i broke my streak of refusing to read m/m books written by women because someone recommended to continue this series and i really was silly goosing foi broke my streak of refusing to read m/m books written by women because someone recommended to continue this series and i really was silly goosing for thinking i would like it. tentacles are a no-go for me so i was already uncomfy and sighing my way through this, but then the relationship also just felt inauthentic?!
the fact that most of the reviewers here are women just shows that this book has a certain target audience ...more
please ignore this i had a hard week at work and i'm 14 books behind on my goodreads goalplease ignore this i had a hard week at work and i'm 14 books behind on my goodreads goal...more
this book was made for better than revenge (taylor's version) girlies bc HE WAS A MOTH TO THE FLAME, SHE WAS HOLDING THE MATCHES
i've never read a histthis book was made for better than revenge (taylor's version) girlies bc HE WAS A MOTH TO THE FLAME, SHE WAS HOLDING THE MATCHES
i've never read a historical romance before where the mmc isn't a duke or a man from high society, so this opposites attract story about a girl from the upper echelons versus this man who's a criminal from the slums was SO intriguing. although there is plenty of pining and romantic tension in this, i was surprised at how plot heavy it was and how deeply invested i got. this read like a movie in my head because it was so intricate. devon was this kaz brekker-esque anti-hero and "i refuse to ruin you" kind of vibes, whereas felicity is the personification of sunshine but begging to escape her pristine, rich lifestyle!? idk, very hades/persephone.
it was so addicting!! i definitely would not have read this if the sequel weren't about a plus size main character but consider me impressed. sarah maclean has a more drawn out writing style than some other historical fic authors i've read, but the banter was still SO good and the women are all clever and defy your expectations.
i took off a star because i still don't completely understand the characters' backstory? it feels like i'm missing a prequel to this book or it's a spin off series from something else she's written and i wish it would've hand-fed me some more details about the situation. but i ate this up and i'm already halfway through the sequel and i definitely plan on returning to sarah maclean's work!...more
i feel like i am the target audience for this book as it was totally giving beauty and the beast x smart house (1999), which are two of the greatest mi feel like i am the target audience for this book as it was totally giving beauty and the beast x smart house (1999), which are two of the greatest media pieces of all time. however, if i could describe this book in just one word, it would be: disjointed.
i have a lot of little comments about random things that bugged me throughout this book, which i've learned usually means i wish it had more editing. the main theme of what i wish had been touched up is just how choppy the writing and pacing is. from scenes jumping around to a timeline that isn't very consistent, and sometimes the characters speaking to each other like they're in two different conversations, this book had me questioning whether i was just dumb or the book wasn't making sense.
i did love how closely it followed beauty and the beast in the beginning, but after the first 50 pages, that plot kind of died down and the enemies/rivals to lovers trope was already starting to resolve. the characters getting vulnerable with each other so soon was unexpected and took away from the tension. then the last half was like a wild west of unresolved plot points and family drama i didn't care about because it was being resolved so typically and cheesily. the third act breakup was totally predictable and run of the mill.
we did not get left hanging on the smut though!! this book would've been much harder to power through without all the steam, so i appreciated that and the only one bed trope that unfolded during this. also the reversed expectation of the guy being the one to want to take it slow was a surprising change of pace and i enjoyed their dynamic in that regard. even though a lot of times the banter is this was unrealistic and cheesy, and i didn't like that oliver called her a pet name, i could put that aside for the times that their snark and rivalry actually worked.
for a book i picked up on a whim for the plus size readathon i was able to sail through it pretty fast, but there isn't really any focus on her weight other than some mentions in the first half, and the rest of this is so shakily developed that i don't know how strongly i can recommend it....more
i was so excited to dive into this after finishing book one because kade was a MUCH more interesting cgod..... i see what you've done for others......
i was so excited to dive into this after finishing book one because kade was a MUCH more interesting character in my opinion, and i was pleasantly surprised that the writing style in this volume was considerably better than before! still pretty basic writing so don't go into this expecting to be wowed, but i found myself highlighting a lot more dialogue that i liked.
