amateur_bookworm's reviews
592 reviews

A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A Not So Meet Cute is the first book of the Cane Brothers series by Meghan Quinn. It is a super cute and easy-reading contemporary romance. It’s witty and has some spice and is overall a lighthearted read. 

I liked Lottie right off the bat. But Huxley, well, it took some time for him to win me over. I love the bond Lottie has with her sister and that Huxley has with his brothers. I enjoyed the banter between Lottie and Huxley. Their journey from despising each other to acknowledging their real feelings for each other is a fun one. 

This is an enjoyable and quick read and I will definitely be continuing the series. 
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The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Wedding People is a contemporary fiction novel in a writing style that I found to be unusual. I just wasn’t prepared for the uniqueness of the narrative style. I found it to be very similar to the style of Anxious People by Fredrik Backman—and I really disliked Anxious People. But by the end of it, I’m glad that I stuck with it because it turned out to be a great read for me. 

Honestly, I really hated Tuesday (aka Chapter 1). I thought it was the most random depressing shit I’ve ever read. It’s written as third person and is just basically rambling. It felt very chaotic. But, by Wednesday? I was finding the rhythm of the story. And then I was hooked into the plot by Thursday. Also, this book proves why destination weddings with a week-long itinerary can be a terrible idea lol. 

I’m glad I stuck with reading it through. I found myself beginning to enjoy the writing style and appreciate the uniqueness of it. Some of the life realizations in here are poignant and some are just dumb, but the randomness kept it entertaining. I read a lot of books, so I ultimately found the unique writing style to be refreshing and interesting. 
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The Striker by Ana Huang

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funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Striker is Ana Huang’s first sports romance. It’s a good balance of sweet and angst with spice sprinkled throughout. It is my favorite Ana Huang book so far and I’ve enjoyed watching her writing style change and grow over the course of her books. I’ve read her Twisted series and Kings of Sin series and this book kicks off her new Gods of the Game series. 

I liked both Scarlett and Asher right off the bat. I love Scarlett’s determination in the face of chronic pain and persistence after losing her life’s dream to a tragic car accident. And Asher had me swooning so many times throughout the book. (Like, how does she not propose marriage to him as soon as she realized he researched chronic pain??!?) I also really enjoyed all of character references and cameos from the Twisted series and Kings of Sin series! 

I didn’t love the third act breakup. It and everything after that was the only thing that brought it down from a five star read for me. I was loving the vibes in this one up until that point but, overall, I still really enjoyed this one!
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Own Me by K.A. Tucker

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I can’t believe I just listened to five audiobooks of her picking the wrong man. Whatevs. #teamronan
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Training the Heart by Paisley Hope

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Training the Heart is the second book in Paisley Hope’s Silver Pines Ranch series. It is a spicy and swoony contemporary romance. I adore the sassiness of Ivy and what a spitfire she is, despite her past heartaches. Wade had me swooning early on and I love the chemistry between them. The banter is great. I can totally picture the vivacious Ivy and the grumpy-yet-silently-pining Wade. I love the big Ashby clan and the girl gang vibes throughout it. 

Ivy is my hero. Right off the bat when she shows up late to her job interview and explains it’s because the spice finally hit in her slow burn romance book. All while cussing like a sailor. And then the later mentions of her spicy audiobooks had me cracking up. Speaking of cussing like a sailor, anyone that knows me knows that f-ck is regularly used in my vocabulary. But, wow, does this book love the word f-ck. Like, A LOT a lot. So if that’s not your thing, consider yourself warned. 

I read Paisley Hope’s debut novel and the first book of this series, Holding the Reins, as her indie published debut novel. She has since been picked up by a big publisher. I really enjoyed the first book but it had a lot of typos and grammar errors in it, which I assume traditional editing and  publishing will fix. That being said, I read Training the Heart as an uncorrected ARC proof so I have yet to find out if that aspect has improved. Either way, the bones of her stories are great and I can’t wait to read more of her books in the future. 
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Surrender to Me by K.A. Tucker

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This one improved significantly than the last book. I feel like so much went on and, don’t worry, there’s plenty of smut in this one. I love the return to Alaska and, honestly, I don’t see anything convincing me that Ronan isn’t The One. But whatevs. 
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Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Hunting Adeline is the second book of H.D. Carlton’s Cat and Mouse Duet. Both books are a mix of dark romance and suspense that delves heavily into human trafficking. This second book of the duet is much darker than the first. 

