gia
tiktok got my ass
1.5 stars
20% in and so far... welp. there's fake OW drama, she looked out her window and saw him talking to another woman and he was smiling! craaaazy i know.
book started off pretty meh. it's my first book back in the werewolves genre (everything else has been from my wattpad days lmao) and this into wasn't giving what i wanted it to. MMC so far hasn't been anything attractive which kinda sucks bc i know at some point the hormones (is that what you'd call it?) kick in and she's gonna find him sooo attractive she'll basically throw herself at him and as a reader i'm just not gonna see anything worth liking. he's just so... boring? which is odd for a werewolf story. he feels more like a background piece than an active character.
it's not stated why they're together yet, he's pretty fucking rude, bordering mean, with the way he dismisses her. doesn't even concern himself with her. idk usually i love assholes in books but so far he's not even giving hot asshole, just asshole.
i don't plan on reading the next one.
I actually really enjoyed this, and I'm not sure if this is a good thing but I can see a few of the characters in myself and my friends. There were very little parts where I just wanted to get it over with, which usually happens to a lot of the books I read. 4.5 stars.
It's 4am and I just finished binge reading this book and I honestly don't even know what I read. 3/5 stars because it was interesting (?) enough to keep me reading until I finished the book but wtf was that ending?
Jules obviously plays a big role and the author tries to hide that in the beginning but at least give the readers some time with his character before the big reveal.
Nora. Fucking Nora. Sometimes I wanted to bash my head in because she was just so stupid. The choices she made and the rationale behind everything. And her lack of care that she might be going crazy because of her hallucinations. And her mom! Another thing that's annoying about many YA books is the lack of a real parental figure, her mother is only there when it's convenient for the author.
On a positive note, unlike many YA books that have a popular bitchy girl, the one in this book wasn't completely annoying but that's probably due to the author barely mentioning the character.
Patch was ... somewhat likable in his dark and intriguing way. I know I said Nora was stupid but I can see why she was attracted to him AT FIRST. Once shit hits the fan, you usually don't trust the man who's a likely suspect. I think he also made a rape joke at one point so that's obviously a negative.
Overall I'm not sure how to feel. I'll sleep on it and have a better idea when I wake up.
2.75
thoughts while reading:
- the amount of times gracie says “did I do something in another lifetime” LIKE OK WE GET IT RELAX (mind you this is only like 25% into the book)
- her inner monologue is fucking annoying
- 30% so far it's been repetitive and boring
- cartel storyline is actually SO dumb how is this even a major plot point
- gracie's constantly apologizing and saying thank you but like... the story hasn't progressed enough for her to be saying it this much
- imagine being imprisoned with someone and every time you speak she apologizes. just kill me already
- girl does not stop crying omg she's just like me!
- hate the butthole banter. please just say asshole instead, gracie curses anyway
- 60% I'm living for this angst
- some of his family is just trash, and i kinda wish there was a bigger focus on his siblings (or at least the ones that like her) befriending her more for a found family vibe. maybe that's just me but her going out with selene just isn't enough. gracie's been through a lot and i want better for her.
- this book is definitely he falls first, but girl could've a lot reciprocated the feelings and given us more than just her constantly noticing he's hot. BUT i will cut gracie some slack because she did often mention she's not well socialized.
- i like slow burn (how could you not if you read MZ?) but please give me better payout than that wtf i went through all that for crumbs.
and after that i just don't care. book is pretty forgettable. wish MZ did better because this could've been so good.
ALSO i'm sorry but i just can't imagine a hot MMC named alexander. sorry to all the alexander's out there but it just isn't for me.
3.5 STARS
the book isn't well written by any means, but it is interesting and that alone will keep me reading the series. it has clumsy exposition, violet is a mary sue, and xaden is a much more interesting character than she is. i just don't care for violet. tairn has to be my favorite character. all the other side characters felt flat.
idk. writing this review literally 2 minutes after i finished but it just didn't live up to the hype. this book was marketed to me as a fantasy with a romantic subplot. what i got instead was romance in a fantasy setting with a fantasy subplot. the fantasy aspect comes from the dragons, the world around them, and the powers but the dragons read like humans due to their personalities, the magic isn't at the forefront of anything, and the world building... i'm sorry but the reason this didn't read as fantasy for me is the lack of world building. this comes across as low fantasy and it just wasn't what i was expecting. i started liking the book more when i adjusted by expectations.
this book feels like 2023's version of FBAA.
rest in piss oliver
people might be dead but i guess romance isn't? bit of an odd side plot with what's been going on but i had to laugh at the letter at the end from arthur. what the fuck.
