Reviewing the Unreviewed: January 2021

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. Reviewing the Unreviewed is my monthly post where I share my few thoughts on all the books I didn’t formally review.

Arrogant Devil by R.S. Grey. Read December 31-January 1. 4 Stars.

This was a fun little book. It was humorous and I liked the characters. I didn’t love that the romance between Jack and Meredith started while she was still technically married, though, even if she had left her abusive husband and was definitely planning on divorcing. I did like that they went slow, though, and Jack was really sweet. I never really felt like the title fit the book.

The Swap by Robyn Harding. Read January 1. 4 Stars.

Well, this was an entertaining and twisted read. It’s a story of obsession and manipulation and pretty awful people, but it was incredibly addicting. Even though almost every twist could be seen from a mile away, I didn’t want to put it down.

All the Rage (DI Adam Fawley #4) by Cara Hunter. Read January 3-6. 4 Stars.

Another great installment of the series. Loved the development of all the beloved characters, as well as the new mystery. There were lots of threads to bring together and Hunter did a great job with it.

The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn. Read January 12-16. 4 Stars.

I really enjoyed Bridgerton on Netflix, so I thought I should try the book and I really enjoyed this, too. I realized the show made quite a bit of changes, which probably would’ve annoyed me if I read the book first, but since I watched the show first, I find I’m ok with it.

I loved the banter between Simon and Daphne. The book was much funnier than I expected it to be and I had a fun time reading it. I plan to continue with the series.

A Temporary Marriage (Fake Love #1) by Summer Dowell. Read January 17-18. 3 Stars.

I love a good Fake Relationship / Marriage of Convenience story and this was pretty cute. It did drag a little in the middle and I considered DNF-ing, but I’m glad I stuck with it. I’ll probably try more from this author.

The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons #2) by Julia Quinn. Read January 21-23. 4 Stars. 

I really enjoyed this! I think even more than the first book. I didn’t like that Anthony was a little too mean in some parts, but I did like him overall, which I didn’t expect since he was not my favorite in the first book (or the tv show). I also really liked Kate and her family. There was so much fun banter, too.

An Offer from a Gentleman (Bridgerton #3) by Julia Quinn. Read January 23-25. 3.5 Stars

I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the previous two books, but I still enjoyed it. The fun banter that I’ve come to expect from these books was present and I loved it. I liked Sophie and Benedict together. I wanted a little more character development from Benedict, though.

*****Re-Read*****

The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1) by Emma Doherty.

I started the sequel to this book and after a couple chapters it just made me really want to read this one again. So I did. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. Livy still managed to annoy me a good deal of the time, but Chase was just as sweet as I remembered.

*****DNF*****

The Relationship Pact (Kings of Football #3) by Adriana Locke. DNF @ 16%. I wanted to like this, but I jut couldn’t get into it.

The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) by Emma Doherty. DNF @ 17%. I wanted to like this, but I didn’t. At all. I’m not forcing myself to read any more of it.

Varsity Rulebreaker (Varsity #3) by Ginger Scott. DNF @ 49%. I hated Cannon half the time. I hated Hollis all of the time. I have lots of other thoughts on why this didn’t work for me, but they all come back to the characters and their behavior, so I’m just going to leave it at this.

The Class Reunion by N.L. Hinkens. DNF @ 17%. Just couldn’t get into this. I never really connected with the main character and the writing left a little to be desired.

Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) by Kate O’Keeffe. DNF @ 20%. I enjoyed the first book in this series well enough and was looking forward to this one, but it just never captured my interest. Maybe if I could have read them back-to-back I would still feel invested in the characters, but I don’t now, so I’m going to call it.

You Have a Match by Emma Lord. DNF @ 16%. I hate stories where the biggest source of drama is miscommunications. I also really didn’t care for the main character. I can’t make myself read anymore of this.

The Happy Camper by Melody Carlson. DNF @ 50%. I really wanted to like this, but I never got invested. The main character was pretty unlikable and I found it hard to root for her.

*****Books with Future Reviews Scheduled*****

The Love Proof by Madeleine Henry – 4 Stars

WWW Wednesday: January 13, 2021

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

What did you recently DNF?

It feels like it’s been awhile since I finished a book. I’ve DNF-ed The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) by Emma Doherty and Varsity Rulebreaker (Varsity #3) by Ginger Scott this week.

What are you currently reading?

The Class Reunion by N.L. Hinkens and Marrying Mr. Darcy (Love Manor #2) by Kate O’Keeffe. This section can probably be renamed “What I will be DNF-ing Next.” I’m not terribly impressed with the writing for either of these so far. I plan to give each of them another chapter to see if they improve before I give up.

What do you think you’ll read next?

My library hold for The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn just came in, so I will probably give it a try next!

What are you reading?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: June 2019

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. Reviewing the Unreviewed is my monthly post where I share my few thoughts on all the books I didn’t formally review.

Marriage for One by Ella Maise. Read May 31 – June 2. 3.5 Stars. 

This had a great slow burn romance that I loved. However, like the other book I’ve read by this author, once the slow burn developed into the actual relationship, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much. There were several explicit scenes and the end was a cheesefest. It was also a lot longer than it needed to be. However, if you’re a Romance fan and like slow burn, I still definitely recommend this one.

Trashy Romance Novel by Jacqueline E. Smith. Read June 2-4. 3 Stars. 

