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whiskers_and_lipstick's reviews
837 reviews
Paradise Lagoon by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Carnival Hill by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Dead Man's Isle by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Sinners' Playground by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Year of Living Blonde by Andrea Simonne
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
3.75
Scorned Vows by Victoria Paige
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
Confessions of a Smutty Romance Author by Kelsie Hoss
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.0
Started off so well. It was fun, flirty, and body and sex positive. The juxtaposition of this confident, sensual FMC who owns her kinks and desires paired with a seemingly strait laced, hopelessly romantic accountant with a heart of gold hooked me. I braced for a fake dating, he falls first and hardest journey where they complimented eachother so well and brought out the best of one another. This book was most certainly not that.
As the story goes on, it felt like a bait and switch. The FMC wasn’t confident and sensual, she is hardened, defensive, and masks insecurities through sex with unavailable men so she doesn’t have to be vulnerable. Her journey is a self-fulfilling prophecy wrought with self-sabotage at every turn. The hardest part to get through is the way she spirals through her insecurities and then twists them to villainize the MMC who consistently shows up for her, prioritizes her, comforts her, and worships her.
The story took a drastic turn for the worst around the 55% mark and quickly plummeted to disaster through the end. There is no character development or growth for the FMC. While she does open herself to a relationship with the MMC, there is always a barrier up and the relationship feels really one sided. It was hard to root for them as a couple or see a satisfying HEA in their future because all of their chemistry and compatibility dwindles away as the book goes on. The experience was such a turn off that I’ve removed all the other books from this series and author from my TBR.
Here’s what happened if you want to skip the utter disappointment:
FMC and MMC are acquaintances in a friend group that begin a fake relationship as a PR fix for her and so that his mom can have a companion while she goes through dialysis. Their chemistry is fire as they get to know each other and there is so much tension. MMC definitely lives up to the “quiet ones” trope. His family adores her and she loves them equally. MMC falls for FMC quickly and begins imagining a future for them beyond their arrangement. She begins to fall, but is wary because she “doesn’t do relationships.”
After they “make love” for the first time, FMC gets overwhelmed when she’s invited to the MMC’s sister’s wedding dress fitting. At the fitting, FMC meets the sister’s best friend/MOH - a woman the MMC asked out previously, but blew him off only to find out he was dating the FMC when she changed her mind. FMC begins immediately comparing herself to this woman and projects her own self doubts and insecurities (her weight and lack of relationship experience) onto the MMC, before deciding that the other woman is what the MMC actually wants.
Instead of talking to him and seeing how he really feels about her and if he’s interested in a real relationship, FMC moves out and tells MMC that they will only need to speak/see each other for PR events. She calls up one of her regular hookups as she leaves MMCs house and sleeps with him.
The next morning, after her hookup leaves, FMC receives a breakfast delivery from the MMC from her favorite bakery with a note saying, “You may not believe in happily ever after, but I do.”
In her feels, regretting the previous night’s dalliance, and facing the reappearance of her estranged father, she calls MMC for emotional support. He drops everything, races to her, and despite finding out that she slept with someone else the night before, he agrees to go all in. MMC comforts FMC through her heartbreak with her dad. She begs him to sleep with her - mind you she still has the remnants of the previous night’s lover’s semen inside her. Then she proceeds to love bomb him.
The next 20% of the book is them navigating this new relationship where it is clear they don’t want the same things in life. She is firm about not compromising or pulling back any of her boundaries. He acquiesces because he loves her so much and believes that not having her would be worst than not having things he thought he wanted his whole life.
When she is offered a chance of a lifetime to take her career to the next level, FMC immediately says yes without speaking to MMC first - even thought it would mean moving across the country 9 months out of the year, and even after she’s asked if she needs to consult with her family or partner before making a decision. When MMC responds with shock and a bit of disappointment that she didn’t think about THEIR future or talk to him first about how they might make this work, she breaks up with him for not supporting her and trying to “punish” her by ruining her happy moment because she wants different things in life. He apologizes and shares his insecurities - that while he’s thrilled for her, he’s afraid of missing her and losing her. FMC doubles down on the breakup and even goes as far as to orchestrate MMC dating the sister’s MOH (because she is certain that’s the type of woman MMC should be with).
