hello everyone! happy blogmas day 25 and merry christmas! today i am going to be doing the joy of christmas book tag. i’m honestly so excited to do this, since it sounds so fun and i’ve seen quite a few people doing this already.
anticipation: the christmas excitement is real, what book release(s) are you most anticipating?
i think for this one, it’s either the atlas paradox by olivie blake, hook, line, and sinker by tessa bailey or book lovers by emily henry. these are probably some of the books i’m most excited for, which i’ll talk about more in another post in the next couple days.
christmas songs and carols: what book or author can you not help buy sing it’s praise?
as good as dead by holly jackson. this is honestly such a great book, and even in the series, that i honestly really loved this author too. but, i honestly think that this book was just so great and it was honestly something that i really loved and i’ll never stop talking about this book / holly jackson.
gingerbread house: what book or series has wonderful world building?
these violent delights by chloe gong. i honestly don’t know if this would be considered world building, but i still think how they built everything up was just so amazing and i really liked it and i think the world being built up was just really good and i loved how she explained it all.
a christmas carol: favorite classic or one that you want to read.
i honestly really want to read pride and prejudice by jane austen. i honestly see so many people reading this book, and they love it so much so i honestly really want to read this one eventually and hopefully in 2022 i’ll get to read this and actually like this one.
christmas sweets: what book would you love to receive for christmas?
you’ll be the death of me by karen m. mcmanus. i honestly am so excited for this book and to read it, but i honestly hope i get this for christmas since it just sounds so good and the cover is so pretty.
candles in the window: what book gives you that warm fuzzy feelings?
honestly, any of the kingdom keeper books by ridley pearson. i honestly love these books so much and i remember reading these books for the first time years ago, and these are probably my all time favorite books, since i just have such great memories of reading them.
christmas trees and decorations: what are some of your favorite book covers?
this isn’t really a specific book cover, but i love when romance books, especially adult romance, have drawn covers. like, i think they are so much better than having two actual people on them.
christmas joy- what are some of your favorite things about christmas and/or some of your favorite christmas memories?
i honestly really like the christmas food, which is like so random. but, christmas food is so much better than thanksgiving food, in my opinion at least. but, i also like how around christmas you could just take breaks and nobody would judge you, if you didn’t work or study.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly had so much fun doing this tag. but, if you celebrate merry christmas and i hope you have/had a great day.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 24 and merry christmas eve! today i am going to be doing the christmas carol book tag. i honestly am super excited for this tag, since i watched a couple tag youtube videos, so this sounds so cool.
THE GHOST OF CHIRSTMAS PAST- A BOOK THAT WAS A CHILDHOOD FAVORITE.
not really a specific book, but more so the fear street series. like, i think that it was probably my favorite series / book when i was a kid, especially since they were this cool murder mystery thing, and i honestly really loved this one, and honestly still kind of do.
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT- A RECENT BOOK THAT YOU THINK WILL BECOME OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITES.
you’ll be the death of me by karen m. mcmanus. i honestly liked mcmanus’ other books, so i honestly think that this book also just sounds so good and i think that it has so much potential. and i honestly can’t wait to read this and i honestly think that this would be so cool.
THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS YET TO COME- A BOOK COMING OUT NEXT YEAR THAT YOU’RE EXCITED ABOUT.
the atlas paradox by olivie blake. i’m honestly so excited for this book. like i honestly loved the atlas six so much, so getting the second book, i’m just so excited for this and to be back with these characters and this world again, since i just sounds so amazing.
BAH HUMBUG- A BOOK THAT EVERYONE ELSE LOVES THAT YOU CAN’T STAND.
one last stop by casey mcquinston. i didn’t hate this book, but i feel like it was just so messy and i honestly didn’t like this book since i just feel like so much was happening, yet nothing was really important.
BOB CRATCHIT- A OLD DEPENDABLE THAT YOU ALWAYSRECOMMEND.
a good girl’s guide to murder by holly jackson. if you followed me even a for a little while, you know that i literally don’t shut up about this book. so, i’ll always talk about this book and i always recommend this book all the time since it is just so good.
TINY TIM- AN UNDERHYPED BOOK THAT YOU THINK DESERVES MORE LOVE.
if the shoe fits by julie murphy. i honestly think that this book was just so good, and i honestly think that more people need to read this book, since i think so many people would like this book if they actually decided to pick this up. so, i honestly think that this would be the perfect bachelor read.
TODAY? WHY IT’S CHRISTMAS DAY- WHAT’S A BOOK THAT ALWAYS GETS YOU IN THE MOOD FOR CHRISTMAS?
i honestly don’t think i really have one, since i think that i really read whatever i want, when i want, so i don’t really have one honestly.
THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL- YOUR FAVOREITE BOOK TO FILM ADAPTION.
i would either say shadow and bone or bridgerton, even if they both are kind of a mess, and not very good in the grand scheme of things. but, i still had fun watching them.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really had fun to do this and to talk about these prompts and it was just so fun.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 23! today i am going to be talking about the gilded wolves by roshani chokshi. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly liked this book, but i think that there was just so much happening that it got to be a little bit confusing after awhile.
trigger warnings- death, violence, child abuse, torture, blood, murder, emotional abuse, racism, ableism, physical abuse, cultural appropriation, injury / injury detail, animal cruelty, bullying, homophobia, panic attacks / disorder, antisemitism, grief, death of a parent, abandonment.
i think my biggest issue with this story was the writing. like, i think there is a fine line between actual good pretty and aesthetic writing, and then writing that is just for the aesthetics. where, i feel like with a story like this, or something like six of crows, that with the story that you are trying to tell, you can’t glamorous this, like you make it sound way to pretty then it actually is with all the things that happen during this book. and i feel like chokshi spent way to much time to get the writing to be so beautiful, that it just took away from the story and took away from the actual heists that they were doing.
another issue i had with this book was how you were just thrown into this book. like, i feel like from page one we were just supposed to expect where the relationships were and how each character interacted with each other person in this group and also just to already know who the characters are and what they do and what their specialty was, it just got to be kind of confusing and i didn’t really like it, since it was just so confusing. and i feel like they didn’t take enough time to fully explain everything.
but, i also think that the world building was really good, which i did really like. like, i feel like they did flesh out the world pretty well with explaining each of their ranks, if they had one, and i think everything was just really fleshed out and kind of explained. especially with the prologue in the start of this book, i feel like that kind of set the stage for this book and to put out what it meant, which i honestly really liked.
kind of with that, i feel like chokshi did have good ideas with how to use this, and how to use the plot and the location to her advantage, but they just weren’t executed well though. like, i feel that they did try to have these different plot points, but they just didn’t do them well and they just weren’t good, in a grand scheme of things. and i feel like some of the plot just didn’t make sense, since they would do something, but the same characters would do something else two pages later, but they were just doing something else and we never got a proper ending to the first thing, and it just got to be to much.
but, i also think that they brought into this plot with to many different things, like things that most people don’t actually understand and just have common knowledge of this all. but, i feel like that so many things got to be so confusing and that with the things not being explained, it just got to be way to confusing when they brought it up, like i think they would keep talking about forging, and i think that they were kind of confusing and i think that they needed to explain it all, since we obviously don’t have it, and i think they just needed to explain it and break it down more, which honestly got to be so confusing after awhile.
personally, i think the world building was just really good, and i honestly know that the world building was decent. but, the magic aspect would just get to be such a mess. like, i think they needed to kind of break it down and talk about what was happening and how this worked and how the different people get different powers. and i mean, i think they needed to break it down, and kind of make it be these plots that just make sense and honestly just kind of figure out all the different things, and i think everything should have been dumbed down a bit.
then for severin, i did like him in the sense that he was so smart and this mastermind, and he was honestly pretty clever. but, besides that, i think that he was honestly just super bland and kind of cold and standoffish. like, i think that he didn’t have any personality and nothing with him you could really connect too. i mean, i think also he was just such an asshole, because the other people in this group would be going through something, like a mental health thing or they’d just be plain struggling and all he would do was turn around and tell them to do something else, instead of actually helping them.
then for enrique, i honestly did like him, and he was probably my favorite character in this book since it was all very flesh outed. like i feel like his growth was just so good, and i honestly really liked seeing how he was someone that kind of went through a lot, and that in the book he was kind of underestimating everything about him. but, then he kind of grew up and kind of got to grew and became this really big historian and i really liked him and he honestly has so much potential in the other books.
for laila, i honestly really liked her and i honestly think she was very interesting. but, i feel like she was only a good character in the chapters with other characters chapters, but i think when it was her own chapters, it didn’t make sense and she was just so confusing. like, i feel that she had so much happening and that she was just so confusing. like, i do think she is a very interesting and complexed character, and i think that her development was also really good and i did like her so much.
finally for zofia, i honestly think that she did have so much growth, and i do think that she had so much potential, but i feel like she was kind of a mess at some parts. like, i think the biggest issue i had with her was that they kind of threw us into her as a character, and i honestly think that it was kind of fun, but she did kind of not be really explained to well. since, i think that they never really broke her down a lot, which got to be kind of confusing.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly did like this book a little bit, but i do think that i probably won’t read the next books in this series, since it was just so confusing and i didn’t really understand this, for a most part.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 22! today i am going to be talking about seduce me at sunrise by lisa kleypas. i gave this book 4/5 stars. i honestly really liked this book, and i feel like it did a good job with giving depth to these characters that we already seen in book 1, and i honestly really loved that part.
