pagepixie's reviews
167 reviews

I love when a book surprises me and this book certainly did. I expected it to be surface level, cheesy romcom that really leaned into the porn aspect in an erotic way. While I was right that it was definitely an erotic romcom centered around porn, it was also so much more that that! 

I actually feel like I learned a lot reading this book. I learned about sexual pleasure but also a bit about the porn industry and some struggles that the characters face that are probably similar to what real performers go through. 

I think the idea of Shameless as a website is AMAZING. I’m not sure if anything exists like that these days but definitely not on a scale that it should as I have never heard of one. 

I found the dialogue between Josh and Clara to be witty and fun from page one! I loved the progression of their relationship and the way they both slowly realized that they weren’t just lustfully obsessed but actually in love with each other.

I wasn’t super bothered by their fears and worries and insecurities about how their relationship would work like I would be with other miscommunication tropes. It made sense here for both characters to question each other based off their own life experiences. 

I didn’t find Clara to be a little too judgmental. My heart broke for Josh at least twice when she rejected him. I wish Clara had apologized to him more than he apologized to her. She has some strong prejudices against adult performers, which she works through (mostly) but I think her judgements are supposed to represent society’s general view. So many people consume porn but how would they treat the people who star in it in real life? 

Did I mention it was also just sexy? The author got creative with her sexy scenes and built SO MUCH TENSION. Loved it. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book! And a have a few friends in mind to lend my copy to. 

I was struggling to pick a book to be my first read of 2023 and then I remembered this one and decided it was the prefect reread, pick-me-up to start the year. 

This book is like a collection of inspirational quotes and I honestly just enjoy reading it out loud to myself. It feels like self-affirmations and makes me a little emotional. 

The whole thing is a metaphor for life. Each character embodies an emotion, insecurity, or fear we all have as humans. One of my favorite dialogues is: 

Like that makes me swell with emotion every time. I would literally tattoo this on my body. It’s so simple but it says so much. 

As an artist though, my favorite part of this book is the illustrations. They’re so raw and illicit even more emotion from me than the words. Often the drawings don’t even have words to accompany them, they just speak for themselves. 

Maybe it’s cheating to count this as my first book of the year, but I don’t care. This year is one I’m dedicating to myself and this book feels like it was dedicated to all of us. 

This book is pretty fucked up…

I read this book 2015 and gave it 5 stars. I loved it so much. I loved the writing style, the romance, Juliette. 

This time around, I’m not as in love. I see this as a great introduction to characters. I think we’re already set up for such great growth that I know is coming. Not a lot of world building or plot, but since there are 6 books and a bunch of novellas I’m not worried about that. 

To be honest, it was a little slower than I remembered. I’m more critical of our male mcs too. Warner seems like a real psycho and Adam seems… just like a classic YA love interest. 

BUT needless to say I did enjoy it a lot. I’m a LOT older than I was when I read it the first time. I’m no longer the target audience at 23.  Still, I’m super excited to see how the story progresses past the original three books I read. I want to see how Madi’s writing develops too because she has written these books over the course of a DECADE. I’m sure she’s taught herself and learnt so much since this first book. 

I’d like to pick this book up again or start over at some point. I started it in the summer and it was not the vibe. The writing style wasn’t really my cup of tea and I found the romance to be very subpar. The magic system of the world didn’t really seem to grab at me. I think I may have just hit been in the wrong mood though. I’d give it another go.

I had to drag myself to the end of the first book but I heard the second was way better. I just… didn’t feel that way. I thought it was pretty boring, I liked Wrath but I really think the issue was in the writing style rather than the plot or characters. Like it’s just so jolted and flat to me. 

I just can’t get behind a romance book where he slaps her. 

For a mafia romance this book was kind of boring? 

I don’t know that just how I felt. Glad I didn’t buy it for myself lol

What a glorious Austen ride! 

With pretty much every historical romance set within the era or spire waist gowns being likened to Austen’s work I was dubious to believe such a comparison. However, I really do see Irwin’s nods to her work! From Kitty’s large family of sisters and need for a fortune and banter with Radcliffe to Lady de Lacy’s clear characteristic as a dramatic hypochondriac (one of Austen’s favorite methods of comedic relief) I could see Austen throughout this book! 

I really rooted for Kitty the entire time. She navigated the world of the ton with sharp mind and wit.

I loved the banter between her and James. Man, was that the slowest burn of all time. But yes, I loved it I suppose since I blew through this book in practically one sitting. 

My one complaint is that around 70% in I became so frustrated with Kitty and James’s (and everyone’s blindness) to poor Archie’s decent into trouble. But it did lead to some very deft escape of scandals! 

If you like fun, witty, slow-burn period romance that will make you smile and root for the MC this is the book for you! 

(Also, just a side note for anyone interested one way or the other this book has only romantic kisses.) 

So I don’t really know how I got here, reviewing a Twisted novel on a Thursday night. But here I am. 

Okay so this book was a lot of fun. I really did root for Bridget and Rhys from the second the met. It was steamy and fluffy and angsty for sure! 

Rhys is so sexy I could just explode! And I really liked Bridget as a female MC too! 

I don’t know how I feel about the way time progresses in this book. Years and years pass throughout this book, and while it does add to the dynamic of the love story, it just didn’t let me really get connected with the story the way I like to. Time jumps are not my thing in books and this one had them every other page. I would say that the time jumps made it a fast paced book but unfortunately I didn’t get that from it either. I still felt it was a medium paced book. 

And finally, I felt the secrets and palace exploits fell flat. I wasn’t shocked by anything, I didn’t care about anyone besides the main couple because the side characters were not very present or developed. 

Over all I give 3.5 because I love Rhys and Bridget but no one else!