Reviewing the Unreviewed: August 2020

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.

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord. Read August 1-3. 3 Stars.

This was cute, but I thought it drug on for a little too long. Right when I thought things were winding down, I realized I hadn’t even hit the halfway mark yet. I kind of hated Pepper’s mom right up until the last couple chapters when her motivation is finally explained. Even then, she just came across as petty. It also made me like Jack’s dad less, after he finally did something fatherly that I approved of. I also expected a lot more from the Twitter war. I didn’t really think most of the tweets were that funny. That said, I liked the relationship between Pepper and Jack. I thought they were sweet and this was one of the cleaner YA books I’ve read lately, which I appreciate. I’ll be interested in reading more from this author.

The Silent Wife (Will Trent #10) by Karin Slaughter. Read August 10-13. 4 Stars.

A new Will Trent book is always amongst my most anticipated books of the year and The Silent Wife did not disappoint. I enjoyed the mystery, solid, procedural police work, and – as always – Will. The subject matter of the mystery is pretty intense and was often hard to read, but if you’ve read a Slaughter book before, you know to expect that. I enjoyed many aspects of the multiple timelines, but I have to say I wasn’t thrilled to be in Grant County. I still haven’t read that series, but there’s been several visits there during this series and I am always wary of having to deal with Lena again. This was my first look at Sarah’s former husband, Jeffrey, though. I have to say I wasn’t impressed with him. And I also wasn’t impressed with Sarah in this installment. Like, I’ve had issues with her here and there throughout the series, but I straight up disliked her until the final pages of the story. That said, I did like the ending and I’m looking forward to the next Will Trent book.

The Trouble with Quarterbacks by R.S. Grey. Read August 10-15. 3 Stars. 

This one was just ok for me. The main character was pretty quirky. While I did like her, I also found her kind of annoying. I didn’t find Logan’s character very consistent. He vacillated between being really sweet and being alpha/controlling. I preferred when he was sweet. Definitely not my favorite book by this author.

Varsity Tiebreaker (Varsity #2) by Ginger Scott. Read August 10-16. 3 Stars. 

Tory was my favorite thing about the previous book in this series, so I was excited to read more about him. While I still liked him, I was disappointed in him for most of the book. You would think that with how upset he was with his mother for cheating, he would do a little better than cheating with his brother’s girlfriend. I hate cheating and it really brought down my enjoyment of the book. I liked the family storylines a lot more than the romance and I wish there was more focus on that. I did like how Tory and Hayden’s relationship got back on track, though.

Office Mate (Milford College #2) by Noelle Adams. Read August 17-18. 3 Stars. 

Ok, but not my favorite by this author. I thought the couple jumped into a physical relationship too fast. The dialogue during those scenes made me roll my eyes a lot, too. The ending was cute, though.

Treasure (Hush Collection) by Oyinkan Braithwaite. Read August 18. 3 Stars. 

I was a big fan of My Sister, the Serial Killer, so I was excited to see that Braithwaite had another book out. The downside is that it’s not actually a full length book, but a 30 page short story. Even though I’m not really a fan of short stories/novellas, I found this interesting. I wish it had been a little longer so I could really get to know the characters better and the ending was a little too open for my liking, but no other books have been working for me lately, so maybe this is what I needed to get me out of my slump.

Thicker Than Blood (Zoe Bentley #3) by Mike Omer. Read August 15-23. 4 Stars. 

It took me a little while to get into this, but eventually it hooked me. The mystery was interesting and it definitely took some turns I hadn’t expected, which I enjoyed. While the mystery was good, I could’ve used a little more character development with Zoe and Tatum. And there wasn’t enough Marvin. However, it broke me out of my book slump and I’ll look forward to the next book in this series.

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

Once You Go This Far (Roxane Weary #3) by Kristen Lepionka. I was really looking forward to this, but I got about 10% in then didn’t pick it up again for over a week and just couldn’t get into it. It’s a physical library book and I’ve already renewed it once, so it’s going back to the library and I’ll try it again some other time.

