Ria

I really wanted to like this more than I did. The writing was beautiful but the execution was bland. I felt no pull towards the characters whatsoever. Atmospheric but slow and not quite to my taste. I'll still give her other book a try, as she's a talented writer. 3.5 ⭐

So instead of falling for the cousin, she falls for the nephew? I should pay attention to the summary more often. My own fault whoops. 2.5 ⭐

A charming, cheerful christmas story that I didn't hate even slightly. I was engaged with it and read it in one sitting. The Kramps decide to skip christmas to save money and go on a cruise after their daughter leaves and likely won't be back. Chaos ensues. 3.5 ⭐ rounded up for the holiday spirit.

3.5 ⭐. Good but rushed. Romantic suspense with a baby flung in. Happy ending. It was a decent read.

I just couldn't get into it. The writing wasn't bad, but I just wasn't drawn in. A solid 3 ⭐.

It started off strong with plenty of humor, settled into the midway point and I just grew bored.

The writing was fine but it's definitely not my favorite choose your own adventure story. 3.5 ⭐

Short, good, yet felt a bit rushed at the end. I'd definitely be interested in reading more of this world. 4.5 ⭐

Ugh, I'm torn on this. The three orcs were brothers, the heroine was an innocent virgin and there was a lot to be uncomfortable with like, such as sexual assault, abuse of a minor and a murdered mother on page. But the writing was so dang good! For a freebie, this was quality and I like to see it! Lots of smut and this is one of those books where the main three heroes were assholes but the story was captivating. Do pay attention to the trigger warnings! 4.5 ⭐!

Technically I'm putting this aside for now until I can get a physical copy. Reading it on the Wayback Machine and half the pages are gone.

I would probably have enjoyed this if I was a teenager but as an adult I am way too critical of yet another teenager living in ignorance about their royal heritage plus instalove. Pass. 2.5 ⭐

This was very slow and I didn't connect with the characters at all. I also didn't appreciate that the first thing the hero does is lie to the heroine in pretending to be his identical famous twin brother. 3 ⭐

Just not for me. 2.5 ⭐

It started off strong, but by the end I was disappointed. Not hardly any M/M involved and the writing was disjointed and iffy. I finished it but I don't think I'll be continuing this series.

Rated: 2.5 ⭐

2024, you were a dumpster fire and I'm glad it's over.

Maybe satire just isn't for me?

It was a good romance but I didn't realize it was a christian romance. Being atheist, this was kinda meh for me. But the characters were sweet and the romance was between two widowers which was unusual and nice to see. 3.5 ⭐

Well this starts off with the death of an almost newborn baby, and the characters aside from the mother I absolutely disliked strongly. Anne Perry is a good writer, but her stories just aren't to my taste.

Rated: 2 ⭐

Another novella I read for Novella November, this was absolutely a train wreck. The first two chapters, Lacey comes off as an idiotic moron that allows herself to be used at her job, being an utter wimp not asking for a pay raise and whining about how things aren't fair. She had rescued three stray kittens, sold two of them and kept the third making her be abandoned by her family. The cat gets into heat and is in the family way thanks to the neighbors dog.

Jack is the neighbor and Lacey finds herself falling for him despite that in the first two chapters it's proven that he cheats on women. In her past she divorced a man for being a womanizer. And I'm seriously supposed to believe this? Jack also is a huge red flag. No thanks.

Rated: 2 ⭐ because I felt bad for the cat involved.

I had an older review that I just got rid of because I obviously wrote it barely into my young adult self. Let's redo this, shall we?

I didn't realize that I'd already read this (I got a different cover version) and still quite enjoyed it. It was good fun all around, and I especially liked the characters humor, the mystery was decently done, and the novella just worked for me. It vaguely reminds me of Scarlet and the White Wolf by Kirby Crow, a series I adore, though it's a vastly different world than that one. I'm hopeful to finish this series next year.

Rated: 4.5 ⭐

A family goes from a two room flat in New York to an absolutely sprawling mansion thanks to the father of the family landing a hugely lucrative job, and all I can say is the parents in this book are appallingly stupid. With money comes no brains, evidently.

The family faces hardships of a new house in that they don't know how to find any help/staff, and they have one party a week. The thing that got me most was NOT RUNNING A BACKGROUND CHECK ON THE LIMO DRIVER. Let alone any other man that comes into contact with their children.

The writing was good. But god the people in the book I wanted to strangle at their dimwittedness.

TW: paedophile, harsh language, implied homelessness, mentions of abuse towards children (?)

Rating: 1.5 ⭐ rounded up because the publisher is promoting women authors

A good, short and sweet bear shifter romance. Could have used more world building, but it did the job in being a quick read before bed. 3.5 ⭐

I'll admit this was fun, but I didn't much like the main character. He seemed more whiny than Quentin Coldwater from the Magicians almost. 3.5 ⭐

The heroine came off as supremely irritating. The story itself was fine. Short, sweet, but ultimately not for me. 3.5 ⭐

The writing was good, but it felt like I'd read these before, from other authors who did it better. Or maybe that's just me. Beautiful writing but I wasn't enthused about a lot of them. 3.5 ⭐