FMC moves, they are both miserable. MMC tries dating the MOH, but constantly compares her to the FMC. His sister calls him to the carpet at the rehearsal dinner for not fighting for the love of his life. So he takes a red eye, grovels, then brings the FMC to his sister’s wedding to the merriment of their friend and his family.
The book ends with him turning down a promotion that he’s worked years for and quitting his job because he couldn’t stand to be away from her. He proposed in the epilogue.
As the story goes on, it felt like a bait and switch. The FMC wasn’t confident and sensual, she is hardened, defensive, and masks insecurities through sex with unavailable men so she doesn’t have to be vulnerable. Her journey is a self-fulfilling prophecy wrought with self-sabotage at every turn. The hardest part to get through is the way she spirals through her insecurities and then twists them to villainize the MMC who consistently shows up for her, prioritizes her, comforts her, and worships her.
The story took a drastic turn for the worst around the 55% mark and quickly plummeted to disaster through the end. There is no character development or growth for the FMC. While she does open herself to a relationship with the MMC, there is always a barrier up and the relationship feels really one sided. It was hard to root for them as a couple or see a satisfying HEA in their future because all of their chemistry and compatibility dwindles away as the book goes on. The experience was such a turn off that I’ve removed all the other books from this series and author from my TBR.
Here’s what happened if you want to skip the utter disappointment:
After they “make love” for the first time, FMC gets overwhelmed when she’s invited to the MMC’s sister’s wedding dress fitting. At the fitting, FMC meets the sister’s best friend/MOH - a woman the MMC asked out previously, but blew him off only to find out he was dating the FMC when she changed her mind. FMC begins immediately comparing herself to this woman and projects her own self doubts and insecurities (her weight and lack of relationship experience) onto the MMC, before deciding that the other woman is what the MMC actually wants.
Instead of talking to him and seeing how he really feels about her and if he’s interested in a real relationship, FMC moves out and tells MMC that they will only need to speak/see each other for PR events. She calls up one of her regular hookups as she leaves MMCs house and sleeps with him.
The next morning, after her hookup leaves, FMC receives a breakfast delivery from the MMC from her favorite bakery with a note saying, “You may not believe in happily ever after, but I do.”
In her feels, regretting the previous night’s dalliance, and facing the reappearance of her estranged father, she calls MMC for emotional support. He drops everything, races to her, and despite finding out that she slept with someone else the night before, he agrees to go all in. MMC comforts FMC through her heartbreak with her dad. She begs him to sleep with her - mind you she still has the remnants of the previous night’s lover’s semen inside her. Then she proceeds to love bomb him.
The next 20% of the book is them navigating this new relationship where it is clear they don’t want the same things in life. She is firm about not compromising or pulling back any of her boundaries. He acquiesces because he loves her so much and believes that not having her would be worst than not having things he thought he wanted his whole life.
When she is offered a chance of a lifetime to take her career to the next level, FMC immediately says yes without speaking to MMC first - even thought it would mean moving across the country 9 months out of the year, and even after she’s asked if she needs to consult with her family or partner before making a decision. When MMC responds with shock and a bit of disappointment that she didn’t think about THEIR future or talk to him first about how they might make this work, she breaks up with him for not supporting her and trying to “punish” her by ruining her happy moment because she wants different things in life. He apologizes and shares his insecurities - that while he’s thrilled for her, he’s afraid of missing her and losing her. FMC doubles down on the breakup and even goes as far as to orchestrate MMC dating the sister’s MOH (because she is certain that’s the type of woman MMC should be with).
FMC moves, they are both miserable. MMC tries dating the MOH, but constantly compares her to the FMC. His sister calls him to the carpet at the rehearsal dinner for not fighting for the love of his life. So he takes a red eye, grovels, then brings the FMC to his sister’s wedding to the merriment of their friend and his family.
The book ends with him turning down a promotion that he’s worked years for and quitting his job because he couldn’t stand to be away from her. He proposed in the epilogue.
Psycho Beasts by Jasmine Mas
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.0
Psycho Fae by Jasmine Mas
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0