pagesplotsandpints's reviews
2066 reviews

Read Completed 2/17/25 |  2.5 stars | Read #17 of 2025

Sadly, this was a pretty disappointing read for me. I've read all of Seraphina Nova Glass's books, but I haven't really enjoyed one for years and I fear they just keep going downhill for me. This book just didn't have the magic that some of her earlier ones have and the beginning was the only exciting part of it. 

The writing was pretty lackluster. Sadly, her writing has just become standard thriller that doesn't have a lot of tension, suspense, or interesting prose. I feel like we were straight up told too many things and I didn't feel any atmosphere here. The two main characters (that were the younger ones, not the older lady) kind of felt pretty similar. I knew who was who but it didn't really make a difference. I really didn't like the older generation. They were all boiled down to caricatures of older people, either clueless or just plain silly. I really didn't think Flor's POV really added to the story. We could have easily dropped it and finished the book a little differently and we could have focused more on the other two main characters. 

The ending was just.... dumb. For me, it was obvious but I was hoping it wasn't because that was just too easy and obvious. I wasn't satisfied with it in the least bit and it didn't help an already underwhelming read. The book wasn't BAD but it certainly didn't work for me.

Read Completed 2/15/25 | 4.25 stars | Book #16 of 2025

This was a really fun read! Truthfully, I actually did not think I would like it, and in another state of mind, I would have DNFed it for not getting to the "thriller part" sooner, but I was in the proper mood to enjoy the characters as the book was unfolding and wait for the payoff. I only picked this up because of some glowing BookTok reviews, and it's always so hit-or-miss. I'm really happy that I enjoyed this one, and the audiobook narration by January LaVoy also helped for sure. 

While it ends like a thriller, I'd struggle to recommend it as such on a broad scale. That would probably be the best place to put it, but all of the twists, reveals, and thrilling moments are all at the end. The story is one long tale to the unraveled, but you have to want it to get it. It's also a very, very character-driven thriller which requires you to be heavily invested in these characters because the plot is much slower, working up to a deliberate and shocking reveal. It's hard when I see people hype it up to be absolutely nuts because then I have *expectations* of it being the best and usually I'm let down, so while this still wasn't a 5 star book for me, I absolutely enjoyed the whole ride! There were also parts in the end that really required me to suspend a little disbelief that I couldn't quite let go of. There was one big jump that I just didn't *quite* accept. If I did, it maybe would have been 4.5 stars, but I just didn't quite accept the BIG twist of it all. 

I really appreciate the author's ability to write interesting characters. If I hadn't liked them, I would have easily been bored and anxious waiting for "things to get good", but I actually wanted to know what happened to them, and there were very small bits woven in plot-wise to keep my attention. I really liked the relationships here, especially seeing relationships change, evolve, and grow over time as the characters grow. I thought it was an excellent insight to show how some relationships change and grow, and some just always stay the same no matter how old you get or how much you change. Truly, without me having a personal investment in the characters, this would have been a boring book, by my usual preferences, so that made a big difference for me! 

When everything finally started to come out in the end, there were punches left and right that I just didn't see coming. I kept wondering what exactly would be the surprise because I just couldn't figure it out. I really appreciated how everything happened in the end! This will definitely be a book that sticks with me. I can't say it'll be a favorite -- and maybe it will as time passes and I keep thinking about it -- but I'm definitely glad I read it. It was a nice change of pace from some of the popcorn thrillers (which I have zero issues with. Those are fun and twisty in their own ways!) and I'm having fun this year reading things that are just a little bit different.

Read Completed 2/13/25 | 3 stars | Book #15 of 2025 

I wasn’t super into this for most of the book, but I trusted that the twists were going to take me where I needed to be, and that was true! I did see one of them coming and it was actually exciting to see that particular piece slot into place. I didn’t have the whole thing right, so there was also still an element of surprise there. The ending also had another little gem for me, so I was happy to see another fun twist and reveal something I wasn’t expecting. 

Really, the writing of this one let me down. I wouldn’t say it felt like Freida McFadden, but I did have some similar feelings from when I’ve read her books. For a lot of people, that’s a good thing. For me, it was overly dramatic, I didn’t like the insinuation that things were almost horror like the constantly talking about how the house had feelings of its own — it’s not haunted, the house doesn’t have feelings. It’s a thriller, not a horror novel. There was a LOT going on. The pieces did all come together so I was happy that the author really did use every piece. I didn’t find it hard to follow because of how much was going on but it became less enjoyable. We didn’t get to spend a lot of time on some parts of the story and I could have felt a much bigger emotional impact. 