Interesting idea, but a little underwhelming. I thought the big conflicts in the story were a little unbelievable. The main character published several books under a pen name and she keeps it a secret from her real life friends. But, she still does book signings and takes pictures and gives interviews and no one is supposed to figure it out? I thought what happened to her in high school that makes her refuse to tell people her real name was going to be something really intense, but it was just some poor decisions and a little bullying. I felt like the characters should have been aged down a lot for that to still have such an impact. 

I also thought it was odd that she was on set of the tv show for the whole shoot. She was a co-writer on the script, but she’s never consulted or has to do any actual work on the script while she’s there. She basically just stands around and watches them film. And the actors seem to get a whole lot of time off? I also HATED her best friend, Gemma. However, the romance was cute and there was some good banter here and there. It wasn’t bad for a Kindle Unlimited selection.

Wild Reckless (Harper Boys #1) by Ginger Scott. Read June 8-10. 3.5 Stars. 

Cute, but super angsty – sometimes a little too over-dramatic. I shipped the romance, though there were times it didn’t seem all that healthy of a relationship. I thought the characters were well developed, though. Also, I found parts of Kensi’s relationship with her father relatable – I’m always up for seeing cheating, emotionally-abusive men get kicked to the curb.

When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington. Read June 12-14. 3 Stars. 

A cute, summertime read. I liked the romance and the characters – though Olivia did annoy me sometimes. One thing that kind of seemed odd to me was that the story was told in alternating 1st person POV and it would sometimes change several times in one chapter. Which isn’t that big of a deal, but sometimes it would only be for a couple paragraphs at a time before switching back. I just didn’t really see the purpose in it. And since both voices sounded exactly the same, maybe this would have been better told in 3rd person? Anyways, it was still an enjoyable read, but the last quarter or so of the book could have been a little better for me. The ending felt really abrupt and I felt there could have been a little more detail and that’s why I’m dropping my rating down to 3 stars instead of 4.

Coldhearted Boss by R. S. Grey. Read June 15-16. 3 Stars.

This was cute. I shipped the romance, but there were still plenty of things about it that I was kind of annoyed by. I thought they both acted really childish for way too long and I guess I expected a little more from all the hate-to-love antics.

No Exit by Taylor Adams. Read June 17-21. 3 Stars.

This didn’t quite live up to the hype for me, but it wasn’t bad. I was hoping for a few more twists and surprises, though. I really loved to hate the main villain. I thought that characterization was pretty well done and made the book worth the read.

A Pizza My Heart (Slice Series #1) by Teagan Hunter. Read June 21. 3.5 Stars.

As with all Hunter’s books, the addictive writing made this a fast read. I really loved about the first half. I’m all about the slow burn. I also loved the banter. I just felt like once they started to get together it became all about the physical relationship, which kind of cheapened the actual love story. I also wish the secondary characters were developed a little bit more. However, it was a quick fun read and I definitely shipped Wren and Foster.

Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis. Read June 22-24. 4 Stars. 

I don’t listen to a lot of audio books, but I was going on a little trip and decided to browse through Hoopla to see what was available to listen to while I drove. I’m not that familiar with Rachel Hollis, but I have heard a lot of good things about her from other bloggers and decided to give this one a try. I’m glad I did. I am not really an ambitious person at all, but this made me feel inspired to start setting some small goals for myself – and then maybe some bigger goals. And while audio isn’t my favorite format because I can’t easily go back and look up passages I wanted to revisit, I think it really added to the experience to hear it narrated by Rachel herself. Definitely recommend this if you’re looking for something a little motivational.

The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1) by Emma Doherty. Read June 24-25. 4 Stars. 

I loved this. There were many ridiculous things and Livy kind of drove me crazy about 90% of the time, but I still loved it. Chase was so, so sweet and made up for everything else. A fun fake relationship story I recommend if you can deal with the angst.

Four Doors Down (Becca McKenzie #1) by Emma Doherty. Read June 26-27. 3 Stars. 

Easy, quick read that was kind of addicting, but I did not like this one as much as the other book I have read by this author. The plot was different, but it felt really similar. Both books are about a completely oblivious girl who doesn’t realize the hot, popular guy is SUPER into her. Becca was a really unlikable character and I wish more than just the epilogue was told through Ryan’s POV. Becca was always going on about how other people were stuck up and thought they were too cool for her, but she was a complete jerk to everyone. I don’t even really want to read the next book because I don’t think I can handle any more of her. If you’re interested in this author, I would recommend The Stand-in Boyfriend, instead.

*****Back on the TBR*****

The Proximity Principle by Ken Coleman.

This is for people who already know their passion and need to figure out how to achieve it, which is definitely not me yet, so this goes back on the shelf for another day.

*****DNF*****

Rule #1: You Can’t Date the Coach’s Daughter by Ann-Marie Meyer.

DNF @ 30%. Found this on Kindle Unlimited and thought it might be cute. However, the writing isn’t great and the main character is a bit of a psycho.

Love at First Like by Hannah Orenstein.

DNF at 33%. I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn’t for me. The writing wasn’t bad, but the story was far-fetched and the main character was AWFUL. She was so shallow and selfish and she had zero self-awareness. I think that there will probably be a lot of people that can overlook those things and enjoy this, but I’m not one of them.

Chasing Clouds by Kathryn Andrews.

DNF @ 14%. This seems a little unbelievable, but it has potential. However, I put this down because it hadn’t really grabbed me and I just don’t feel interested in picking it back up again.

*****Books with Future Reviews Scheduled*****

         

Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham – 3 Stars