lauren
This was my first Zoje Stage book and I think I will read from her again. I was really invested in the first half of this book like fully immersed. I enjoyed the flashbacks we got of Grace's childhood and seeing her relationship with her mom and sister. But after the halfway mark the book dragged for me. I found myself getting bored and I didn't care about what was happening. The ending was good but nothing spectacular to me. I was a little bit let down be the twist, I wanted something more interesting. I did enjoy the epilogue at the end which is something I don't see a lot in mystery/thrillers. Overall it was a fine read nothing amazing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
4.5 Stars
This was my first Rachel Hawkins book and it definitely won't be my last. I devoured this book, it was so good! At first, I wasn't a huge fan of both timelines, I was enjoying Mari's chapters a lot more. But as I got more into the book I started liking Emily's chapters and I become fully immersed in both timelines. I was hooked by Mari's story and I really wanted to know what happened in 1974. The more I read from Emily's timeline, the more I wanted to know what was happening with her and Chess, and what she was finding out about Mari. It did take me over a month to finish this, but that's definitely not the book's fault. I really enjoy Rachel Hawkins writing, it was easy to follow and was written very well. This isn't 5 stars because I was a little let down by the ending. I just wanted something more in Emily's last chapter, more detailed about what happened. Other than that, I really enjoyed this and I will definitely read from Rachel Hawkins again.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review!
This was such an amazing novella! We get an age gap, primal play, and a daddy kink, literally everything I love. Mason and Vic are so cute and I loved getting to know them. This was such a wholesome read with some spice that did not disappoint.
Mason and Vic met at the bar and from there they are obsessed with each other. I really enjoy insta-love so this was perfect. The age gap in this is big but honestly, that did not bother me. I loved how possessive Vic was and he wanted to take care of Mason with anything she needed. If you like age gap, primal play, daddy kink, and hot dirty talk, I definitely recommend this!
Thank you so much to M. Reeds for providing me with an ARC!
I think this is one of my favorite books I've read in a while! I fell in love with Taylor and Helen, and I loved watching their relationship grow into something more. I could really relate to Helen and understand her. Taylor was ADORABLE!!! I fell in love with him and I love how much he cared for Helen. Also, the spicy scenes were so good, I wanted more. I adore Helen and Taylor and I definitely will be thinking about them for a long time. They are just the cutest couple ever!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
4.5*
I absolutely adored this book! I read this book in 2 sittings and that never happens to me. This book hooked me from the beginning and I could not put it down. I loved how this book intertwines grief and loss with elements of horror. Caryn Larrinage does such an amazing job at making you care about the characters and want the best for them. The way Caryn Larrinaga portrays Dakota the main character's emotions as she deals with the death of her brother was beautifully done. The way Dakota is dealing with our emotions about her brothers' death was so real and raw, and I feel like people can really connect with her. Dakota is riddled with guilt and regrets about her brother and you really get to see how she deals with that. The reason this isn't getting five stars is that I felt that the ending was rushed. I really wished we got more at the end about how and why Dakota made the decisions that she did. Other than that this really was an amazing book, I highly recommend it!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for arc in exchange for an honest review!
Honestly, this poetry collection just was not for me. I really did not understand any of the poems. They felt kinda thrown together and a lot of them didn't make sense to me. The poems felt rushed and I couldn't connect to any of them. I'm sure there is an audience for this, it just wasn't for me, unfortunately.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Eric LaRocca has become one of my favorite authors. The first story THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE was good but not as good as I remember. It definitely hit as good the second time reading it, I would give the first story 3 stars. The second story THE ENCHANTMENT was my favorite. I absolutely loved this story. The religious tones were so interesting. This story had me hooked, I could not stop reading it. I would give this story 5 stars, I want a full-length novel of this story. The last story YOU'LL FIND IT'S LIKE THAT ALL OVER was really good. It wasn't my favorite but I did not hate it. I would give this story 3.75 stars. Overall, I'm giving this collection 4 stars.
This was a wonderful collection of Oscar Wilde's fairy stories. I have never read Wilde's fairy stories before this, so this was completely new to me. I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed these stories. I am a huge fan of Wilde and I will continue to recommend his works. The hand-drawn illustrations were done so well and really added to the stories for me. These stories were written in such beautiful, lyric prose. Wilde's writing is something that works for me and I absolutely love reading his work. I really loved the afterword by Wilde's son, Vyvyan Holland which was written in 1961. The afterword was beautifully written and I like that they added that. This isn't five stars just because I found a couple of stories to drag, but other than that I really loved this collection.
Thank you so much to the publisher for granting me an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
4.5*
This book was sooooo hot! I absolutely loved the taboo aspect, I just ate that up. The writing was very easy to follow and it was written really well. I loved that it included toys because that is something I LOVE in books. The only reason it's not five stars is I felt that the ending was rushed. I wish we got them telling people about their relationship and it being out in the open. Overall it was a nice, fast, smutty read!
WOW, this book was amazing!! I have now read all of Eric LaRocca's books and this one is my favorite. This book is described as a “novella in pieces” and it consists of a couple of short stories. I honestly loved them all but if I had to choose a favorite I think it would be the first story, that one is definitely going to stick with me. Eric's writing is as always amazing and he really knows how to get under your skin and make you feel every emotion. They are the only writer whose work makes me feel sick and I love that, I love feeling disgusted while reading horror. I highly recommend this book to horror fans, it was truly phenomenal!
