cassandra84's reviews
1133 reviews

Twenty-Four Seconds From Now by Jason Reynolds

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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 know I'm not the targeted audience, but I do feel this is important for young people to read. I really enjoyed the writing style. I loved all the characters and the realism of it all. I'm looking forward reading more of Jason Reynolds work.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

SPOILERS‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

   Ali Hazelwood is a hit or miss author for me.Unfortunately this was a miss. Penelope needs to be (CtrI+Alt+Del) out of this whole book. She ruined most of the book for me. This could have been better if there were dual POV's and a meet cute story. No, what we get is Pen being drunk. Telling her ex Lukas that her best friend Scarlett should fuck each other cause they have the same kinks. Wait, what?!?!?! Mind you they were together for seven years! It gets worse because Pen wants Lukas to not tell anyone about their break up. BIG MISTAKE!!! I keep saying "this bitch" in my mind over and over again.
Whenever Lukas and Scarlett are together, Pen calls Lukas and drops everything for Pen. No boundaries were made at all and it drove me nuts. Pen ruined Scarlett's gold medal win moment. She eventually apologizes to Scarlett, but there is no way I would have kept her friendship after all the shit she pulled.
Lukas and Scarlett also sucked at communication. I felt like they were more apart than together. I wanted to give Scarlett a hug and shake her at the same time. I wanted her to speak her mind, but she would keep it all to her self. She was always putting Pen's feelings first instead of her own.
This book should not be advertised as BDSM. It felt more like kink exploration to a certain extent, but it wasn't really all that kinky either. I will say, my spice meter could be skewed from all the reverse harem and why choose I read sometimes lol If there is a second book involving Pen, I refuse to waste my time with her story.

The Holiday Honeymoon Switch by Julia McKay

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
DNF on page 102. I'm not liking the writing style. More on the telling side instead of showing. Also I kept wishing for Matt to stub his toe every 10 minutes for wasting 8 years of Holly's time. It's not a good thing when I don't care enough to go back to reading this book. It wasn't for me.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao

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

4.0

I really loved the world building. I really liked the characters. I feel like Haruto deserved better. If done right, I would love for this book to be turn into a movie. 
How Does it Feel? by Jeneane O'Riley

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 58%.
DNF on page 184. I don't care if he's the hottest mofo on the planet. If he hires someone to rape and try to kill me, then it's a wrap. There is no coming back from that. Prince Mendax technically killed her.
Callie was saved by a fox from the seelie world. She kept surviving and he couldn't figure out why, which intrigued him more. I like redeemable MMC's and he's definitely not it for what I mention above.
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Kennedy Ryan has this magical way of making me feel different emotions from multiple characters in her work.
The Long Shot was a tough read, but it packs a punch.
This story had me thinking about parts of my past when I was a teenager. I was 13 years old when my parents divorced, so there were some relatable moments with Deja. I understood the resentment she was holding against her Mom. While I think it was best that my parents divorced. I was rooting for Josiah and Yasmen to reconcile and get back together the whole time. I loved how Kennedy Ryan made this book so authentic, by having several counselors/therapists beta read for her. I'm looking forward to reading more of her work; even though she gets me in my feelings most of the time.
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The Stars are Dying by Chloe C. Peñaranda

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.
DNF on page 107. It's bad when l'm just as confused as the characters are in this book. Not much happening. I can't connect to any of the characters. I can tell the author is influenced by Jennifer L.
Armentrout, Raven Kennedy and Sarah J. Maas. The author used a very similar scene From Blood and Ash, but the execution was done poorly. It wasn't for me.
The Secret by Max Monroe

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adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The Final Rose by Amy Oliveira

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing tense fast-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

4.0

Sebastian Riggs <3 I really liked the premise of this book similar to The Bachelor show. My guilty pleasure is watching certain reality shows, that my husband silently judges me on. I liked the chemistry between Callie and Sebastian. I'm a sucker for sarcasm and banter. It's a fun quick read. I'm looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.
My Funny Demon Valentine: Deluxe Limited Edition by Aurora Ascher

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring tense slow-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? Yes

3.0

This wasn't really as funny as I thought it was going to be. There were some parts that had me smirking, but I was expecting more from this story. I loved the titles of the chapters. I disliked how the multiple POV's were written and the story could have been fleshed out more. For a funnier read I recommend the Mead Mishap series by Kimberly Lemming.