Reham
went into it completely blind and had absolutely zero emotions whilst reading it. it didn't effect my being, i am still the same person i was before i read this. fantasy is a a genre i rarely like, there are very few i have come to love and the funny thing is, the books i absolutely hold dear to my heart are fantasy. i am glad that this book did not have elf ears or tails, but it was just not my cup of tea. i really wanted to like it at the least, if not love, but it was just so mundane and so boring, that i felt like i am falling under a slump.
it could be possible that it was not the best choice to pick this up right after the count of monte cristo
one thing i loved about this book is ophelia, and that was it.
I finished the count of monte cristo. I..finished..the count of monte cristo, i finished the count of monte cristo – hold on, i am not done, i FINISHED the count of monte cristo!
inspired by lorelai gilmore when she realized she was no longer held bound to friday night dinners when rory made the deal about yale
This was everything. I have absolutely no words to describe the spectacular way the story was told. Dumas' incredible brain, the easy and well translated words and such brilliant characters. I loved Edmond, I adored Valentine, and I despised Fernand and Danglars with all my heart.
There are no words to describe the love I came to have for this book and though I am feeling accomplished that I finished this book but I am saddened to know it has come to an end.
dnf @ page 60
I evidently bought this based on the prettiness of the cover and hadnt read the back of this. It's so dull, so boring that i wanted to throw it out my balcony. i never seem to enjoy british authors except for beth o'leary. the author is kind of redundant in describing her characters. Poppy is tall, we get it.
will probably donate my copy
This keeps getting better. I genuinely loved and enjoyed this one a lot more than the previous one. I love ravi and pip together and their dynamic, their small jokes. I am sad that we didn't see the aftermath of pip releasing max's recording. This was just so great!
This one gave me chills multiple times!
I don't know how to review this. It was sad, poetic, tragic, beautiful and heart wrenching all at once. The stories, the way they were written and narrated, the characters, they were all...just what they were intended to be.
Throughout the whole book, I wished I knew what was real and what was fiction. I wondered after reading something sad that did the author himself go through this? Which parts were created, which were taken straight from his life. However, I did not cry despite how sad it was except for one line that triggered my tears. But I feel that I was already in my feels so the line just provoked my tear sockets.
I am glad I came across this and read it.
When i started reading this, I had literally thought: why can't there be a romance that i can simply love without hating it for obscene contents, where it's two adults who respect each other and make it work.
And well, yeehaw? I guess because it delivered. The author has perfectly named it flawless, because it is just that: perfect. Of course, some might find flaws but it was perfect for me.
thank you to the publisher for sending me the arc in exchange for an honest review
unfortunately, this was not for me.
First of all; the synopsis is misleading. What the goodreads summary says is: a romance author is finding it hard to write down love scenes so she decided to sleep with Mr. Right here right now for inspiration and then continue to see what happens. But that is not at all what happens.
Second of all, i am not a huge fan of insta-love. It's kind of cringe and it makes romances dull unless done right. However, this one was just awful. I haven't read the first book where the two protagonists actually meet but even if I had, it wouldn't have been from their point of view. But starting the book and the second chapter is the male protagonist confessing he wants to marry her?! Where is the chemistry, where is the anticipation, angst?!
The characters were very dull and one dimensional. They had nothing going on for them and nothing exceptional happens to them. There is character development or traits that would have made me like them even a bit. The male protagonist was a bit creepy, it's fair to want to marry someone upon seeing them for the first time because you are instantly in love with them but to actually go and purchase a ring before even talking to them at all?
And then there is this thing about he perceives Lindy, it was annoying. I have read smutty books, it isn't like this is my first but I do know where I draw the line. Dex gave me off vibes. He literally called himself the “nice guy” and we all know what nice guys are really like. And the entitlement he assumed he had over Lindy, letting her know that she will come around eventually as though she owes him anything.
Now, let's move to Lindy. Her biggest issue with Dex was that he was much younger than her when he was literally in his late twenties. And she was 35. That's not an unacceptable age gap but in fact quite common. Maybe she felt that way because she was an older ‘woman' but regardless, it was not that big of a deal. Other than that, Lindy was quite boring. She had absolutely no personality, I am sorry. Her being envious if her little sister put me off, for someone who raised and loved her as her own kid.
Take a shot every time either of them said “not ten any longer” jeez.
The exchange between the characters were mediocre. There was attempted humor that failed to make me even smile.
One more thing, Dex saying it wasn't his business knowing why his mom stayed with her abusive husband is actually in my opinion wrong. He should have asked her, should have helped her leave and heal. As a son, you owe her that much compassion. Especially when it is common that mothers stay in abusive households for the sake of their children having both parents. So yes, Dex, you should have asked her. It was your business.
And lastly, the smut was pretty good. But I would still give it 3/5
In conclusion, this was not my cup of tea in regard to the writing and the characters. The blurb was misleading and disappointed to find out that it was not exactly what it said. Maybe others might have found this book great but unfortunately, I don't feel the same.
2.75/5
i feel disappointed, because this book was not what i expected it to be. I was really excited to read about leo's story and how much he was hyped until release. I really wanted to like this book but so many things about this set me back.