*****DNF*****

Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score. DNF @ 28%. I’ve heard such great things about this book, but it’s just not for me. I picked this up because I thought it was supposed to be a fake relationship story, but that hasn’t been mentioned at all so far. I also thought the love interest was horrible. He comes across so smug, he just makes my skin crawl. I couldn’t make myself read any more of this.

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

A Path to Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and Karin Stock Buursma – 4 Stars

The Switch by Beth O’Leary – 4 Stars

WWW Wednesday: August 19, 2020

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

What did you recently finish reading?

Varsity Tiebreaker by Ginger Scott and Office Mate by Noelle Adams. These were both 3 star reads for me.

What are you currently reading?

Once You Go This Far (Roxane Weary #5) by Kristen Lepionka, The Match by Sarah Adams, Thicker Than Blood (Zoe Bentley #3) by Mike Omer, and Rock Bottom Girl by Lucy Score. Can you tell I’m in a book slump!? Usually if I’m “reading” more than one book at a time it means I’ve started one and put it on pause to read something else. That’s not the case here. I read a chapter or two of this book and then a chapter of two of that book and nothing can keep my attention for more than that.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Who even knows!

What are you reading?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: February 2020

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.

Carpool (Milford College #1) by Noelle Adams. Read January 31-February 2. 3.5 Stars. 

Jennifer frustrated me sometimes, but I did ship her and Marcus. I liked the small town setting and would’ve liked to have seen even more of that. Overall, this was a cute romance. I got it as a free e-book deal and I’m not sure if it’s still available for free, but definitely worth checking into if you’re a Romance reader.

Throw Like a Girl by Sarah Henning. Read February 4-6. 3.5 Stars. 

This had a few issues, but it was cute. I liked Liv’s family and how close she was with her brother. I liked how quickly the football team accepted her, even if it felt a little unrealistic. I thought the romance with Liv and Grey was pretty adorable, too.

There were some things that didn’t really work for me, though. I thought Liv picked up football way too quickly. We’re basically supposed to believe that she’s never played before, but she has a savant level spiral and is a good athlete and it takes her no time at all to be basically their best player. There’s also obviously a big dramatic moment with the romance and I thought it was resolved a little too easily. I read the part where things are supposed to be explained and afterwards I honestly had to re-read it because there was nothing in it that seemed worthy of a resolution to me. There were a few other nitpicky things here and there, but overall this was enjoyable.

Anti-Stepbrother by Tijan. Read February 14-15. 4 Stars. 

I loved this so much! It wasn’t at all what I was expecting, it ended up being much more. Summer was pretty quirky, which doesn’t always work for me, but I found her likable. I thought most of the characters were pretty likable and the angst and drama were on the low side, which was nice. I absolutely adored Caden and Summer together. It was kind of an enemies-to-friends-to-more story and I was here for it. I loved their friendship and it was kind of a slow burn to them getting together. I appreciated the “fade to black” love scenes. It really focused more on their relationship and feelings and it was so sweet and I just loved it. I’ve been disappointed by a lot of books lately, but this one totally broke me out of my slump.

Ryan’s Bed by Tijan. Read February 15-16. 3 Stars. 

I had a hard time getting into this one. It was a pretty depressing read, mostly exploring grief. I think there were some very realistic emotions, but I wish that more attention would have been drawn to how Mackenzie’s coping methods were pretty unhealthy. And even though I liked the relationship between her and Ryan, I couldn’t help feeling like Ryan kind of took advantage of her.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. Read February 16-18. 3 Stars. 

I thought this was ok, but not anything special. I’m kind of bummed I wasted one of YA BOTM credits on it. I liked Pip and Ravi, though Pip’s behavior did annoy me sometimes. There were several things I rolled my eyes at, but for the most part I thought the evolution of the mystery was pretty well done. It felt a little too long, though, and I lost interest well before the end of the book. And there were a couple scenes that felt completely lifted from tv shows I’ve watched.

*****DNF*****

My Best Friend’s Royal Wedding by Romy Sommer. DNF-ed at 15%. Just couldn’t get into this one.

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

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel – 2 Stars

The Boy from the Woods by Harlan Coben – 4 Stars

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson – 4 Stars

Reviewing the Unreviewed: September 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.