This was a little over-the-top and I don’t mind that in some thrillers because they’re supposed to shock us, but this was just a tad much for me. If the writing was a little tighter, I might not have cared.

Read Completed 2/10/25 | 3.5 stars | Book # 14 of 2025

This was cute! But nothing earth-shattering. I felt a little bland about it for most of the time I was reading it but it was a smooth, easy, and light romance book. I loved the cozy vibes of the lodge, and this was a fun celebrity romance. The first "twist" was obvious to me, but it was still fun seeing it play out. 

Overall, I never got super into it, but it was still a good book! The characters were pretty middle of the road. Tyler was a little too perfect sometimes. But overall, it was just... fine. A decent romance that I probably wouldn't go out of my way to recommend but one I was still happy to read.

Read Completed 2/8/25 | 4 - 4.25 stars | Read # 13 of 2025 
THE WEDDING PEOPLE was a very enjoyable book, but I almost quit it very early on. The first 15% is extremely heavy, full of triggers, explaining Phoebe's backstory, and I wish that had been broken up a bit into some flashbacks to alleviate some of the darkness. I understand we had to take Phoebe down and down so we would really understand the place she was when she arrived at this hotel, but if other people hadn't praised this book so much, my close friends most specifically, I would have DNFed it right then and there at 15%. 

The rest of the story was much better! I don't read much contemporary fiction that's not a romance or a thriller, so this was something I wanted to read to add a change of pace. There is a sort of romantic component, but it's not quite the main point of the book, though it does add a lot to the plot. 

I was mostly impressed with the author's ability to make all of these characters come to life! There's a big cast of characters here and every single one of them is unique. Despite the book starting off so heavily as well, there's also a lot of humor throughout the book, playing off the quirks of the wacky family, funny yet realistic things that pop up, and letting the characters get a little weird, but in a really human way and not being over-the-top. 

I loved seeing Phoebe's journey throughout the book and really seeing how human each character was. Everyone had flaws, and it was a nice switch-up from reading romances where things are a little too perfect. I liked seeing what made everyone unique. 

Read Completed 2/6/25 | 4 stars | Book #12 of 2025

This was a fun read! I definitely enjoyed it and I think the characters really hooked me the most. It's always a little difficult starting a new fantasy book/series and really getting the hang of the magic and the world-building all at once, especially listening as an audiobook and trying to commit all of the names to memory. The characters really brought this book to life and hooked me into the story. 

I was a little let down by the magic. It's not super confusing but it's also not super clear. I wish we had a little more detail or examples about how it all worked before being thrown into a faster paced plot. The magic school was right there at the beginning, and I wished we could have seen some of those powers at work before we headed off into the plot... though I am glad that we didn't really spend time at the magic school because the book was about so much more than that! In fact, it wasn't even about that at all. 

Davian is the main character, with some other very important things happening to some other important secondary characters as well. You can tell some of them will have extremely important roles in the series, and I loved watching everything unfold. There are some really nice reveals that kept me excited and interested. We learn a little bit more about the types of magic (there are two main systems) as Davian does, but it all seemed a little too easy. He's trying to learn about kan and.... poof. It's easy for him. He can just do it. I don't know, it felt a little too easy somehow. I felt like I just didn't know enough about it. Maybe that's because I'm coming right off of Sanderson's books again where everything is SO detailed that I'm missing a little of that. 

There's a really interesting time travel component here which I'm already loving and can't wait to see how else that comes into play. Unfortunately because I was a little confused, I was looking at the wiki and spoiled myself for something just a little bit, and yet, it also made me more excited because it's going to be a fun reveal! 

The ending wasn't quite as thrilling as I had hoped because again, I just don't know enough about the Blind and the boundary and why everything is so dangerous and important, but I'm definitely in for book two! A nice reveal at the end made it extra exciting and a great nudge to pick up the second book quickly to see how that all plays out.

Read Completed 1/31/25 | 3.5 stars | Book # 11 of 2025

John Marrs became an auto-read author with THE ONE & companions, but I always have mixed feelings about his psychological thrillers that are not speculative. This was a wild popcorn thriller, and it was actually a lot of fun getting wild and weird, but I still didn't end up loving it. 

