Ritika Bhattacharjee

rating - 2/5
honestly picked this up at the wrong time. was not in the mood for a slow romance. There were layers to the story, but they somehow didn't work for me.

I kept wanting to just finish the book so i could pick up something else. Tired of the same old shit in rom-com novels. Recently read a few Abby Jiminez books and i don't think i can enjoy any more Lauren Asher or Ana Huang books, simply because they can't do the whole deep backstory thing. When you're in the mood for fun, fast paced, cheesy trashy romance, these books are it. But if you want to take away something meaningful at the end of a read, then reading THIS is pointless.

While i did like Elena, i somehow didn't care enough about anything that was going on. just glad that it's over.

rating - 2/5

i don't know if it was me or the book but dear god, that was AWFUL.

somehow the writing style or the phrases used were just not for me; it was not immersive and i felt disconnected from the storyline throughout. That being said, there definitely was potential. The premise and setting had me excited and the first few chapters even had me hooked; however it was just a downward slope after that. I always like the lead up to the fmc and mmc getting together but somehow I didn't even enjoy THAT phase in this book.

Overall, although i liked Astrid, her thoughts when it came to Levi were annoying as heck and everytime Levi called her a princess i wanted to strangle him. i.e what I'm saying is— no :).
The side story/murder plot that the author was foreshadowing throughout the book wasn't all that great either and was extremely predictable.
I'm really really upset i didn't enjoy this book because i was extremely ready to just get into the rina kent universe and love lots of new characters but it is what it is, i guess:/

"Giving something up isn't the same thing as losing control. It's the opposite, Lily. You're taking back control.”

rating: 3.5

I love these books so, so, so much. Absolutely love how detailed and character-driven the plot is. It helps that I love all the characters too:) can't wait to read the rest of the books.

{review contains spoilers}

I can tell that this was meant to be a novella that ended up being too long, because nothing substantial happens in this book.

Honestly though, I kinda like that? So far these books have been extremely character driven; so I'd rather have a slightly longer book getting to know them than a short one with some unrequired elaborate plot twist.

I loved that we get to see Lily's journey with therapy in this book, get to understand her and her addiction: which is again, elaborate and realistically portrayed. The only complaint I have is the lack of a Lo pov. I mean this would've been the perfect time to switch to dual pov, since they aren't together but unfortunately we just get to see Lily's side of the story.

Till about the 40% mark, we even see absolutely no interaction between them, which again is okay, but i would've loved to see texts/ emails or even the calls a little earlier.

The flashbacks did serve the purpose of not missing Lo as much, but not having Lo around wasn't the same.

Love them both so much nonetheless, and i do agree that they needed some time apart to be able to progress in their journey.

“No, Lil,” he tells me with a short laugh. “You're the opposite. You're my stability...my home.

Coming to Rose and Connor, they have my entire heart. I'm so excited to read about them. Especially because, their story would be SO SO different from Lily and Lo's.

There was a lot of plot dedicated to Daisy and Ryke too, which was okay if i didn't think of their ages? Like 15 and 22 is just not it, why didn't the authors make her over 18, because i was most definitely weirded out and a little uncomfortable. I really hope she's older in their books.

Overall:

extremely intriguing. I just want to keep reading and find out what happens, I want to know all the characters more, i just want to see all of them happy; and yeah if you can't already tell, I'm definitely going to be crying by the end of 10 books.

rating - 3.5/5Did i think this book had a lot of clichès? yes. Did i still eat that shit up? absolutely.

To be fair, I haven't read anything in a while and just wanted something super fast paced and fun to get me back to reading and this was perfect for that.
Would i love it as much if i had been reading other romances right before this? maybe not. But reading is subjective, it depends on your moods; and it was the perfect time to pick this up. I've also loved f1 for a while now, and this book singlehandedly fed my romance and f1 obsession.

The writing wasn't perfect but i loved the rivals to teammates aspect. I was nervous about how formula one would be written about, but the author did a pretty great job; ( let's leave out maya talking over the radio, because it was solely for plot purposes. right? right.) i knew most of the terms but it was explained well enough for anyone who didn't know the sport.

I was comparing this to real world f1 constantly haha. was it just me or is bandini, ferrari? (but in an alternate world where ferrari don't mess up. And Noah is charles with max's personality.) i know the author didn't write about real f1 drivers but come on now. not just me right?

The only complaint i probably have, is the conflict resolution. Noah's father and santi ofc were pretty strong plot devices but i felt like the resolution was very easy?? For something they talk about for almost 60% of the book; Santi was pretty okay with their relationship? he was upset for like one page, bahaha.
Eitherway, noah and maya are so cute! I have attachment issues and always end up having a soft spot for the first couple in all these books (cough hannah and garrett coughcough lilo cough) so let's see if jax/liam/santi can do better:) will probably pick up collided as soon as i finish this review!
edit:found out this was lauren asher's debut book so that explains the writing style.

anyway you should definitely pick this up in between books for a light-hearted read and give it a chance.

rating - 4/5

“I hate the lackadaisical ennui of a sun too preoccupied with itself to notice the infinite hours we spend in its presence.”

did i think the prose was really good? yes. did i also think it was a tad bit excessive? yes.

“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

underwhelming

there is a problem, if ALL you're using is metaphors.

“and please and please and please—”“He looks so familiar so familiar so familiar to me.“There are 400 cotton balls caught in my windpipe.”“My jaw is dangling from my shoelace.”

really liked the world-building and evolution of the different relationships

slow

development

quite fast paced in the sense of reading time

here for Juliette's character arc

rating - 5/5

honestly loved this book so much more than its precursors. The pacing in the beginning was a little slow, but when it picked up; i genuinely couldn't put it down. might've stayed up till 4 am, reading. but we don't talk about that.

ABSOLUTELY LOVE LOVE LOVE Aaron Warner. any doubts whatsoever have been replaced with absolute admiration for this man. He is everything.

“I want so many things,” he whispers. “I want your mind. Your strength. I want to be worth your time.” His fingers graze the hem of my top and he says “I want this up.” He tugs on the waist of my pants and says “I want these down.” He touches the tips of his fingers to the sides of my body and says, “I want to feel your skin on fire. I want to feel your heart racing next to mine and I want to know it's racing because of me, because you want me. Because you never,” he says, he breathes, “never want me to stop. I want every second. Every inch of you. I want all of it.”

“All you do is sit around and think about your feelings. You've got problems. boo-freaking-hoo.”...“Those aren't problems”. “It's stupid and ungrateful because you don't have a clue what everyone else in the world is going through right now”

“he's one of my favourite people on this planet and I'm so happy he's okay. I'm so happy he's my friend.

fares extremely well in terms of the romance, plot twists and action.

keeping the reader invested throughout.

rating - 4.5/5

A single dad-nanny, grumpy-sunshine with the cutest 5 year old to exist? You just know that I HAVE to pick that up :)

Let's be fair, most of us read flawless only so we could read this. While flawless was pretty okay, there was just a lot of focus on a cowboy sport that i didn't care enough about? Heartless on the other hand, was...everything. The small town vibes were absolutely immaculate. Luke and Willa had my entire heart <3

And the spice...sighs THIS↓ need i say more???

“Let me hear it, baby. Say thank you.” She clears her throat, eyes darting away. “Thank you.”

“Good girl.”

I grip her chin and turn her face up to me. “That's what you're going to say to me all night. Every time I tell you something good about you. Are we clear?”