CHADD JAVIER
“I like your kind of quiet. Your heart isn't quiet.”
What is it about?
It's a friends to lovers, second chance romance trope. Elliott and Macy found their way back to each other's lives after eleven years. They have a lot of baggage to unpack now. It is told from two timelines, then and now, how their love started and what they would do now.
What did I think about it?
Well, I like the friends to lovers trope rather than the enemies to lovers. This book made me feel like I was falling in love the same time as the characters. I loved how Elliott is written, he is the best example of a book boyfriend. This is a slow burn romance and I think it went on a bit too slow for me that's why I knocked a star off. It's still a good rating considering I don't really like romance.
My heart broke when everything wrapped up. I won't put any spoilers bit if you've read this I think you know what I mean.
“The world is full of painful stories. Sometimes it seems as though there aren't any other kind and yet I found myself thinking how beautiful that glint of water was through the trees.”
This book started in 2025 and goes on to a few years later, it's a dystopian world that is not hard to believe at all. This is a an LA which is infested with disease, poverty and water shortage. Not hard to believe right? We could be looking at our near future and that's what makes it terrifying.
Lauren is living inside the wall where the “fortunate” lives. She's been wanting to pack up and go for the longest time but some things are holding her back until she's forced to when something happens to her hometown. I love how strong and caring Lauren is. She has helped several people who need it and tried to give people the benefit of the doubt.
It's both heart breaking and horrifying what happens when there is no proper government ruling and when people are left to fend for themselves. I hope we never get to see that day.
I didn't enjoy reading the bit about religion. Didn't see the point of it that much. Lauren was really passionate about it though and could be quite preachy about Earthseed.
There is a second book to this and I'm not sure if I would like to continue. Thank you to @booksreadbyem for suggesting this for my 12/12 challenge.
“But I'm starting to understand how sadness and happiness can live side by side within a heart. And how that heart can keep on beating.”
I cannot believe that not a lot of people are talking about this book!
I am hard to please when it comes to reading romance because I normally find them too cheesy or too unrealistic but this one I loved!
This is about Anna who sets sail on a solo trip after her husband, Ben, passed away from suicide. She was trying to complete the trip that Ben planned for the two of them. The story talked about death, grieving and moving on so well.
During the trip, Anna learns what her strengths are (when it comes to sailing) and learning to love again. She falls in love with Keane, a man she met during her first stop. It was such a mix of emotions as she learns to let go of the man she loved wholeheartedly but also finding a friend in Keane but eventually opening up her heart to him.
This is not only a romantic love story but also about the journey of finding love in yourself and becoming a strong woman who can overcome almost anything that's thrown at her.
“She didn't expect life to be fair, but did it have to be so relentless?”
Something sinister was happening at Orsk, so the m,anager decided to get 2 of his employees to work after hours so that they could check if someone is breaking in at the store at night. Turns out, it's something supernatural.
When I was a child, I would have fantasies of hiding somewhere inside the mall so I could stay out of hours so yeah, this sounded really interesting to me. Anyone else did that?
This book gave me Scary Movie vibes. It's a horror book that's not too creepy and it's sometimes funny. I didn't really feel frightened while I was reading this. It didn't feel atmospheric enough for me, maybe the scene setting was not as dramatic.
I liked the ending, it didn't have proper closure but it's fine. If there was a book 2, I might pick it up because I want to know what will happen next.
BTW, I also loved the book itself! It's unique and creative. It looked like an Ikea catalogue!
Fi just got back from a short break, when she gets home, there is a couple taking ownership of her house. This book is told from the point of view of Bram and Fi, the two main characters. The narration is unique as it it told through a podcast and a word document.
There is a lot of layers to this story, there were a lot of subplots explored. But the thing is, it got really boring and repetitive in the middle. The book could have been more enjoyable if it was 100 pages shorter. Buddy reading this, made me want to finish it, if it wasn't a buddy read I might have DNFed this so shout out to the 2 ladies I read this with.
The ending though! I loved it and hated it at the same time! So much room for speculation, we know what will probably happen next but I want to read more, the extra 100 pages in the middle should have been added to the ending.
I just found another new favourite! I felt a lot of emotions while reading this. I laughed, I cried, I was curious, I was excited. I was putting off reading this books because I thought I would be bored, but I was wrong! I'm so sad that I borrowed this from my library and not bought my own copy as I would have enjoyed highlighting quotable quotes on this book! This was masterfully written, I was on the edge of my seat, not because the plot was particularly thrilling but because I was so invested in the lives of the characters! I wanted to know what would happen to each and every one of them! If there was one book I wish I could experience reading again for the first time, this would be it.
