Misty (mistysbookspace)

This was another book I buddy read with Ashley and we plan to continue on in the series in June. I loved this book. I actually prefer this one to the Bridgerton books so far. I loved both of the characters and their romance. I will say they could have been better at communicating but the lack of communication didn't take over the story like a lot of books do. I found this to be funny and cute and I can't wait to pick up the next book.

I've been buddy reading this series with Ashley this year. She has already finished all 8 books in the series so I have some catching up to do. This is my favorite book in this series so far. I love Penelope and Colin's romance. I will say I think all the Bridgerton men can be stupid at times and Colin is no exception. We learn who Lady Whisteldown is in this book. I was between 2 characters and one of them was right but I did end up getting spoiled for who it was before I read it which is annoying but it was my own fault. I', curious to find out how/if Lady Whistledown will still play a part in the story from here on out.

3.5 stars

I buddy read this book with Ali and we will be reading the 2nd book in June. It seems that I have an unpopular opinion on this book. I didn't hate it by no means it was just another ok book. I loved the FMC. She's a strong female lead who knows what she wants and doesn't take crap from anyone. She starts this book off being a virgin and I loved how this was handled. Most of the time being a virgin is made out to be a bad thing but not in this book and she doesn't let anyone not even her friends pressure her into something she knows she's not ready for. Maxim I think is supposed to be the male equivalent of Lennix. I liked there romance in the beginning but when that came to an end abruptly they barely spent anytime together and the book became too focused on the politics for my liking. The ending was a bit predictable to be but I'm looking forward to picking up the next book.

3.5 stars

I buddy read this book with Ashley. I've been reading a lot of historical romance this year and a lot of them have been buddy reads with Ashley with more to come. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not a big fan of the makeover trope and y'all already know I hate lack of communication in books especially when it's the main cause of all the drama that ensues. This book has both of those tropes. I didn't hate this book but I also didn't love it. It was just ok. I would definitely still read more by this author.

I don't really have a whole lot to say about this book. This is about Nic and Elle. Nic is a male escort and has been for the past 6 years. He doesn't sleep with every woman but he's not opposed to it either. Elle was recently dumped. The guy who dumped her is one of her brothers best friends and he will be at his wedding so Elle's friend who is also her brothers future bride hires an escort to be Elle's date at the wedding. This might be slightly spoilery from here on so if you're interested in reading this book and don't want spoilers skip this part. Nic and Elle hit it off immediately. They have an instant connection from the moment they meet. I liked how after Nic and Elle meet Nic doesn't sleep with any of his clients after that. In fact he mostly doesn't see any of his clients except for one lady who he is pretending to be her grandson. He is struggling with his feelings for Elle so he backs away from the escort business. Most guys would have kept on do the job and sleeping with his clients but no Nic. My biggest complaint is how Elle's brother never did or said anything about how his best friend treated his sister. That part was so unrealistic. I also did really care for Elle's friend, the one who set her up with an escort to begin with. Overall this was just an ok read and I'm not sure if I want to even continue on with the series.

This was a buddy read with Jonny. A discussion post of this book is up on my blog now if you want to check it out. I'm absolutely loving this series. Honestly at this point in my TJ Klune journey I think I'm going to love everything he writes. I've only read 4 of his books so far and 2 of them were part of this series but he's just a phenomenal writes. In this book we are following Gordo and we get 3 different timelines. We have the present timeline, 3 months? prior and like 20ish years in the past. I loved that we got a different POV of what happened in book 1. I wasn't sure at first if I would like this because I thought it would just be us reading the same thing again but it wasn't. I admit that at first I was thrown off by this book not being in Ox's POV so that took a little bit of getting used to but once I did I was hooked. Gordo is very stubborn. He held onto his past betrayals like a lifeline and as my buddy read partner said it took an act of God for him to let go of that. I get why he was being stubborn I just wish it wouldn't have taken pretty much the whole entire book for him to move past that because I would have loved to of had more of Mark and Gordo together. I can't wait to start the next book very soon.

