. not a bad thing but like stated earlier, a good chunk of the book was based around other people and their stories and then the last quarter of the book was solely on briar and alistair's story.

there was also so many plotlines happening at once. revenge for a girl taken too soon. golden boy's fall from grace which completely caught me off guard. and most notably, briar and alistair falling in love.

overall, what redeems it a lot was the mystery, thrill, and twists that is the story. it kept me hooked and wanting more. if you love mysteries and puzzles, this book might interest you.

Content Warnings

Iced Out

CE Ricci

3.0

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

a good 'ol enemies-with-benefits-to-lovers story.

this book had a lot of potential but there were many things… off.

my biggest gripe with the book is that even though quinn and oakley had some cute moments, everything felt too insta-lusty and rushed.

He smiles at me like I hung the goddamn moon for him.

the lack of actual relationship progression was disappointing. i wanted to see them go on actual dates and hangout without them always getting naked. their banter was impeccable though.

the first half of the book was boring. there were some plot holes i couldn't overlook, i.e. quinn's family or the tampered drug test results BUT! the second half of the book was far more captivating, redeeming the storyline, but not enough for me to give this a higher rating.

Content Warnings

Behind the Net

Stephanie Archer

3.0

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 story was cute, and hot a lot of the times (not a bad thing). a cliché grumpy guy and sunshine girl trope. and close proximity.

the beginning was very promising but it was very cringy predictable and the middle of the book felt like only fluff to draw out the story. there were moments were i was pushing myself to get to the next chapter but once i got through the fluff, the story picked right back up, making it more enjoyable to finish.

“How can anyone ever say yes to you if you say no to yourself first?”

jamie and pippa were cute together and i really loved that they were there for each other, professionally and personally, and supported one another's dreams. they truly loved each other. their sex scenes were hot.

this might be a hot take, but i don't hate "songbird" as a nickname. it was kind of fitting for pippa.

most of the side characters were fun and i'm looking forward to roryhazel in book 2 but i loved the daisy the dog the most. she stole the show for me.

the epilogue was a cute closing to the story and the extended scene from stephanie's website was hot and dirty.

if you're looking for a quick, cheesy read, give this one a try.

Content Warnings

Caught Up

Liz Tomforde

4.5

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

2nd ~~recorded~~ read:
i always come back to kaimiller because they have given me major brainrot to the point where i don’t always track rereads but now i have a good excuse: book 4 is coming out soon

1st read:
…and she's done it again. liz truly never disappoints.

this book destroyed me, breaking my heart and then sowing it back together. even though this book may have made me laugh, smile, and cry while reading, it made me unbelievably happy in the end.

the relatability to miller because of her insecurities and commitment issues hit close to home for me. my sweet, wild girl. i adore her.

you cannot change my mind that kai is one of the blueprints of all book boyfriends. he's so selfless, he's literally taken care of everyone around him, sacrificing so much.

“You put me first when I forgot how to. You reminded me what it felt like to be important, to be chosen first.”

kai and miller were made for each other. absolute couple goals. their romance? beautiful. their banter? fucking hilarious. the sexual tension? HOT.

the growth kai and miller went on together, and especially on their own, was amazing to read. their love is so pure.

the relationship between kai and max was one of the most beautiful and heartwarming things i've ever read. and the relationship that miller develops with max? had me a crying mess.

kai's love confession? had me a crying mess.

miller's love confession? had me a happy, crying mess.

and best of all, everybody thinking max was trying to say 'Miller' when he kept saying "Mmm", but he proudly exclaiming "Mama" to her instead, had me a crying, bawling mess.

this story is so captivating and impactful, one of my most quick reads this year. i also loved seeing all the previous couples and also the sneak peeks of future couples whose stories are yet to told.

Content Warnings

The Right Move

Liz Tomforde

4.0

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

2nd read:
when will i find my own book boyfriend irl

1st read:
although the story was a bit long-winded at times, this book was a good mixture of cliché, angst, slow burn, and lust. this one goes out to all the hopeless romantics out there.

my romantic heart loved this book.

“Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest,”

indy ivers, my perfect girl. ryan shay, top tier book boyfriend. the fact that both main characters were flawed characters *chefs kiss* but even though they were both flawed, they still had real personalities and weren't toxic to each other or others. their willingness to communicate, despite some misunderstandings, was so refreshing to read.

Content Warnings

Mile High

Liz Tomforde

4.5

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

2nd read:
i missed my babies and i loved falling in love with them all over again while rereading them

1st read:
sure, this was a sports romance book and i couldn't give two shits about sports BUT! this book was so much more. the plus size rep, diversity, mental health representation and openness. fuck, this book was good.

the relatability to stevie, the fmc—her intelligence, resilience, humor, confidence, selflessness.

the great man that is zanders, the mmc—seeing his protectiveness, positivity, confidence, insecurities, emotional soft side.

both are beautifully written main characters.

If shit-talking is a love language, then it’s ours, and I thoroughly plan on bantering with my wild girl for the rest of my life.

the journey and growth these two went through together and apart was… *chefs kiss* one of their love languages being shit-talking was hilarious and sold the book to me early on.

Content Warnings

Ghosted

J.M. Darhower

4.5

emotional funny hopeful 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

i admit, second chance romances aren't my favorite or most read genre, but this story was heartbreakingly beautiful.

i admit i rooted for the mcs very early on. how can you not? their chemistry since they were teenagers was incredible.

“You’re the queen, baby…. I’m just a commoner.”

kennedy. jesus christ, that woman is so fucking selfless. so strong, smart, resilient, funny. and jonathan, the world of pain that man went through himself and was so desperate for a redemption at love and trust. oh and maddie, my sweet little cinnamon roll. she got to have her two heroes in the end.

such a beautiful family and their happily ever after made me so happy.

Content Warnings