beckyyreadss's reviews
725 reviews

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is one of my book club’s choices for October. We had this as the darker, spookier read and The Phoenix Kepper by S.A. MacLean as our cosy, autumn read. This is the first book of Stephen King’s I read, and I was very disappointed.

This book is based on Jamie Morton, he lives in a small New England town. In the early 60s, a shadow falls over Jamie whilst he was playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie looks up to see a striking man, he is the new minister, Charles Jacobs. Soon they forge a deep bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity. Decades later, Jamie is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Now an addict, he sees Charles again – a showman on stage, creating dazzling “portraits in lightning.” and their meeting had profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil’s devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

One of the things I struggled with is there was a lot of information but not a lot going on. It starts with Jamie being 5/6 years old and ends with him being in his late sixties. A lot happens, but it’s more of a biography of a kid who was groomed, became an addict, went back to his groomer, realized how messed up that was, tried to stop him from being a fraud, got blackmailed into helping him, then him getting therapy. I couldn’t figure out what type of villain Charles was supposed to be, I went into this book being like don’t trust anyone besides Jamie so at first, I thought this was going to be a typical religion is evil and the priest is a groomer, but then it shifted and he was a fraud, but was curing people. I was just completely lost. I went into this book hoping I would be freaked out because of what you hear about Stephen King’s work. However, I was really freaked out or even scared and it wasn’t gothic either – it was just long with not a lot going on.

When there was action and things happened, I was sort of kind of on the edge of being hooked but then the next chapter would happen, and it was a whole back story to do with a family reunion that I didn’t care about. The storyline kept me hooked only because I wanted to know what the hell Charles’s endgame was. I wanted to know why he was doing this because as it went on, you realized he didn’t want to be rich and famous; he wasn’t dying so that was the question that kept me reading this book. I felt sorry for Jamie throughout the whole book with the way his life had turned out and I wanted to hug him and wanted him to be happy at the ending, which we didn’t get.

I would say this would be the first and last book of Stephen King’s that I read; however, Misery is on the list of 100 books to read in a lifetime. So, I will be giving Stephen King another chance to impress me, but right now, it’s not looking so good.

Content Warnings

Avalanche of Desire by Bea Paige

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adventurous emotional 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

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I started the Grim & Beast duet, Bea Paige had stated her reading order, and I realized that I basically started at the end instead of at the beginning. I was interested in to see the correct reading order and see how it all started. I didn’t realize this was a Christmas reads, and I cannot believe I read a Christmas read in October. But it was very enjoyable, I just wanted it to be longer.

This book is based on Louisa and to her, the Christmas period has never been full of joy and cheer, unless you count a drunk mother and her trail of deadbeat boyfriends. So, when she gets the opportunity to become a chalet girl in the resort of Alpe d’Huez in the French Alps she jumps at the chance. Only she gets more than she bargained for when her assigned family turn out to be three hot bachelor brothers with a penchant for partying and women. When Louisa is asked to join the brothers on a trip to a remote log cabin high up in the mountains, she has no choice but to go or risk losing her job. Only things don’t go according to plan when a heavy snowstorm hits trapping Louisa and the three horny brothers for the entire Christmas weekend. Can Louisa fend off their advances or will she succumb to an Avalanche of Desire?

I liked the introduction of the characters and the storyline of the chalet girl, the only thing was the whole way through I kept thinking about the film Chalet Girl with Felicity Jones and Ed Westwick. I liked the deep conversations they’ve had like why Max liked brushing Louisa’s hair and why Hudson was the way he is. The smut was spicy, and you got to see the different between the three boys and they weren’t all blended into one. The chemistry took a while to grow on me because I would have more of the enemies and more tension before all the smut, but once they had the meaningful conversations and you learnt why they were acting this way, I sort of got it.

I would have loved for this to be multiple POV, why were the guys attracted to her when she was such a bitch at first? How did they bring up the conversation for all of them to have her and surely some of them was a bit possessive and jealous? I would have loved the conversation Hudson had with his manager and how he was feeling when that went down. I wanted to know what happened when they got to the chalet? Did Hudson carrying on paying for Louisa like an employee or did she leave her job before the new of her mums passing? How did Louisa’s mum pass? It was quite a short book, and it managed to pack a lot but not enough for me.