- the miscommunication/misunderstanding trope
- im glad the author did not make the big confession the third act conflict but the third act conflict was even worse lmao
- leo was hot but so much of his lines were cliché especially during sex
- mary seemed to have a very mediocre personality. when she was introduced in the previous book, she seemed like a badass but i hadnt really liked her much
- mary over reacting to leo beating the guy who sexually assaulted her and telling him that he hurt her etc. Like i get it but you also have to understand the guy's perspective before jumping to conclusions. she suddenly wants to find self love now?
- her leaving the pit because of this was my last straw
Look, i loved LOVED blind side which is how i found kandi steiner basically and wanted to read all of her work but i have been repeatedly disappointed. Maybe except for quarterback sneak, which was nice and better than this. This whole story and plot felt dragged and forceful, like something to be written. The smut was okay but not as great.
Clay Johnson will be my number 1 and only book boyfriend.
I had chalked up my disinterest in this book to my romance reading slump era but really, this was not good anyway.
this was an interesting read. the translation was really good in the sense the writing was smooth and simple.
the ending was predictable but i didnt keep any guesses, but regardless this book was fucked up and i like fucked up books. this also goes to show that if cannibalism would be legalized how many screwed in the head people would thrive and use meat as an excuse to slaughter people for the fun. but also how terrible the world would become.
3.5/5
4.5/5
As soon as i found out cal has a cat, he became my favorite kane brother.
This book was...pretty great. From the writing to the way the characters developed and how the ending came out to be. However, even though it was intended, i did not entirely like how terribly they often treated cal's addiction. Yet, i can't complain much because it all did make sense.
Can't lie, i expected cal to be more kinkier than he was.
I still remember when i first read the fine print last year, feeling surprised to know that it did not have shitty third act conflicts, no cheating, no miscommunication in the usual context you find in romance books. And even though declan's story was my least favorite because i hated the idea of having a child because you're forced to and not because you want to, i still enjoyed this series.
I'm so glad i read it when i did :)
PS. I have a feeling lauren asher's next book has to do regarding the character lorenzo vittori-something
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc.
The premise of the book sounded promising, but the book started out a bit dull and ended up being chaotic but not in the best way. It was a page turner but that was because i just wanted to find out the truth behind it all. I will say that the author did a great job at misleading the readers into making Gabi the obvious choice. However, the ending was a but meh.
As for characters: I think Harriet let her husband off the hook too easily. She should not have downplayed Tilly's disappearance so lightly. Oliver is the father after wll, he needed to be there for her and them.
Oliver was a grade A douche bag, i hated him from the very first mention to the end of the book. He deserved worse, he deserved to be punished somehow.
In conclusion: it wasn't terrible but I unfortunately cant say was great either. I have been quite picky about my taste in mysteries/thrillers but oh well.
3.5/5
anya is my favorite. shes such a funny kid. I love her. and what a wholesome family. the fact that twilight wants to defend his “fake” wife and kid instinctively rather than because its the right thing to do. and the interview infuriated me but it was so funny seeing anya getting confused and answering truthfully. i wonder when will he find out about her telepathic powers.
2.5/5
If you like cleopatra and frankenstein by coco mellors then you'll probably enjoy this. but i did not like c&f so i did not like this either.
I enjoyed reading about selin's college experience, her detailed descriptions of her courses and how she felt about university altogether. one of the reasons i actually read this book.
what i did not like was the main character herself. she was as the title said “the idiot”. how did she get into harvard if she is such a dumbass? she is so fucking boring and dull. she has no interesting thoughts, there is nothing happening for her. 400 pages were of her talking about herself, her thoughts, that basically were trying to articulate how to deal with Ivan. And dear god!!! Ivan was the worst. Ivan is a good example of incel. he had a girlfriend, but then she would be ex-girlfriend, then girlfriend again. he flirted with selin nonstop. he tried to get her to take off her clothes every chance he got. he used her for his own pleasure. svetlana was right, he was using her for an experiment because she was easy.
a booktuber said that this is basically a memoir for the author herself. she is a diaspora and it fucking shows in this book. she constantly talks about turkey in the context that it colonized hungary that you would think shes apologizing to the hungarian people which is fine, but why is it redundantly mentioned in every other paragraph. she made the love interest be from the said country and would constantly talk about how turkey invaded and left traces in hungary. in the second part of the book, she constantly mentions this. here are some things she said that bothered me:
“If it wasn't for the Islamic obsession with baths, then there might not be a public bath tradition in Budapest,”
and here is something ivan said that deeply bothered me:
“I'm not saying I would kill anyone. I just have violent thoughts on the tram, and it helps me relate to Dostoevsky. You never have such thoughts”
this book is mentioned under “if ur feeling lost in your 20s” and it doesnt do anything to help me feel better. maybe except that i am glad i am not selin, and i am not in love with someone like ivan.
this book sucked
simply awful
to begin with, the names are a joke.
heath HOLIDAY. GUY. why would you in a normal circumstances pick someone's name as Guy. like did the author really not have any other options? the love interest's name is heath, guess what his father's name is? keith!?
the humor was nonexistent. the mc tried real hard to be funny but all she was was cringe. the messing around with phrases and sayings, as though that makes her quirky.
the romance was boring. no chemistry whatsoever. there is no yearning, longing, angst. smut was aa though written by a 13 year old. every time they did, she would be like “i cant believe this is happening”. Also the assumption that heath regretted kissing her in the start was unnecessary and bullshit.
saw this recommended by a bookgrammer with 4-5 stars. this is the 3-4th time i read a book recommended by her that i didnt like.
