Reviewing the Unreviewed: March 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.

To Sir Phillip, With Love (Bridgertons #2) by Julia Quinn. Read March 8-11. 4 Stars.

I have been eagerly anticipating Eloise’s book and while I enjoyed it, I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I expected to. It took me awhile to figure out what wasn’t working for me, and it was half way through when her brothers show up that I realized I was missing the other Bridgertons. The banter that I love wasn’t as present in this installment of the series due to the Bridgertons not being around for most of the book and also that Phillip is on the quieter side. I also was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see much of the initial letters that led up to their meeting and their wedding was glossed over. Though we did get to see more of it in the previous book, I wanted to see it from Eloise and Phillip’s point of view. And I know this sounds like a lot of complaints, but they’re small nitpicky things and I did end up enjoying this. I will be eagerly waiting the next book in the series to become available at the library.

Too Good to be True by Carola Lovering. Read March 5-12. 2 Stars. 

I found this really disappointing. I kept hearing about great twists, but there was absolutely nothing in this book that was surprising. Maybe if you’ve read very few books in this genre? Still, though, at least one of the “twists” was super obvious from very early on and wasn’t “revealed” until after half way through the book. I was waiting for a really explosive ending, but everything that happened just made me roll my eyes.

Love at First by Kate Clayborn. Read March 4-13. 4 Stars. 

Quirky, romantic, a little sad, and sweet. I really ended up enjoying this book. I loved Will and Nora and all their neighbors. Though it took me just a bit to get into the story (I think that probably had more to do with my mood at the time I started it than the book itself), once I did, I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down. While it was just a little longer than I thought it needed to be, it was such a sweet story and I’m really looking forward to checking out more by this author.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn. Read March 17-18. 4 Stars. 

I struggled a little with how to rate this. There wasn’t really much to the plot for most of the book, it could get pretty cheesy, and the big dramatic turn it takes in the last quarter or so of the book seemed a little out of nowhere – and in how it impacted Meg a little on the unrealistic side. However, the romance was cute and sweet, there was some good humorous moments, it made me want to learn calligraphy, and I did overall enjoy the reading experience, so I’m going to boost my rating up to 4 stars.

To Have and to Hate by R.S. Grey. Read March 18-19. 4 Stars. 

This was a cute marriage of convenience story. I got a little frustrated with the lack of communication and would have liked Elizabeth’s relationship with her family a little more explored. Overall, though, it was a quick read that I enjoyed.

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

A Simple Murder (Kate Burkholder series novellas) by Linda Castillo. I was in a big book slump for the last week and a half or so and by the time I finally felt like reading again, I only got through one of the stories before my library book expired. I will definitely try this again later, though. 

*****DNF*****

A Court of Silver Flames (A Court of Thorns and Roses #4) by Sarah J. Maas. DNF @ 4%. Yes, I only read a couple chapters of this, but I couldn’t really force myself to read anything more. I looked at a lot of other reviews and there was nothing in them that made me think it would be worth it to me to finish the book.

Take it Off the Menu by Christina Hovland. DNF @ 36%. I thought this sounded cute, but I never really connected with it. I didn’t think the main character was very likable and I hate when poor communication is a major plot point.

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

 

Where Secrets Lie by Eva V. Gibson – 2 Stars

WWW Wednesday: March 10, 2021

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

What did you recently finish reading?

Bookshop by the Sea by Denise Hunter. This ended up being 3 stars for me. My review will post next week.

What are you currently reading?

Love at First by Kate Clayborn. I’m kind of in a mood where things aren’t really catching my interest and I’m not totally invested in this yet, but I do like the characters so far.

Too Good to be True by Carola Lovering. This is a book I’ve been highly anticipating, but I’m kind of bored with it so far. And I feel like I already have the big twist figured out, but it feels so obvious that I’m sure there has to be another twist coming.

To Sir Phillip, with Love (Bridgertons #5) by Julia Quinn. This is the one that’s keeping my attention the most right now. I like it so far, but not as much as I thought I would. I’m hoping this is due to my weird mood and I’ll get over it.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Winning the War in Your Mind by Craig Groeschel. I did a mini devotional series based on this in The Bible app recently and it kind of spoke to me, so I bought the book.

What are you reading?

Reviewing the Unreviewed: August

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.

Act Like You Love Me (Accidentally in Love #2) by Cindi Madsen. Read August 11-12. 3 stars.

Not as cute as the first book in the series. This one had an Importance of being Earnest theme that annoyed me. But it was still kind of cute.

Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) by Richelle Meade. Read August 2-13. 3 stars.

It took me until the final chapters to really get into this book. Most of the book was a 2 star read for me, until *SPOILER* Adrian and Sydney were reunited and they got married!

Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss #3) by Stephanie Perkins. Read August 14-15. 3 stars.

In most ways this book was just as adorable as the rest of the series. However, it was also pretty heavy on the over dramatic. I thought Isla and Josh’s relationship was a little too intense for their level of maturity. Their problems were all self-inflicted, but I like that it led both of them to learn more about themselves and for Isla especially to learn to accept herself and realize how hard she is on herself. The cameos of the other couples in the series was way too short, though there was a nice moment for Anna and St. Claire. Overall, it was a cute book for sure, but not my favorite of the series.

Four: A Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth. Read August 14-17. 1 star.

I was hoping that this book would in some small way make up for Allegiant. Or make me fall for Four again. It did not. *Sigh*    

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BACK ON THE TBR SHELF

Ruins (Partials Sequence #3) by Dan Wells. Got it once again from the library and it expired before I got to it.

Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed by Michelle Knight. Whether you’re from Northeast Ohio, like me, or not, you’ve probably heard about Ariel Castro and how the 3 girls he kidnapped were finally freed last year. I don’t usually read much non-fiction, but since this story is so close to home, I wanted to read it. I didn’t get very far in this before I stopped. For one, I think it could use a lot more editing. The narrative sounded a little too childish and almost painful to read – not even taking into account the content. The second was this Note to Readers in the beginning of the book: In recounting the events in this memoir, chronologies have been compressed or altered and details have been changed to assist the narrative… Is this the norm for non-fiction books?? To me it almost sounds like the details of what happened are not going to be accurate. However, I still want to eventually read this.

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RE-READ

Too Good to be True by Kristan Higgins. After reading Forbidden, I needed something light and sweet to read. Kristan Higgins always does the trick.