trigger warnings- racism, sexual content, toxic relationship, alcoholism, child abuse, death, death of a parent.
i honestly think that a lot of this book that kind of annoyed me was that merripen and win kind of got teased that they were this childhood friends to lovers with all this growing sexual tension and angst, but i feel like it was there, but it also wasn’t there at the same time. since, i feel like a lot of this relationship and this growth in the relationship, or at least for the first start of this book was that merripen would tell or act towards win that he really liked her, but then he would pull away at the last moment and just kind of not give her reasons on why he couldn’t / shouldn’t be with win, which just got to be on my nerves.
another one of my issues with this book was kind of how jumpy the start of this book was. like, i feel like at the start they were all just at the hotel and then suddenly leo and win were leaving and then these weird flashbacks to kev and win’s childhood. like i feel like it just didn’t make sense since so much was happening, and then suddenly they just jumped like three years or something to when leo and win got back. like, they should have had them just have them leave in book one would make sense, but who knows. but then the flashbacks should have been places throughout this book better and i feel like they shouldn’t just have thrown them in for like two chapters at the start.
with that though, i didn’t hate the flashbacks, since i think it was just so fun to see all of the hathaway’s as kids, and just cause we know them as adults / older teenagers, it was kind of cool to see them as kids and for them to just see how they acted with each other from the two different age ranges. and also i think that it was cool to see how they acted from kids to adults. and even just to see kev still really care about win was just so cute and i honestly loved seeing them figure it all out. and even to see the hathaway parents, i think it was just kind of fun to see how much they played into their lives and even just to see their death, full out, i think it was just so cool and i really liked it.
but, with that being said, like i really liked how they kind of played into win coming back home. like, i really liked it and i kind of liked seeing the two of them kind of interacting and having that encounter was just so fun, and i honestly really liked it and liked seeing it. but, i think that even that incident should have pushed that sexual tension and to see the angst from these characters. but, i think that they should have kind of played into that more, but i feel like it was just kind of lacking, in a sense. but, i still think this was a good book none the less.
something that i did like in this book though was the humor and the emotion in this book. like, i honestly liked that they kept up the com in rom com, since i think so many books just don’t do that anymore, even if this book it a bit older. but, i honestly this kleypas did/does such a good job in this series with having the moments that are cute and funny and then having the hard hitting moments, maybe not even between the leads, with the other siblings, that honestly really added so much to this book, which i really liked. and i think that there was just such a good balance with keeping in light and fluffy and also giving it some emotional depth for the characters.
but, i also really liked how they still showed cam and amelia get to see more plot with them and to kind of see how they still had these plot points with this and to have them still have importance, especially since amelia is the head of the head of the family, in away, but also just to see them post their HEA and just to find it all. but, i also liked how we got to see marks and leo, since they are the couple in book 4, so i kind of liked seeing them interact and kind of become these enemies to lovers and to see all of this growth from here to there was kind of fun. so, i honestly liked that we saw more couples than just win and merripan, even if they are the main couple in this book, it was cool to see other people.
for kev as a character, i honestly did like him. like i feel like he did have his issues and there was definitely things i didn’t really like about him, but i still really liked how complexed his was. like, i think that it was kind of fun to see how he acted from cam and leo then to win, i think it was just cool to see how much he cared for win and all of it. i mean, i think see so much of his backstory and just to kind of have him figure out the different aspects of his personality and what he cared for, i honestly really liked him.
then for win, i honestly really liked her. again, i do feel like she was a very complex characters and i did really like seeing her and to kind of figure out what she did. like, i also think that she was just so interesting and i honestly really liked reading about her. and i also really liked seeing how she grown from book one than to book two, i think it was just so cool. and like besides to see her grow mentally, i honestly liked to see her grow stronger physically and emotionally, i honestly liked to see how she functioned and grown, i really liked it.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really loved this book and this series and i really love this series so much, and i honestly loved to see how this all played out and this series as a whole, it was just so amazing.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 17! today i am going to be talking about the lucky list by rachael lippincott. i have this book 3/5 stars. i honestly liked this story, but i feel like there was just so much happening in this book, and then even nothing happened at the same time.
trigger warnings- grief, death of a parent, cancer, death, chronic illness, terminal illness, medical content, homophobia.
with grief being the biggest theme and element of the book, i honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this. but, i feel like the grief part of this book was handled really well by the author of this book. like, i feel like they talked about it all in a very honest and down to earth way, and i think that it just felt real and what a normal teenager would feel like if they went through something like this, which i did really liked. even though at some parts, i do think it could have been handled better and the dad honestly needed to put her in therapy or something.
