Take a photo of a barcode or cover
spellbindingtomes's reviews
347 reviews
Glow of the Everflame by Penn Cole
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ฉ๐บ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต.
Retired tennis champion and 37 year old, Carrie Soto, returns to the court to defend her record for most Grand Slam singles titles against the rising 'Beast', Nikki Chan.
My first TJR book and my new favorite read of 2024!
Carrie's passion for the sport is unmatched. And while she lives and breathes tennis, she is far from likeable. She's ruthless, arrogant, callous, and will do anything to be the best, even if that means leaving behind those that care for her. But her tenacity and her drive against all odds is what draws me to root for her as she embarks on what may be her final Grand Slam season.
TJR's writing was exceptional. How she captured the beauty in every match, built in complex relationships, and how she brought us inside the mind of Carrie Soto was both engaging and exciting. Carrie's own growth throughout the book was also brilliantly laid out.
My favorite aspect of this book was reading the bond between Carrie and her dad. Her dad's unwavering belief and support was simply endearing. So many of their conversations had me sobbing.
I listened to the audiobook and it was such an incredible experience. I loved how it executed the many different media pieces and Stacy Gonzales' performance was phenomenal ๐๐ผ I'm not lying when I say I was hooked from the first 20 words.
Carrie's journey was every bit as beautiful as it was heartrending. TJR writes a captivating and inspirational redemption story that will stun you from start to finish even if you're not familiar with the sport.
Read if you like:
๐พTENNIS
๐พstrong father & daughter bond
๐พretiree comeback
๐พbad ass FMC
Retired tennis champion and 37 year old, Carrie Soto, returns to the court to defend her record for most Grand Slam singles titles against the rising 'Beast', Nikki Chan.
My first TJR book and my new favorite read of 2024!
Carrie's passion for the sport is unmatched. And while she lives and breathes tennis, she is far from likeable. She's ruthless, arrogant, callous, and will do anything to be the best, even if that means leaving behind those that care for her. But her tenacity and her drive against all odds is what draws me to root for her as she embarks on what may be her final Grand Slam season.
TJR's writing was exceptional. How she captured the beauty in every match, built in complex relationships, and how she brought us inside the mind of Carrie Soto was both engaging and exciting. Carrie's own growth throughout the book was also brilliantly laid out.
My favorite aspect of this book was reading the bond between Carrie and her dad. Her dad's unwavering belief and support was simply endearing. So many of their conversations had me sobbing.
I listened to the audiobook and it was such an incredible experience. I loved how it executed the many different media pieces and Stacy Gonzales' performance was phenomenal ๐๐ผ I'm not lying when I say I was hooked from the first 20 words.
Carrie's journey was every bit as beautiful as it was heartrending. TJR writes a captivating and inspirational redemption story that will stun you from start to finish even if you're not familiar with the sport.
Read if you like:
๐พTENNIS
๐พstrong father & daughter bond
๐พretiree comeback
๐พbad ass FMC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Death of parent
Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
3.5
I have mixed feelings on this one. The beginning hooked me. The entire bet the two MCs make with each other was fun and I loved the time skips. There were just some decisions that the MCs made that didn't fit within their character development. Also, this is my personal preference but I wasn't a fan when the pandemic became the main setting of the book after the halfway point. I just prefer not to relive that time in the fictional works I read. But I loved the writing and in general thought this was a fun rom-com debut! I would definitely read Katelyn's next book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, and Abandonment
Match Me If You Can by Swati Hegde
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Flawless by Elsie Silver
lighthearted
fast-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? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity and Toxic relationship
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด.
๐๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
Alix Summers, a popular podcaster, meets Josie Fair on their shared 45th birthday. Intrigued by Josie's mysterious life, Alix makes her the subject of a podcast. As Josie becomes increasingly involved in Alix's life, dark secrets emerge. Suddenly, Josie vanishes, leaving Alix and her family in danger. Alix finds herself the subject of her own true crime podcast, desperately trying to uncover Josie's true identity and motives.
โข
โข
โข
I struggled in the beginning of this one. It was a slow start for me, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because the story became utterly engrossing, I couldn't put it down!
