kassielovestoread's reviews
393 reviews

I loved this novella! This short but incredibly impactful story gripped me from start to finish. There is something particularly moving about Fonda Lee's writing style. This book read almost like a fairytale with all the terrible foreshadowing intricately placed throughout the chapters. I'm so sad that this book is over, I wished this could've been a full length standalone fantasy! 

I grew quite attached to Ester in this quick read! She is a character I saw a lot of myself in; I found myself nodding along to things she did and said. Darius was the unlikely companion the both of them truly needed. I loved the blossoming something (not quite romantic) between them. I don't want to give too much away, but I absolutely loved their dynamic.

I was utterly heartbroken at the ending, but it's bittersweet because while Spring was some time away, it represented a new start. They can work on rehabilitating themselves in the meantime to prepare for it.

Would absolutely recommend!! 

I really liked this book! If you wanted to read a book based off of pure vibes and have a good time with it, then the Neighbor Favor is the right pick for you. This novel also explores themes of parental neglect and some childhood trauma, so it's quite an emotional (and potentially cathartic) read. The characters were lovely; I loved Nick and Lily so much! I rooted for their love the entire time.

There were a few things that stopped me from giving it 5 stars though. For one, the use of 3rd POV was not my favorite. I find it so difficult to connect with the writing style and the characters whenever an author uses it, but it's particularly a dislike when it's contemporary romance. In addition, I LOATHE the trope/plot point when the siblings are OVERLY concerned with the MC's dating life. I think it's so tacky and cringe. I'm the second oldest of six kids, let even one of my siblings do half the shit Lily's sisters did and I legit would never speak to them again! 

All in all, I liked this book a whole lot! Of course I'd recommend to all- this is your classic, feel good rom-com that every reader needs on their TBR. 

I really ended up loving this book!! This is such a sleeper hit omg- I thought it was going to be one of those novels that was definitely good but had a forgettable plot/characters. I'm so happy to be wrong!

Georgie, All Along was an emotional read. It was deeply cathartic for me; I saw so much of myself in both Georgie and Levi. This book explores some heavy themes- feelings of being unwanted, the dreaded what am I going to do with my life questions, comparing yourself to your successful best friend/community, and parental neglect/trauma (I'm honestly sure there's more I'm forgetting to name!). The author writes these characters so authentically that I'm wanting to pick up the phone and send a text to Georgie and Levi as if they're real!! The delusion is deep, I know. The romance was fantastic and so different from what I've been reading in contemporary romances lately. I don't even know if I'm doing this review justice, it was just a damn good read overall. 

A small caveat I want to mention is the author's writing style, for which I did not immediately vibe with. It did take some effort to familiarize myself with the prose. The author had a habit of starting a chapter on a completely separate note from the previous and it wouldn't make a lot of sense until a page or so into it. I also noticed that the author loved to deviate from the scene with an inner monologue or the character recalling a memory, which is not my favorite thing in a book. It did take some getting used too; but, by the end of the story I was very glad I stuck with it! 

I'd definitely recommend this book to all andddddddd, it's free if you're an Amazon Prime customer! 

This was also another book I needed to read to satisfy the "X" requirement from my Alphabet challenge. It was a book that was out of my preferred reading genres, but it was short (and free on kindle) with an interesting blurb, so I had nothing to lose. 

I don't have much to say other than this book is kinda sad! X is the lone survivor of a zombie apocalypse and spends her final days recounting her life through a journal. X survives the loss of her entire family, village, and civilization. I'm shocked this book has a recommended reading age of 12 and up! I probably couldn't stomach reading that at 12, LOL. 

This was a short story I wanted to read to complete the "Z" requirement for my alphabet challenge. I did enjoy the book, it was brief but packed with a lot of character conflict that I found really interesting to read. The writing style was not my favorite- it's a pet peeve of mine when authors break from a scene to recount a memory longer than a sentence or two and I found that this author managed to do it a ton of times throughout this very short story, LOL. I think when authors do that, they can rarely re-transition back to the original scene without it being abrupt or awkward. 

Anyway, it's a worthwhile read! Check trigger warnings beforehand. 

I do notttttttt know how to feel about that ending.

It felt so unfinished to me! The main plot of the book is, of course, the marriage of Dom and Alé. But from all the other books from this author, I know there's always a secondary plot that adds suspense and tension to the main conflict. King of Greed does have one...however it was so lackluster I question the creative decision to include it. I thought Roman was the villain trying to take down Dom's empire for revenge. Then I thought no, he's just a part of Dom's past that he needs to make peace with. Then he really did turn out to be a villain, just not the main one. And then he completely disappears! Dom sort of hears from him one last time before he goes ghost and then, that's just it! There's no resolution. Who hired Roman to kill Dom? Where the heck is Roman now? If my assumption is correct and Roman will get his own book to iron out these issues, then fine. I can deal with not knowing the answers for now. But why is his book not next in the series? That's what I can't understand.