It is the first book in the series, and I am hoping these issues are addressed within the next two books in the trilogy.

Content Warnings

Every Gift A Curse by Caroline O'Donoghue

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I wanted to carry on with this series because the first book was gifted to me from the book club that I am involved in, and the second book managed to keep me hooked and I wanted to know how it was going to end with the Housekeeper.

This book is still based on Maeve Chambers who we have been following since the first book, she and her friends are in grave danger. The Housekeeper has returned on the card, Maeve must find out everything she can about the vengeful tarot spirit in order to finally defeat her. Crossing over into a parallel dimension inside the old school building, she explores the history of the Housekeeper and spends too long in a world and a mind not her own. With the Children of Brigid closing in once more and Maeve’s friend group now fractured across Ireland, can they hope to ultimately save the town and Maeve from the grip of a power greater than they ever imagined?

This storyline was very strong, and it was an easy and interesting. Maeve went through such a character growth of wondering why she was such a bitch and if she meant to be a cruel person to understanding she isn’t a cruel person she just wants justice for people who don’t get it. I loved that Fiona and Lily didn’t want to give up but also wanted to give her a head a wobble when it was needed. The LGBT aspect of this book still warms my heart with the love stories and how it was a massive part of the book and wasn’t just brushed under the carpet. The conversation regarding trauma and mental health was so important especially in this book and I loved that it was treated seriously and not a thing of just get over it. I loved the character progression that Aaron had and that we were able to end up trusting him and that he was the one that he knew what was going on.

I felt like I had more questions than answers once this book had finished. Did the Maeve become the Housekeeper? What happened with Roe’s band? What happened with Fiona? Did she get the job, and did she become famous? Did Lily and Maeve finish school? Where did Aaron go, did he get settled? I just feel like this book needed to be maybe 60 pages longer to wrap things up, it finished very suddenly, and the ending felt a bit rushed.

I enjoyed this series overall, I just felt slightly let down with the ending of this book.

Content Warnings

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

When Amazon announced this short series of books by some of my favourite authors, I was all for it. I know it was supposed to be a short story, but it just felt too short.

This book has two points of view. The first is Evie Crowe and she is a single mother working in a thrift store, she is starting over in a strange town with her newborn and men are the furthest thing from her mind. If only the quiet, hulking farmer, Luke Ward, would stop coming into the thrift shop and piquing her reluctant interest. The second point of view is Luke Ward, and he is a gentle giant farmer who can’t find jeans that fit. Evie wants to stay single all the way – she can’t trust anything more than friends-with-holiday-benefits. But Luke is in for the long haul. He's fixed on making this a Christmas Evie will remember forever. If she gives him a chance. When opposites attract, they find themselves making alterations in more ways than one.

I liked the dual POV, but with it being six chapters it felt like a waste, and it didn’t work with how small it was. If it was 100 pages, I feel like dual POV would have been great. It was mainly smut with a hint of Christmas considering that they slept together on Christmas eve. I would like more background and more side characters but for 53 pages what else are we expecting? I would have liked it to be longer because Tessa’s other holiday work has been amazing and I think I was expecting too much from 53 pages, I wanted more small-town vibes, Christmas traditions. I also hate insta-love vibes but again, short story, they weren’t going to be a build-up of chemistry. There were a few cute moments like Luke proving that he can look after Sonny and that Evie doesn’t have to do it alone. The fact that they were determined to help each other with the jeans and the bike.

This is the first book of the short stories, but it sorts of set the bar a bit lower than expected so we will see.

Content Warnings

Heads You Lose by Bea Paige

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dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

I got the first book of this series duet during one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days and I’ve wanted to read Bea Paige’s work for the longest time, and I was so exciting to finish the duet. This book had so many twists and turns, but the ending drove me nuts.