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware. Read September 9-13. 2 Stars.

Um, did I read a different book from everyone else? It was not nearly as creepy as I expected it to be and the two big twists before the ending shouldn’t even be called twists. There were SO MANY hints that they seemed super obvious from very early on in the story. I can’t believe there are many people that would be surprised by them. The ending was not at all surprising either. The excruciatingly slow pace almost made me DNF this several times and I kind of wish I did.

Obviously I am in the minority here, though. 🤷‍♀️

Part-Time Husband (Trophy Husbands #1) by Noelle Adams. Read September 13-14. 4 Stars.

I’ve been having a lot of book-ADD lately and have been struggling to get through anything. I knew I needed something quick and cute and Part-Time Husband was just right. I love a good marriage of convenience story and Noelle Adams always does them well. Though there were a few too many graphic scenes, it was sweet and romantic and Melissa and Trevor had some good banter.

The Wedding Date by Zara Stoneley. Read September 15-16. 3 Stars.

This was cute, had some sweet and funny moments, and quirky characters. The main character wasn’t always likable, though, and there were lots of communication issues that drove me a little crazy.

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

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. I decided to re-read this before starting the long awaited sequel. I enjoyed it just as much the second time around. There was bonus content in the version I read this time that had all of Paige and Max’s e-mails from their summer apart which were pretty cute. It made me excited to read the next book.

I got into a book slump and couldn’t decide what sounded good, so I decided to re-read Take a Bow, which is one of my favorites. I loved it just as much the third time around.

*****DNF*****

The Plus One by Sophia Money-Coutts. DNF-ed at 21%. This was occasionally humorous, but the main character was really unlikable and I was not invested at all.

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

       

Blitzed (Playbook #3) by Alexa Martin – 3 Stars

The Map from Here to There (The Start of Me and You #2) by Emery Lord – 3 Stars

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters – 4 Stars

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell – 4 Stars

Marriage on Madison Avenue (Central Park Pact #3) by Lauren Layne – 4 Stars

WWW Wednesday: September 18, 2019

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

What are you currently reading?

Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters. I am really enjoying this one so far!

What did you recently finish reading?

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware, Part-Time Husband by Noelle Adams, The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord, The Wedding Date by Zara Stoneley. Since it took me a whole work week to finish Turn of the Key, I’ve been binging on quick and easy contemporaries.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I really want to work on my ARCs and The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell is the one with the next closest release date.

What are you reading?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: September 2017

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.

My New Crush Gave to Me by Shani Petroff. Read September 5-7. 3 Stars. 

This book was light and cute and I enjoyed it. It will definitely get you into the holiday mood. Full review to come closer to release date.

With a Twist (Bad Habits #1) by Staci Hart. Read September 7-9. 2 Stars. 

I’m kind of surprised that I decided to finish this one, to be honest. The characters were ok and I did want to see West and Lily get together, but most of it was pretty boring. It wasn’t that graphic compared to most books in this genre, but the characters were just constantly talking about sex and anatomy and it was sometimes kind of crude. There were a couple of nice moments between West and Lily and it was kind of interesting that Lily was a ballerina, but those are the only good things I can really say about it. I’m sure that people who are big fans of New Adult romance would enjoy this a lot more than I did.

A Family for Christmas (Willow Park #3) by Noelle Adams. Read September 9-10. 3 Stars. 

A cute, quick read featuring a marriage of convenience. I read the first book in this series a while ago and liked it and have had this one on my e-reader for awhile and decided to give it a try. I didn’t like it quite as much as I did the first one, but it was cute and I liked the relationship between Lydia and Gabe. What I really like about this series is that the characters are Christians, but it’s not Christian Fiction. It has all the elements (including the love scenes) you would get in regular mainstream Romance, but the characters stand apart a bit from the norm. I like this bit of diversity that you don’t often see in mainstream fiction.

13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough. Read September 9-11. 3.5 Stars.

I’m excited to be part of the blog tour for this. Look for my review on October 2nd. 

Always You (Bachelor Brotherhood #3) by Denise Grover Swank. Read September 12-16. 3.5 Stars.

