jennireadsmaybe's Reviews (678)

Honestly, I don't think there are other books doing it like Children of Blood and Bone is. This is fantasy! This is dark and gritty and a big abcdefu to colonialism. The world building happens naturally throughout the book instead of all at once in the beginning, which I really liked. It's been weeks and I can't stop thinking about this book. 

Every single character feeds the plot so well. Zélie is a badass, magical warrior from start to finish and you just want to root for her forever. Amari's character arc starts off strong from princess to rebel; her romance with Tzain adds a bit of sweetness to an otherwise intense book. Inan is a mess, but the kind of mess that makes you so invested in his story. Tomi Adeyemi captures the nationalistic system and the struggle to deradicalize when you are actively benefitting from said nationalistic system. 

Read this if you like fantasy rooted in social issues, lush environments, real, honest to god enemies to lovers to enemies, messy teenage decisions, and intentionally causing yourself pain by reading a book. 

Bi4Bi, Latine and Filipinx mcs, first female pitcher in the MLB, fem dom, and so many more buzzwords drew me to Wild Pitch. I'd been on the hunt for another baseball romance and found it here. I loved every second of it. Cat Giraldo is a new auto buy author for me. I loved her character work entirely too much. The romance was soft (read: sweet, swoony, fluffy) and hard ;) (read: hot, steamy, filthy, explosive). 

I'm always nervous going into sports romances that they'll skip over most of the sport in exchange for the romance, but Giraldo knows his stuff. All the baseball scenes made me feel like I was down on the diamond with the team. I was fully invested in this team finally winning their series ring. Obviously, it also added that bit of forbidden relationship between a captain and a rookie, which was so fun! 

Read this if you like sports romances, queer romances, captain x rookie, tearing down gendered sports, fem dom, a man who gets on his knees for multiple reasons, and caretaking scenes.  

Cade Montgomery the man that you are! I fell in love with this depressed, playboy, pissed at the world guy in Rein Me In (the previous book in the series), but after reading Rope Me In I would fall at his feet and beg for his attention. Getting to explore all the things that drew me to him in the first place made this book so special. It's honestly magical!! 

Presley felt like a warm hug. She's an anxious, purple-haired, fat, fiddle playing, city girl who up and moves to Randal to leave her old life behind. She's finding her place in the world and learning how to love herself after ending a horrible, toxic relationship. I love her so much! Presley and Cade are exactly what the other needs. It's sickeningly sweet (read: I'm jealous and want a turn!!). 

As a previous sensitivity reader for Kayla Grosse, I know that she handles everything with the utmost care. There's a lot of triggers and difficult topics explored in RMI. Each one felt genuine, heartfelt, and dignity granted. I would still recommend looking at triggers before reading. 

Read this if you like small town, cowboy romances, reformed playboy, depression and anxiety rep, smut that explores k!nk, fat mcs, and spicy books that make you feel lots of emotions! 

I Wish You All the Best is an extremely powerful read about identity, complex family relationships, and what it means to be a queer and trans teenager in an environment that makes you feel like you're drowning. To put it bluntly, this book was painful to read as someone on the other side of a tough teenage life. I am so glad this book exists though. If it could get in the hand of just one struggling teenager, I know it would change their life. 

Mason Deaver knows how to capture their audience's attention. Their characters are always so easy to root for. Benji's journey with therapy and medication is pivotal in destigmatizing mental health care for teenagers. I really liked getting to read Benji coming into themself and their new relationships. 

Read this if you like YA coming of age stories with a hint of romance, trans and nonbinary representation, hard but necessary reads, and normalizing mental health care. 

I love emotionally destructive reading, so when Pit Stop came on my radar I thought to myself: hey this looks like a good time. I wasn't wrong. I did cry. I did hurt. Best of all, I did love! Ellis Mae's writing is phenomenal, stunning, and basically any other synonym you can think of. From the first page I was in pain in a good way (kind of). Both John and Isamu are *jazz hands* traumatized. 

It's very very very slow burn, but it's worth every single page. When they finally admit their feelings for each other it's better than a warm hug. Listen, I'm one step away from finding a run down van and falling for the grumpy, secretive mechanic that I hire to fix it. All of the little moments between John and Isamu wrecked me. I want what they have. 

Read this if you like achillean romance, traumatized™ MCs, mental health rep, strangers to friends to lovers, secret sharing, romances with dogs in them, and causing yourself to cry for days on end! 

Past me starting this in desperate need of a fun, funky, monster romance that would give me a bit of a break between heart-wrenching books was sitting like 😲 And they were soulmates?!?!? AITA? takes all the fun of a demon summoning kit and makes it both hot and emotional as hell. Marrying your toxic boyfriend is out and exploring your sexuality with and falling for a sexy, rich, badass warrior, demon woman is in. 