This book has two points of view. The first is Grim aka Kate. Grim is now the owner of the Tales fight club, she is the Queen of Tales. For the last two years, she has built her father’s club to be bigger and better since he has died. She has new rules and new soldiers and yet there is one soldier in her mind – Beast, it has been two years since she shot him and sent him away. But Grim isn’t the same person as she was two years ago, and she has more secrets than before. Will Beast be able to get back into her heart? Will he be able to go back to what they were? The second point is Beast aka Roger. Beast is not only his name but also his nature. Tales used to be his home. He was second in command the best fighter the club had ever seen. He fought and he won every time. Until one day he lost trying to protect the princess from the true monster of this fairy-tale. He was shunned and sent away. Now he is back to tell Grim the truth, not some tale full of half-truths and lies. He will do whatever it takes to win her over, because if there’s one thing he know for sure, it’s that this beast’s heart only beats for one woman. The Queen of Tales.

This book had me stressed out in a good way. The storyline had me on the edge of my seat throughout it all. The twists and turns that were coming as the book went on had me wanting to throw my kindle and making me miss physical books. The relationship that progressed between Grim and Beast was adorable, and I loved that Beast was just like if you need to shoot me again to prove your badass then please do. I loved Grim’s character development during this book and how she’s grown into this badass bitch who takes no shit and is protective of the people she loves.

I didn’t like the ending, I am assuming that King will carry on causing issues in the next series, but I would have liked this series to end all wrapped in a bow, I understand that we learned what happened to King, but I don’t think that was good enough, I wanted to know if they figured out who he is, did he cousin help? How did they trap him? I have more questions than answers at the end of the series.

I have started Bea Paige’s work from the beginning now so I cannot wait to see Grim and Beast be introduced in the correct way.

Content Warnings

Hunter by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

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emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I wanted to carry on with this series because I enjoyed Archer’s book, and I was hoping to read Ranger’s book in the series, but I was also equally pleased to start Hunter’s book because of the hint we saw between Zoey and Hunter during Archer. However, I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I was going to, and Hunter has set the bar very high on the book boyfriends list.

This book has two points of view. The first is Zoey Roberts and she is on the run, that’s what happens when someone is stalking you. She ended up in Wyoming in her latest move and her last resort, but giving up everything was the only way to protect herself. New state. New apartment. New life. And for good measure, she takes a new job at the safest place in town – the local security agency, Reynolds Protective Group. But safe isn’t always smart. And working for the handsomest man she’s ever met quickly turns perilous when she’s faced with those washboard bs, broad shoulders, and charming smile daily. The second point of view is Hunter Reynolds, and he is nothing if not determined. From the moment he met Zoey, he was determined to win her heart. So, he pursues her. Patiently. Steadily. Until she finally lets her guard down. Just when Zoey believes Hunter could be her chance at happiness, she’s threatened once more. Hunter immediately goes from hot boss to protective bodyguard, and it’s not long before their forced proximity sends their attraction into overdrive. But when her deranged stalker grows bolder, Zoey remembers why she moved to Wisdom in the first place and why love will always be out of the question.

I loved this storyline and the love story between Hunter and Zoey. It was so sexy and hot and adorable and fluffy all at the same time. I love dual POV in romance books and with this one it worked so well. You could see Hunter as a former cop knowing that Zoey was holding something back, but you just didn’t know what it was, and he didn’t want to pry. You also saw Zoey being really frightened and paranoid at what was happening but also trying not to fall for Hunter and failing miserably. I loved how protective Hunter became and how he was determined to make a safe space for her at work and at his home. Hunter was the perfect boyfriend, and he was such a dirty talker. I loved how Zoey was also determined to stay in Wisdom and how she will not let this stalker, or her ex-boyfriend ruin her life. I loved the suspense and action within this book, as the book was getting on, I just wanted to know if the ex-boyfriend was the stalker or if it was some random person. I enjoyed the small-town aspect as well of the whole town coming together to protect Zoey and they also wanted Hunter to find happiness. I loved the brotherly bond of Gunner knowing exactly what to do to get Hunter to admit his feelings.

I loved that there was no third-act breakup or conflict, and I wanted this book to be 800+ and it still wouldn’t have been enough. I still want their mother to have their own happy ending. I’ve read the peak of Gunner’s book, and I really hope it’s not a pregnancy trope, but from the sneak peak, I have a feeling it might be, but we shall see. If anyone can make me like the pregnancy trope, it would be Rebecca Sharp.

Content Warnings

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your life. This is book twenty-seven on the poster. I thought I was going to struggle with this book considering it is a classic as with most books on this poster, but I think because it was so short I couldn’t struggle with it.