2.5 stars

This was the Lost in Romance Book Club pick for April. It was also the first book I've ever read from this author. I can say the author did a good job at making me want to keep reading the book to find out how things played out and for that reason I will definitely give this author another try however I'm really torn on this book. I was going back and forth on what to rate this book. It was between 2.5 stars and 3 stars and ultimately I ended up going with 2.5 stars. This book just didn't fully work for me. I think the reason it didn't work for me is because 2 complete strangers became obsessed with each other granted one more than the other but still it was beyond instant obsession and everything that happened after just didn't make sense not to mention it was off the rails crazy but at the same time I didn't want to DNF it so the author must have done something right which is why I said I'm willing to give something else by this author a try.

3.5 stars

I've been buddy reading this series with Ashley. We read the first book last month and then continued on with the series this month. She has long since finished all 8 books so I am behind. This is the 3rd book in the Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn and so far it's my least favorite although this book and the first book got the same rating from me. I loved that this was kind of a Cinderella retelling and I loved the FMC Sophie from the get go. My problem with this book has everything to do with Benedict the MMC. I couldn't stand the way he handled things and how he couldn't take no for an answer He just rubbed me the wrong way for the majority of the book. He did grow on me a little bit by the end but I couldn't look past his earlier behavior. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series next month. 

The author reached out to me on Instagram asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing her memoir. I admit when I saw memoir my immediate thought was this isn't going to be for me. I don't tend to read a whole lot of non fiction but I'm coming to realize that if a non fiction book reads like a fiction story I can enjoy them. I read the synopsis for this one and was immediately intrigued so I agreed to read it and I am so glad I did. First I have to say that this book is full of trigger warnings so be aware of that and do your research before going in. As it says in the subtitle for this book it is a shockingly honest memoir. The author is brutally honest in the telling of her story and I would also say brave in how transparent she is. Obviously for privacy reasons there are things she has to change but overall this is her story and how she grew to love and accept herself. I know little to nothing about the world of S&M/BDSM aside from stories I have read all of which were fictional. This is an eye opening read. It's definitely not for the faint hearted and won't be for every body. We are first introduced to Elizabeth in this book when she is still a child. We fly through her childhood years within the first 4 chapters. After that is when things start happening. Elizabeth has pretty much always known she was a lesbian but she is a Christian as well and because of that she always had trouble accepting that she was a lesbian. This book goes through everything that Elizabeth goes through throughout her life to try to find the love and acceptance she so desperately wants. With this being a memoir of the authors life I am hesitant to list any complaints because this is an account of her real life and everyone's experiences are different. I felt like the author just flew through everything. Like it felt like there was a lack of emotion which I can actually understand. This was a hard time in her life and I can imagine that recalling everything was hard. Also it ended abruptly. Like there was this big build up to it and then it just kind rushed through the end. Again I can understand why the author did it this way but I guess with the build up I was just expecting a bit more. Overall I really enjoyed reading this book which seems wrong to say about a book focused on trauma. I would love to have a follow up on this memoir detailing after. How did she dig herself out of the whole she was in? Was she able to find the love she deserved after being able to love and accept herself?

OMG this was so freaking good. This is the 3rd book in the Girl Meets Duke series and by far my favorite so far. I read this whole book in a day. I had planned on reading it over a 2 day period but I was so sucked into the story that I couldn't stop reading it. These 2 have a different takes on the roles that women and men have in society during this time period and I loved that. Their chemistry is off the charts from the very beginning. There are a lot of animals in this book and a lot of times they bring the humor to the story because of the mischief they case the main characters to find themselves in. Both characters have traumatic pasts but they bring out the best in each other. I loved that this book didn't really have a 3rd act breakup. I guess you could say that it does but to me it didn't count as a break up. Honestly I just loved everything about this book and I can't wait for book 4 to be released. If I'm not mistaken I think that will be the final book in the series but I could be wrong about that.

Last month Ashley and I read The Duke and I by Julia Quinn. I've been wanting to read this series for a while now and I've even owned the first 2 books for a while but I kept putting off reading them. This month we decided to continue on with the series by picking up The Viscount Who Loved Me. This is Anthony Bridgerton's story. He is the oldest Bridgerton boy. This is another one where the MMC really got on my nerves. I know the behaviors and the way things are handled are a product of the time period but I was really hoping we would get something different because the way things happened really bugged me at times. That being said I did still end up enjoying this. It was funny at times and of course it had some steam. Looking forward to picking up the next book soon.