I didn't take any points off for it being popcorny and over-the-top -- that's actually what made it fun -- but I did get a little bored in the middle as part of the plot was being re-hashed and the ending felt a little messy with conclusion after conclusion. 

I didn't reread the synopsis before I started the book, so I was actually surprised when the POVs switched and we find out about Ryan. I thought that was a fun surprise that's kind of ruined by the book telling you about itself... 

Overall, this was just fine for me! I definitely could have enjoyed it more in other spots but I did enjoy where it ultimately ended up.

Read Completed 1/30/25 | 3 stars | Book # 10 of 2025

Sadly, this series has been extremely underwhelming so far. I adored the Alex Verus series (and kind of want to reread it) but I couldn't put my finger on what made this series so boring compared to my previous experiences with Benedict Jacka. It just seems to be about everything, sadly. 

- Stephen is a boring main character. He's just okay. He's an average guy and happens to be kind of okay above average talented at magic. 
- The magic flatly described and I feel like somehow I still don't understand what it is. 
- There are tons of secondary characters and yet NONE of them are really anyone at all. Sure, there are antagonist types but each one flits on and off the page with so few appearances, I don't know who any of them are. There was some promise in the beginning when Stephen's friend Colin seemed like he'd start to be a little sidekick, or Stephen's half sister "Bridget" could have been a more consistent addition. Both of them pop in for a chapter or two and then pop out to be totally forgotten about. Stephen is alone most of the time, taking on everything himself. He needs someone INTERESTING. 
- The plot is... blah. What even is the plot? Up until the end, it's also piecemeal. There's an overall arcing plot about wanting to find his father, getting pieces of his mother, blah blah. It's fairly boring and things are kind of just slogging along. 

I debated even picking this one up after how little I cared about the first book, and I shouldn't pick up the third book, but the cliffhanger may be enough to get me interested. If things really start picking up and it goes somewhere good, it could improve a lot.

Read Completed 1/27/25 | 2.75 stars | Book # 9 of 2025

This book started off so well! There was a meet cute, a dangerous guy, the CIA showing up, and some funny moments to set the tone for both action thriller and romcom. I had high hopes it would be a solid 4 star, but I noticed myself drifting pretty quickly and really not caring about the plot at all. 

I was really disappointed with the plot. I still wanted it to be believable despite the book's light nature but most of it felt like it was loosely thrown together and wasn't enjoyable at all. The characters were incredibly flat, boiled down to caricatures, never being developed. The villain was so villain-y. I wanted to see Andee's father try to actually win her over as a father and not a ridiculous super villain. I really liked Chan but his personality was almost TOO perfect. There was really no conflict, no give and take between the two main characters. It was insta-love and it was pretty boring. Andee was the best character, but even she could have used a lot of work here. 

The middle of the book was incredibly boring for me and I had a hard time focusing. Sadly, I just wanted it to be over. It wasn't BAD but it just felt like it needed a lot more editing and revisions. It had a lot of potential but this just wasn't it for me. 

What I really did love was the rep for a character who was hard of hearing. The author included in a note in the end sharing how he was inspired by her husband, who is also hard of hearing and completed deaf in one ear. I could tell that this was something she had personal experience with and really cared about because it was very well represented. 

I really adore the combo of Spy + Romance so I'd likely try another from this author! I liked her first one, and the plot on this one was a miss, but I'd like to see more!

Read Completed 1/26/25 | 3.25 stars | Read #8 of 2025

Helen Cooper is still an auto-read author for me ever since I read her debut and loved it, but I have yet to find that magic again in her latest reads. MY DARLING BOY was a decent read, but I just never really connected with it like I had hoped. 

I generally prefer first person for thrillers over third person, but if it's a well-written book and it works, I don't even notice when it's third person POV. This one stuck out to me, though. I got the two main characters/moms mixed up for a long time and who was whose mother. I don't know why it was confusing, but for some reason it was. They felt a little too similar and it just wasn't sticking in my head. 

The plot was fine, but nothing too wild. There were some twists, but nothing too jaw-dropping. I think there were a few more things that could have been more suspenseful or developed to really pull readers into the plot a bit more. This just didn't have the magic for me, and that's okay! Still a find read, but this won't be anything memorable for me.