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amanda_reads13's reviews
451 reviews
Look Closer by David Ellis
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
After the body of rich socialite, Lauren, is discovered, Simon and Vicky's seemingly perfect life starts to unravel.
This was a pretty gripping suspense filled with so many different twists. The narrators are very unreliable and that threw me off a bit. I figured out thatVicky and Simon were probably working together, because it all just fell too perfectly into place. That said, I did NOT see a few of the twists coming, though looking back there were a tone of clues.
So the true plot: Simon and Vicky team up to commit a double homicide. Simon wants to kill the woman who robbed his family blind, which resulted in his mother's suicide. Vicky wants to kill to the con artisit who robbed her sister and got her addicted to drugs. Her sister then died. They fake a marriage, fake affairs, and set Lauren and Christen up in a complex and intricate revenge plot.
The plan between Simon and Vicky is truly masterful. Simonis diabolical and an expert at the long revenge game. He is sneaky and his mind works in the most brilliant yet psychotic way. He manages to get revenge on everyone without leaving any trail leading back to himself.
Where it fell apart for me was the last 1/4 or so of the book.Once the cop visits Simon, we are able to put together the puzzle pieces pretty quickly. I wish it wasn't handed to us so easily.
This was a pretty gripping suspense filled with so many different twists. The narrators are very unreliable and that threw me off a bit. I figured out that
The plan between Simon and Vicky is truly masterful. Simon
Where it fell apart for me was the last 1/4 or so of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Revenge Era by Brittanée Nicole
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Lake is world renowned popstar who just caught her boyfriend cheating on her with her tour manager. Who can she turn to for comfort? Her ex boyfriend's dad Ford, that's who.
This was definitely written for the Swifties. It was basically "what if Taylor Swift got revenge on her ex by hooking up with his dad?" plot. There were a bunch of parts that were a little cringy (milking, eww), but overall it was a pretty sweet and spicy novella. There were a bunch of characters from her other books peppered throughout, I recognized a few but had to look up others.
For a world renowned popstar, Lake has pretty low confidence in herself and lets her be used by her asshole of an ex. The red flags were flying en masse. Ford is nicknamed Daddy Ford for a reason. He is commanding and protective. Their chemistry was very obviously from the beginning and they seemed to bring out the best in each other in every way.
Their relationship timeline was very fast. Like 2 weeks? Unrealistic, but it's a novella.
Tropes: popstar, age gap, ex's dad, forbidden, revenge, workplace
This was definitely written for the Swifties. It was basically "what if Taylor Swift got revenge on her ex by hooking up with his dad?" plot. There were a bunch of parts that were a little cringy (milking, eww), but overall it was a pretty sweet and spicy novella. There were a bunch of characters from her other books peppered throughout, I recognized a few but had to look up others.
For a world renowned popstar, Lake has pretty low confidence in herself and lets her be used by her asshole of an ex. The red flags were flying en masse. Ford is nicknamed Daddy Ford for a reason. He is commanding and protective. Their chemistry was very obviously from the beginning and they seemed to bring out the best in each other in every way.
Their relationship timeline was very fast. Like 2 weeks? Unrealistic, but it's a novella.
Tropes: popstar, age gap, ex's dad, forbidden, revenge, workplace
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Gaslighting
Mother Faker by Brittanée Nicole
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Beckett is given an ultimatum from his father, clean up his image and get married or lose his baseball team. He finds out that Olivia, the woman he has secretly been harbouring feelings for, is newly divorced. So on a work trip to Vegas he convinces her to get "fake" married.
This is a super cute, funny, and lighthearted rom com. The characters had great banter and chemistry. I really liked the found family premise behind it: 4 friends who are single moms move into together (a mom commune) and become each other's support system. All four moms are so different, but they are there for each other and their children no matter what. Their friendship is what carried the book, and I loved that that was such a focus. I really enjoyed all of the side characters, except for Delia. She was pretty rude much of the time.
Olivia is incredibly insecure and lacks self-confidence. BUT it makes sense. Her ex-husband cheated on her with the nanny and is so verbally abusive to her! Of course that makes her retreat inward. I love how Beckett works to help her build up her confidence in herself and works so hard to fit himself into her life.
Beckett was so darn charming. He has convinced himself that he doesn't want children because he doesn't want to be an absent father like his own. Fair enough. But he is obsessed with Olivia and she comes in a packaged deal with 3 children. The way this man and her children took to each other instantly was so adorable. He will do anything for these kids.
