stargoddess's reviews
355 reviews

Into the Woods by Jenny Holiday

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emotional
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This book blew me away with its portrayal of the experience of turning 40 and confronting the question of what you are doing with your life and what it means to find fulfillment in your work. Gretchen was so real and fully developed as a character, and I just loved reading her story. Teddy was a great foil to her, and the romance was good, but honestly that wasn’t the part of the book that will stay with me. I also appreciated that, as in Canadian Boyfriend, there was explicit acknowledgment of the need for therapy and the fact that love doesn’t fix everything - the characters have to do the work to address their traumas. And the humor was also brilliant. Basically, this book felt like a warm hug and is one I will be recommending to everyone as well as revisiting myself.
The Worst Duke in London by Amalie Howard

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

This book was a lot of fun. I could see the influence of 10 Things I Hate About You, but the story was still unique. Parts felt a bit anachronistic/overly dramatic, but overall the writing was solid and the characters felt real and engaging. I think this is a book that would be particularly good for romance readers who don’t usually read historical romance, because it felt very accessible.
Thank you to Forever for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.
Single Player by Tara Tai

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book is a little niche in that it is absolutely packed full of video game references (I feel like I probably only caught 1/2 to 2/3 of them), and I don’t know how it would land for a non-gamer, but for me it was absolutely perfect. A bit enemies to lovers, but really more grumpy to lovers, this book digs hard on what it means to feel worthy of love and to be willing to express your own desires. I found it easy to connect to both Cat and Andi, and their chemistry had me rooting for them from page one. Side characters like Sally and Lou also felt like whole and complete people, which brought depth to the world. Also, a cute cat, texting mishaps, cosplay shenanigans, this book really had it all! I listen to the audiobook, and the performance was excellent. Highly recommend this book to all nerds!
The Broposal by Sonora Reyes

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  • 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 thought Han and Kenny were really sweet, both individually and as a couple, and enjoyed a romance novel that tackled the difficult topic of immigration. However, through much of the book, I was struggling to stay connected to the plot because the villains - Kenny’s ex and the boys’ boss at work - were so cartoonishly evil. I know people like that exist in the world, but it seemed like for both of them, it couldn’t be that they had just one or two bad characteristics, it was that they had all of them. And then the resolutions felt unsatisfying because the build-up had been so much, but it was all taken care of in a few pages. The book had only a few spicy scenes, coming fairly late in the narrative, but one of those is a kink scene. While I absolutely support kink-positive work, I agree with other reviews that this wasn’t the best example, as it was under-negotiated and a poor approach when one party is new to kink. Overall, I love that this book exists, but I likely won’t revisit it myself.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
All the Missing Pieces by Catherine Cowles

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don’t read a lot of romantic suspense, so it is a little difficult for me to judge this book - to me it felt a bit like two different books mashed together. I liked Ridley and Colt’s relationship (and Colt is definitely a great romantic hero) but at times it felt like it was detracting from the mystery at the core of the novel. Also, the solution felt like it came out of left field, although I was happy that my guess was wrong because it would have been a lot more emotional damage. The writing was solid but not exceptional. Overall, I think this would be enjoyable for a fan of the genre, but for me was just okay.
Unromance by Erin Connor

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! Sawyer and Mason are both written in such a realistic way - they are both a mess, but they work on themselves and choose to grow in a way that was really affirming. You could tell how much the author enjoys romance in the way that tropes were used, toyed with, and sometimes fully subverted. The book was moderately spicy - several very descriptive scenes sprinkled throughout - and the spicy was well written. I also enjoyed that Sawyer’s bisexuality was part of the plot without being her only defining characteristic. And as a former Chicago girl, I have to say this book got the city right! Highly recommended.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

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  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

My feelings about this book are complicated. It grabbed me immediately, mostly because I related very deeply to the relationship between Natalie and Gabby. But then I found myself losing interest in the middle of the book - the pacing is unusual for a book of this kind and while the messy way that Natalie and Rob worked through their 20s made sense, it was also difficult to read at times. I also didn’t entirely understand the chapter that diverted into another character entirely out of nowhere. It did come back around for me in the later third, as the characters grew and acknowledged the hurts they had inflicted on each other. I think Hankin is a good writer, but I might have enjoyed it more had it not been a romance, because the guaranteed HEA took a certain amount of urgency out of the core relationship. Interested to check out her other works.
Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel

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  • 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

3.75

I really wanted to love this book, as it included a lot of things I love - a Comic Con meet-cute, board game/video game representation, competitive flirty banter between the FMC and MMC, and supportive female friendships. Unfortunately, I found myself struggling to stay engaged for much of the first half of the book as the FMC willfully ignored the fact that she was being sexually harassed at her workplace and continued to make excuses for her disappointing boyfriend when it was obvious that she was destined to be with William, all because she was fixated on achieving her “Life Goals” and saw only one way to do that - which seemed odd for someone who supposedly loves video games and would definitely know about branching stories and alternate win conditions. 
In general, a lot of the board game stuff hit just slight wrong for me as well - someone who is interested enough in board games to design her own is not playing Monopoly and Clue, she’s playing Pandemic and Wingspan. Also, D&D, even a one-shot, isn’t something you just throw in the mix when it’s your night to pick the board game; it takes planning and preparation from all players. Finally, I never felt like I understood what Overpower WAS in game terms and
the fact that it could be turned into a video game, which it always seemed more like to begin with, highlighted that.
All this taken together kept me from feeling fully immersed in the story, and while the central couple was cute, I didn’t find myself caring much if they actually got together or not.
The book is light on spice - there are two suggestive scenes, but they could be easily skipped without losing anything from the story, if the reader prefers. The writing is solid but not extraordinary. Overall, a fine book but not one I would recommend readers go out of their way for, given that there are better options in the genre.
Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
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Mental Health and Human Rights in Palestine: The Life of Gaza's Pioneering Psychiatrist Dr Eyad Sarraj by Wasseem El Sarraj

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informative
An interesting subject, but it feels like the author tries to do too much in a very short text. Personally, I found the examination of the mental health issues faced by Palestinians and the fact that a PTSD diagnosis is inapplicable in a situation where trauma is ongoing most illuminating, but it was only touched on briefly. Likewise, while billed as a biography of Dr. Sarraj, I ultimately felt like I gained little insight into his life - possibly because the author was separated from his father for much of his life and did not himself have much insight into the man. All in all, I was left wanting more.
Mangos and Mistletoe by Adriana Herrera

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lighthearted 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

4.5

A cute holiday romance that combines baking shows, Scotland, and lesbians - so it was an easy winner for me. Sometimes novellas can feel rushed, but this story actually played out at a good pace and gave space for a bit of the grumpy-sunshine dynamic to play out before the leads gave into their obvious attraction! Of course, Herrera always brings the spice, and this was no exception with some truly excellent scenes, including kitchen shenanigans! The side characters didn’t get much development but were fun in what we did see, and the leads are great, both with complex motivations and interesting interplay. The one thing that took me out of the story was that the competition itself didn’t make a lot of sense, but I was mostly willing to overlook that. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Alexis Hall’s Winner Bakes All series.