”..the dividing line betwixt adult and child was simply how self serious one was. Children thought the moon was made of cheese; adults believed in more complex but equally silly things, like government. Everything was one big joke.”
To be honest, I picked up this book because of the title.
This is about a family who recently moved town. Since moving in, strange things started happening. It is the mom's dream home, but is it really?
This book takes haunted house to the next level. It's not scary though, it bordered on comical but not funny. With that said, It's still entertaining and it's a quick read only 158 pages long.
I enjoyed Damien, the youngest child's character. He reminded me of Stewie from Family Guy. The way he wanted to trick his mom and he seemed demonic in a certain way with his pranks.
The start of the book was promising, but as the story unravelled it just did not live up to my expectations.
”It turns out the real you is a quilt, made up of the light and the dark. The life you've lived in sunshine and your shadow life, stretching underneath the surface of your mind like a deep underwater world, exerting invisible power. You are a living, breathing story made up of the moments in time you cherish, all strung together, and those you hide. The moments that seem lost. Until the day they're not.” This book is about six friends returning to their university after 10 years for homecoming. On their senior year one of their closest friend(the seventh member of the friend group) dies, the boyfriend of the victim was accused and released. Now, they are trying to piece together who really killed their friend. Wow. I love this. It's been awhile since I read a thriller that surprised me. The ending was not something that I expected. Jessica, one of the friends who is narrating the story, is unlikeable well to me she is. She is insecure and not a good friend/person overall. She always has to be number one but does not really succeed. The rest of the friend group are all flawed but I enjoyed reading their backstory to piece together what really happened that night. If you want to read a fast paced, whodunnit thriller you should pick this up!
This is a middle-grade book about Clara who has lost her memories from summer of last year. She is trying to remember what has happened while enjoying the summertime with her friends.
The setting is heart warming, it is set in a small town in Jamaica where all the neighbours knew each other. It seemed a safe and quiet neighbourhood, something that I only read about in books as I grew up in the city myself.
I thought it was just gonna be another summer book about young kids, enjoying the sun and being petty with their friends, but I was wrong! This book took me by surprise. I was expecting a light, fluffy read but then the ending took a 180 and I was completely surprised. Though I saw the trigger warning so I had a slight idea what would happen.
They are loveable cast of characters, even the ~unlikeable~ ones! If you want a story about friendship with a bit of mystery to it, read this one! Plus, it's a short one too!
“Life doesn't give you many of these opportunities. My advice? Seize it, mold it, and make it everything you want it to be.”
This is an enemies to lovers book, but not really. It's only the female protagonist who hates the male protagonist. Though, her reason for hating him seemed legit at first, once she got the reason why he did what he did, she still hated him and that was just stupid.
I didn't like Henley, she is judgmental and selfish. She never takes any blame but it is her who is always at fault.
I loved the setting for this book! It's set in a cruise ship in Galapagos. It's giving me tropical holiday vibes! I've always wanted to go on a cruise and this just have me more reason to!
The ending was too perfect but it's fine. Happy endings is what most people look for after all.
This book is told in two different perpectives, Maggie's and her father's. It is about a haunted house that she lived in when she was younger but she has now need to revisit because she inherited it.
I've had this book for so long, I am a fan of Riley Sager and I can say I enjoyed this one too. It's nothing phenomenal but I did get scared while reading this, which I think was the point of the story.
“You are sixteen, going on seventeen” now seems so creepy to me. I don't think I'll ever hear that song the same way again.
Throughout the book, I was always kept guessing about what is really happening, is it really something supernatural, a product of imagination or is there really a murderer. You have to read to find out.
“The thing you have to understand is that being a good person isn't about singing hymns, or praying to some mythical god. It isn't about
wearing a cross or going to church every Sunday. Being a good person is about how you treat others. A good person doesn't need a religion, because they are content within themselves that they are doing the right thing.”
This story wasn't particularly compelling to me. Or maybe I had such high expectations because I heard such good things about this book. Fun fact: I bought this thrifted, the volunteer at the till said that they read it in their book club and she said that it's good.
It's not that it's a bad book but I just didn't connect with the characters and the story much. There were a few times when I felt a bit creeped out, especially the last scene but that was it, the rest of the book was meh.
It was written well, I actually highlighted a couple of lines, considering the genre of this book, I didn't particularly think that I would do much annotating.
Oh and the plot twist, hmmm I could say I didn't see that coming but who would see that coming.
