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bookrecsbyjess's reviews
934 reviews
A Token of Love by Carrie Turansky
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Trafficking
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity
Gild by Raven Kennedy
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
Wow, this was disgusting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Sexual content
Don't Tell Me Twice by Dani Ryan
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
While it does mention it in the content warnings at the beginning of the book, I didn’t realize how big of a plot point it would be for the main character losing a parent. It’s too triggering for me right now to read.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Can't Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to SMP Romance for the ARC of Can’t Help Falling in Love by Sophie Sullivan. All opinions are my own.
This was such a cute book. I loved that it had sweet relationships while also dealing with some heavier topics such as grief.
Will and Lexi’s relationship was adorable from the very beginning. I loved their meet cute, and I enjoyed watching Will treat Lexi so well through all of their circumstances.
Lexi was a good protagonist that had some commitment issues, but I overall liked her. Will was the star of the book for me because he was just so charming and thoughtful.
Besides Will’s parents, I did really like his family as well as his best friend. They welcomed Lexi right into their group, and I would love to read more stories about them.
Lexi’s mom definitely had her issues, but I understood where they came from. I liked seeing her transform throughout the story. She was definitely struggling with grief, but I thought she handled it as well as she could. Also, she made some much-needed progress in the second half of the story.
Lexi’s best friend was so amazing and caring towards her and her mom. She was honest with her even when it’s not what Lexi wanted to hear. While Lexi’s high school friends seemed shallow at first, they did end up growing on me.
Overall, this was an enjoyable romance book that I would recommend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Runaway Bride and Prejudice by Emma St. Clair
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Thank you to the author for the ARC of Runaway Bride and Prejudice by Emma St. Clair. All opinions are my own.
Runaway Bride and Prejudice is book five in the Appies Hockey series. While it can be read as a standalone, it is best read in order.
I absolutely loved this book! Besides all the fun tropes I knew about going into the story, there were some surprise tropes and hilarious moments of drama.
Van was such a lovable and flirty MMC. I loved how he interacted with his teammates and with Amelia. He was so thoughtful, funny, and protective towards Amelia.
I loved that Amelia learned to stand up to her dad and that Van seemed to bring out the best of Amelia.
The group chat with the hockey players was so fun, and I loved getting to know more about each guy through that chat.
There were so many moments that made me gasp or shriek because they were unexpected or just made me so happy.
Here is a quote that I loved from Van: "I don't come close to being good enough for Amelia. But if she were mine? I would never let her go. I would spend every waking day and every single breath just hoping I could show her the love she deserves."
Overall, this book was an absolute delight and I’m sad that I finished it so quickly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent
Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of Given Our History by Kristyn J. Miller. All opinions are my own.
Given Our History is a second chance romance with dual timelines. It follows Clara and Teddy as they grow up together, lose touch, and then find themselves together again.
I usually love second chance romances, especially when they include scenes from the past.
My favorite part of this book was the chapters set in the past. I especially enjoyed the ones where Clara and Teddy were still teenagers.
While I thought this book was fine, I was disappointed in a few aspects.
The present-day storyline was very slow paced. Nothing really happened in it until after the halfway mark. I also don’t feel like Clara had really matured much from her teenage years; she was still making the same mistakes instead of learning from them.
I really liked Teddy as a character, but I thought that he deserved better than the way Clara treated him. He was patient and forgiving in ways that Clara didn’t deserve. I think in general, Clara was just a really hard character to root for because she seemed so selfish and so focused on a career that she didn’t even love that she threw away her relationships.
Overall, I would only recommend this book to some people if you like career-minded women and slower paced romances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Injury/Injury detail