As the plot unfolds, the tension increases immensely. Lisa is a master at creating unsettling and disturbing atmospheres and this was no different. Josie's gradual intrusion into Alix's life was well done and it kept me on edge the entire time.
I highly recommend the audiobook for this one. The entire podcast effects and narration were phenomenal.
None of This Is True is a riveting psychological thriller that's hard to put down! While it tackles heavy themes, the narrative is absolutely captivating in the most disturbing ways. A perfect blend of suspense and psychological depth that keeps you guessing until the very end.
๐๐ข๐ง๐ข ๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ:
Alix Summers, a popular podcaster, meets Josie Fair on their shared 45th birthday. Intrigued by Josie's mysterious life, Alix makes her the subject of a podcast. As Josie becomes increasingly involved in Alix's life, dark secrets emerge. Suddenly, Josie vanishes, leaving Alix and her family in danger. Alix finds herself the subject of her own true crime podcast, desperately trying to uncover Josie's true identity and motives.
โข
โข
โข
I struggled in the beginning of this one. It was a slow start for me, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because the story became utterly engrossing, I couldn't put it down!
As the plot unfolds, the tension increases immensely. Lisa is a master at creating unsettling and disturbing atmospheres and this was no different. Josie's gradual intrusion into Alix's life was well done and it kept me on edge the entire time.
I highly recommend the audiobook for this one. The entire podcast effects and narration were phenomenal.
None of This Is True is a riveting psychological thriller that's hard to put down! While it tackles heavy themes, the narrative is absolutely captivating in the most disturbing ways. A perfect blend of suspense and psychological depth that keeps you guessing until the very end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Minor: Animal death and Drug use
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
emotional
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
๐๐ฝโ๐ผ ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ถ๐น๐ต๐ฎ ๐ป๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐. ๐๐ฝโ๐ผ ๐ช๐ซ๐ธ๐พ๐ฝ ๐ช ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ต๐ต๐ธ ๐๐ฑ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ต๐ต ๐ฒ๐ท ๐ต๐ธ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฑ ๐ช ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ต๐ฒ๐ท.
To say I loved this book would be an understatement. I am OBSESSED! It's been awhile since I binge read a book, but I found myself unable to put this one down.
Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors and the stories she writes never fail to hook me. How she turns a budding romance between a violinist and a cellist into a passionate, steamy, tension-filled love affair is on a whole other level. Gwen and Alex's connection with music and how they play both their instruments was beautifully described that I can hear their euphonious duet come off the pages.
๐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐.
I loved both Gwen and Alex individually and together. The chemistry between them was nonstop. And the spice was incredibly spicy, like cover worthy spicy! ๐
I cannot wait to get a physical copy once this hits the shelves! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ/๐ญ๐ฒ!
๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ง๐ถ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.
Read if you like:
๐ปrivals to lovers
๐ผworkplace romance
๐ปorchestral music
๐ผhe falls first & harder
๐ปcello + violin romance
๐ผspicy scenes ๐ถ๏ธ๐
To say I loved this book would be an understatement. I am OBSESSED! It's been awhile since I binge read a book, but I found myself unable to put this one down.
Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors and the stories she writes never fail to hook me. How she turns a budding romance between a violinist and a cellist into a passionate, steamy, tension-filled love affair is on a whole other level. Gwen and Alex's connection with music and how they play both their instruments was beautifully described that I can hear their euphonious duet come off the pages.
๐ ๐ง๐ญ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ด. ๐๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ฃ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฅ๐บ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ต ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ. ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ ๐๐.
I loved both Gwen and Alex individually and together. The chemistry between them was nonstop. And the spice was incredibly spicy, like cover worthy spicy! ๐
I cannot wait to get a physical copy once this hits the shelves! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. ๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ/๐ญ๐ฒ!
๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ง๐ถ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ.
Read if you like:
๐ปrivals to lovers
๐ผworkplace romance
๐ปorchestral music
๐ผhe falls first & harder
๐ปcello + violin romance
๐ผspicy scenes ๐ถ๏ธ๐