readclever's reviews
337 reviews

Almost but not quite.

I so wanted to love this novella. It started out strong with Lady Jocelyn. In fact, the two stars are solely because of her. The grace, fire, and brazenness. She was a complete, complex character. I wanted to see her more of her in the home, setting it up to feel more cozy and lived in.

Unfortunately, Sebastian had zero redeemable qualities. Misogynistic, cold. The only thing that worked well for me was the desire they felt. That felt natural. But his constant comments and thoughts did little.

I wish I could rate the book higher. Jocelyn deserved someone better, frankly. I didn't buy the romance as much as the heat. Too much in too short a space. And his propensity to make Jocelyn lesser for not being a mind reader was infuriating. Feels like it was written in 2000, not 2014.

Will I read Reid again? Yes. But I'll be pick books written in past couple years. Hopefully with better results.

Fake dating and snowy meet cutes

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Lovely.

I wasn't sure what to expect but the novella was captivating. I really loved that David and Naimh had a burgeoning friendship and romance at the same time. They learned to trust one another. And their meet cute was perfect for them. It felt natural.

Honestly, I could do more with Naimh.

Even with all the bad parts of her life, she still looked out for others. She didn't try to hurt others. She was complicated in a sensical way. I appreciated her inner fire.

And David's ability to recognize his missteps and faults was endearing. Truly loved this story because he was emotionally available with Naimh and himself.

There's a great balance between show and tell. Didn't didn't feel like I missed much from either side of the telling. One of my faves of the year so far.

Solid read. Half point off because I wanted to know more about Aileen after the big reveal, given the situation in the beginning. Otherwise pretty darn perfect for me.

A mini Society without titles

4.25/5 stars.

This was a great story. I loved Sarah and her sheer will to be prove a point. That takes a lot of will and strength of character. To survive the amount of criticism and berating isn't easy.

And Leo was a great match. He was intrigued by the past. I appreciated his friendship with Mr. James. He wasn't overly broody or demanding.

The games paid and the flirting were a high spot. Felt like a homage to rom coms. Really loved the way she parried his suggestions. I bought their growing romance.

And the small town reminded me a lot of Tessa Dare's Spindle Cove. If you like that kind of world, you'll like this book.

However, I gave 4 stars because the age gap was a decade. Which isn't particularly bad but at 18, seems a bit young. She didn't even proper seasons. The age difference kept tripping me up, unfortunately. I think I would have felt better about 20 or 21, giving her more time to mature. Also felt like the bedroom scenes needed a little more warm ups.

Definitely want to read more by the writers. The duo works well together.

Too short.

I liked Caroline so much. And felt John's pain, but the story was too rushed. Needed another 15 pages or so to sell the HEA. I didn't buy the ending even though I love second chance romances. I needed more backstory, more context, to make the ending work well.

Middle of the Avenue

Usually I like Shupe but this fell flat. Didn't like the age gap and power dynamic. The hero wasn't worth cheering for. At all. Alex magically shed his issues in a few pages and Grace, who regularly called him out, just accept with no worries.

The premise was so good. Unfortunate execution. I loved the idea of a window dresser. I felt like it took a backseat once the romance took over.

Only a three star. Don't read this expecting a Florence romance. Justice for Grace.

Weird pacing throughout.

I wanted to like this book so much. The idea of starting over and becoming a woman who values herself? Sign me up!

Unfortunately, Annalise is none of these things. I was hoping this would be the book to make me love Jordan. It did not. Anna is a shell, full of trauma with no sense. Owen is her savior but has no sense of purpose.

And let's be clear, the amount of times the Romani slur is used...is outrageous. Plus the magic healing of disability by a sage wise woman. And then the amount of times we're supposed to cheer on Owen, who apparently killed a bunch of rebels in India. It's clear what that was about.

Bad editing, bad story pacing, lack of relationship building. Just. Not a great book. I think this is my final attempt at Sophie Jordan. I've tried several. Pacing seems to be a common problem. Anna's in bed for weeks and we get nothing. Might as well be blank pages.