This book is book five in the Sherlock Holmes series. In this book, Sir Charles Baskerville is dead. His body was discovered on the grounds on his Devonshire estate, face frozen in fright, not far from the footprints of a large beast. The cause of death has been determined to be a heart attacked, but family legend tells another tale, and Detective Sherlock Holmes is determined to uncover the truth. So, whodunit on the foggy moors of Baskerville Hall? Holmes and Watson will find out.

I enjoyed the storyline in this book, and I loved the friendship between Sherlock and John. Even if they were both keeping things from each other, I loved that they were still checking in and were both determined to find the killer even if they must go down the crazy theories like the supernatural. I loved reading the reports from John and how fuming he was that Sherlock hadn’t been reading them. I loved Sherlock’s humour has well and was rooting for him and John throughout the book. I loved how small this book was, I feel like if it was longer I would have struggled and even if it was longer chapters or longer paragraphs, with the paragraphs being spaced out, it was more enjoyable, and I managed to finish this book quickly.

I did sort of lose some interest towards the end but that’s because I couldn’t figure out if Charles was murdered and if he was, who killed him? It took a few re-reads of the last chapters to figure out what they were saying, but it was unexpected.

I don’t think I'll read the next book in this series or go back and start this series, but it can be read as a standalone like I read it, and I can’t wait for next book on the poster.

Content Warnings

Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-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

I wanted to read this book because I loved the Bridgerton series and was missing them. My brother bought me for my birthday over two years ago, but I wanted to finish the Bridgerton series first. I really enjoyed this first book; however, the ending annoyed me.

This book has two points of view. The first is Billie Bridgerton and everyone seems to think that the Rokesby brothers are the most eligible bachelors, however she has known the Rokesbys since she was born. They are neighbours and they are very close. As a child, Billie was a tomboy running while with Edward and Andrew and she figured she would be married off to one of them once they were older. However, there is one Rokesby Billie absolutely cannot tolerate, and that is George. Billie thinks George is arrogant and annoying and she is certain that he detests her, which is perfectly convenient as she cannot stand the sign of him either. The second point of view is George Rokesby and he is the eldest and the heir to the earldom, but he feels like he doesn’t fit into his family. Both of his brothers have gone off to be heroes and he is left behind to handle other business affairs and to help his father. He is not babysitting Billie being reckless. However, when Billie and George are quite literally thrown together, a whole new sort of sparks begin to fly and when these lifelong adversaries finally kiss, they just might discover that the one person they can’t stand is the one person they can’t live without.

I still adore Julia Quinn’s writing style. It didn’t feel like I was back in time. I mean obviously they were talking about horses and carriages and bonnets and massive wigs, but it felt like a modern story. The storyline was interesting, and I was hooked when Billie was stuck on the roof trying to rescue a cat. I found it to be an easy read as well. I loved seeing baby Edmund and I think I will cry the more we see from him knowing how his story goes, but it was funny seeing him as the annoying baby brother. I also enjoyed the fact that we saw Aubrey Hall more as in the main Bridgerton book, they aren’t there very often as it’s about the person debut season in London. So, it was nice to see Aubrey Hall in all its glory and the Mallet of Death being named before Anthony got his hands on it.

I wanted to see more of Edward’s story. You cannot end it there when the last 25% of the book was to do with Edward’s disappearance. I am aware it’s not his book; it’s George’s book. But George and Billie were worried about Edward and he just got swept under the rug because George wanted Billie, and they had to get married quickly and then to end it in the epilogue with one sentence about Edward was mean. I wanted to see more of the family dynamic as well which I know is going to be difficult with Mary married off and being pregnant and Edward’s storyline and Andrew probably going back on the ships, but I missed the massive family dynamic that we know and love from the main Bridgerton series.

I cannot wait to see more of the Rokesbys brothers and I'm sure there will be lots of drama.

Content Warnings

My Clarity by M. Clarke

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emotional hopeful sad medium-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

I got this book during the one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days. The cover looked interesting as well as the blurb basically describing it like a Grease re-telling. I liked it but wanted more.

