jkreads's reviews
67 reviews

Reckless by Elsie Silver

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5⭐️

This book was a tender and heartbreaking exploration of intergenerational trauma, race and sexuality. There was so much pain in this book, which was compounded by the fact that the characters were running out of time to lay it all to rest before Mama Letty passed away.

This was shaping up to be a five star read to me right up until the reveal of who killed Jade’s mother. I just felt like the reasoning behind it didn’t make sense given that it was apparently well known around town that her father was having an affair and therefore the only person who would really be hurt by her death was Jade, an innocent little girl. Idk, maybe the fact it didn’t make sense was the whole point but it just felt like the author was tying up a thread that could have been left loose.

I would really recommend this as a great coming-of-age story, the writing is beautiful and I look forward to checking out Jas Hammonds’ next novel ‘Thirsty’ once it releases!
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The Rule Book by Sarah Adams

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was NOT expecting to love this as much as I did! I went into this expecting a fun silly little time, as is usually the case when I read a romance involving a sport I know nothing about. I was not expecting heartbreaking discourse around adult diagnosis of dyslexia, and I was certainly not expecting it to make me cry. I don't have dyslexia but I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, and I related so deeply to many of the feelings that Derek described when speaking about his childhood. I think most people who have received a late diagnosis of something similar would feel the same. To me it felt so well written, the emotions surrounding the diagnosis so beautifully captured and described.

Anyone who has followed me for a while knows that miscommunication is one of my most hated tropes in a romance. The Rule Book flirted with this occasionally, mostly in flashbacks, but I felt the author managed to create conflict in the narrative without having to resort to full on, frustrating miscommunication. We love!

My other favourite part of this book was the friendship between Nora and Nicole. As the only two women working in a male-dominated workplace, it would have been easy to have them in competition with each other. Instead they lifted each other up and supported each other. Without spoiling anything, I adored where these two ended up.

The Rule Book would be a great read for anyone wanting something heartwarming, raw, vulnerable and emotional.
You don't have to be a sporty person to understand this - Lord knows I know nothing about American football. For a story that revolves around it, there isn't much football talk. You also don't have to have read the first book in the series (The Cheat Sheet) to enjoy this one, it's a true interconnected standalone. I actually still haven't read The Cheat Sheet yet and with the way my TBR is looking, I doubt I will any time soon. Hopefully one day though!
Queen of the Tiles by Hanna Alkaf

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did but it had me hooked very quickly! It gave me the same vibes as the early seasons of Pretty Little Liars (don’t judge me okay!) with the dead friend supposedly sending messages from beyond the grave. The mystery element combined with the world of competitive Scrabble isn’t something that you would expect to mesh together well, but it really did in this case.

The themes of parental pressure, discovering who you are and building confidence are all things you can generally expect to find in most YA novels, and this was no exception.

I felt this book explored these themes quite well. I really enjoyed the main character Najwa’s journey of not only finding herself, but stepping out of her best friend’s shadow. I do wish we’d gotten to know Najwa a little better, it felt like we only scratched the surface of what felt was a great main character.

I’ve seen some reviews from people saying they didn’t like the ending, that it felt anti-climactic, but I personally disagree. I felt it was an ending that was realistic, if not a little melodramatic. I really enjoyed this book and felt like the Scrabble setting really differentiated it from all the other YA books I’ve read lately.
La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono

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challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

La Bastarda (The Bastard) was the first novel by a female Equatorial Guinean writer to be translated into English and due to its lesbian MC, it is currently banned in Equatorial Guinea. These two things, along with the fact that the author herself is bisexual and an outspoken advocate for LGBTQI+ issues, made this feel like a perfect pick for The Diverse Baseline March prompt A: a translated book by a BIPOC author.

La Bastarda is a novella, and an easy one to read in one sitting. Although I loved the themes and ideas in this book, the writing style felt clunky at times to me. This could have been a translation issue, but I’ve read other translated books that didn’t have this problem.

The main issue I had with the writing was that it felt like there was a lot of telling, not a lot of showing. There were chunks of dialogue that felt unnatural and forced, and were very much just there to make sure the reader was getting the point. Whenever a book does this it just feels like the author doesn’t have enough trust in their audience to understand the point they’re trying to make. In the case of this novel, the point was clear without the paragraphs of unnecessary exposition. 