with that though, i do feel like they kind of make this book seem to be happier and more of a cute and fluffy gay love story, instead they did focus on this grief a lot. which, i understand what emily is going through and how this can’t be easy for her or anyone involved, but i feel like there was some parts of this book it didn’t just fit with what was happening and the vibe of the story. like, i think that there was just so many moments were they could have improved it and not have it be this central plot point, mainly in the cute and fluffy moments.
but, i do feel like the relationship between emily and blake didn’t have to much depth. like, i think a lot of this romance between the girls was one of them just kinda trauma dumping on the other one, which i didn’t really like. and i think that so much of this book was just them forcing themselves into this relationship when emily could barely help herself, so having a girlfriend probably isn’t the smartest way to go, especially when you’re like 17 years old and have no clue what you’re doing.
also, with the whole treasure hunting plan, i feel like they would bring up these different things that would somehow lead to her mom or something related to her mom, but then they would just drop it. like, i feel that they kept taking about the french poem / tattoo / book, but then soon after, they just never talked about it again. the same thing goes with a couple other things in this book, they would bring up these semi important things, then they would just move onto the next story / plot and then completely forget about the other thing they just did / said.
but, i also think that some of this book was just so dramatized. like, i don’t even know how to explain it, without spoiling to much. but, i feel like there was just so many moments of this book that they could have just done one thing, that was the set and easy path for them to do, but then they would just not do it???? like they would make their lives and everyone around them to be 10 times harder, which just got to be on my nerves after awhile.
one thing that i really liked that the parents were just supportive of this relationship, and even the girls in general. like, i know it is the bare minimum, but i feel like so many books, especially queer books, the parents are either never involved or they are not supportive at all, which i guess is just a common theme in YA books in general. so, i honestly really liked to see the parents being involved in the girl’s life and just to see them actually be there for the girls, even if they did have some background time.
but, on the flip side, one thing i didn’t really like was how emily’s best friend treated her throughout the book. like, i feel that there was just not a lot of communication between the two of them, since the friend was this sleep away camp counselor thing, and emily was obviously still in the town. which, i feel like the best friend just pushed emily, but in the wrong way, like she would tell emily to go do this, when she just spent the whole summer not wanting that anymore and trying to grow up more. and i just think that the friend just put emily in this box, and never let her grow after emily’s boyfriend dumped her.
though, i did really like the relationships of each character with emily. like i liked seeing the rockiness of emily and her friend and them trying to grow up a bit. and then just seeing emily and her dad trying to figure things out what to do after their mom/wife died. and then seeing emily interact with her friends family and just seeing them all kind of have this whole second family vibes, which i honestly really liked seeing. but, i really liked seeing these and i really liked kind of seeing all the different relationships and to see it all happen.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly liked this book, and i honestly think that this was just a cute little queer romance, which i also liked. but, i do think that some of this book could have been improved, but i think that it was still a decent book.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 16! today i am going to be doing the friends book tag. i’m honestly so excited to do this tag, since i honestly love the show so much, even though i just started watching it over the summer. so this honestly just sounds like such a fun tag to do.
MONICA- A BOOK BASED ON GAMES OR COMPETITION.
if the shoe fits by julie murphy. this book was honestly such a fun book and i completely loved the way this story worked. and getting a cinderella inspired bachelor with a plus sized main character, is honestly everything that i could ever ask for, since this was just such a fun book.
RACHEL- A BOOK YOU READ FOR THE HYPE.
the gilded wolves by roshani chokshi. granted, i did already own a copy of this book, but seeing so many people on twitter and instagram hype this book up recently, it honestly made me want to read this book so much more, which is why i did pick it up. and if it wasn’t being hyped up so much, i probably wouldn’t have read it for a while.
ROSS- A SCIENCE FICTION BOOK.
the atlas six by olivie blake. this is probably the only true scifi book i’ve read in a while. so this was honestly just fitting to chose for this prompt. and i honestly adore this book so much, even if it was kind of a mind fuck at certain points of the story.
CHANDLER- A BOOK THAT MADE YOU LAUGH OUT LOUD.
honestly any book in the hathaway series by lisa kleypas. i honestly think these books are just so funny and i honestly love them so much. like, they are the prefect amount of serious and dramatic moments and then moments that are really funny, especially between the family, cause they honestly bring the humor.
JOEY- A SCARY BOOK YOU’D KEEP IN THE FREEZER.
as good as dead by holly jackson. i don’t get scared to easy when it comes to books or movies, but there was just something about this book that scared the actual shit out of me and made me be so paranoid after i read this book for the first time. since, this all felt so real and raw, that i honestly really loved it.
PHOEBE- A BOOK WITH A SPIRITUAL OR SUPERNATUAL THEME.
the dead and the dark by courtney gould. i honestly didn’t know what to expect going into this book, but i honestly loved the whole supernatural vibe that this book gave off, with how everything was progressing and to see how the ghosts and spirits or whatever you would want to call it impacted this town / the two main families in this book.