There are a lot of characters in this book and it gets a little hard to keep track of who is who when we are getting their names and Beckett's nicknames. There were a few times when I lost track of who was who.
Tropes: billionaire, single mom, grumpy/sunshine, fake marriage, found family, one bed, forces proximity, workplace
This is a super cute, funny, and lighthearted rom com. The characters had great banter and chemistry. I really liked the found family premise behind it: 4 friends who are single moms move into together (a mom commune) and become each other's support system. All four moms are so different, but they are there for each other and their children no matter what. Their friendship is what carried the book, and I loved that that was such a focus. I really enjoyed all of the side characters, except for Delia. She was pretty rude much of the time.
Olivia is incredibly insecure and lacks self-confidence. BUT it makes sense. Her ex-husband cheated on her with the nanny and is so verbally abusive to her! Of course that makes her retreat inward. I love how Beckett works to help her build up her confidence in herself and works so hard to fit himself into her life.
Beckett was so darn charming. He has convinced himself that he doesn't want children because he doesn't want to be an absent father like his own. Fair enough. But he is obsessed with Olivia and she comes in a packaged deal with 3 children. The way this man and her children took to each other instantly was so adorable. He will do anything for these kids.
There are a lot of characters in this book and it gets a little hard to keep track of who is who when we are getting their names and Beckett's nicknames. There were a few times when I lost track of who was who.
Tropes: billionaire, single mom, grumpy/sunshine, fake marriage, found family, one bed, forces proximity, workplace
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
Heat of the Everflame by Penn Cole
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Diem has been crowned Queen, but without a successful coronation, she is unable to take power.
This series had so much potential, but falls into the same trap that so many other series do. They are so unoriginal, that they become incredibly predictable and become indistinguishable from one another.
The attempts to misguide us fell flat, and honestly all the "shocking" reveals weren't shocking at all.Obviously she was going to collect crowns and take on their powers, we all saw her blood being healing coming from a mile away, of course the sketchy kings and queens would betray her, we know they are going to be mates... There was so much repetition and unnecessary content that did nothing to advance the plot.
Diem is such a frustrating character. She makes no sense to me. She is supposed to be this incredibly kind and smart character, but is so self- centered and makes the dumbest choices. She has shown such little growth in these 3 books. Guess she takes after her mom, who is, IMHO, an asshole.
Luther had so much potential. He is a complete simp for Diem, which is sweet, but he has no personality and is a very flat character. Loving Diem is his entire personality.
The lack of communication between these two made me want to DNF.You have a life threatening injury, but instead of saying anything you push away the one person who could help you because you don't want to see her sad. WTF? That makes ZERO sense. Every time we think they are going to communicate, they are interrupted. EVERY TIME. This is not a plot device, this is lazy writing.
I'm not going to lie, the smutty bits felt very out of place, like the author realized the slow burn was too slow and just threw it in.We were just flighting a war, but now we get 2 days to relax in a library. Ya, that makes sense.
Tropes: slowest of slow burns, enemies to lovers (kinda), war/rebellion, fantasy
This series had so much potential, but falls into the same trap that so many other series do. They are so unoriginal, that they become incredibly predictable and become indistinguishable from one another.
The attempts to misguide us fell flat, and honestly all the "shocking" reveals weren't shocking at all.
Diem is such a frustrating character. She makes no sense to me. She is supposed to be this incredibly kind and smart character, but is so self- centered and makes the dumbest choices. She has shown such little growth in these 3 books. Guess she takes after her mom, who is, IMHO, an asshole.
Luther had so much potential. He is a complete simp for Diem, which is sweet, but he has no personality and is a very flat character. Loving Diem is his entire personality.
The lack of communication between these two made me want to DNF.
I'm not going to lie, the smutty bits felt very out of place, like the author realized the slow burn was too slow and just threw it in.
Tropes: slowest of slow burns, enemies to lovers (kinda), war/rebellion, fantasy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Glow of the Everflame by Penn Cole
- 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
2.5
We follow Diem as she becomes the unchallenged queen.
There was too much going on in this book. It seemed like the author just threw in everything possible."mortal" Queen who isn't mortal, rebellion, secret engagement, love triangle, mortal vs immortal war, warring houses, a completion of sorts, etc... There isn't enough time spend developing the characters or their relationships. Due to this, I don't really care about any of the characters. When her dad is killed, I didn't have an emotional reaction at all.