4.5 stars

I read the first book in this series last month with Destiny and Malli and we decided to continue the series this month. This is the second book in The Bonds That Tie series. This is a why choose romance. We have Oli and her 5 bonds Atlas, Gabe, Gryphon, North and Nox. In this book Oli starts interacting with her bonds more and getting to know them. While she still doesn't want to bond with them she's not actively trying to push them away anymore. I love that she has grown somewhat closer to all of them albeit some more than others. I still hate Nox and North although North did grow on me just a smidge. I have to say something happened between her and one of her bonds in this book and I didn't expect it. I was expecting it with another one of her bonds but either way I loved it. I also have to mention Oli's friendship with Sage again in this review because I love it so much. This one ends on a cliffhanger and man what a cliffhanger it was. I need to read book 3 ASAP!!

I've been in the mood to reread this series for a while so when Destiny suggested we buddy read them together I jumped at the chance. I know I read this when it first came out but I heard that Goodreads had deleted the book at one point so I have no idea what my thoughts on it were back then. This time around though I did enjoy reading about what happened to Aidan before the events of Illuminae. Because this was so short I didn't really have time to connect to the characters or care about them but still an enjoyable read. 

Once again the banter in this book is on point. I laughed so much reading this one. I loved the inclusion of the kids and they even added some humor to the story. This one is cute and steamy just like the first book. I also love the inclusion of the couple from the first book. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed but overall another great addition to this series. 

3.5 stars

This book wasn't even on my radar until Destiny asked me if I was interested in reading it. After reading the synopsis for it I thought it sounded like something I would enjoy. I also have to thank Destiny for sending me the extra copy of this book that she had. So what to say about this book. Did I like this book sure. Did I have major issues with this book? Absolutely! Mainly the pacing. It was so slow and most of it felt like filler. Not to mention the repetitive inner monologue of Fia. The author did a great job of hooking me and making we want to find out how everything was going to play out in the end and she also did a great job of making me pretty much not trust any of the characters. Some of them I was right to not trust and some not so much. The ending also left something to be desired. I felt like it left off in the middle of the story. It didn't really resolve anything and d left me a little bit confused. As for the romance in this book there is kind of a love triangle of sorts but not really. I definitely preferred her with one over the other however she has been in love with one of them her whole life and all of a sudden her feelings switch to the other one it just wasn't realistic. You can't stop loving someone that fast and that easily. Had this been shorter and gotten to the point quicker as well as wrapped things up better I could have enjoyed it even more. I am willing to give the next book a shot but if it's anything like this one I won't hesitate to DNF it. 

After reading House of Hollow last year with Destiny and enjoying it I was interested in reading this one however I wasn't in any hurry to get to it. I did end up preordering it though because at the time I really wanted the preorder incentive. Destiny and I decided to buddy read this one together as well. This book was just as gruesome and detailed as House of Hollow. I will say the who done it reveal in the end kind of got me. Definitely didn't see that coming. Also I couldn't really stand one of the main characters which really dampened my enjoyment of the book overall.

3.5 stars

I've had this book on my kindle for a while now so I was excited to pull it out of my Kindle TBR jar. My biggest complaint about this book is the MMC Daemon Black. I couldn't stand him. He was such a jerk and seemingly for no reason. His reasoning is revealed at some point in the book but he never redeems himself. His has his nice moments but then he ruins it by opening his damn mouth. I honestly wanted to throw my phone across the room several times while reading this because he was pissing me off so much. Everything else about the book was good. I'm intrigued by the story enough to continue on in the series and I've been told it gets better from here so I am counting on that. Also I know I said I hated Daemon and I do however I still wanted him and Katy to be together. 

Oh look yet another book I buddy read with Destiny this month. I've read several of this author books that he has cowritten with other authors and have enjoyed all of them. Until now I hadn't read any books that he wrote on his own despite owning several of them. For some reason I just kept putting off picking his books up so I'm so glad I finally read this one. As I mentioned in my review for Wolfsong I love vampire books and this one was no exception. This wasn't what I was expecting from a book with vampires but I absolutely freaking loved it. To me it was perfect. The author isn't afraid to break your heart and I equal parts love that and hate that. I am so so excited to be starting book 2 very very soon. 