JANICE- A BOOK WITH AN OH MY GOD TWIST.
the forest of stolen girls by june hur. honestly, most of this book is a blur, but one of the only things i remember from this book was the ending and how twisty this book was, which i think in the best way possible, was just so amazing and this book was honestly so great.
EMILY- A BRITISH CLASSIC.
i don’t read classics or any book that i think would be considered a classic, so i’m just going to skip it.
GUNTHER- A BOOK NOBODY SEEMS TO TALK ABOUT.
the mary shelley club by goldy moldavsky. honestly, this book was just so great and i honestly really loved the way this story flowed the mystery and all the different things they pulled. and i honestly this book would be so amazing for people that like those old classic slasher films, they would love this, so i honestly think more people need to pick it up.
CAROL AND SUSAN- AN LBGTQIA+ BOOK OR AUTHOR.
cinderella is dead by kalynn baryon. i honestly love this book so much, like i love the story and the whole way that they made cinderella retelling with a queer characters at the center of this, which i think was just so cool and i honestly loved reading about that, since i feel like there isn’t to many queer disney retellings out there, or at least main stream ones.
EDDIE- A BOOK OR CHARACTER WITH INTENSE/ STALKER VIBES.
ryle from it ends with us by colleen hoover. honestly, this is kind of a given, but he is probably one of the most intense characters that i’ve read in a while, and that isn’t like edward cullen. but, i honestly think ryle is a character that is better written and all of that.
MIKE- A SLOW BURN BOOK OR A ROMANCE NOVEL.
beach read by emily henry. this is kind of both, since this is definitely a romance book, and i think it is kind of a slow burn, so this is kind of the best of both worlds. and this is honestly a very good book, but i do think that her second adult romance is better than this one.
RICHARD- A BOOK THAT LEFT YOU FEELINGS ACCOMPLOSHED OR BETTER EDUCATED.
these violent delights by chloe gong. i read this book for the first time earlier this year / late last year, and i honestly didn’t really like it that much. so, with this book, i was honestly so happy when i finished it, rather quickly, and honestly that i did really like it and really loved this series as a whole.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really liked doing this book tag and i loved to see these books and characters kind of go together and just to see how this all worked. and this was honestly just so fun.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 15! today i am going to be doing another taste test, but this time i am going to be talking about the second endings, since i don’t think i’ve ever talked about them, like i definitely talked about the first couple of them, but some of the other ones i’ve never talked about, so this will be a good way to talk about them all together cause they are all so short.
THE DUKE AND I-3/5 stars
i honestly didn’t hate this book, but i also didn’t love this book. like, i feel that a lot of this book just felt off from the regular duke and i book. but, i guess it was kind of cute that we get this story like 20 years later, or some long ass time and to see them still in love, and i guess even have another kid again. which, i don’t really believe that it is safe for 40 year old daphne to have another kid in the regency era, but who the hell knows.
THE VISCOUNT WHO LOVED ME- 4/5 stars.
i kind of go back and forth with the rating of this book, mainly the regular book for this book. but, i honestly think that this book was just cute, but still kind of random. like, i feel like this book was just kind of odd, since it just felt off place. like, this worked, but at the same time, it didn’t really work at the same time. like, so much was happening, but at the same time, i do think it was cute to see kate and anthony and the rest of the bridgerton’s and in-laws to play pall mall again.
AN OFFER FROM A GENTLEMAN- 4/5 stars.
honestly, i liked this book, but i think that they should have had this book be more then sophie and benedict, then about posy. like, i do think that they should have gave posy her own book, and maybe get her into the smythe-smith series some how, since the bridgerton’s and the smythe-smith’s are friends. but, i wish we got to see more of benedict and sophie, just being a couple and doing something domestic or something about them, not posy.
ROMANCING MISTER BRIDGERTON- 2/5 stars.
kind of falling into the ben and sophie trap hole, i just feel like this was unneeded. like, most of this book already happens in to sir phillip with love, and i think this book could have completely been cut out, since this is our second time reading this plot, even if we got some more boning in here. but, i do feel like hyacinth was the only saving grace in this book, since she really brought the comedy for the characters and the whole plot of it all.
TO SIR PHILLIP, WITH LOVE- 2/5 stars.
this is pretty much AOFAG take too, like completely. i honestly didn’t really care about seeing amanda to fall in love and get the guy, where i feel like they could have given her own big book, instead of this rushed version. and i honestly just wanted to see eloise and phillip being a cute married couple, and maybe even boning in the greenhouse, or something more then their kid’s love story, who the last time we saw her, she was eight.