Something in this book needed to be edited out and more time should have been made creating interesting and dynamic characters and developing the world. There is a lot of potential here. The plot is something we have all seen before, so it needs to have either exceptional chapters or world building to stand out, unfortunately it doesn't.
Diem continues to be a very weak and annoying MC. She makes rash decisions and lets her emotions take over. She has zero confidence in her abilities and when challengedby every house (we all saw that coming) she miraculously is able to control her magic all of a sudden.
Luther is a pretty stereotypical character for this genre, but he is growing on me.It was no surprise that during the challenging he would try to sacrifice himself for Diem, very in character. That mean guy act wasn't fooling any of us.
It was pretty clear thather mother was working for the rebels.
All this said, I am interested to see where the plot goes, I am hoping that we get a little more depth in the next book.
Tropes: love triangle, slow burn
There was too much going on in this book. It seemed like the author just threw in everything possible.
Something in this book needed to be edited out and more time should have been made creating interesting and dynamic characters and developing the world. There is a lot of potential here. The plot is something we have all seen before, so it needs to have either exceptional chapters or world building to stand out, unfortunately it doesn't.
Diem continues to be a very weak and annoying MC. She makes rash decisions and lets her emotions take over. She has zero confidence in her abilities and when challenged
Luther is a pretty stereotypical character for this genre, but he is growing on me.
It was pretty clear that
All this said, I am interested to see where the plot goes, I am hoping that we get a little more depth in the next book.
Tropes: love triangle, slow burn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Diem is a healer who lives in a divided world. As a human she is a second class citizen to the Descended, those whose ancestors were Gods. When her mother goes missing she starts to question things more.
This was a pretty decent romantasy. The world building was good, yet a little inconsistent. The concept of the plot isn't super original, but kept me interested. There were a lot of common plot devices used in this book - divided society, imbalance of power, secret rebel group, secretly powerful FMC, etc...
There is a lot of this discussion about the injustice of a divided society where one side has all the power and the other has none. Diem struggles between her oath to do no harm as a healer and her rage at the treatment of her people.
Diem is a very frustrating character. She is extremely reckless and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions.It was pretty obvious that she has some magic and was going to be crowned the Queen of Lumnos. There were so many hints throughout the book. I am interested to see the growth of her character.
Henri is a character similar to many others in this genre. I didn't have a great feeling about him from the begining. He is Diem's childhood best friends and wants to marry her.We see very quickly that he wants to have control over her (Think Tamlin).
I had mixed feelings about the second half of the book. I felt like it was too rushed. The romance was not set up well. As the author attempts to speed up the plot line, we miss out on all the buildup and angst of a slow burn. She really needed to spend more time developing the romance for it to make sense and for us to be invested.
I don't have much of an option of Luther yet, as his character was barely developed in this book. He went from casual conversations with Diem to being wildly protective of her for no reason that was explained.
Tropes: enemies to potential lovers, childhood friends to lovers, slow burn
This was a pretty decent romantasy. The world building was good, yet a little inconsistent. The concept of the plot isn't super original, but kept me interested. There were a lot of common plot devices used in this book - divided society, imbalance of power, secret rebel group, secretly powerful FMC, etc...
There is a lot of this discussion about the injustice of a divided society where one side has all the power and the other has none. Diem struggles between her oath to do no harm as a healer and her rage at the treatment of her people.
Diem is a very frustrating character. She is extremely reckless and doesn't think about the consequences of her actions.
Henri is a character similar to many others in this genre. I didn't have a great feeling about him from the begining. He is Diem's childhood best friends and wants to marry her.
I had mixed feelings about the second half of the book. I felt like it was too rushed. The romance was not set up well. As the author attempts to speed up the plot line, we miss out on all the buildup and angst of a slow burn. She really needed to spend more time developing the romance for it to make sense and for us to be invested.
I don't have much of an option of Luther yet, as his character was barely developed in this book. He went from casual conversations with Diem to being wildly protective of her for no reason that was explained.
Tropes: enemies to potential lovers, childhood friends to lovers, slow burn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
The Reason I Married Him by Meghan Quinn
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wyatt was left half of his brother's farm when he passed away, but has no interest in it. What he wants is his grandfather's cabin. Unfortunately, the cabin will be inherited by the first married grandchild and his fiance broke up with him the night before there wedding. Aubree is trying to keep her sister's farm afloat when Wyatt shows up with a proposition: she can have his half of the farm if she marries him for a year.
This was a really cute and funny story.