4.5/5 ⭐️
“Fate determined who enters in you life, your actions decide who stays”
John Marrs did it again! He definitely is my current favourite author. I love his writing style, you always follow several characters but he has a way of writing where you don't get confused who you're reading about. He writes short chapters and most of the chapters have a cliffhanger at the end so you keep wanting to read more.
This book is set in a hostel in California, I didn't read the synopsis so I didn't really know what to expect and I think that was a good choice. The first few chapters gave me Hostel(the movie) vibes.
I knocked down 0.5 ⭐️ just becuase one of the plot twists was just ridiculous. With John Marrs, you don't have to guess what happens to the characters because there are no loose ends, everything is wrapped up neatly and I love that.
I won't say much about the book because I don't want to spoil anything, but if you want a fast paced and thrilling read, pick this up.
“I hated him until I didn't”
This book has all the tropes (almost). Fake dating, enemies to lovers, and only one bed!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Their banter had me smiling. Even though they hate each other, they obviously have good chemistry! It's a fun and easy read. Perfect if you are on a holiday.
I hate to say it but I don't like Olive, I can't point a finger at it but I didn't enjoy reading from her point of view. Also, for someone who hates a guy, she sure can't stop thinking about him. He keeps admiring his body and his face which made me doubt if she really hated him in the first place.
I liked that there are other things going on as well, not just their love story per se. There was drama not just with them, but with the other characters as well.
I read The Layover before this, and they have the same tropes, except for fake dating, and can I just say that I enjoyed them both. Although they sound the same, they are different.
“... who wants to be reachable if you've managed to escape to a place far enough away to be un-reachable? That's half the magic of exploring other countries. Not being uncontactable,
but being in a different world, untethered and free.”
I didn't doubt that I would like this book, just because it's about travelling and flying, it's just the kind of book I knew I would enjoy.
This is an enemy to lovers trope. I haven't read a book like this for the longest time. I loved their banter in the beginning. It's not impossibly mean, just cute mean.
I loved the characters in this book! Gen, Pilot Paul, Eddie, Celeste, Ava, Jack and even Captain Ballinger.
When they got stuck it Belize, that's when the magic happened. I got all the feels. I enjoyed that no cheating was involved in the story. Just plain old, romance.
This was the perfect companion on our holiday to Maldives! It did take me 5 days to finish it, not because it's a horrible book, just because I got too distracted with the alcohol and the beach.
The first half of this book dragged and then BAM! Everything happened all at once! I enjoyed the latter part of the book even though I could tell who the killer was from a mile away. But, there are so many layers to this story that it still ended up surprising me.
Is it just me or did anyone else notice, the first half of the book, the author kept incorporating the word flicker. Maybe it's just a coincidence or maybe it was their favourite word, after all the book is titled A Flicker in the Dark.
“But sometimes remembering isn't for yourself, sometimes you do it just to make someone else smile. Those lies were allowed.”
I love that this book is written in mixed media. There's photos, interviews, text messages and just plain old paragraphs.
It's refreshing to read a mystery novel from the point of view of a young girl. I always read stories like this but from the perspective of a police or a private investigator.
I enjoyed the main character, Pippa. She is smart and passionate and she isn't embarrassed about being a geek. The plot is exciting, makes you want to keep reading more. I was happy with the twist, it wasn't too unbelievable that it's ridiculous but it was still surprising enough.
This is the first book of a trilogy, I would happily continue on with the series!
“It's disconcerting, like someone stuck the whole world on pause.”
This book is following 5 sets of people who got stuck with each other because of lockdown. The first one is Isla who is stuck with her new boyfriend, Imogen who has no choice but to stay with a one night stand, Serena who is spending her time with a boyfriend who she realises likes pineapples on pizza, Ethan whose girlfriend got locked out so he is by himself in the flat, and Olivia who was forced to sleepover with 3 other girlfriends after a bachelorette party.
It is interesting to look back at what it was like when covid first started, when we were all uncertain on what would happen when everything went into lockdown. When we were all struggling to get food, when everything needs to be sanitised.
This books showed different relationship dynamics and how everyone deals with being stuck with someone you like and/or don't like. I enjoyed all the stories particularly Ethan's, Olivia's was the one I didn't really love just because I thought the characters were immature.
“But not too much pain, am I right? Not too much, never too much. If it was too much, you wouldn't know what to do with me, would you? Too much would make you uncomfortable. Bored. My crying would leave a bad taste. That would just be bad theater, wouldn't it? A bad show. You want a good show. They all do. A few pretty tears on my cheeks that you can brush away.”
This is my first Mona Awad book. I heard a lot of good things about Bunny, but because I got this free copy from NetGalley, I decided to start with this.