WHEN HE WAS WICKED- 5/5 stars.
honestly, this was probably my favorite second epilogue, which isn’t saying to much honestly, but i still completely loved this book. i honestly really loved seeing frannie and michael struggle with having kids and when they eventually having kids, it was just so sweet and pure, which i honestly really loved. like, i do think that frannie was just such an amazing character, so i honestly really loved seeing her become a mom, even though i think she got pregnant at aubrey hall, which probably gave anthony a heart attack and he probably bleached the house / bedroom.
IT’S IN HIS KISS- 3/5 stars.
again, this book had so much potential to be such a cute story between hyacinth and gareth and just to have some good fluff, but instead we went back into that whole family jewel nonsense, which just didn’t make sense. like, i feel that this whole epilogue could be boiled down to, if their daughter just gave them the jewels right when she found them, this whole book would never have happened. and also, i think it is so unbelievable that hyacinth searched this house millions and millions of times, like before they even had their daughter, yet they never found the jewels in the room / bathroom, so that all just kind of pissed me off.
ON THE WAY TO THEWEDDING- 3/5 STARS.
as much as i like greg and lucy, and this book honestly sucked, to some regard. like, i think that so much of this series is focused on romance and happiness, this book just felt off and wasn’t what you needed for the true conclusion to the bridgerton series. like, seeing that they almost kill off lucy in this book once she has their last kids, i just feel like that is the worst way to end this, when they could have had the family together and happy.
VIOLET IN BLOOM- 3/5 stars.
as much as i liked this story, and they didn’t kill of violet in the last couple pages of this novella, i really wish it was a full length novel. like, they always talk about how much of an impact violet and edmund had on each of their kids separate romance, i just think it would have been cool to see them have their own book, even if it does end tragically. and i do feel like so much of their romance was rushed the hell out in the book, and they honestly needed to slow the hell down with a couple parts of this book, just so we can see their whole relationship.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly really love this series so much, and i’m honestly so sad to say that i finished it, since i feel like i spent so much of this year reading and reviewing these books, but i honestly still really love these books / this series.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 14! today i am going to be talking about the secrets of sir richard kenworthy by julia quinn. i gave this book 1/5 stars. i honestly wish i liked this book, even a little bit cause i honestly love the smythe smith and the bridgerton books so much, and hating this one kind of sucked.
trigger warnings- sexual content, toxic relationship, pregnancy, gaslighting.
honestly, i think one of my biggest issues with this book is that there was so much abuse between richard and iris. like, they never straight up slapped each other or anything like that. but, they were always saying that they grabbed each other harder or they grabbed someone else and they cried out in pain or something like that. like, i’m not going to condoned abuse or anything, but like if it happened once, i could kind of get over it, but this happened multiple times per chapter, which just got to be a lot after awhile.
like, another thing that i really didn’t like was the hero, richard. i honestly hated him so much, like, i never really read a hero in a historical romance that i honestly hated so much. like, i feel that all of his actions were just so stupid and everything he did was just so bad and terrible and i really hated everything that he did. and like, he was such an asshole and he completely lived up to his richard name, throughout so much of the book.
personally, i don’t really care about what the main woman looks like in a romance books, and like i feel like i read a lot of books were the heroine was this plain jane character, like i even think that they described kate from the viscount who loved me that way. but, it really annoyed the hell out of me that they said again and again that richard only picked iris because she was plain and that she looked desperate to get married, hence why he picked her. and it really just annoyed the hell out of me that they added this in and even more that he said this to her a couple times when they were fighting.
and i also found the whole motive why she was overlooked by men to be so stupid? like the whole reason nobody wanted to court her because she was pale, and like they went over her being pale over and over and over again, like they could be talking about what they were eating for dinner, and then they would somehow work into that conversation about iris being pale, which was just so annoying. and like after a while, it’s just like, i get it, she’s pale.
and also that so much of this book was built up with him manipulating her and that he went into this whole relationship / courtship just so that he can help his sister, and like how he went upon the courtship was just so gross and i really hated that all so incredibly much. and also how he gaslit her throughout the relationship, which i feel like never really was apologized for, among the other things in this book, to be honest. and like when they made up at the end of the book, richard never went to her and said that he was sorry for treating her this way and doing this to her, which just sucked so much and they honestly need to change it.
and like i also feel like they would go time and time again about how richard would say he felt ‘guilty’ for what he did to iris, and how he did fuck her over, and a guarantee that she could find a better man because she does have some sort of status and all of her cousins have married people of higher titles, and surely they could open up some doors for her. anyway, i do feel like he would go on these rants, or inter thoughts, about how he felt bad that he did this to her, but then in the next couples pages, he would do something else that made her pissed and kind of fucked with her mind. like, i think it was just so shitty that he would feel these guilts, but then just do it again anyway.