3.25 stars
oh she COOKED.
ngl book was a fucking snoozefest until 60% in. started to ramp up after that and honestly the last 10% saved this book. if not for that ending, this would've been 2 stars. and even now i'm being generous with the 3.5 bc the book is so fresh. writing was garbage but i had fun halfway through.
CONFLICTED BETWEEN GRIM AND ORO. I NEED GRIM TO GROVEL IN BOOK 2 PLEASE.
2.75
TRAIN WRECK. LMFAO. honestly kinda garbage but you just can't look away. not sure if i care enough to read the next book.
2 stars, maybe 2.5.
this would've been an easy 3.5 star read for me if the third act breakup didn't include unknown pregnancy, accidental miscarriage, and amnesia. fuck off. this was such a fun read until that happened. the amnesia part alone could've been it's own separate book, but instead we're dealing with it in the last 25%? i just. UGH. i won't lie, i considered DNFing at 80% but just skimmed until the end.
2.5 stars
she got the summer camp vibe right. i so badly wanted to like this but the direction it went In just didn't hit. i kinda went into it blind (as blind as you can with a title like the counselor in the thriller / mystery genres) and thought i'd be reading a slasher, not tax evasion :/
poppy and kieran both love cas so much they'll flirt and elevate their friendship into something more while he's getting tortured <3
also poppy knows her HEART MATE and love of her life sooo well that she can't tell him apart from his best friend during sex. for a book that was so descriptive with smut, we get a whole lot of nothing with the joining.
JLA should've stuck to a trilogy and hired a competent editor. glad i didn't pay for this trash. book has less planning for plot than the star wars sequel trilogy, i find that incredible.
RPF that makes it beyond ao3 makes me uncomfortable, especially since adam driver himself seems to be an extremely private person and wouldn't appreciate this. author didn't even change his name, she literally kept it as adam. adam DRIVEr, adam CARlsen. insane.
started 6/18/22 and tried reading it until 7/5/22 but i just couldn't force myself to try anymore of it
too much hype around the book for me to not give it another try but DNF for now 9/21/22
Filler. Get an editor and stop milking your series. Book could've been 400 pages shorter without literally losing any plot. Should've been 0 stars but goodreads won't let me rate it that.
If you're looking for a book similar to C.W. Farnsworth's Kiss Now, Lie Later, look elsewhere. It has the trope brother's rival but that's about as similar as these two books get.
DNF'd so I won't rate but if I forced myself to push through it would probably be 1 star.
I should've known this book was gonna be bad based on the prologue where Eli is talking about how hot he finds a 14-year old Ava.
“She's young. A baby. A cutie who's probably completely sheltered and thinks dicks are ugly and sex is gross. Meaning, she won't be interested in me. But she's adorable. I bet when she's older, she'll be stunning. Maybe when she's older, I'll get my chance. And make her mine.”
“I remember seeing her in the stands when I was a sophomore, thinking she was a hottie. And she was. Cute as can be. But now? Now she's like a walking wet dream. Okay, that was crass as f-ck, but it's true. She's pure fantasy material. Last time I saw her, she was a baby. a Freshman. She's a year younger than me. Daddy probably never lets that beauty out of the house - can you blame him? - so I'd peg her as completely inexperienced.”
gasp
“Ava was just a name. She meant nothing to me. Until I saw her that night. She's identical to her mom. Long blonde hair and green eyes. Bright smile. Taller than her mama. Doesn't have Autumn's big ol' titties either, which is a shame.”
it's 5am. I read this in one sitting. I'm still reeling in from the ending but holy fuck what a good read.
2.25?
no idea which man i was supposed to be rooting for since this isn't even RH but i didn't root for any of them. the ending wasn't even satisfying.
2.5
enjoyable to a point. usually a book like this should take me 1 sitting to finish but my godddd i had to walk away and come back with this one. i'd say the book stays interesting until 65% in, then it changes pace and moves too fast.
also sorry but they were TOO in love. it's been maybe 2 weeks. three tops. relax. a romance like theirs should've been more of a slow burn, especially because this is book one of a series.
i really wanted to like this, and maybe i'll read the next two just because there was enough sprinkles of zsadist that i'm curious now. but god i hate their names.
edit 1/23/23 changed from 2 to 2.5