4.5 stars

This wasn't originally on my TBR for March but when I saw it at the library it reminded me that Destiny and I planned on buddy reading it so I picked it up. I loved the atmosphere of this book and I really liked the character and how they grew throughout the story. Something happened in the end that I wish didn't happen and I also would have liked more of the after but overall I really enjoyed this story. 

I buddy read this book with Destiny, Erin and Regina. Before I get into my thoughts on this one I have to say the hardcover books are freaking stunning. They are the prettiest books I own. As for my thoughts on it I loved it so much. I loved reading a book that had Death as a character. The only book I can think of that has Death as a character was The Book Thief and in that book he was just the narrator. I loved the romance obviously and I also loved all of the characters. I wasn't able to guess the culprit so that was a complete surprise when it was revealed but there was something that I did guess. I thought for sure I was way off course so imagine my shock when I realized it was actually true. I loved this book so much and I am looking forward to getting to the next book soon. 

4.5 stars

I've seen a lot of people talking about this series which is why I suggested it as our March pick for the Lost in Romance Book Club that I cohost with my friend Michelle. I ended up also buddy reading this with Destiny and Malli. Malli is rereading this series but Destiny and I are reading it for this first time. I love a why choose romance. That's what made me want to read this book. So we have the FMC Oli and then then her 5 bonds Atlas, Gryphon, Gabe, North and Nox. Of the 5 Atlas solidified himself as my favorite from the get go. Gryphon and Gabe grew on me a bit by the end but both of them as well and Nox and North have a shit ton of groveling to do but after what happened in book one I don't think Nox is redeemable. The 4 guys were awful in this book. Like so awful they made me want to throw my phone across the room. I was hooked on the overall story and I will be continuing on in the series. I am willing to trust the process since Malli loves this series so much. 

Several people in a Discord group that I am decided to read this series and it has been on my radar for a while but I kept putting it off because I don't tend to read a whole lot of sci-fi but I am glad I joined in on reading this because I ended up really liking it. I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one. I loved the characters and the bit of action and it's a good setup for the rest of the series which I really look forward to getting to. 

I buddy read this book with Destiny. When Destiny suggested this as one of our buddy reads I jumped at the chance to read it because of the synopsis. I read the synopsis and it made me think it was going to be a haunted house story kind of like How to Sell a Haunted House. I went in thinking it was going to be like that book but that wasn't really the case. I was expecting some action which we do get but not until the end. This is totally my fault but because I went in with certain expectations it hampered my enjoyment just a bit. The first half was kind of slow for me but once things started happening my enjoyment of it picked up. I love reading books that are high stakes like this but characters are still able to find love. Yes there is a bit of a romance but don't let that deter you. It's weaved in seamlessly and it doesn't overtake the story. I will say by the end there were still some things I was a little confused about but overall I enjoyed it.

I buddy read this book with Jonny and we also did a Buddy Reads and Rants post talking about our thoughts on it. I've read and loved a couple of books by this author before picking this one up. I had high hopes for this one and it didn't disappoint. At this point I think this author can do no wrong. I've give all 3 of the books I've read a 5 star rating. He knows how to pull on your heartstrings. I have always loved books about vampires. They are my favorite. Saying that this book made me love werewolves even more than I used to. I have to say when I started this book I had an idea about where he was going with the romance and at first I was really nervous about it but I think it was handled really well and they are both well into adulthood before anything happens. Also this book is only a little over 500 pages and I've read more and more bigger books over the years but for some reason this one felt long but there was nothing that could have been taken out in my opinion. We needed everything he gave us. This will most likely make it onto my favorite books of the year post at the end of this book. Despite my 2 little complaints this book was perfect and I can't wait to continue on in the series. 

3.5 stars

This book has been on my TBR for years. I've wanted to watch the adaptation of it since it was released but I refused to watch it until I read the book. Thank you to Ashley for buddy reading this one with me and getting me to finally read it. This is the first book in an 8 book series and it follows Daphne the the only Bridgerton daughter. This is Daphne and Simon's story. I liked the romance and the banter. Honestly I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one. It was ok and I definitely want to continue with the series but this one didn't blow me away. There was also something that happened toward the end that I totally didn't expect and is very problematic and controversial.