The banter was hilarious and there was just the right amount of angst. I feel like it could have been slightly shorter as some things were a bit repetitive.
I really liked Aubree and Wyatt together. I wasn't really sure about Aubree in the first book, but learning more about her past and the trauma she endured explains why she is so guarded. She endured so much physical and emotional abuse in her life. She had high wall up and trusted few people. She is afraid of being hurt again, so she pushes everyone away.
At first Wyatt comes off as a bit of a sarcastic and selfish man, but the more we get to know him, the more we see his kind, empathetic, and sweet side. I love how Wyatt spent the time to carefully breakdown Aubree's walls and gain her trust. He spends his time building her up and encouraging her. He is truly her biggest fan. He is willing to give up everything for her.
I generally hate miscommunication, but it made sense in this book. Wyatt keeps a lot from Aubree due his fear of scaring her away. It's super shitty that she learned aboutCandace the way she did, but it was definitely what I was expecting to happen.
I love the entire family and their endless support of one another. They are such a tight unit and will go to bat for one another no matter what. Everything they do is to ensure that Mac has a happy life.
Tropes: Romantic Comedy, Marriage of Convenience, Small Town Romance, reverse Grumpy/Sunshine, Enemies to Lovers, Only One Bed, Forced Proximity
This was a really cute and funny story.
The banter was hilarious and there was just the right amount of angst. I feel like it could have been slightly shorter as some things were a bit repetitive.
I really liked Aubree and Wyatt together. I wasn't really sure about Aubree in the first book, but learning more about her past and the trauma she endured explains why she is so guarded. She endured so much physical and emotional abuse in her life. She had high wall up and trusted few people. She is afraid of being hurt again, so she pushes everyone away.
At first Wyatt comes off as a bit of a sarcastic and selfish man, but the more we get to know him, the more we see his kind, empathetic, and sweet side. I love how Wyatt spent the time to carefully breakdown Aubree's walls and gain her trust. He spends his time building her up and encouraging her. He is truly her biggest fan. He is willing to give up everything for her.
I generally hate miscommunication, but it made sense in this book. Wyatt keeps a lot from Aubree due his fear of scaring her away. It's super shitty that she learned about
I love the entire family and their endless support of one another. They are such a tight unit and will go to bat for one another no matter what. Everything they do is to ensure that Mac has a happy life.
Tropes: Romantic Comedy, Marriage of Convenience, Small Town Romance, reverse Grumpy/Sunshine, Enemies to Lovers, Only One Bed, Forced Proximity
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Paedyn is an Ordinary (no powers) living in a city of Elites (has powers). The king has convinced the Elites that the Ordinaries are diseased and ordered them to be purged. After saving the prince, she now has to compete in the Purging Trials.
This is basically the Hunger Games, the Red Queen, and Throne of Glass mixed together. The plot was not original and therefore was incredibly predictable.There is a secret resistance, she has to lie and use the prince to help the resistance, the kind prince turns brutal at her betrayal, her friend is killed to punish her, etc... It was a very YA romantasy. I found some things to be very redundant and repetitive (ie. her ocean blue eyes, daggers to the neck). I found her writing to be lacking, she falls victim to the telling instead of showing throughout the entire book. (Ie. We are told that Kai is a monster, but we don't actually see that in the book OR how Kai thinks of Jax as a brother but we never really see it).
I enjoyed the banter and tension between the MCs. I liked that it was dual POV and I enjoyed the switch to Kitts POV at the end.
Due to her writing style, the characters felt flat. I would have liked more of a backstory for these characters, that would help the readers connect more. I wish that there had been more world building and more focus on the trials. The trials almost felt like an afterthought when they were supposed to be the highlight of the book. Also, what was the point of the trails? They make no sense. Why would you want to kill off your strongest Elites?
The implied love triangle was completely unnecessary and very unoriginal. This is marketed as an enemies to lovers, but reads more as an instalove. The enemies to lovers would have made sense if Kitt were the MMC instead of Kai.
Tropes: instalove, trials, fantasy, forbidden, slow burn
This is basically the Hunger Games, the Red Queen, and Throne of Glass mixed together. The plot was not original and therefore was incredibly predictable.
I enjoyed the banter and tension between the MCs. I liked that it was dual POV and I enjoyed the switch to Kitts POV at the end.
Due to her writing style, the characters felt flat. I would have liked more of a backstory for these characters, that would help the readers connect more. I wish that there had been more world building and more focus on the trials. The trials almost felt like an afterthought when they were supposed to be the highlight of the book. Also, what was the point of the trails? They make no sense. Why would you want to kill off your strongest Elites?