This book has two points of view. The first is Alexandria and she is still reeling from the death of her father, and she is hoping to find both independence and reprieve from her grief by heading off to college. However, life throws her a serious curveball when she discovers that her roommate isn’t quite the person she imagined. The second point of view is Elijah, and his only interests are smoking, tattoos and street racing for fast cash. He has had a harsh life which has made him apathetic and indifferent until he meets Alexandria. When their paths cross, turmoil abounds.

I liked Alex’s character growth and how she went from this shy girl who didn’t know how to break up with her toxic boyfriend and wasn’t really speaking to her mum and she relied way too much on her best friend from home to standing up against some random jerk and breaking it off with her boyfriend and talking to her mum about the difficult conversations. Elijah took a while to grow on me as with most bad boys they don’t know how to communicate their feelings until it’s too late. Once you know his story though, you understand why he acts the way he does, and you are sort of hoping that he does grow up. I enjoyed Seth’s one liners, for example “you’ve got a room. Two actually, use one.” that made me chuckle.

I loved the friendship group and wanted to see more of them. Besides Seth calling out Elijah’s bullshit and Lexy being Alex’s only other friend, I wanted to see more of the group dynamic of them together. I felt like there was only a few chapters of all together and it was like thanksgiving or a few of the race nights and that was it. There were things that were left unsaid, and I wanted to know more. Did Emma and Seth hit it off? Why was Alex ill? Was it stress or was it the start of the pregnancy? Where did Clara go? What happened with Liam? What did Alex’s mum think of Jimmy? Did Nolan end up leaving them alone? The ending seemed a little rush especially with Elijah going to the hospital not for racing but for a car accident?

Overall, it was an alright book, I was just hoping for more, I've seen that there is a second book in this series, so I'm interested in how they are going to do it.

Content Warnings

American Queen by Sierra Simone

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-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

I wanted to read this book because I have enjoyed the Priest series and I've seen this series a few times on Bookstagram and Booktok and decided to give it a go and holy mother, I ended up more invested in the storyline rather than the smut.

This book is based on Greer Galloway and she was warned as a girl to keep her kisses to herself and she has disobeyed twice – one on her sixteenth birthday as she was kneeling in a pool of brother glass, and another time after a charming stranger named Embry Moore whisks her into the dazzling Chicago night. Both times she falls in love, and both times her heart is broken beyond repair. So as an adult, she vows never to kiss or to love again. That is until the Vice President of the United States shows up at the university where she teaches and asks for one thing: for her to meet with hero-turned-President Maxen Colchester. Maxen, the soldier who was her first kiss in that pool of broken glass. And the other complication? The Vice President is none other than charming Embry Moore himself. Soon, Greer finds himself caught between past and present, pleasure and pain and two men who long for each other as much as they long for her. And as war and betrayal press ever closer, they tumble headlong into a passionate love affair that will change the world.

I liked that it wasn’t all smut and no story, you got to fully understand and enjoy these characters and the trauma and all the fucked up things they did (Maxen, I’m looking at you). I think Greer was an interesting character especially how she was raised to basically go straight into politics and to pay attention to anything around her. I loved the politics aspect of this which I didn’t think I would, I was getting to the point where I was like, what are they going to do about this vote and what about this. The smut was intense and honest to God, if I ever did go to the Oval Office, I don’t think I could keep a straight face after what I read during this book. I liked the forbidden aspect, like everyone was rooting for Ash to settle down and hoping Greer was it, not knowing that Ash and Greer and knew each other longer and that he was also screwing his VP. This was my first book where it was MMF and I feel like it was the right book to dip my toe in and I don’t think it will be the last one I read.

I would have loved for this to be dual or even multiple POV especially during some of the smuttier chapters, like that one in the oval office. I would have loved to be in Embry’s head a bit more. I know this book was mainly based on Ash and Greer, but I feel like we could have got to know more about Embry rather than how good he is in bed and that he knows how to handle threesomes.

The ending was cruel, and Greer’s cousin is definitely involved. It’s going to be interesting to see how this carries on with Embry’s POV. But this is one of those books that you tell your friends about but if your co-workers ask what you read over the weekend, you are like “urmm, a politics romance book.”

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beckyyreadss's reviews 725 reviews

beckyyreadss's reviews
725 reviews