also, these characters were so lovable (and also hateable? idk, they had amazing growth) because the main male lead, kade, is battling depression and alcoholism and the main female lead, presley, is battling anxiety and body image issues from a recent ex. although i was nervous this book would play into the trope that these characters would try to "fix" each other, it had a lot of great integrations with family and healthcare and was resolved in a really lovely way!
also not to downplay one of the best parts of this book.... the smut was UNREAL. i still think the writing could use a bit of work to completely blow me away, but this was very detailed and any girls with praise kinks should run not walk. only thing is, i'm not a fan of pet names in romances because they just feel soooo cringe and i had to overlook that.
some of the drama in this was a bit repetitive and almost felt like backtracking from the resolution in book one. but i continued to love when kade was headstrong and abrasive, even to the point of overspeaking because it just made him a more realistic character to me in a book where a lot of them are too shiny to feel real.
unfortunately i think this should definitely be read as a sequel and not a companion that you can dive into without book one because there's soooo much action and character development predicated on the previous book. but i read this in one sitting even though it's 400 pages and i'm very impressed with how uphill the writing was! for a book with a whole lot of storytelling that i usually skim in spicy books, i was actually so invested in this. definitely a win for fat girls....more
this book was NOT good and i think at this point i need to stop pretending that olivia dade is for me
as much as i like reading books with representatithis book was NOT good and i think at this point i need to stop pretending that olivia dade is for me
as much as i like reading books with representation of fat girls, this one came at the MAJOR expense of being unbearably unreadable. i hate to roast the main character because we did have a lot in common with our insecurities and depressive tendencies, but i really could not take her seriously because her dialogue was absolutely miserable. so overwritten, weighed down by memes and references that were sometimes decades old, and generally so unbelievable as a main character to the point where i was shocked that the main male lead didn't find her horrendous instead of attractive.
immediately when i read the one (and only...... and on page 300....) sex scene, all i could think about was how i was going to quote it WORD FOR WORD in this review because the main character's dialogue was absolutely diabolical. if i had to suffer, then so do you:
"You are the undisputed Champion of Head, long may he reign, and long may he lick. You can grab a condom and get inside the pussy you now own. Congratulations, by the way. The owner's manual will arrive in your inbox shortly."
nobody here pay any mind to the fact that i did not, in fact, read book one, but i thought this was cute!! totally typical witchy romance and3.5 stars
nobody here pay any mind to the fact that i did not, in fact, read book one, but i thought this was cute!! totally typical witchy romance and rivals to lovers situation here, very surface level plot and low-stakes conflict, somewhat ridiculous main character and writing style, but when it comes to sexual tension, this author doesn't PLAY. i was not expecting it!!
if you need something to fly through any time of year, but especially in the fall time, this was very cute and easy to hold my interest. talking cats, welsh men, small town coffee shops? come get your juice...more
read this immediately after finishing blood moon and it was a bit of a downgrade because it's so much shorter that it almost didn't feel like it had tread this immediately after finishing blood moon and it was a bit of a downgrade because it's so much shorter that it almost didn't feel like it had the beginning-middle-end flow of a book and instead was just a cut of a scene? the epilogue was long-winded and sorta unnecessary that i started skimming. but overall this was fine. i didn't feel one way or another for the characters....more
I DARE TESSA DARE (haha) TO WRITE A BAD BOOK??!!! even though the characters not once had sex indoors in this entire book
i had no intention of readingI DARE TESSA DARE (haha) TO WRITE A BAD BOOK??!!! even though the characters not once had sex indoors in this entire book
i had no intention of reading this until it fell into my lap (sneak peek to an upcoming vlog hehe) but it ended up being SO fun and addicting that i would get genuine butterflies in my stomach when the excitement hit that i had free time to dedicate toward it.
the concept is hard to sell at first glance - an english, beachside town basically run by women who are on their "retreats" to recover from whatever ailments they have - being widowed, hating their husbands, needing some peace before getting married off, etc. even that doesn't really encompass it, but it's just a village ruled by sisterhood and being yourself, which sounds so lame on paper but it was SO sweet!!
