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readsbyti's reviews
174 reviews
The Words by A. Jade
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
If you want pure emotional baggage and toxicity this is the book! I’m not even saying that as a bad thing, I actually liked reading this. Whilst at the start I didn’t like Phoenix and his behaviour, especially after the timeskip, this sort of feels like a guilty pleasure read, I loved it and hate that I love it. The love Phoenix has for Lennon (once he eventually admitted to it) played a huge role in how I felt about Phoenix overall, you could tell bro loved her he just was not emotionally mature enough to admit it and go about it in other, less toxic, ways.
Lennons character as a whole could’ve used faaaarr more development though, even after the timeskip she still felt like the same Lennon from high school but just hid her insecurities more instead of overcoming them gradually and being a more confident within herself. To see she basically had no growth after the timeskip nor resilience built following the situation she was in was disappointing.
The revenge plot didn’t give what it was supposed to gave either, kinda felt buried almost immediately, really would’ve preferred it played out and that be the conflict than what we go and the ending felt super rushed for a 600+ page book. That being said though, I did damn near cry a lot and despite my words I liked it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death of parent
The Coast by Donna Costello
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
[Too short to rate]
That’s one way to catch an audience’s attention. A very quick read literally under 10 minutes. That has definitely peaked my interest on jameson and gina’s story, though.
Not much else to say really, It doesn’t really give you much other than jameson has a terminal illness and gina is on a journey with him. Would love to read about how they got to where they are, as gina’s ex husband is mentioned, what their relationship is and their future.
That’s one way to catch an audience’s attention. A very quick read literally under 10 minutes. That has definitely peaked my interest on jameson and gina’s story, though.
Not much else to say really, It doesn’t really give you much other than jameson has a terminal illness and gina is on a journey with him. Would love to read about how they got to where they are, as gina’s ex husband is mentioned, what their relationship is and their future.
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
Seven Days in June was emotionally demanding but also adorably funny and heartwarming. Showcasing the hard but important topics that are sometimes missing from second chance romances like this, we follow Eva and Shane from teens infatuated with eachother but in a clearly dysfunctional way to adults in love still bearing the scars from their seven days in june (i’m sorry🙂).
as someone who is on the fence about dual timelines this did a great job at convincing me the story can in fact be enhanced by flashbacks rather than be brought to a weird screeching halt.
as someone who is on the fence about dual timelines this did a great job at convincing me the story can in fact be enhanced by flashbacks rather than be brought to a weird screeching halt.
one unique aspect that surprised me but I enjoyed was the pov’s of Audre and Lizette, they were unexpected but welcome because they both garnered emotion from me for VERY different reasons😂 (i am a Lizette hate, idc I am petty sorry tia)
⚠️ please check tw before reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Self harm
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
When Gracie Met The Grump by Mariana Zapata
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
it was a good enough read but thats about it. It was more tame for a sci-fi romance and whilst I haven’t read many sci-fi romance books, apart from the defenders background having sci-fi elements it didn’t feel much different from a contemporary romance maybe slightly dark with the whole cartel kidnapping thing but idk.
We follow Gracie taking care of The Defender, a very grumpy superhero who crash landed in her garden. Through the course of the book Gracie and her grump build a reluctant but entertaining friendship and companionship, its one of the things I liked in this book seeing them go from not trusting each other to this cute back and forth they had. Alex did and said these little things that would catch me of guard and had me swooning. and the way gracie was damn near oblivious was both hilarious and eventually got frustrating.
that being said what i didn’t like was when they finally became a couple together, i love mz’s slow burns but this was the slow burn of slow burns because they pretty much got together in the final chapter and even that was mainly just a 🔥 scene. a little more time with them as a couple would have bumped this up in my rating
We follow Gracie taking care of The Defender, a very grumpy superhero who crash landed in her garden. Through the course of the book Gracie and her grump build a reluctant but entertaining friendship and companionship, its one of the things I liked in this book seeing them go from not trusting each other to this cute back and forth they had. Alex did and said these little things that would catch me of guard and had me swooning. and the way gracie was damn near oblivious was both hilarious and eventually got frustrating.
that being said what i didn’t like was when they finally became a couple together, i love mz’s slow burns but this was the slow burn of slow burns because they pretty much got together in the final chapter and even that was mainly just a 🔥 scene. a little more time with them as a couple would have bumped this up in my rating
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
I was seriously so confused during the whole thing. There were moments when I thought “ah yes, I remember the lore ” but nope something would happened and I would be in the dark again.
I highly recommend reading this series back to back to keep the lore fresh but I just wasn’t feeling it this time, some decisions were frustrating others were down right stupid and the end was the only bit that really had me paying attention but also pissed me offthe scion of arthur is there and it just didn’t feel like this long prophesied figure was respected how they made it seem they would, 1. for arthur to just not demand that respect much less do anything about the disrespect towards his scion pissed me off, big bad og arthur and yet fuck all power with that title and 2. all the factions and middle men were just too much like who is team who idk I just wasn’t feeling that.
