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kfalsreads's reviews
281 reviews
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
2.0
Ohhhhh, this book! It took me DAYS to get past it, and as my review will show, I still get pretty upset thinking about it.
In the beginning, this book had a lot of things going for it: dual POV, past and present timelines, a secretive romance, lots of steam, characters I was rooting for…until about halfway through, and then it became a struggle for me just to finish it with regard to the present day storyline.
Here’s why (with some spoilers):
Let’s begin with Miles—the most toxic MMC I’ve encountered yet in a romance. Miles treated Tate like absolute trash, and I hope everyone who has read this book will reevaluate the pedestal he’s been put on. It doesn’t matter how traumatic his past was or the “rules” he laid out with Tate ahead of time, in no way did that give him the right to treat Tate—HIS BEST FRIEND’S SISTER—the way that he did. AND he never apologized for his actions! Instead, he justified it and THANKED Tate at the end for putting up with it.
As for Tate, I felt protective of her in the beginning, and then I felt bad for her, and then I just became irritated with her. She was one-dimensional, she had no friends (save for an old elevator man), no glimpse into her life outside of this toxic “relationship”, and she had inexplicably no self-worth at all—and she never got any. I really struggled the whole time to understand what she even saw in Miles.
The present-day side characters brought nothing to the story—for at least 95% of it.
Their “relationship” had no depth and was nothing but sexual encounters that became so cringe I struggled to get through them.
Their “love story” went from 0-100 in the last quarter of the book. At first, I swooned over the ending, and then I realized, NO, this is way too much, way too fast. They literally didn’t know ANYTHING about each other, and they got THAT ending. I get how it wrapped up Miles’s story nicely, but he didn’t deserve her, and I don’t think they should have ended up together. Yep, I said what I said.
In the beginning, this book had a lot of things going for it: dual POV, past and present timelines, a secretive romance, lots of steam, characters I was rooting for…until about halfway through, and then it became a struggle for me just to finish it with regard to the present day storyline.
Here’s why (with some spoilers):
Let’s begin with Miles—the most toxic MMC I’ve encountered yet in a romance. Miles treated Tate like absolute trash, and I hope everyone who has read this book will reevaluate the pedestal he’s been put on. It doesn’t matter how traumatic his past was or the “rules” he laid out with Tate ahead of time, in no way did that give him the right to treat Tate—HIS BEST FRIEND’S SISTER—the way that he did. AND he never apologized for his actions! Instead, he justified it and THANKED Tate at the end for putting up with it.
As for Tate, I felt protective of her in the beginning, and then I felt bad for her, and then I just became irritated with her. She was one-dimensional, she had no friends (save for an old elevator man), no glimpse into her life outside of this toxic “relationship”, and she had inexplicably no self-worth at all—and she never got any. I really struggled the whole time to understand what she even saw in Miles.
The present-day side characters brought nothing to the story—for at least 95% of it.
Their “relationship” had no depth and was nothing but sexual encounters that became so cringe I struggled to get through them.
Their “love story” went from 0-100 in the last quarter of the book. At first, I swooned over the ending, and then I realized, NO, this is way too much, way too fast. They literally didn’t know ANYTHING about each other, and they got THAT ending. I get how it wrapped up Miles’s story nicely, but he didn’t deserve her, and I don’t think they should have ended up together. Yep, I said what I said.
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
4.0
This is the DEFINITION of an EMO read and lived up to all the hype, and believe me, I was nervous it wouldn’t!
Carley Fortune created a compulsively readable story alternating between Sam and Percy’s friendship and eventual relationship in the past and their reconnection in the present. The sweetness and innocence coupled with the angst and ache grabbed my heart from the very beginning and tightened its grip during the ups and downs of their relationship.
For a debut author with a background in journalism—not creative writing—I was in awe of Fortune’s use of imagery for Percy’s emotions, and how she created such a visual story driven by dialogue and memorable moments. I felt like I was right there with Percy; the story playing out like a movie in my head. I also loved how Percy’s voice in her teen years didn’t sound too young.
Sam and Percy are messy and flawed, and I couldn’t help but root for them. And when the steam hits
Carley Fortune created a compulsively readable story alternating between Sam and Percy’s friendship and eventual relationship in the past and their reconnection in the present. The sweetness and innocence coupled with the angst and ache grabbed my heart from the very beginning and tightened its grip during the ups and downs of their relationship.
For a debut author with a background in journalism—not creative writing—I was in awe of Fortune’s use of imagery for Percy’s emotions, and how she created such a visual story driven by dialogue and memorable moments. I felt like I was right there with Percy; the story playing out like a movie in my head. I also loved how Percy’s voice in her teen years didn’t sound too young.
Sam and Percy are messy and flawed, and I couldn’t help but root for them. And when the steam hits
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
5.0
It’s been over a month since I’ve read Carrie Soto, and when I sat down to write this review, any nerves I had because I’ve been so far removed from it, immediately evaporated. This book is so ingrained in my mind, I feel like I read it yesterday.