and it sets up a great contrast for when the mmc enters the book, who is recovering a leg injury from the war and trying to work his way back up the ranks, but must start to build a militia (for anyone dumb like me, basically just a mini army) to defend the small beach town from france.
and the standoff between these two characters was SO addicting??!!
tessa dare main characters are always SO fierce and smart, unlike a lot of swooning or "sassy" women i read a lot of in the historical fiction genre. susanne was so independent and you really were able to root for her because she is so confident and has conviction in her passions, and watching her stand up for herself and her town to the love interest was so refreshing. ALSO!!!!! THIS MAIN CHARACTER IS TALL ...more
i'm gonna really need blurb writers to dial back using the word "sexy" if there's only one fade to black scene but this was cute!! i'm admittedly stili'm gonna really need blurb writers to dial back using the word "sexy" if there's only one fade to black scene but this was cute!! i'm admittedly still getting my feet wet in the witchy genre because it feels like an extension of urban fantasy and i typically find the use of magic alongside current lingo pretty cringe.
this book's writing, however, was incredible. the descriptions were so realistic of the small town and i loved the flow of the writing. but then any time any of the characters open their mouths, it's as if it's another author completely. the dialogue for every character is so long-winded and unrealistic, which could be difficult to get through but in the end wasn't a dealbreaker for me to not be able to enjoy it.
also the game/challenge elements of this story had the potential to be so exciting, but the scenes went by so fast with very little explanation that they were hard to picture or grasp the importance of.
i did like the relationship in this book and would consider reading more by this author in the future, but this book wasn't quite my cup of tea. possibly because the whole book hinges around this group of friends sitting around this small town all hating this one loser dude enough to want to get payback on him (hence the title), and i just firmly cannot relate to letting a man take up so much of my mental capacity....more
i'm not gonna lie that i had low expectations going into this because i wasn't a huge fan of this author's other book, but i found this one endearingli'm not gonna lie that i had low expectations going into this because i wasn't a huge fan of this author's other book, but i found this one endearingly cheesy and just downright easy to read. bear shifters is something new to me and i was definitely having to suspend my disbelief there as they're traipsing through the woods in a bear-drawn sled, but the silliness and simplicity of the writing was very complemented by ungodly smut.
i wish that this author would fully lean into magical worlds because the plot line of a human finding out that her partner is a shifter is sooo drawn out and corny. but i digress.
i didn't expect to want to read the sequel after this but ...more
this book had potential but WHY WE GOIN' SO FUCKIN' FAST
if you've ever wanted to fuck squidward before, you would eat this up!!
i would never have reathis book had potential but WHY WE GOIN' SO FUCKIN' FAST
if you've ever wanted to fuck squidward before, you would eat this up!!
i would never have read this book if it weren't for the (gorgeous) fat girl on the cover because tentacles are one of my icks in monster romances. if this book slowed the fuck down it might receive a higher rating from me, but the human main character was just sooooo accepting of a sea critter showing up at her door and even though they (non-binary love interest!) stole her away and she literally disappeared from the world, she was content to never going back without a goodbye? lots of plot holes and the main character blindly accepting her captivity (*ahhem* stockholm syndrome).
however i was expecting the writing of this to be cringe and it actually was pretty normal! so it gained back some stars for not being a completely unbearable read. i would skip this one though unless you want something SUPER fast. even though it's about a girl who can't swim falling in love with a sea monster....more
at the risk of sounding depraved i will admit that i planned to only skim read this book that i downloaded on stuff your kindle day with very low expeat the risk of sounding depraved i will admit that i planned to only skim read this book that i downloaded on stuff your kindle day with very low expectations. i'm only marking it on goodreads bc !!!!! it was actually pretty good??!!!!! this cover is TRAGIC but the characters actually had SUCH good dialogue and chemistry and the fmc was surprisingly resilient in a genre that's inundated with copy-and-paste plots and terrible writing and surface level characters.
the sequel to this book came out this year so i lowkey wanna do a full reread (sans skim reading) so i can also read the sequel! witholding a rating until then.
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