I enjoyed this. Matt is definitely one of the sweetest male leads I have read and I wish he was real. While it did take me a little bit to get into the romance and to like the kids, I did eventually get on board with all of it. There were several humorous parts, including a scene in Chuck E. Cheese that made me laugh out loud. Full review to come closer to release date.

Accused (Rosato & DiNunzio #1) by Lisa Scottoline. Read September 16-18. 3.5 Stars. 

I really needed a good mystery and Accused delivered for me. I thought it was just a tiny bit drawn out, though, and did not find the conclusion surprising. I was really frustrated with a lot of Mary’s behavior for most of the book, but she was much better by the end. I’m looking forward to reading more of this series.

Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa de la Cruz. Read September 23-25. 3 Stars.

I love a good holiday romance and I love Pride and Prejudice re-tellings, so Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe looked like it would be perfect for me. While it was a fun read, it ended up falling short of my (pretty high) expectations. Full review to come.

Killing Kate by Alex Lake. Read September 25-27. 3.5 Stars

Short chapters just make books so much more readable and I must say that they served this book really well. Even though the pace was actually pretty slow, the short chapters kept the suspense up and made it so much easier to say “just one more chapter” long after I should’ve stopped reading. As for the story itself…it was ok. It was kind of a different angle of a serial killer book and I liked that. Kate was not a very likable character. I preferred the chapters from her ex-boyfriend’s POV, Phil. A little over half way through I guessed who the serial killer was and what the slight “twist” with it was. It wasn’t too long after that that everything was revealed, but then it just drug on and on and on. I was not at all satisfied with the ending. However, the fact that I found it addicting for a while is bumping my rating up the extra half star.

Reviewing the Unreviewed: March 2016

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.

The Crown and the Arrow (The Wrath and the Dawn 0.5) by Renee Ahdieh. Read March 3. 3 Stars.

This works as a nice deleted scene to The Wrath and the Dawn. I wish it was a little longer, though.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik. Read March 6. 3.5 Stars

A pretty decent Pride and Prejudice re-telling with likable main characters. Super cute and a quick read.

Chasing Jane by Noelle Adams. Read March 5-6. 3 Stars.

A cute, fast, romantic read. I liked the premise of the Jane Austen/Jane Eyre tour of England and wish the book would’ve been long enough to really explore that, though.

Hidden Bodies (You #2) by Caroline Kepnes. Read March 3-6. 4 stars.

It’s probably wrong how much I love Joe. He is one crazy, messed up, scary guy. But I couldn’t stop rooting for him. Kepnes writes him in such a way that I am SO in his head that his craziness almost makes sense. I thought the book was a little too drawn out and the ending was left a little too open to be completely satisfying, but it was overall a compulsively readable, enjoyable book.

Last First Kiss (Brightwater #1) by Lila Riley. Read March 9-11. 3 Stars.

This was a pretty average romance, but mostly enjoyable. I liked Sawyer. He was very sweet. Occasionally I thought he was a little TOO into Annie too fast (a couple times I almost found him creepy), but overall he was likable.

The Heir and the Spare by Emily Albright. Read March 17-19. 3 Stars.

A solid mix of adorable and cheesy. It’s a shame the synopsis basically gives everything away, though (not the author’s fault, though). We know Edmund is a prince so it’s not as fun as it should’ve been waiting for Evie to figure it out. We know who Evie’s mother was well before the 100+ pages it took for Evie to confirm it.

It’s also a bit of a mix of Princess Diaries and Anna and the French Kiss, but doesn’t quite live up to either. (Evie even says once, “I’d felt like I was in a bad remake of The Princess Diaries.”) The “quest” letters from her mother didn’t play as big a role as I thought it would.

Overall, though, it was pretty cute. I liked Evie, though she did have some moments where she “stuck up for herself” which just made her sound bratty and immature. And Edmund was SO SWEET. I just loved him. He did a few dumb things, of course, but he’s definitely book boyfriend material.

Married ’til Monday (Chapel Springs #4) by Denise Hunter. Read March 20-21. 4 Stars.

