shanaepraystoo's reviews
886 reviews

Seduce Me With Your Lies by Penny Blacwrite

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m not sure how to rate and review Seduce Me With Your Lies. This book is so different from everything I normally read. It’s definitely entertaining and fast paced with lots of drama and a twist that shocked me! I’m ready to read book 2!
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If You Love Me by Kimberly Brown

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If You Love Me by Kimberly Brown is another great book from the author. It is very different from the rest of the author's catalog, especially since it is more of a romantic suspense, but it shows just how great Kimberly Brown is at storytelling. 
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From Come Over To Come Home by Jahquel J.

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I really liked Dom Pickens and Wren Michelle, the main characters in From Come Over To Come Home by Jahquel J. They're diverse, complex, and well-written. I also really liked Jru and Sade, the FMCs friends who get their own love stories in books 2 and 3 of the Brookwood series. I recommend the story to anyone looking for a relaxing, hopeful romance story. And the audiobook is pretty good, too!
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All the Smoke by T'Lyn, T'Lyn

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funny relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

All The Smoke is a fast paced and engaging urban romance novel with spice and enough drama to keep you turning the pages. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading about the MMC’s brother — he’s even more interesting to me than the MMC. 
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The Last Sad Love Song by Kimberly Brown

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

Well written romance story with lovable characters and a developed story. I really liked learning about Calliope and Thane. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a funny, engaging story.
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Frosty Beginnings: A Holiday Romance by Lesanda Moore

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lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Lesanda Moore's Frosty Beginnings is a low angst, fast-paced forced proximity strangers to lovers HFN holiday-themed romance novella. Though the story is short, there's a decent amount of character development that helps get you invested in the characters. I think I would've appreciated a full length novel about Shatori, the FMC, and Ralph, the MMC. Lesanda Moore is a "new to me" author, but I'd check her catalog out for more low angst cozy romances. 
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A Church Girl's Guide to Courting Danger: A Forced Proximity Love Triangle Romance by Brittney True

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I found A Church Girl's Guide to Courting Danger on Everand. The cover art was vibrant and the synopsis was intriguing - I quickly downloaded the book so that I could listen to it. I went to Storygraph and GoodReads to read reviews, but imagine my surprise to learn that there are actually very few reviews about the book. Now that I've finished the audio version of A Church Girl's Guide to Courting Danger, I'm even more confused...why don't more people know about this book?

The story is cohesive and well-written with dynamic, complex, realistic and relatable characters. There's romance, there's suspense, there's mystery...A Church Girl's Guide to Courting Danger has everything and is quite genre-bending as far as Christian romances go. There are gangs, gang violence, knife fights, undercover agents, escaped convicts, and more lol. 

The FMC, Cassandra, is Haitian American, so there are these wonderful cultural additions from Brittney True that make the story even more interesting. The character development of Harmel Preston, the MMC, is some of the best I've read this year (and A Church Girl's Guide to Courting Danger is my 117th book!). 

I highly recommend A Church Girl's Guide to Courting Danger if you like slow burns and cozy mysteries. I also recommend the book if you're looking for Christian romances, books with Christian themes, and books with zero spice. It is well worth the read and the audio, read by Trei Taylor and Chance Smolders, is great as both narrators really make the story come to life. 
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Spend My Life with You by Monique Fisher

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Did not finish book.
Very….boring. 
Love, at Christmas: The Martin Brothers by Nina High

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-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

3.0

I am a big Nina High fan, so when I saw that Love, At Christmas was coming out with updates on the Martin Brothers, I was sooo excited. I really loved each of these characters in their individual books, which came out in the past year or so. I quickly read the series, finding each book even better than the last. Unfortunately, I don't think Love, At Christmas gave me that excitement. I understand there are 3 novellas, but I would've preferred if they were combined into one story, so that the timeline was much more cohesive. Dru and Charisse's story was the best, but the portrayal of Porsche made her generally unlikable and Amaya came off as kind of boring, which she was not in her story with Draymond. Also, I don't understand why Lily's love life continues to be an underlying story when we haven't gotten a book about her. As a matter of fact, Nina High has seemingly moved onto a completely different storyline with The Teachers of Hardwood High (which is so damn good). All in all, Love, At Christmas is a decent follow up but it didn't do much for opinion of the characters I had previously really enjoyed. 
Deuce (The Dillinger Chronicles Book 1) by Kimberly Brown

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dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Yet another 5 star read from the very talented Kimberly Brown. She writes fast-paced, highly engaging stories that draw you in. With relatable characters and funny banter, it's easy to fall in love with the characters and want the best for each of them. Deuce (The Dillinger Chronicles Book 1) is just as good as every other Kimberly Brown book. Salima Navarro, the FMC, might be one of my favorite female characters that she has ever written, while the MMC, Deuce/Stanley is 100% a certified book bae...I need him IRL NOW! Lol. I highly recommend Deuce to anyone who appreciates a true crime family book. I am looking forward to the next book in The Dillinger Chronicles series.

Note: I listened to the audiobook and the narration is superb. Ja'Air Bush is great as usual, but in my Black narration spaces, the male narrator Myles Washington, gets a ton of flack (unnecessarily in my opinion), however, in Deuce he is *perfection.* He was perfect for this role and I hope he is the narrator for the rest of the The Dillinger Chronicles series. 
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