It’s one of my top reads not just this year, but ever.
I don’t know HOW TJR did it, but she took a completely unlikeable character in Carrie Soto and made me not only root for her but feel emotionally connected to her. And the way she was able to span so much time so efficiently, but still pack in so much emotion was masterful.
I loved her choice for the narrative structure, forgoing chapters for sections broken up into date ranges consisting of time frames, news articles, sports commentary, and matches. It made it so much more interesting to read and left me with that same feeling of awe I had while reading Daisy Jones.
I was blown away by how much research TJR must have put into the sport, and I learned SO MUCH. The training necessary to play at that level, the nuances of playing on the different style courts, the sexism, the media scrutiny, and player dynamics were so fascinating. I honestly worried I would get burned out by the amount of tennis depicted in the book (it’s A LOT), but I thought TJR did a great job of balancing the tennis with Carrie’s personal life making the story move along seamlessly. I became SO INVESTED in how everything was going to play out.
I really enjoyed Carrie’s relationships with her agent, Gwen, and tennis “partner” Bowe. I loved the push and pull of their relationship and how naturally their relationship progressed.
My absolute FAVORITE thing about the story was Carrie’s relationship with her father. I swear I was already tearing up in the first few pages as they discussed her possible comeback. I was a blubbering mess by the end of the book, and Javier’s character holds a special place in my heart.
And the ending…
It’s one of my top reads not just this year, but ever.
I don’t know HOW TJR did it, but she took a completely unlikeable character in Carrie Soto and made me not only root for her but feel emotionally connected to her. And the way she was able to span so much time so efficiently, but still pack in so much emotion was masterful.
I loved her choice for the narrative structure, forgoing chapters for sections broken up into date ranges consisting of time frames, news articles, sports commentary, and matches. It made it so much more interesting to read and left me with that same feeling of awe I had while reading Daisy Jones.
I was blown away by how much research TJR must have put into the sport, and I learned SO MUCH. The training necessary to play at that level, the nuances of playing on the different style courts, the sexism, the media scrutiny, and player dynamics were so fascinating. I honestly worried I would get burned out by the amount of tennis depicted in the book (it’s A LOT), but I thought TJR did a great job of balancing the tennis with Carrie’s personal life making the story move along seamlessly. I became SO INVESTED in how everything was going to play out.
I really enjoyed Carrie’s relationships with her agent, Gwen, and tennis “partner” Bowe. I loved the push and pull of their relationship and how naturally their relationship progressed.
My absolute FAVORITE thing about the story was Carrie’s relationship with her father. I swear I was already tearing up in the first few pages as they discussed her possible comeback. I was a blubbering mess by the end of the book, and Javier’s character holds a special place in my heart.
And the ending…
Scandalized by Ivy Owens
5.0
ALL THE STARS!!! This book is everything I could want in a romance!
I absolutely ADORED Alec and Gigi! They were great people individually, and together they were electric! They were open and considerate, intelligent and loyal, ambitious and relatable, and watching them fall deeper into feelings for each other with maturity and without hesitation was THE BEST!!!
There was no self-doubt, self-sabotage, miscommunication, or drama (except for that brief moment in the third act, of course). It was just a beautiful progression of a whirlwind relationship.
The steam was ELITE—never cringey, IMO—and there was A LOT OF IT, but it worked because Ivy (or Lauren of CLo) did such a great job of adding in so beautifully the escalating emotions accompanying each scene. And don’t even get me started on Chapter 13
I absolutely ADORED Alec and Gigi! They were great people individually, and together they were electric! They were open and considerate, intelligent and loyal, ambitious and relatable, and watching them fall deeper into feelings for each other with maturity and without hesitation was THE BEST!!!
There was no self-doubt, self-sabotage, miscommunication, or drama (except for that brief moment in the third act, of course). It was just a beautiful progression of a whirlwind relationship.
The steam was ELITE—never cringey, IMO—and there was A LOT OF IT, but it worked because Ivy (or Lauren of CLo) did such a great job of adding in so beautifully the escalating emotions accompanying each scene. And don’t even get me started on Chapter 13
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
4.0
This was my first Katherine Center book (I have three others on my TBR) and I enjoyed it. It was really cute! After reading a couple of these, I have found that celebrity romance is becoming one of my favorite tropes.
I loved Hannah’s character and how she didn’t put up with ANY SH*T from ANYONE. I was clapping for her and her ability to stand up for herself in multiple situations when up against really terrible people. I mean, I was gobsmacked!! WTF was their PROBLEM?! IYKYK.
I loved Hannah’s character and how she didn’t put up with ANY SH*T from ANYONE. I was clapping for her and her ability to stand up for herself in multiple situations when up against really terrible people. I mean, I was gobsmacked!! WTF was their PROBLEM?! IYKYK.