I love her writing style! I flew through the first half of the book. I enjoyed the dark thoughts of the main character, because who doesn't think ill at times? Buttt... she lost me when witchcraft/ dark magic got involved, just because I don't really enjoy reading about said topic.
I felt like the way she wrote about chronic pain
Is accurate and believable. It made me feel sympathy for Miranda especially when she hit her rock bottom because no one really believed her and nothing could make it better.
I didn't really enjoy the opening night. It just got a bit confusing to me. Weird and confusing and not in a good way. There were too many questions left unanswered, and I don't really like it when books do that. I'm here for answers, not more questions. Overall, an interesting read though.
“Dates only make us aware of how numbered our days are, how much closer to death we are for each one we cross off.”
This book almost put me in a reading slump. Took me awhile to read through because I was easily distracted with other things. I was bored throughout the book, it just couldn't keep my attention.
The last 50 pages though!!! I was originally gonna give it 1.5 stars but the ending!! Didn't see that coming. So I bumped it up to 2.5.
The premise was good but I think it just wasn't executed properly. The book is about a young girl who was taken by her father to live in a forest, he pretended that the world ended so he could keep here in the hut. Sounds like an interesting read right? I wished the book was written in a way that is easy to read but suspenseful at the same time.
It wasn't a bad book, I just didn't enjoy reading it. I wanted to DNF at first but decided to finish it ‘coz it's not a long book after all, it just dragged.
If you are a fan of Harry Potter and want to magic to live on, you should read this. Though the story lacked a bit of originality because some parts greatly reminded me of Harry Potter, it still felt different and I still enjoyed the book a lot.
The introduction showed great world building. We were introduced to Ivy, the main character and the magical world in a way that piques our imagination. Dragons, dwarves, cabby drivers, castles, porcupines, potions, quills – all so creative and imaginative in setting up this Town and magical school. Although I felt like we were missing a few pages because the story started out slow with the world building and then suddenly she is breaking the rules and doing adventures. While I was reading it, I felt like missed something because all of a sudden Ivy is this daring girl.
The magic system is really interesting. I especially enjoyed the part with the Hollow Shaft. I would've loved to see more of what the royals and what the scrivenists could do. But, maybe in the next books there'd be more details.
This book is the first in a series, even though I enjoyed it, I don't think I will carry on with the rest. This isn't just the kind of books for me now, maybe if I was younger I would've enjoyed it more. This is perfect for kids at heart!
*I was given a copy of this book for free, to review. All thoughts are mine and not influenced by the publisher.
This book might be in my top 10 favourite books!
Fun fact: I am a nurse. That's why reading about what it was like being a nurse in the olden days was so fascinating. A lot of research must have gone into writing this. It must have been so hard being a nurse during a pandemic while in the middle of a war. If you think we are struggling now, how much more back then.
There was a time when mix your own saline solution, whiskey and chloroform were used to treat patients! How medicine has changed!!
This book is so gripping. I couldn't put it down, I wanted to know what will happen to the mothers in the ward. The story is set up in a span of 2 days but you wouldn't think that as there is a lot happening. It was well written, however, Emma Donoghue does not use quotation marks so it's a bit confusing to read at first.
“Faye was lying on her side, facing away from me, and whispering one half of a very strange conversation. I imagined a person crouching in the darkness at the edge of the bed, smiling up at her and whispering back.”
This book started in a snowy cabin, thought it would be romantic? No. It is very atmospheric. The writer did a great job with setting up the scene to be cold, uninviting and spine chilling.
This book is freaky! I dare you to read this at night, in bed. If you don't get spooked out, I salute you! Even the prologue made the hair at the back of my neck stand up and I don't get scared easily. Though, it got a bit repetitive towards the middle of the book.
I loved the relationship between the two main characters Faye and Felix, they're funny and seem in love with each other. I didn't like the relationship between Faye and her parents, her parents kept hiding secrets from them and it didn't seem like a healthy relationship. Especially letting your daughter stay in a cabin where you know terrible things happen.
“Life could injure you, but you could get up again if you were strong enough, and especially of you had the right person to help you out.”
This is the first book I read in part of the 12/12 challenge. Thank you @rnlgrace for recommending this book
When I first started reading this book, it reminded me a bit of Nicholas Sparks. But, as the story went on, it took a different route.
This might be the first story I read that has a good representation of what it's like being poor. It felt realistic and I felt sympathy and heartbreak for the characters. Also, the mental health aspect rang true and not overdone.
I liked all the characters in this book. I think Kyland might be my first “book crush”