Review: Fake It Til You Bake It ~ Jamie Wesley

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Format I Used: Audiobook & E-book
Pages: 336
Running Time: 9h:56m
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date: June 21, 2022

Was honestly a little skeptical of this one at first. Mostly because I don't generally enjoy books with spoiled princess MCs who get their money taken away from them and have to work to prove that they're worthy to get it back blah blah blah, and then spend lots of time complaining and whining about it.

But alas, I was worried for nothing. I actually really liked Jada and her attitude. And the relationship she had with her grandma.

It took me a little bit longer to warm up to Donovan. For some reason I didn't really like how he kept describing Jada as bougie. 

 

 

RH (Reverse Harem) Is Taking Over My Life

...Again...

I used to read SO MANY Reverse Harem books. Like, I consumed them at an alarming rate (I mean, I read just as many other books as well, but that's not the point of this post.)

I think the one that really started me out was... Curse Of The Gods...? I picked it up on a whim not actually knowing what it was about, and it was SO FUNNY. And surprisingly amazing. So I just kept looking for them and reading more and more.

And then I just kind of stopped.

No real reason, it's just something that happens to me as a reader. I read so much of something and get burnt out, so I have to walk away from it for a while. Sometimes I go back to it and other times I don't.

But in the last month, I've read several, and have been looking for more to read. I tweeted about it and said that I was regressing back to the days where all I wanted was to read RH books. And I don't think that's actually the right word, because that word brings about a negative connotation...

I know WHY this sudden urge to read RH has hit me again. I'm not going to get into the reason WHY, because that would take far too long and literally no one would read through the whole post. Instead, I think I'll share some of my favorites. 

As always, you can click on the cover of the book to be redirected to Goodreads in case you want to read up about them

 

 

ARC Review: The Next Worst Thing ~ Sara Jane Woodley

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Format I Used:Digital ALC Audiobook
Pages: 336
Running Time: 10h:13m
My Rating: 3.5 stars
Publication Date: October 4, 2022 (originally April 11, 2022)


Super cute and fluffy romcom, that's kind of enemies to lovers kind of not. I liked the back and forth between Ivy and James. I think a little more communication could have solved a LOT of problems early on, but then again that would kind of squash the whole story and make it VERY short. It's a very gentle romance, so not a lot of spice. Which could be good or bad depending on how much spice you like in your romance books (I really liked it)

I listened to the audiobook, and can I absolutely LOVED the narrators for both Ivy and James (ESPECIALLY James, because that accent? *chefs kiss*)

Big thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for allowing me to try out an ALC of this book.

 

Review: The Holloway Girls ~ Susan Crispell

  

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Format I Used: E-book
Pages: 352
My Rating: 3 stars
Publication Date: June 7, 2022

  

 

 

Woo hoo, I'm finally marking one of my many "Currently Reading" books as "Read" that feels good. And also like I'll probably just start three more instead of finishing another that I'm already reading...

ANYWAY.

Even though it took me forever to read this book, it wasn't because it was bad. In fact, when I was reading it, it kind of flew by. And I actually really enjoyed it. Tobin and Juliet were so charismatic and I loved them both so much. They're the kind of people who literally shine so bright they light up a room when they're around.

I thought the whole concept was super interesting and I really liked the way it was executed. Were there a few moments that I was annoyed? Yes. But it wasn't anything that was too over the top

Did It Make Me Cry? No 

Favorite Quotes and Highlights:

I paste on a smile for Tobin, pretending to be the girl he wants me to be. It backfires almost immediately. His smile ignites like a fuse. He could set the world on fire with a smile like that. And he’d willingly burn with it, I think, if he thought that would make me happy.

I meet Tobin’s gray-eyed stare and say, “Salted caramel doesn’t cover up the flavor of blood. For that you need red velvet. But thanks for letting me know you’re not the person to call when I need help hiding the bodies.”

Series Review: Takane & Hana Vol. 1-18 ~ Yuki Shiwasu

 

 

 

Image from Goodreads. Click on the image to learn more about this book.


Format I Used: E-book
Pages: Various
My Rating: 4 stars overall
Publication Date: Various

 

So this is my review for the overall series and how it made me feel. 

 

There might be spoilers, SO READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK

I put off reading this series for F O R E V E R because the huge underage age gap made me feel icky. But I'm trying to reach a new reading goal for the year, and 18 books makes a H U G E dent in that.

The age gap was still really weird to me, but I actually ended up enjoying this story much more than I originally thought I was going to. Like, it was surprisingly wholesome. Hana was freaking hilarious, and I want to be as sarcastic as her when I grow up lol. She wasn't afraid to put Takane in his place faster than a blink, and that stayed the same throughout the whole story.

Takane was such a child, and he had a lot of growing up to do. It was super nice to see his character development, and learn some humility (a litttttttle bit anyway). He was definitely giving me Daoming Si from Meteor Garden vibes... Except, you know, a LOT less violent.

The expressions that the characters made throughout the entire series were both hilarious and ridiculous (mostly the faces that Takane and Hana made at each other) It had me in tears from laughing every once in a while.

My favorite characters were Nicola and Okamon. They were literally the best. Little Hiromi was also adorable.

I do wish that we'd gotten a little more closer at the end for some of the other characters. It just felt a tiny bit rushed to me at the very end.

I was so glad to see that there wasn't some (real) big heartbreaking scandal/drama that threatened to tear Takane and Hana apart. They had their rocky moments, but the Big Bad Thing that I was expecting to happen didn't, and that made me so happy. And Mr. Soten Takaba, that wily old man. I was thinking he'd be the biggest wrench in their plans, but he wasn't!

Overall, I'm glad that I read this series, it's funny and wholesome, and definitely worth a read through