Anyway, I really did love this book! If it's one trope that's gonna do it for me, it's always going to be second chance/marriage in trouble! Alessandra is definitely my favorite heroine from this series, she's strong, deeply empathetic, smart and kind and so deserving of all the love. Dominic is a fool for neglecting the relationship for ten freaking years, but he proved he was worthy of a second chance. It takes a lot of strength to put yourself out there and apologize over and over again for the small chance of rekindling your relationship. I admired his gumption! I still think he should've retired as CEO to really solidify his commitment to Alé. 

From the small glimpses of Sloane and Xavier that we got, I am toooooooo hype for book number four!!  It's giving Wrecked by Lauren Asher vibes and I am HERE for it! 

I was too excited to claim this book from Amazon's First Reads program this month! I love Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books and The Lover was no exception. 

In this short read, our MC is Judith and her plight is simple: she wishes to be loved and whisked away by her true love. If you loved this author's other book, The Beautiful Ones, then be sure to read this as well! 
It has a lot of similar elements and I thoroughly enjoyed both reads. 

The one thing I would change is the length of this book! I think this needed to be a little bit longer, though I do understand the purpose is to be a short story. The ending comes far too quick and leaves me literally wanting more! 

I don't have much to say about this book. It was a freebie through Amazon and I was glad to have read it! You can feel just how passionate the author is about Cuba through this short story. This novella is all about new beginnings and rekindling with the one who got away many years later. An overall good book! 

I'll admit, I had my reservations about starting this book. The sting of Zephyrus's betrayal from The North Wind was fresh in my mind in the months between finishing that book and starting this one. I didn't know if I could actively root for Zephyrus as a main character. What if I didn't sympathize with his plight? What if I can't forget (or at least ignore) the horrendous things he's done in favor of whatever blossoming love will appear? If you also shared those same grievances, I understand your hesitation! But go into the book with an open mind nonetheless, because Zephyrus' character arc is so damn satisfying and heartwarming. He shows genuine remorse and wished to change to be a better man. You know I ate it up!

Brielle is the only POV we get (aside from the beautiful, tear jerker epilogue) in this novel and to be honest, her perspective is the only one we need. Brielle is, at first meeting, a meek woman who experiences bullying by her peers and is mostly friendless. She wants one thing out of her solitary life as a Daughter of Thornbook: to be worthy enough to rise to acolyte status. Not going to lie, it was frustrating reading about Brielle succumbing to the abuse from her supposed "equals"- I often wondered, when will she stand up for herself and demand better?! But it was through her adventures to acquire Meirlach with the insufferable Harper and charming Zephyrus that she really grows into her skin. She is forced to reckon with what she knows of her sheltered life versus what the world can offer her. Brielle starts asking after what she wants out life, not what God or Mother Mabel would prefer. I loved reading about her expanding faith with God, it was so relatable in so many ways! Her character arc was also equally satisfying to read about. She was such a multifaceted character, I miss her already! I hope she and Zephyrus appears in the future books.

There was so much more added context given in The West Wind that helped me understand book one even better. I appreciated that the author took the time to interweave certain details to help smooth out the transition between books 1 and 2! That definitely did not go unnoticed. I loved especially the lyrical prose that made me felt in the moment just as Brielle and Zephyrus was. Like I said, this series has been hit after hit so far and I just cannot wait until the next two books are in my hands!! 

PS: This edition is from Once Upon a Book Club and not only is it a gorgeous book, it comes with four gifts to open as you read the novel. The gifts were amazing pieces that relate to the story and are beautiful treasures I will keep for as long as I can! It's a bit of a splurge in terms of pricing, but it was so worth it. 

I literally just finished this book and as I'm typing this review, I keep wiping tears from my eyes, looooool. It's funny but while I can't imagine ever getting married or wanting to have kids, reading about fictional characters in a connected series doing the big weddings and having tons of babies and getting the overall picturesque happily ever afters will turn me into a sobbing wreck. Gets me every damn time! The ending and the epilogue was just so sweet and made for a very beautiful ending to this series.

I'm so glad this book was as good as it was, especially because of how much I disliked Things We Hide From the Light. This story featured a damn good enemies to lovers plot, which is rare for a contemporary romance. But the beef between Sloane and Lucian made sense for how much they hated each other. And when the reader gets the full story, the emotional impact will definitely cut deep.  I loved the banter (even if it was a little excessive sometimes) and the spice was like the cherry on top to a very good book. 

Was this a perfect, 5 star read? Nah, it has its issues that prevent that. For one, I think the author could've went without the leftover loose ends from book two to take up a lot of book three's plot. The continuation of the Anthony Hugo plot distracted from Things We Left Behind's strengths, which, for me, were the romance and character development of Sloane and Lucian. Secondly, I encountered some pacing issues and I felt the story was stunted in some places in favor of a lot of repeating elements. For example, did we really need 10 different scenes with the main characters feuding the exact same way? Remember, this is book 3 in a connected series. The foundation of the characters disdain for each other has already been set; I don't feel like it was totally necessary to spend another 51% of this book reiterating that point. 

Anywho, I enjoyed this book overall! I think I would like to continue reading more from this author in the future, but I'm going to strictly do that if her book is a 400 page novel MAXIMUM!