A LOT happens plot-wise in this book for how short it was. Possibly a little too much, as some of the plot points felt rushed and unrealistic, but overall I enjoyed it and was glad there was a relatively happy ending.
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Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Edenglassie was a searing, emotional journey through time and culture. It shifts between two timelines; that of Mulanyin and Nita in the 1850s, and that of Winona, Johnny and Granny Eddie in 2024. 

The narrative jumps between timelines were seamless and I loved how beautifully all the plot threads were slowly pulled together to create the beautiful tapestry that made up this book. It was a challenging, heartbreaking, hopeful, romantic, soul-crushing, heartwarming read that broke me and put me back together over and over again. Melissa Lucashenko’s writing is beautiful and the audiobook narration was great too. For a book that dealt with so many huge and awful topics, it was very easy to read and I struggled to put it down! It was the kind of book I actually missed when I wasn’t reading it.

I really valued seeing different experiences of colonialism and connection to culture represented in this book - especially those of Winona who was brought up Aboriginal, and Johnny who only found out he was Aboriginal and connected to mob and culture later in life. Winona’s reaction to Johnny’s indigenous identity felt both jarring and also completely understandable. 

I don’t want to give too much away in this review because I truly think everyone deserves to experience this book for themselves but the reveal in the end about how Mulanyin and Nita’s story ended had me in an absolute state while driving to work and finishing up the audiobook. It felt inevitable but it also somehow knocked the wind out of me. It’s been a while since I felt gut-punched by a book but this one did it, well and truly! I’ll be thinking about this one for a long time.
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Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5⭐️

{ARC review - big thanks to Quercus Books for the early copy in exchange for my honest review}

This was a fun time! This book is the second book in the Rebel Blue Ranch series and I actually haven’t read book one (Done and Dusted) yet, I meant to before starting this one buuuuuut as the pub date for this rapidly approached (and then passed 😅) I gave up on that. Swift and Saddled earned some points in that I could still understand everything that was going on very easily despite not having read the first book. Although this should be a given since they are interconnected standalones, it isn’t always the case. The exposition didn’t feel over the top or clunky, it was weaved in well and I felt it made sense given that I was learning who these people were along with our FMC Ada, who was a newcomer to town.

There is male mental health rep in our MMC Wes, who talks openly about his battle with depression. Points for that too because there is not nearly enough of this in books, or in real life! I’d love to see more of this in books, there is so much stigma around mental health and it seems an especially taboo topic for men, so every little bit of representation helps.

Swift and Saddled very much gave me the same vibes as the Chestnut Springs series so if you enjoyed those books, you will probably love this!
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5⭐️

I had really high hopes for this one which I probably should have tempered going into it, because it may have affected how I perceived the book overall. I was really drawn in at the start and it felt really promising, but I felt like there were too many characters and plot points going on towards the middle and end of the book which really impacted the author‘s ability to explore them all adequately.

The MC and the ensemble characters all showed great potential but I feel like we only got to know them on a surface level. Same with the world-building and magic system - it was interesting, with a lot of potential but the depth just wasn’t there.

I loved seeing a non-binary romantic interest, that’s something I’d love to see more representation for in YA fiction and just fiction in general!

I read this book on audio and would highly recommend doing that if you’re wanting to check this one out - the narration was great! I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for books read by Lynnette R. Freeman in the future because her voice is gorgeous.

Overall this was a pretty solid YA fantasy, again I think if I hadn’t set my expectations so high I would have enjoyed it much more. This is definitely one I’ll recommend to anyone looking for a witchy YA read!
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Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Mortgage of Convenience by Dani McLean

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I wanted to love this book so badly. I love a forced proximity, second chance romance but I feel like for both of those tropes to work well there needs to be angst, and there was just none of that here. When the first smut scene hit at 40%, I honestly struggled to keep pushing through. The smut was not great, and because it hit so early on it made the rest of the book feel so long. As this was an e-arc it didn’t have page numbers so I was shocked when I looked this up and found out it was only 390 pages because it genuinely felt like at least 500 while I was reading it. 

I also cringed whenever the FMC was describing the MMC because she’d always act like he was some huge tough alpha dude (his last name is Wolfe, dontcha know!) but he just…wasn’t that. And that’s okay! He was a sweet, caring guy. I don’t understand the obsession with making every romantic love interest some big possessive alpha male. It’s one of my biggest icks in contemporary romance!

I think I would have given this book a higher rating if it were 100 pages shorter, long romances (anything over 350 pages generally) are not for me. If you are a fan of them though, don’t let my low rating put you off! You may love it.

{ARC review - thank you to NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review}