I highly recommend reading this series back to back to keep the lore fresh but I just wasn’t feeling it this time, some decisions were frustrating others were down right stupid and the end was the only bit that really had me paying attention but also pissed me off
Ready or Not by Cara Bastone
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
What a cute fluffy read, I had the best time listening to this on audio! I beg you if you listen to one audiobook this year let it be this one! Alex Finke did such an amazing job at telling this like a story not just someone reading off the page, there was depth and emotion behind her performance but also humor and a lightheartedness. Even when she did the male parts, they felt like their own characters not just Alex’s voice deepened. Obsessed!!
The plot of Ready or Not was so adorable and the characters argh!! The little things Shep does for Eve gave me butterflies, like the first time the baby kicked and Shep was so gentle I swear to god the butterflies and tears came out full force (mind you he isn’t baby daddy), I don’t know how many times I replayed that part. A beautiful dynamic was shown between Eve & Ethan, a change on the typical one night stand trope because Ethan had his own background and obstacles that played into the lot. Every character was well fleshed out and had vulnerabilities my god, what did Cara put into this book?! I need more!
That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Ahhh!!! that was so frigging adorable!! Once again the mead mishaps series delivered on plot, adventure, comedy, romance and the cozy fantasy I am coming to love. plus… ALEXIS RETURNS!! and more chaotic energy than ever! I love that explicit sword!
Felix gives off massive golden retriever energy! Please I could not stop giggling anytime he spoke to Brie! We love an obsessed mmc! This man was jealous of Brie touching paper, PAPER! I loved that the consequences of the events in book 1 were explored here as part of the plot and not just forgotten about as well as a return of many beloved characters from book 1 and book 1.5 (mistlefoe)
The Swedish Prince by Karina Halle
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This is a 2 star simply because I finished it and didn’t feel immense anger, just disappointment. TSP was just so bland, Maggie – our FMC – was poorly written and felt one dimensional, we know nothing about her apart from she is poor, her parents were murdered meaning she is the legal guardian of her siblings , she was a journalism student and works in a hotel there wasn’t much we knew about her personality and interests.
I also felt there was no romance (much less friendship) nor a build up to it between Maggie & Viktor, the princely mmc, it felt purely based on lust evident by the fact they never really did much talking and getting to know each other (unless it was abouttheir relatives traumatic deaths and that is not great grounds to know a person imo) apart from their first date and the 3 days they spent in hollywood only for that to just be then getting to know eachother in the biblical sense and suddenly they are both in love and Viktor wants her to be a princess, no training, no history lessons just: random chick I’ve know for 2 weeks meet my mum and dad - the King and Queen of Sweden, you are to be princess now because I like being inside you, teach you some royal protocols and about my country so you don’t get attack for being uncouth?? no lets bone!!
I also felt there was no romance (much less friendship) nor a build up to it between Maggie & Viktor, the princely mmc, it felt purely based on lust evident by the fact they never really did much talking and getting to know each other (unless it was about
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide, and Death of parent
Things We Hide From The Light by Lucy Score
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Ah man! I really thought I would enjoy that as a whole a lot more. Whilst it started out great, a look into Nash and his ptsd from the events of book one, it quickly got really frustrating with how Nash behaves after Lucian decided to be a dick and plant bs in Nash’s head about Lina, had him out her throwing accusations, well pot meet kettle!!
I wasn't as invested in Lina and Nash's story like I thought I would be. I loved Lina at the start and the glimpses we got of Knox, Naomi, Waylay and Sloane (currently a Lucian hater so no love for him) and it started out interesting enough but dipped after a bit plus Nash’s behaviour was just a big ass ick after a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Addiction
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Oh my goodness!! I LOVED that!! Hade’s and Persephone's chemistry was WOW! I am not hugely familiar with Greek mythology but know names and this has piqued my interest. I would say it was spice-heavy but that didn't bother me, the plot was intriguing enough as a whole.
I love how each character was written and this world overall is a very modern take on the gods of Olympus! I cannot wait to delve deeper into the series.
Everyone except Hades Persephone & her sisters is on my shit list!!! on they vexed me soo much like how could Demeter sell Persephone off like that? AND SHE NEVER EVEN APOLOGISED EITHER! Every other God was complicit even when snakes like Hermes & Dionysus were buddy-buddy with Hades those fuckers still sided with Zeus publicly (idc that they"gave support" in the end it took too damn long!!!)
I love how each character was written and this world overall is a very modern take on the gods of Olympus! I cannot wait to delve deeper into the series.
Everyone except Hades Persephone & her sisters is on my shit list!!! on they vexed me soo much like how could Demeter sell Persephone off like that? AND SHE NEVER EVEN APOLOGISED EITHER! Every other God was complicit even when snakes like Hermes & Dionysus were buddy-buddy with Hades those fuckers still sided with Zeus publicly (idc that they"gave support" in the end it took too damn long!!!)