kind of playing on the whole guilt thing, it also annoyed me with how richard treated her again and again. like, there was consent there, for the most part, so that was honestly a good thing, but again, the bare minimum. but, i feel like there was times that she would be like, no i don’t really want to do anything like that, but then he would kind of push her to do it anyway, really just trying to get her ‘pregnant’, which i think was so stupid. like, i do think that there was some consentful moments, but i also think that there was a ton of them were i didn’t really like it.
but, i do think that everyone in this book was just so horny. like, i do feel like it was just so annoying, since they would go to fighting and richard being an asshole and then they would just jump into bed together, which got on my nerves after awhile. since, i feel like they could practically kill each other, and then they would just be like, oh let’s fuck and they do, and it got to be so annoying.
another thing i really hated was how his sisters acted throughout in this book. like, i feel that so much of these plots in this book were just so much hell they gave to iris, like she married your brother, granted it wasn’t by her choice, but it still was so annoying. like, they would be eating dinner together and then they one of the sisters would just say something rude to iris, when she honestly didn’t deserve it. like, i feel like so much of this book was just everyone being rude to iris, when she honestly didn’t deserve it, or at least for the most part.
anyway, that is all for today! but, i honestly wish i liked this book, since i feel like there was just a couple moments which i did like this book, but i also feel like there wasn’t enough good moments for me to honestly like this book, and not write a whole review on why i hate this book so much.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 13! today i am going to be talking about my top 10 books covers of 2021, or my favorite covers from this year. like, i feel that so many great covers came out this year and i really loved so many covers. and these books aren’t going to be in any order, since it would be kind of hard to rank them in actual order.
malibu rising by taylor jenkins reid.
malibu: august, 1983. it’s the day of nina riva’s annual end of the summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. everyone wants to be around the famous riva’s: nina, the talented surfer and supermodel, brothers jay and hud, one a championship surfer and the other one a renowned photographer, and their little sister, kit. together, the siblings are source of the fascination in malibu and the world over, especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, mick riva. the only person not looking forward to the party is nina, who never wants to be the center of attention, and who has just been publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. and hud, because it is long past time to confess something to the brother who has been inseparable with since birth. but jay, who is counting the minutes until nightfall when the girl who he can’t stop thinking about will be there. and then kit, with a few secrets of her own and a surprise guest. but, by midnight, the party will be out of control, but by morning the riva mansion will be up in flames.
2. yolk by mary h.k. choi.
jayne baek is barely getting by. she shuffles through fashion school, saddled with a deadbeat boyfriend, clout-chasing friends, and a wretched eating disorder that she’s not fully ready to confront. but, that’s new york city, right? at least she isn’t in texas anymore, and is finally living in a city that feels right for her. on the other hand, her sister june is dazzlingly rich with a high flying finance job and a massive apartment. unlike jayne, june has never struggled a day in her life, until she’s diagnosed with uterine cancer.
3. ace of spades by faridah abike iyimide.
welcome to niveus private academy, where money paves the hallways, and the students are never less than perfect. until now, because anonymous texter, aces, is brining two students’ dark secrets to light. talented musician devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can’t escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. head girl, chiamaka, isn’t afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power.
4. white smoke by tiffany d. jackson.
marigold is running from ghosts. the phantoms of her old life keep haunting her, but a move with her newly blended family from their small california beach town to the embattled midwestern city of cedarville might be the fresh start she needs. her mom has accepted a new job with the sterling foundation that comes with a free house, one that mari now has to share with her bratty ten year old stepsister, piper. the renovated picture perfect home on maple street, sitting between dilapidated houses, surrounded by wary neighbors has its secrets. that’s only half of the problem: household items vanish, doors open on their own, lights turn off, shadows walk past rooms, voices can be heard in the walls, and there’s a foul smell seeping through the vents only mari seems to notice. worse, piper keep talking about a friend who wants mari gone.
5. firekeeper’s daughter by angeline boulley.
as a biracial unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen year old daunis fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby ojibwe reservation. daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is stuck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother. the only bright spot is meeting jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother levi’s hockey team. yet, even as daunis falls for jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. everything comes to light when daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation. reluctantly, daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. but, the deceptions and deaths keep piling up and soon the threat strikes toon close to home.
6. the ones we’re meant to find by joan he.
cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection on how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. all she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named kay, and it’s up to cee to cross the ocean and find her. in a world apart, 16 year old stem prodigy, kasey mizuhara lives in a eco city built for people who protected the planet, and now needed protecting from it. with natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of heir times in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. while kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister celia hated it. popular and loveable, celica much preferred the outside world. but, no one could have predicted that celica would take a boat out to see, never to return.