To say that my feelings about these books are complicated is the understatement of the year. What a journey I feel like I’ve been on throughout this duet. I don’t even feel like the same person I was when I started it. This is without a doubt one of the darkest books that I’ve ever read. I found it to be well written and compelling while simultaneously terrible and distressing. 

This is the first time the trigger warnings at the beginning of a book have ever given me real pause. When I saw the warning that it is not a quick reunion, I hesitated to turn the page but continued on with trepidation. The trauma and brutalization is tough to read. It helps that I read the worst of it while at my kid’s tournament because I couldn’t really immerse myself in the story, which is the only I have of how I made it through it. 

The dichotomies of Zade’s character are tough to reconcile. But, somehow Zade’s “burn the world” vibes are kind of … hot? And I appreciate Addie’s redemption arc, but, wow, is it tough it is to get there. Part of me definitely hopes that there are real-life Zades out there in the world effectively combatting evil. 
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Break Me by K.A. Tucker

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like this book could be used as an example of everything that *isn’t* allowed during corporate sexual harassment training. I mean, who would’ve thought that an employee village in a seasonal remote location would turn into nothing but basically a huge orgy? Not me, but I’m here for it now apparently. 

I think Henry is an entitled asshole and I’m completely on Team Ronan (*and* Connor if you catch my drift). I mean, Henry redeemed himself a bit at the end. But, sigh, how things could’ve been different with Ronan instead. 
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Teach Me by K.A. Tucker

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Gosh, this one felt like I grind to get through. I can’t count how many times I almost threw in the towel on this one. 

I’m not enjoying this story now with Abby home. I cannot stand her “mama” and the preacher. Jed is annoying, as are the gossipy townspeople. And it seems like her father didn’t have a backbone until the surgeon must have inserted it after the tractor accident. Literally the only character I can stand is Aunt Mae. The only parts of this audiobook that kept me listening were when she left town (which were also the spicy parts, but that’s what we’re all here for anyway). 

It seems that she won’t be at home much, at least to start the next book, so I’ll keep going with the series. But so far it’s all been pretty underwhelming. And I miss Ronan, I think he is the catch here and not Henry. 
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Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Haunting Adeline by H. D. Carlton is the first book of the Cat and Mouse duet. It is very  heavy on the dark and light on the romance (unless a stalker’s obsession is your idea of wooing) with a lot of suspense. I’ve seen such mixed reviews for it and I completely understand why.

It has creepy vibes for sure. And I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified by a single red rose in my life. This book is just so deranged and I kept asking myself why I was still reading this, pretty much throughout the entire thing. Despite being mostly appalled, I was still flipping pages like it’s *my* life that depends on it. And I’m not gonna lie, exposing the entire government as corrupt pedos sounds like a theme that I can get behind here for sure. 

But, seriously, I just read 600+ pages and I’m honestly not sure how I feel here. Disturbed? Intrigued? Disgusted? Paranoid? It’s definitely twisted. Pretty deranged actually. But somehow the vigilantism is comforting. Even though the stalking obsession is hard to swallow.

Every time I read a f-cked up book, I think to myself, “wow, this is the most f-cked up book I’ve ever read.” And then, with the next one, I’m like, “No, *this* is the most f-cked up book I’ve ever read.”  But, ya’ll, without a doubt, THIS is the most f-cked up book I’ve ever read. And I’ve heard the next one is darker. Eek. 

The tension I felt while nearing the end was astronomical. There’s a very ominous feeling, but maybe it’s because I know that it’s going to end on a cliffhanger because this is a duet. I’m definitely reading the next one to see how this ends. And mostly to see why it’s her chapters are labeled as The Manipulator. 
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