I really enjoyed this book. My hold came in at the library and I wasn’t sure if I was in the mood to read it, but decided to give it a try and couldn’t put it down. I really liked the characters, Ryan especially. I liked that it involved two of my favorite romance tropes: The Fake Relationship and The Second-Chance Romance. I liked that Abby finally realized she had some issues and worked on them instead of just jumping back into a relationship and let a guy “fix” her. I thought it did run just a tad long, though. Overall, I really liked it and I’ll be going back to read the first books in the series.

Barefoot Summer (Chapel Springs #1) by Denise Hunter. Read March 26-27. 3 stars.

This book brought me out of a book slump, but it ended up being just ok for me. I liked it to start with, but I thought it just dragged on a little too long. A lot of repetition. And this is the first book in a series and I’ve already read the last book in the series and there are some continuity issues with the character who the last book focuses on which annoyed me a little.
Overall, though, it was a sweet romance with likable characters and a good message woven in.

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RE-READS

     

The Lynburn Legacy: Unspoken, Untold, and Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan. I completely adore this series and I love it just as much every time I read it. I really thought I was finally going to get a review written for Unmade, but it still didn’t happen. Maybe next time.

The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh. I wanted to re-read this before the next book comes out. I enjoyed it, but I found myself skimming parts of it, too.

Reviewing the Unreviewed: January 2016

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.

Cold Shot (Chesapeake Valor #1) by Dani Pettrey. Read December 30-January 1. 4 stars.

I think this is Pettrey’s best book yet. Review to come closer to release date.

Jesse’s Girl (Hundred Oaks) by Miranda Kenneally. Read January 2. 3 stars.

I liked the first half of this book that focused on Maya’s and Jesse’s first day together more than I did the rest of the book. There were several cute moments and I did like their relationship overall, but I have the same issues I have with pretty much every other book I’ve read in this series. I think the casual view on sex is irresponsible for the YA demographic and I don’t like the way Christians are portrayed. They are always hypocritical clichés and nothing more and it’s kind of offensive.

Overall, though, the book was a fast easy read and since I’m trying to be more generous with ratings, it gets 3 stars.

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini. Read January 2-3. 3 stars.

This was pretty interesting. Scientology has always kind of interested me (not in a “hey, I want to join” way, but in a “Tom Cruise is kind of weird” way). One thing that I really wanted was a big section on Remini’s role on Saved by the Bell (she will ALWAYS be Stacy Carosi to me), but it was only briefly mentioned in like two sentences. I also wish there was more of her time on The King of Queens, which was a show I enjoyed. Overall, though, interesting and informative on Scientology. I’m glad she found her way out from under it.

The Widow by Fiona Barton. Read January 5-9. 3.5 Stars

The Widow is not really what I expected it to be. That’s always the problem when a book is compared to Gone Girl. I expected gleefully crazy psychopaths and shocking twists, but there is none of that to be found in this book. That’s not a bad thing, of course, on it’s own. But since my expectations were not met, I feel just a bit let down by it. So let my reading experience inform yours. This book is not like Gone Girl. But it is an intriguing, thoughtful, character-driven mystery that’s worth the read. Full review to come closer to release date.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn. Read January 9. 4 stars.

This short story was a quick, easy read and was pretty much everything I expect from Flynn. Part of me wishes she would’ve made this into a full-length novel, but I think the slightly unsatisfying ending would have been much harder to swallow if it were a full length book (like Gone Girl). It creeped me out a bit and left my head spinning and just made me want MORE from Flynn. Seriously, I’m ready for the next book!

Hired Bride (Beaufort Brides #1) by Noelle Adams. Read January 10-11. 3 Stars.

This wasn’t quite as cute as I wanted it to be. I love a good fake-relationship story, but I thought this focused too much on them trying to fool themselves instead of other people. And it skipped over a lot of the getting-to-know-you parts and focused a lot more on the, ahem, intimate moments, which were kind of graphic. Still, though, it was an overall cute book.

Alice in Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter. Read January 14-15. 3 stars.

