╭ ✦ •
│
│ ⊹ 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜, 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚐! ⊹
│
╰ ✦ •

Hmmm, I have mixed feelings about this one. I loved that it reminded me of Criminal Minds, it was different and intriguing but I'm a little disappointed. The story wasn't THAT bad but some parts felt very repetitive and unclear; half the time reading I was confused as to what was happening. Usually with thriller/crime books clarity is key, but the lack thereof hindered the build-up. From the description, I expected more.

Can You Take It? by S.C. Arlette follows, Izel, a strong and determined protagonist whose life is overshadowed by the secrets she’s desperate to keep buried. From the start, I was captivated by her resilience and complexity. She’s no spineless heroine; instead, she carries an air of mystery that hints at a past she’s fighting to protect.
I'll be honest, Izel started getting annoying in the last 40%, I found myself practically yelling at her to spill all the secrets already! I was so eager to learn more, but the pacing of the revelations was excruciatingly slow.

Now for, Richard, our MMC, FBI profiler whose skill lies in uncovering people’s deepest, darkest truths. His mission is to unravel Izel’s secrets.

I liked the dynamic between these two! Their interactions were brimming with tension, suspicion, and undeniable attraction. But also, I couldn't help but feel like their relationship was missing something, felt very surface-level, and needed more development. I wish we had gotten more intimate or even everyday moments between them as a couple.

The storyline itself was intriguing enough for me to continue. At one point I did want to DNF because it felt overly drawn out and I just wanted to get to the point. I did skim some of the sex scenes, but it got to the point that it was too much sometimes. There were a lot of filler scenes, which didn’t seem to contribute much to the story. Honestly, I felt like it could have been at least 150 pages shorter without taking too much away from the overall story. As I was reading I was itching for the story to make sense and not be predictable. But that wasn't the case, I often felt confused and had to pause to recall what was happening, trying to piece together everything that was told. Also, around 70% ish I did predict who the Ghostface Striker killer was.

Also, I want to mention a 'wtf' moment around 58% where they brought her in for interrogation, and Richard.... just started fingering her during the so-called 'interrogation,' calling it 'torture.' Honestly, around this time, I thought the book was just getting ridiculous, especially since FMC became increasingly frustrating with all her secrets (most of which the reader barely knows) and her confusing backstory.

I only stuck around to see how the author managed to wrap up the story and if everything actually got explained. 😭

Overall, this wasn't a bad debut! It was different and intriguing, filled with action and lots of plot twists. I did enjoy parts of it even though it was a little confusing at times. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

────── ✧ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ♡ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ✧ ──────

⊹ 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽 ⊹

❥serial killer
❥crime/thriller
❥romance
❥spicyyy
❥enemies to lovers
❥fbi agent x suspect
❥forced prox
❥forced confessions
❥interrogation room sex

Thank you for the ARC, S.C Arlette!
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The Devil's Pawn by Tracie Delaney

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

╭ ✦ •
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│ ⊹ 𝟹.𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚞𝚙, 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗 ⊹
│
╰ ✦ •

WHAT!? The ending with Nickolas' chapters?? shocking but also WHAT?? it felt random to have his POV

Overall, I enjoyed this, it kept me interested and on the edge of my seat.
I liked their banter and chemistry but holy shit he was such an asshole for most of this (one of the reasons why I want to rate it lower + Imogen was so annoying the last 30% of this)
The whole Will situation wasn't really explained good? So he was that the only reason? idk i feel like it could have been explained better?
I did like how they came together and talked about all their issues, etc

────── ✧ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ♡ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ✧ ──────

⊹ 𝔀𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽 ⊹
❥arranged marriage
❥enemies to lovers
❥billionaire
❥age gap
❥jealous/possessive hero
❥touch her and d!e
❥morally gray
❥alpha male
❥v!rgin heroine

Thank you for the ARC, Tracie!
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Only Fools Rush In by R.E. May

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