I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. I thought I’d start doing a post once a month with just the couple thoughts I shared on Good Reads.
Winging It (Corrigan Falls Raiders #3) by Cate Cameron. Read February 28 – March 1. 3 Stars.
This was a quick, fairly cute read. It was a little more friends-to-love trope than fake-relationship, but since I like both of those, it was ok. I didn’t really care for Natalie. I enjoyed the chapters from Toby more, but he fell a little short of being a character I could really love. Overall, it was a good palate-cleanser from all the more serious books I’ve been reading lately.
The Rule Book (The Rule Breakers #1) by Jennifer Blackwood. Read March 9-11. 3 Stars.
I really enjoyed pretty much every interaction between Lainey and Brogan in this book. I liked the romance and even all the times Lainey just said really stupid stuff in front of him. There were a lot of humorous moments, too. However, there were a couple things that bothered me. I’m not sure if it’s ever stated how old Brogan is (I think 30 was hinted at it) and Lainey is 24. I know that’s not a huge age difference, but I felt like there was such a difference in their maturity (plus he’s her employer) that the romance almost felt uncomfortable for awhile. (I did get over that eventually, though. Like I said, I liked almost every interaction between them.) My major problem, though, is that if you cut out all of Lainey’s inner-monologues about wanting to do her boss, the book would be about half as long. It just kind of annoyed me. There was a lot of good about the book, though, and it was a cute romance, overall.
A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic #3) by V.E. Schwab. Read March 12-25. 4 Stars.
I had a lot of issues with the previous book in this series, but I’m really glad I decided to still read this one. As always, Schwab’s writing is excellent. But in addition to that, I feel like the plot was advancing in almost every chapter. Though it did get a little slow at times and there was a great deal that I felt didn’t really have purpose and could have been cut to make the book a little shorter, I still enjoyed the story. I didn’t HATE Lila so much, either. I loved Kell and Holland and Rhy (even though he really frustrated me most of the time). I have a hard time giving this a proper review because I took a week off from reading right in the middle of it due to illness, but overall I thought it was a pretty good end to the series and probably the best book of the three.
Till Death by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Read March 25-26. 4 Stars.
After being really disappointed in the last few JLA books I’ve read, I’m so happy in how much I enjoyed this. It veered a little more towards romance than suspense, but I was a fan of the romance, so I was ok with it. I really liked both Sasha and Cole and their relationship. I liked the mystery aspect, even though I basically figured out who the bad guy was really early in the book. ***SUPER MILD SPOILER*** There was a really random detail about one of the characters given on early in the story and then nothing was really done with it. It gave a bit of a motive and while it was nice that the killer didn’t come out of left field, it was a little disappointing that it was included so early in the story and – at least to me – done in a really obvious way. ***END OF SPOILER*** Overall, I just really enjoyed it and didn’t want to put it down. It’s restored my faith a bit in JLA.
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord. March 27-28. 2.5 Stars.
I have heard from people who are hesitant about this book because there is some religious content. If you are one of those people, I would say you might be slightly annoyed at times, but I don’t think it’s written in a way that will “ruin” the book for you. I have also heard from people who were very happy to see a “realistic” Christian character not be a complete psycho. To those people I would caution to not get too excited. Yes, the main character comes from a religious background and is not awful. However, this is NOT a Christian book and the overall message is not of Christian faith. There are definitely a few themes throughout that is congruent with the Christian faith, but at the end of the day the message is more one of universalism and the goodness of people. I mean, it’s still a hopeful message and is more than is in most YA, but I just want to caution my Christian friends. Full review to come.
I need to start the Schwab series…I bought the first book last week. And I have a copy of Till Death…really happy to see you enjoyed it! Kinda bummed the new Lord book didn’t work for you. I was looking forward to that one…if I ever get into the mood for it. My reading moods have been ridiculous lately. Right now I’m back on romance for a hot second.
I don’t think the Schwab series is as good as everyone else, but I liked it and the writing is really good. I think you might like Till Death since you’re into romance right now. I was really bummed about the Emery Lord book too! But maybe I’m still kind of in my anti-contemporary mood? Maybe I just need to stick with mysteries for awhile.
Glad to see your mini review of The Name they Gave Us. I was iffy about whether to read it or not. Love this post!
Thanks! So which side of the coin did you land on about The Names They Gave Us?
Thanks to your low rating Stephanie, the decision isn’t so hard 🙂 also, I’m not sure if I want to dive into a religious reading at the moment 🙂
Glad to be of service 🙂 I can’t say that you’ll be missing much.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy The Rule Book more. I’m super happy you liked Emery Lord’s book, though. I can’t wait to read it.
I actually enjoyed The Rule Book more than Emery Lord’s book. But I’m sure my weird Contemporary funk made me rate both of them lower than I normally would have.
I should do this, sometimes there are books that I don’t feel like writing a lot about…
I find these days I only review books I absolutely love or absolutely hate – and ARCs. But I still want to share at least a little something about what I’m reading!
I thought Winging It was really cute, too. So glad you enjoyed the JLA. I too have been disappointed in some of her recent books. I guess everyone is allowed to slump 🙂
Yeah, for me JLA had a looong slump (though I know I’m in the minority opinion there), but I did really enjoy this one!
Good to know about The Rule Book! I’m on the fence about picking it up or not. I’ll keep you thoughts in mind.
I don’t think I’m going to pick up Til Death. I haven’t been overly enjoying JLA’s works lately and there are so many other books I want to read first.
The Rule Book was cute. I hope that you enjoy it if you decide to pick it up! That’s how I’ve felt about JLA’s latest books, but I did Till Death. Might be a good one to pick up if you get into a slump with the other books you’re reading?
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