Tag: Mini Review

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

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Since last week, I’ve managed to finish six books! The majority were still romances and I binged a dark romance trilogy early on in the week, but I’ve also enjoyed a great collection of middle grade short stories!

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White Monarch Series (#1-3) by Jessica Hawkins ★★★★☆
I haven’t read a cartel romance before but it was definitely dark and whole lot of sizzling build up of physical chemistry to a steamy combustion in the last book! Hawkins doesn’t shy away from the darker and dirtier side of cartel business from drugs, arms, and human trafficking and the book was surprisingly as heavy on cartel politics and revenge as it was on the romance. I loved Cristiano and Natalia and thought they were such a great couple and theirs was an entertaining story! Full series RTC.

The Duke of Diamonds (A Lady to Suit #1) by Emily Windsor ★★★½
I really liked Windsor’s writing style. The language fit the period, it’s full of wit and warmth and I found myself laughing-out-loud a lot as I read! Although their initial meeting was based on lies, I loved how Casper and Eveline came alive around each other especially over whilst discussing the art which they are so passionate about. It was a slow-burn but well worth the wait! RTC.

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 22 September 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

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Since last week, I’ve managed to finish nine books? This is in part thanks to the paranormal romance binge that I did in a little over a day! What can I say? I’m definitely in a romance binging mood!

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The Dark Bite (Vampire Hunter Society #1) by Leia Stone ★★★½
Set in the same Magic City world of The Wolf Girl series (below), this spin-off focuses on vampire royalty, Luka and Aspen, the Vampire Hunter he mistakenly bonds with. This had lots of action and our hunter is definitely a kick-ass baddie with a stake, but I wish we got more character development and we got to see our H/H interact just a little more than they did. It’s a promising set up for the series though! RTC.

The Wolf Girl Series (1-4) by Leia Stone ★★★☆☆
This paranormal romance series was so easy to binge. This is a sub-genre that I don’t normally read but this had high entertainment value and it was so easy for me to just turn off my brain and get sucked into the supernatural creature world and of course, major drama! If you’re not into drama, this might not be for you. But if you’re looking for an action-packed series that doesn’t shy away from blood, violence or a slightly angsty but steamy werewolf romance, you might want to check this out! RTC.

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 15 September 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

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Since last week, I’ve managed to finish five books, though sadly only one was an ARC!

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Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain ★★★☆☆
This was another entertaining and fast addition to the Xivery Mates series. Lemora might be my favourite alien planet so far because the city was a giant melting pot of alien races and cultures, and it felt so vibrant and alive! Everyone was extremely friendly, helpful and accepting of others and it just served pleasant and happy vibes that I was totally here for. Raingar and Essmira were great but I especially loved Essmira because Stephens does a great job writing smart and headstrong heroines! Read my full review.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #1) by Holly Jackson ★★★★☆
I’m gonna be honest, I read this for the smut and it definitely delivered! This is an age-gap romance, which is not something that I normally ever read but I wasn’t bothered by it in this story. There’s not much in the way of character development or a strong plot, and their relationship to each other is already an established thing, but I liked both the Duke and Victoria. I thought they were both interesting characters and that the author handled the emotional and moral struggle (especially on his part) well! Obviously, I liked the steamy bits and it did get quite steamy pretty quickly. The Duke ticked that dirty-talking hero box and so if that (and historical romance) is your thing, I would recommend checking this out (especially if you have KU)! RTC.

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 08 September 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

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Since last week, I’ve managed to finish five books and I’m happy to say that all of them were ARCs—yay! 😍

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Taken to Lemora (Xiveri Mates #6) by Elizabeth Stephens ★★★☆☆
This was another entertaining and fast addition to the Xivery Mates series. Lemora might be my favourite alien planet so far because the city was a giant melting pot of alien races and cultures, and it felt so vibrant and alive! Everyone was extremely friendly, helpful and accepting of others and it just served pleasant and happy vibes that I was totally here for. Raingar and Essmira were great but I especially loved Essmira because Stephens does a great job writing smart and headstrong heroines! Check out my full review.

My Dirty Duke: A Victorian Novella by Joanna Shupe ★★★☆☆
I’m gonna be honest, I read this for the smut and it definitely delivered! This is an age-gap romance, which is not something that I normally ever read but I wasn’t bothered by it in this story. There’s not much in the way of character development or a strong plot, and their relationship to each other is already an established thing, but I liked both the Duke and Victoria. I thought they were both interesting characters and that the author handled the emotional and moral struggle (especially on his part) well! Obviously, I liked the steamy bits and it did get quite steamy pretty quickly. The Duke ticked that dirty-talking hero box and so if that (and historical romance) is your thing, I would recommend checking this out (especially if you have KU)!