I'm a huge fan of poetry and I love getting to read new authors. This is my first time reading from Chistina Sng and I did like some of the poems. Unfortunately, there were many that I either did not get or that I just did not like. The concept was really interesting but I just did not understand a lot of the poems. Many of them were short, and while I do enjoy short poems, these ones just didn't make sense to me. I'm sure if I read this again in the future I might understand the poems more. There were a lot of poems that I didn't find meaningful and that could definitely just be me. There were a lot of interesting concepts but the poems didn't feel connected to the concepts, at least to me. I did enjoy the writing and that makes me want to try again with this author. Overall, I would give this 2 stars, it just wasn't for me.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for granting me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely love reading poetry and finding new authors. Unfortunately, this one was just okay. For me, enjoying a poetry book means that I connect to the poems, and in this collection, I only really liked and connected with a few poems. The artwork was beautiful, and that was something that I really enjoyed in this collection. The poems just kinda fell flat for me. I enjoyed the poems more in the first half than in the second half. I never really had a connection with the poems, I could appreciate them but I didn't have stronger feelings for them and that is what makes a poetry collection stand out to me. Overall, it wasn't bad but it didn't wow me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I absolutely loved this poetry collection! I really related to a lot of these poems and that is one of the things I look for in poetry. This was my first time reading from Blythe Baird and I will absolutely read from them again. A lot of these poems really hit me in my feels and I felt really understood. This collection is extremely personal and raw, and that is something that I really loved about it. I teared up multiple times while reading this and that usually doesn't happen to me. You could feel the author's emotions in the poems, and that is what makes this collection really special. The poems were extremely well written and had great imagery. These poems really took me back to my teenage years and how I dealt with my self-esteem and mental health. I can't wait to see what Blythe Baird comes out with next!
Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for granting me the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I did enjoy this book, but I really thought I was going to like it more. It started off really strong, I was fully invested. About halfway through I found myself getting kinda bored. I love how fast Shari Lapenas' books read, they are definitely addicting. I did not figure out who the killer was, I was predicting everyone else. I enjoyed reading from multiple different people, we had a whole cast of characters. I felt that halfway through is where I started to get bored and just wasn't fully invested in the story. I didn't really care who the killer was or why they did it once we found out the reveal. This was just an okay read for me. I will definitely keep checking out Shari Lapenas' books because for the most part, I do enjoy them.
This was an interesting read about the Mormon religion and the murders of Brenda and Erica Lafferty. I did watch the show on Hulu before reading this but there was much more information in the book. I was not expecting this to cover the Mormon religion from when it started to where it was when this book was written. I wish this book covered more about the Lafferty family, especially Ron and Dan. I wanted to know their whole backstory and how they were raised. I wish we got to see how Ron and Dan transitioned into such extremists. I don't rate nonfiction but if I did this would probably be 2.75 stars.
“Look at me,” he says. “Look at me when I touch you.”
OMG, this was unbelievably hot!! I would let Bran do anything to me, sir I am on my knees. This book had me hooked, it was so easy to read. I loved the writing, it was easy to follow. I love the world, and I'm so excited to continue with this series. If you are in the need of something fast and smutty I highly recommend reading this!
4.5*
I absolutely loved this. It took me some time to read this but once I got back into it, I flew through it. I really enjoyed Hannah as a character, I could really relate to her. Fox was hot but I struggled a little bit with his character. One thing I love about Tessa Bailey's writing is that it is so easy to fly through. I'm a sucker for friends to lovers and this had me in my feels. The pining is this book I LOVED! I liked reading from both Hannah and Fox's points of view, it made me feel more connected to each other them. I really fell in love with Hannah, I just adore and understand her. This is so close to 5 stars but I felt that the pacing kinda dragged at some points. Overall, I had a great time reading this!
THE PLOT
“Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished-the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood. You've lost a lot of blood.”
MY OPINION
I have read three of Eric LaRocca's novellas and I have felt different feelings for each of them. Out of the three that I have read, I enjoyed this one the least. I was really invested in the story within the story which is called “You've Lost a Lot of Blood.” I was captivated by Tamsen & Presley, and the video game/coding job Tamsen had started. I didn't really care for the Ambrose & Martyr portions, they just didn't intrigue me. I've seen a couple of reviews say that they wish these two stories were separate books and I completely agree.
THE PLOT
Alicia has the perfect life until one evening after her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist and he is determined to get Alicia to talk and explain why she shot her husband.
MY OPINION
I read this book in a couple of hours, so that says something. But after finishing it I was kinda mad. Everyone has hyped up the plot twist and I was dying to know what it was. I was suspicious of every character, but after finding out the twist I was honestly let down. I didn't feel connected to the characters and the writing really wasn't anything special. I think this book is between 2-3 stars, I honestly can't decide.
4.75*
This was such an amazing book! The atmosphere, the vibes, the two timelines OMG! I devoured this book in one whole day!
This was my second Jennifer McMahon book and I'm happy to say that she is definitely a new favorite author. I absolutely loved the atmosphere of this book. I think that is something that Jennifer McMahon does really well. I also loved the two timelines. I found myself eager to read both timelines and really liked them equally. I had no idea who to believe while reading this, I found myself not trusting anyone. The one thing that I struggled with was the pacing. I felt that at some points the pacing was off but other than that I adored everything else.
Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