A little Twilight, a little The Mortal Instruments, a touch of Mean Girls. I didn’t like this book as much as I thought I would after I read a few of really great reviews on it. I thought the pace was a little too slow and it was a lot more high school drama than I thought it would be. There were a few cute moments between Cole and Ali, though.
In the dedication in the beginning, the author talks about how when she was writing this she was sick and she started seeking the Lord so I was kind of expecting this to be a little more Christian fiction and it wasn’t. There was definitely way more teenage sex than I expected.
I got this from the library in a bundle, so I’ll probably read the next books to see if they pick up a little more.

Anything for You (Blue Heron #5) by Kristan Higgins. Read January 15-17. 3.5 Stars

Another cute story by Kristan Higgins. I liked the inclusion of a character with developmental disabilities. I liked Connor and Jess grew on me. I wish there was a little more of some of the characters from the other books. Some of the themes were a little reminiscent of some of Higgan’s other books – most notably The Next Best Thing, but since that’s one of my favorites, I was ok with it.

Through the Zombie Glass (White Rabbit Chronicles #2) by Gena Showalter. Read January 17. 3 stars.

This book could have been about 100 pages shorter. There wasn’t much happening until about the last quarter or so of the book. There were love triangles (squares?) hinted at in the beginning, but I’m thankful that they didn’t become a main plot point. I still have one more book in the bundle from the library, so I’m going to continue with the series.

Flirting with Fame by Samantha Joyce. Read January 18-19. 3.5 stars.

Pretty cute with a great concept, but the characters were often hard to like. Full review to come closer to release date.

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RE-READS

  

All I Ever Wanted and The Perfect Match by Kristan Higgins. Higgins can always help me get through book slumps.

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DNF

The Queen of Zombie Hearts (White Rabbit Chronicles #3) by Gena Showalter. I tried. Really I did. When they’re fighting zombies or trying to figure out what Anima is up to, I was interested, but every time it focused on Cole and Ali’s relationship or Ali’s friends (who got on my very last nerve) I just couldn’t stop rolling my eyes. I’ve read enough reviews that I can kind of piece together the big events of how the story resolves so I think it’s time to give this series up.

Reviewing the Unreviewed: November

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.

So due to NaNoWriMo I did not have a very big reading month, so this post will be pretty short! The only books I read and wrote book reviews for was The Mime Order (The Bone Season #2) by Samantha Shannon and Suspicion by Alexandra Monir (but that was after I won NaNo).

Someday Maybe (Definitely Maybe #2) by Ophelia London. Read October 30 – November 2. 3 stars.

I really loved Definitely Maybe as a Pride and Prejudice re-telling. I was super excited for this book because it’s a Persuasion re-telling, which is definitely one of my favorite Jane Austen books. I was left a little disappointed. It didn’t have as many of the pivotal scenes I would’ve liked. It was a little more like most re-tellings that I’m used to reading, which has more of an “inspired by” vibe. However, it was still a cute read and I’ll read whatever re-telling London puts out next!

Yes Please by Amy Poehler. Read November 17-21. 3.5 stars.

For the most part I found this book enjoyable and funny. I would’ve liked more info on Parks and Rec, though. Some chapters weren’t as funny or interesting as others, but of the three Funny Lady memoirs I’ve read (this, Mindy Kaling’s book, and Tina Fey’s book), this was probably my favorite.

Married for Christmas (Willow Park #1) by Noelle Adams. Read November 23-25. 3 stars.

This is currently a FREE ebook at Barnes and Noble

This was a cute, quick read. I liked that the characters were Christians, yet this wasn’t a “Christian Fiction” book. There’s even a note in the beginning of the book that this is not an “inspirational” read, but the faith of the characters is just one aspect of their lives. Despite not being “inspirational”, I still thought there was some great messages conveyed in the story, without every being preachy.

To almost make up for the religious aspects of the book, there were a few graphic scenes. I couldn’t done without those, but they were your typical romance style scenes and easily skimmed over.

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BACK ON THE TBR SHELF

The Jewel (The Lone City #1) by Amy Ewing. I just couldn’t get into this book. Maybe it was because I was coming towards the end of NaNoWriMo and was more focused on writing than reading. Or it just failed to interest me, despite the oh so pretty cover. Either way, I’m not ready to DNF it, so back on the TBR shelf it goes!