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 25 August 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

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Since last week, I’ve managed to finish four books and I’m happy to say that all of them were ARCs—yay! 😍

(ARC) Shadow Frost (Shadow Frost #1) by Coco Ma ★★☆☆☆
I’m honestly quite proud for having finished this book because it was a bit of a… slog at times. I’m still very impressed Coco Ma wrote this when was 15?! Mind blown! 🤯 Sadly, I think younger me would’ve loved this much more than adult me did. It’s chock full of YA fantasy tropes (which isn’t bad if you like them!) but it was the characters that were more of a miss for me than anything else. Check out my full review.

(ARC) Fireborn by Aisling Fowler ★★★★½
Revenge of the Sluts was an interesting YA contemporary that had a bit of a mystery to it. It’s not a fast-paced book but it was engaging enough and the writing simple enough for me to quickly work through the pages. While I didn’t think any of the characters stood out, and neither did I like the representation of the MC, I think it’s a book that can generate discussions about privacy, cyberbullying, revenge porn, slut-shaming, toxic masculinity and society’s double standards, especially amongst the targeted young readers! Check out my full review.

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 18 August 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

Since last week, I’ve managed to finish four books and all but one were ARCs—yay!

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Tempt Thy Neighbor (Roommate Romps #4) by Teagan Hunter ★★★★☆
This was another fun, fast and super-steamy second-chance/enemies-to-lovers romance by Teagan Hunter! It was a little hard to buy into the romance at the very beginning with how vehemently Holland hated on Sutton and with how he came across as pretty douchey, but they did grow on me in the end. Hunter really built up the sexual tension in this book and it was explosive! RTC.

(ARC) Revenge of the Sluts by Natalie Walton ★★★★½
Revenge of the Sluts was an interesting YA contemporary that had a bit of a mystery to it. It’s not a fast-paced book but it was engaging enough and the writing simple enough for me to quickly work through the pages. While I didn’t think any of the characters stood out, and neither did I like the representation of the MC, I think it’s a book that can generate discussions about privacy, cyberbullying, revenge porn, slut-shaming, toxic masculinity and society’s double standards, especially amongst the targeted young readers! Check out my full review.

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 11 August 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

Since last week I’ve managed to finish five books (and I’m still behind on my blog tour reads—how does time get away from me so quickly?)!

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Aurora Burning (Aurora Cycle #2) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman ★★★★☆
This was my buddy read with Sammie and we finally finished the book last week! Both of us raged just a *tiny bit* at that ending—I mean, I really love Squad 312 but oh my, how they angered me at the end 😂 What was that? Not cool, that’s what! 😒 Overall, I still really enjoyed the book as we get a good look into Zila and Kal’s histories, plus we also learn more about just what exactly the squad is dealing with. There were also some delicious twists that had me gasping. I can’t wait until the final book is out and it has lovely bb Finian on the cover! RTC (maybe)?

Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #4) by Martha Wells ★★★★½
Yay for Murderbot! Yay for reuniting with our favourite OG humans! Yay for more feelings that we don’t want to be feeling! Honestly, at this point I’m starting to terrify myself with how much I identify with Murderbot? Just as with all the other books in this series, the intensity of the action quickly escalated and of course, Murderbot’s signature sarcastic humour was still so very on point! Leslie and I are gonna continue our buddy read for this series, and though we didn’t realise book 5 was a full-length novel, we can’t wait. 😍 Series RTC!

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 14 April 2021” →

Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

Although I have actually been *reading things* over the past week, I’ve only managed to finish two books. One of which I’m already confident in saying will be my favourite read this month!

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Jade War (The Greenbone Saga #2) by Fonda Lee ★★★★★
Friends, I honestly have nothing bad to say about this series. My level of investment in No Peak and the Kaul family is almost at an unhealthy level but y’know what? I don’t care because these characters, this story, this world deserves everything. Although Fonda Lee continues to mercilessly hack away at what little feelings I have left, I can honestly say that I’d let her do it every single time cos that’s how much I love this book/series. This was another buddy read with Jess and we already have future plans to buddy read (or maybe even group read, if anyone’s interested?) Jade Legacy when it comes out in December. I just… I love this so much 😭 If you’re going to read this series I’d highly recommend the audiobooks! RTC.

The Lore of Prometheus by Graham Austin-King ★★★¾
I can count on one finger how many military urban fantasies I’ve read and although this was quite a step outside of my comfort zone (it’s a very dark read!) I still really enjoyed it. Austin-King makes it easy to visualise the real world setting while still managing to seamlessly introduce fantastical elements without making it seem out of place. The characters were realistic and so easy to root for and the humour woven into the story brought great and much needed comedic relief that balanced the story out well. I can definitely see why this book won the BBNYA 2020. Check out my blog tour review!

Continue reading “#WWWWednesday: 14 April” →