The implied love triangle was completely unnecessary and very unoriginal. This is marketed as an enemies to lovers, but reads more as an instalove. The enemies to lovers would have made sense if Kitt were the MMC instead of Kai.
Tropes: instalove, trials, fantasy, forbidden, slow burn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
The Fall of Bradley Reed by Morgan Elizabeth
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Andre, an FBI agent, has been assigned to the Reed embezzlement case, that includes watching and keeping tabs on Olivia. Olivia is left at the alter by Bradley Reed, her horrible fiance, 10 minutes before hand via text. When Olivia sets her sights on revenge, Andre has to step in before she gets herself thrown in jail.
This book was ok. It dragged a little and was a bit repetitive. Olivia is a chronic people pleaser. She has let others walk all over her her entire life. She has very low self-worth and confidence in herself despite being a an incredibly successful woman.
Andre hates his job and boss, he really needs to close the Reed case and get this promotion. Unfortunately for him, the woman who could be his star witness keeps making stupid mistakes that could get her locked up. He decides to step in. Along the way their feelings develop and he now has to hide the fact that he is an FBI agent who is actually tracking her. Seems unethical, but ok.
WhenOlivia finds out the truth, it seems to be resolved way too quickly. He has been lying to her and watching her for a year, yet she just forgives him in minutes. Ya, no. Again, super unethical behaviour for an FBI agent.
I hate how Olivia has to be constantly reassured and babied by Andre. Her whole character growth is based on his affirmations and encouragement, I wish we had seen her growth as more self-directed. I hate when a woman's confidence in a book solely relies on a man.
Tropes: fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, revenge
This book was ok. It dragged a little and was a bit repetitive. Olivia is a chronic people pleaser. She has let others walk all over her her entire life. She has very low self-worth and confidence in herself despite being a an incredibly successful woman.
Andre hates his job and boss, he really needs to close the Reed case and get this promotion. Unfortunately for him, the woman who could be his star witness keeps making stupid mistakes that could get her locked up. He decides to step in. Along the way their feelings develop and he now has to hide the fact that he is an FBI agent who is actually tracking her. Seems unethical, but ok.
When
I hate how Olivia has to be constantly reassured and babied by Andre. Her whole character growth is based on his affirmations and encouragement, I wish we had seen her growth as more self-directed. I hate when a woman's confidence in a book solely relies on a man.
Tropes: fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, revenge
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Cruel Summer by Morgan Elizabeth
- 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
3.0
Cami takes a job as a event coordinator for beach club. Unfortunately, she becomes the target of the bitch-pack, a group of spoiled, snobby rich girls.
I liked that there was a huge focus on Cami's career and her friendships. Cami is a girl who has only 2 friends because she struggles to let people in.
Cami is so relatable. She was burned by her ex and now has major trust issues. She has build up walls, makes snap judgements of people, and tests everyone's loyalty. I loved her journey to heal and trust. I appreciate that she grew, yet didn't change who she is at her core. She learned to let others in, but didn't sacrifice herself or needs to do so. Her pettiness is masterful! She is so strong, independent, and feisty.
Zach is an incredibly sweet and thoughtful partner and father. He is supportive of both the women in his life and pushes them to be their best selves.
I really liked their relationship, they were open and honest with each other and had amazing communication. I love that Zach never pushed Cami to be someone she wasn't, but just accepted and loved her for who she was, flaws and all.
Tropes: age gap, he falls first, small tow, found family, Mean Girls inspired
I liked that there was a huge focus on Cami's career and her friendships. Cami is a girl who has only 2 friends because she struggles to let people in.
Cami is so relatable. She was burned by her ex and now has major trust issues. She has build up walls, makes snap judgements of people, and tests everyone's loyalty. I loved her journey to heal and trust. I appreciate that she grew, yet didn't change who she is at her core. She learned to let others in, but didn't sacrifice herself or needs to do so. Her pettiness is masterful! She is so strong, independent, and feisty.
Zach is an incredibly sweet and thoughtful partner and father. He is supportive of both the women in his life and pushes them to be their best selves.
I really liked their relationship, they were open and honest with each other and had amazing communication. I love that Zach never pushed Cami to be someone she wasn't, but just accepted and loved her for who she was, flaws and all.
Tropes: age gap, he falls first, small tow, found family, Mean Girls inspired
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Alcohol