Cozy Murder with a side of Romance

Rating: 4.25/5

Loved this! There's a very 1980s cozy mystery vibe in the pacing. But with Regency! I really liked Mary and her insistence on being on the shelf. A fine foil for Henry's rather regimented mind.

The mystery itself was fun and took a few turns I didn't expect.

I'm absolutely looking forward to the next in the series. I only took 3/4th stars based on length. I would have loved about 10 more pages of Mary squaring up with the townsfolk. And the romance felt a bit squished in. Needed a bit more finesse. But I definitely like where the story is going.

A great start to a new series

Good enough for a bump on ratings to all. 4.5 out of 5 stars on my scale.

I'm a fan of Ridley's work and this prequel to the upcoming The Duke Heist is no exception. The Wynchesters are a lively bunch of siblings who went from orphans to family. It reminded me of a more loving case that Parker had with her mentor in Leverage.

While tragedy strikes a few times, Chloe still works to move mountains to help those who can't help themselves. Despite the setbacks, the siblings work together and find solutions. Because Baron Vanderbean helped them, they do the same. Love it.

Honestly, the mystery to solve the problem was fun. I really want to learn about Tommy and how she came to be such a chameleon. The siblings are all talented in their own ways.

I only took off half a star because I didn't quite believe the romance in this story. The next in the series will explain so much more, I'm sure. But for this, I felt Chloe deserved much better.

Thank you, Suleikha Snyder, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an eARC. Provided for an honest review.

This is a complicated review. So many elements are in my wheelhouse: shifters, a dystopian future, a competent heroine and a cast of characters. The problem falls into the way it was edited and organized..

Between the self-hate repetition--some just pages earlier--and a lack of zapping chemistry made the fated mates trope fall flat. It felt like empty space between the plot points. How do I invest in a character (Joe) that is nothing but self-loathing to the point even a honest, conscientious heroine (Neha) can't make him real?

I love a strong world. One of my top catnips for any genre. Give me a spiraling world with a lot of complex systems. The problem was that the world overtook the romance as a character driver. In truth, it felt more like an urban fantasy instead of romance. Love urban fantasy. But that wasn't what was presented when reading the synopsis or marketing.

I hate leaving a not-so-positive review because I love Suleikha Snyder's writing. But the lack of emotional connection pulled away from the romance. I didn't believe in the love. Joe was too self-hating, too negative, against Neha's burgeoning optimism. Sex isn't the only form of intimacy in a perilous world.

I needed to believe in them and Joe wasn't a hero I could like in any way. Had he been the hero in the second book the concept could have worked better. A space where readers could see him previously dealing with his obvious PTSD at the Brooklyn Hilton in counter to Neha's forced PTSD from being a Sikh in a rising nationalistic white Christian United States. But there was zero focus on the commonalities of a harsh world, even though readers spend at least 45-50% of the book with his regrets and shame spirals.

Absolutely loved Neha's friends and her family network. And the outcome of being honorable in a world with not enough grey spaces for people to survive in. Auntie network thrilled me. Love a good community build up. That's something a lot of people can understand: found families in a world that isn't kind. Pretty much a base line for the current romance market. Again: catnip.

And the use of different shifters, like the Naga, which show that it's not just Western Europe that loves a good paranormal shift. Kind of hoping for some werehippos in the series, honestly. A different kind of apex predator.

I have to give the book a solid three stars. That's for concept and worldbuilding, mostly. Neha had potential but I think she was wasted on a man without layers...beyond lust. The interconnected subplots didn't necessarily hold my attention because I wasn't invested in the world. I know Snyder writes better. I'm hoping a different editing shift in the next book will let that shine through.

Not for me

I love novellas. Total comfort reads. This was not a comfort read. The sexualization and treatment of the the women felt like a poor imitation of Jackie Collins through a Sonny Corinthos lense.

As a prequel, it felt incomplete at only 45 pages. There needed to be more info outside of the gilded cage that felt way too mature for high schoolers. Content reads very mid-20s, not 15. The way Clara is described in the little black dress is too much. I did appreciate the punch out scene.

If this is dark romance, I'll stay to the light side.