7. amelia unabridged by ashley schumacher.
eighteen year old, amelia griffin, is obsessed with the famous orman chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy, NE Endsley. they’re the books that brought her and her best friend, jenna, together after amelia’s father left and her family imploded. so, when amelia and jenna get an opportunity of attend a book festival with endsley in attendance, amelia is ecstatic. it’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college. in a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. when jenna gets a chance to meet the author and amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. and before amelia has a chance to mend things, jenna is killed in a freak car accident. grief stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.
8. the lost apothecary by sarah penner.
a female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them, setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. rule 1. the poison must never be used to harm another woman, rule 2. the manes of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register. and on one cold february evening in 1791, at the back of a dark london alley in a hidden apothecary shop, nella awaits her newest customer. once a respected healer, nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose, selling a new disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. but when her new patron turns out to be a precocious 12 year old name eliza fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardize nella’s world and threatens to expose the many woman whose names ae written in her register. and in present day london, aspiring historian caroline parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. when she finds the old apothecary vial near the river thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders’ that haunted london for over two centuries ago.
9. house of hollow by krystal sutherland.
seventeen year old, iris hollow, has always been strange. something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t remember but that left each of them with an identical half moon scar at the base of their throats. iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. but when her elder sister, grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind. as iris retraces grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.
10. kingdom of the cursed by kerri maniscalo.
i’m not going to explain what this book is about cause i don’t want to spoil anyone. but, this is the second book in the kingdom of the wicked.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly think that these covers are just so pretty, and i honestly think that so many other pretty books that i really like them so much.
hello everyone! happy blogmas day 12! today i am going to be talking about the ivies by alexa donne. i gave this book 3/5 stars. i honestly wish i liked this book more, since i feel like this book was just kind of a mess and i think that a lot of the plot was just such a mess.
trigger warnings- death, murder, bullying, grief, toxic friendship, emotional abuse, violence, adult / minor relationship, infidelity, misogyny, racism, toxic friendship, body shaming, cursing, gun violence, gaslighting, pedophilia, alcohol, drug use.
honestly, i think my biggest issue with this book was that it just felt cheap. like, i feel that most of this book has been done before, and the tropes that were stitched into this were done 100 times before, and will be done again, but nothing in this book felt like it was better than the others and just original, even if it’s been done before. and that a lot of this book was just over the top and just the tricks were so stupid, and not really thought threw.
i also feel like the ‘ending,’ which really isn’t an ending since it happened at like 50% mark. like, again, i feel like the who done it was so obvious and that it wasn’t original and that it was the common tropes that you see in every other mystery plot. like, the reveal wasn’t even executed all that well, so it wasn’t even like that was done to well either. like, i think it could have been so cool, if done properly. and anyway, i feel like they kind of tell you who did it, if you read in between the lines, since it was right there.
and i feel like a lot of this book was just so rushed and that everything was wrapped up correctly. like, they told us the who did it, but they never really explained why they did this and what their motivation for the crimes were, which i just found to be so annoying, cause it would be so easy just to make something up and put some motive behind the actions. and anyway, in a crime novel like this, it would be the bare minimum to be like, they killed her cause of this, which they didn’t do.
but, i did kind of like the college admissions plot, like, i think it was really cool, but at the same time it just felt like it was to the extreme. like, i think that it was interesting to read that these students were applying to colleges and trying to get into these ivy league schools. but, at the same time i think, would you really murder over college, just because you didn’t get early decision, like you can apply normally and even transfer if you really want too. like, it just felt a little bit silly to me.
i also hated the ivies in this book. like, they did some stuff that is like some sort of crimes, or at least morally wrong, and all they got was a ‘don’t do this again,’ or that’s at least how i remember it. like, i don’t think that they should have these long ass jail sentences or anything, but just something just to tell them that what they didn’t isn’t right, and get some sort of punishment for what the did, throughout this book.
but, with this group of five girls, i feel like they only talked about three of the girls. like, they had all the talking parts and the parts were they had actual plot and had personalities and such, but the other two were like glorified background characters, which was just so stupid, since they’re part of this story and this group, you should just give them something that is worthwhile.
with the characters, i also feel like not to many people developed and grew as characters. like, i do feel like the other two girls, the ones that had like 3 lines, they grew and they had some development, but still not that much. but, then for avery and olivia, they never really changed. like, avery was still the rich, white, mean girl that she was in the start of the book, which annoyed the hell out of me. and olivia still had this victim complex and started this story as the ‘poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks’ that wants to live this glamorous and expensive life that everyone else, and especially the rest of the ivies, live. and like, by the end she was the same person and didn’t ever realize that maybe she shouldn’t live this cause she already saw the consequences, aka her best friend died.
anyway, that is all for today! i honestly wish i liked this book more than i did, but i still think it was a decent read regardless. but, i’m still kind of interested in donne’s other works, since they sound kind of interesting.
r.bookish 