Becky and Quenalith are both going through some things (alcoholism and grief). I like that Cassie Alexander didn't rush their romance and overlook the off-page healing both characters needed. The smut scenes were the best of exploring one's sexuality and monstrous appendages. I'll definitely be reading more of the author's back list especially with the author's note at the end. 

Read this if you like lesbian and bisexual rep, monster romances (wings and tails!!!), smut with a side of emotion, and what follows the end of a toxic relationship. 

The Next Best Fling is a phenomenal debut from Gabriella Gamez. I was instantly whisked away when I started the first page. As a library assistant, I loved seeing the all the library lingo and can completely relate to having stacks of library books taking up every inch of free space in my house. Marcela is such a great character because of how hard she's trying to get by while being in love with her engaged, best friend. She doesn't want to hurt anyone, even if it might lead to her own happiness. 

Marcela and Theo have chemistry like no other. He wants her bad folx!! Their romance is unique and messy and delightful. They quickly become each other's confidantes. Communication is key and I liked seeing how these two navigated the difficult conversations and reveals they had. Really, once they "got it out of their systems" it was genuinely so fun to see them break the rules they set in the beginning. Theo knows how to put it down and let Marcela know just how much he wants her. I liked the portrayal of Marcela's thoughts on her body. It's always refreshing to see a fat character who sometimes has their struggles (because it's so real) but also loves themselves so much. 

Read this if you like bookish MCs, MMCs who are down bad, getting it out of our systems, communication that isn't perfect but is doing it's damn best, and fat MCs that are deeply desired. 

Was Promises and Pomegranates my favorite dark, mafia romance of all time? No. Was it still a fun, smutty, gory time? Yes. I picked it up because my IRL bestie has been begging me to for years. Add it to the list of Hades and Persephone retellings that I'll recommend. I liked how chaotic it was; it wasn't the most believable but I still enjoyed it. 

Elena is an interesting FMC because she's both innocent (read: virgin-ish 🙄) and violent (read: kicks ass too). She doesn't want to marry her fiancé but she also doesn't want to be whisked away from her family with her new husband Kal. She's stuck. I think these FMCs are my favorite in mafia romances because they are truly up creek without a paddle. Kal is the kind of morally black, murdering, tragic past I've come to expect from mafia as well. Overall, their romance was hot and heartfelt-ish.

Read this is you like bookish MCs, morally black MMCs, knives (🥵), MMCs who k*ll anyone who harms the FMC, Hades and Persephone retellings, kink exploration, and FMCs who realize just how much of a badass they really are! 

I will not accept any criticism of How to End a Love Story! From the start to finish, I loved each and every second of this. Yulin Kuang is without a doubt an auto-buy author. The freaking idea itself was so unique because who falls from the person who the person that drove the car that killed their sister?!?! They're like two sides of the same coin, forever tied together after the horrible event. I cried so hard at so many parts. 

I wanted to wrap Helen and Grant in my arms and make sure they never experienced any pain again. I loved the character work and how they each wanted to be like the other while in the writer's room (soulmatism if you ask me). The romance was so damn good that I can't imagine anything topping it for me.

THIS MAN WROTE HIS FREAKING ADDRESS ON HER THIGH

It's been a week and I can't stop thinking about them. The big and small moments, the kisses and the smut, the joy and pain, literally everything about this was phenomenal!!! 

Read this if you like angsty, slow burn romance, writing like Emily Henry with Ali Hazelwood smut, sad girl reads, hurting yourself for fun, books about writers, the inescapable fear that you've already done the best thing you will in life, or are the traumatized oldest daughter of a family that never talks about their feelings! 😄 

Thank you to NetGalley and Canary Street Press for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts <3 

I fell in love with Charish Reid's writing last September when I read Mickey Chambers Shakes it Up. Obviously, that meant that I was desperate to read her newest release Jewel Me Twice. It was such a romp! A heist novel with a second chance romance at its center, JMT follows Celeste and Magnus former flames and part of the same squad of thieves. It was so fun reading them falling in love because of all the moving elements of the crime but also the bits and pieces of their previous, somewhat tragic ending. 

Celeste is a certified badass!!! She knows her worth but she's still struggling to find her place in the world without her former mentor. I really liked how Reid built up the grief Celeste and Magnus were feeling. They really were two halves of a whole. AND SHE WAS ONLY SOFT FOR HIM!!! The steamy scenes were hot as hell because they already knew what the other character needed/wanted. 

Read this if you like second chance romances, heists (with a bit of mystery), badass FMCs who are only soft for the hero, and later in life romances.