caffeinatedcrystal's reviews
256 reviews

This book was dramatic af AND all the characters are unlikable. But why did I like the two mmc's anyway?! It's a true conundrum.

Jamie and Chaz are pining childhood besties. But Chaz is married to a woman [and I have SO MUCH TO SAY about her, but I can't because of spoilers] and he thinks Jamie is straight. Jamie loves Chaz and is prepared to be miserable and pine alone forever... and maybe sleep with Chaz doppelgangers to get through the loneliness.

Then WE LEARN THINGS.
BIG THINGS. 👀

There is cheating in this book, but not between Chaz/Jamie. Less spoilery and more of a warning.

I wanted these two to get it together SO MUCH. They obviously belong with each other, but god, they are both MESSES. Like, how are they even alive?

Pippen Creek is gonna be a wild series. Jamie's dad was great, and I bet his book, the next book, is gonna be smoking hot. I bet he's a freaky deaky. I can't wait!

This love story was a mess. It felt real. Real as in ✨️maybe you CAN make it work with your ex. Let's call them & bang it out and then be surprised it didn't solve everything✨️ But it all still surprisingly worked out.

I'm glad Chaz and Jamie worked their issues/trauma/grief/madness out & got to their HEA. It was an adventure getting there.

RETURNING YOUR LOVE will be available on the 20th.

What a sweet, rom-com, adorable adventure!  10 WAYS TO ACCIDENTALLY FALL IN LOVE was like laying in the warm patch of sunshine during winter. It was like the happiness of the first sip of coffee in the morning or the comfort of warm clothes fresh out of the dryer. Perfect for the reader who loves sweet and funny romances packed with feels and oblivious innuendos.

BRAD 💕 the Brad. He first showed up in HIMBO, and honestly, we all wanted more of him. This adorkable and oblivious "straight" guy. The human equivalent of sunshine and friendship. Brad is like an uber-hot friendship care bear. He's kind and sweet and friendly.

JOEY, our other mmc, meets Brad at the gym. He shoots his shot -> and Brad thinks it's a friendship shot. What follows is flirting & unknown flirting. Dates that aren't dates. Nicknames and ridiculousness that shouldn't be adorable, but 100% is.

Joey and Brad have the funniest and cutest adventure. The absolute minimum amount of angst and NO miscommunication except for the whole "straight" thing.

I laughed so much. Lewis and Logan. The Elite guys showing up. Mama D! Greg! The puns, oh my lord, the PUNS. It was an absolute riot.

I loved these two together. I loved their love story. Just two enormously kind dudes finding their one. A sunflower and a bee. Stamens and pollen gallore.

This is my Brad. The superior Brad.

10 WAYS TO ACCIDENTALLY FALL IN LOVE will be released February 20th. Y'all, this is the perfect ✨️cheer me up✨️ pick-me-up story. Perfect if you love love and have a heart.

What a sweet, hilarious, and unexpected surprise!

HANDY is book 8 in the Four Bears Construction series by KM Neuhold - and it was an absolute delight!

Picture this: neighbors. One is a grumpy, solitary grizzly bear construction worker that communicates in grunts and growls. The other is a sunshiney, chatty, and bear- obsessed park ranger that has his eyes set on his delectable neighbor.

These two were SO CUTE I COULD PASS AWAY. The touchstarved bear and the sunshine man with his trash panda.

I literally can not.

This was a low angst read with silly innuendos, bear puns, and a scene with butter that might seem a little familiar 👀 along with three series worth of characters popping in for quick cameos.

Other honerable mentions for favorite parts: the carnival 😂😂😂, the secret admirer, bingo!, the morning coffee ritual, and "is that a new water stain?"

I loved the hell out of this story. I needed the laughs that Griff and Ledger brought to the table 💕 and the kitchen floor. And the shower. And the truck bed. 👀

I loved this story, and more specifically, I loved SAM.

DEVOTED is book two in Lark's Seraphim series. We get angels finding their fated mates, and in this one, Zeke finds his mate in Sam.

This is always the hard part - writing a spoiler free review.

Even if I didn't love this story (which I absolutely did), I would still be giving this book 5 stars based on the OCD rep ALONE. Sam's journey with his OCD, GAD, and sensory processing disorder resonated so hard with me. He was trying so hard to just get by. OCD and intrusive thoughts are intense and can be so debilitating. Your own brain trying to trick you and trip you up. I know how that goes.

Sam was amazing. And Zeke, with his own issues, was his perfect match. Truly. Zeke's kindness, patience, and understanding was beautiful to read. The Seraphim were an amazing found family, and I loved how they embraced Sam into their group. 

I enjoyed Zeke and Sam's love story, and I am loving this whole crew of characters. Each story is packed with BIG FEELS, and Devoted didn't disappoint.

I like the easter eggs for longtime readers. Seeing previous characters pop up is always a treat. Lark is so good at that. And finding out that HARLOW was [redacted!] - I was absolutely shook.

I think Cal and Oscar will always be my favorite... but Matty and Sam are a close second for sure. I love this series, and this take on fated mates. Lark never lets me down.

DEVOTED will be available February 19th!

4⭐️

A little palette cleansing with a hetero mafia story 😂😂😂 it really does the trick. I've been finding it difficult to concentrate the last few days, understandably.

So, MAFIA & MAID is just as ridiculous as you'd expect from the title. But I kept reading it, determined to see how the story played out.

Rosa, desperate for a job to earn money to support and set up a new life for her son, starts working as a live-in cook/maid for a mafia family. She is skittish and recovering from a super nasty and abusive ex, so you'd think hulking mafiosos would be a bad choice, but they're all secret softies.

Camillo is down bad for Rosa from the start, and he literally does everything he can to support and care for her. 

But Rosa has multiple demons in her past, and her past is always trying to catch up with her.

Things I loved about this story:

💕 Camillo is a brutish enforcer but wants to be considered "more than a monster." He was a secret softie, and he fell SO HARD for Rosa, so fast. 

💕 Ethan, Rosa's son, was a little treasure, and Camillo's relationship with him was ADORABLE.

💕 Rosa's strength in leaving and SURVIVING.

There were a few things I didn't love, too. Poor Rosa had a terrible family, and they were vicious and cruel. Rosa was such an awesome character, I hated seeing the "plus size and hating it" trope play out - but really, her family really did do a number on her.

And for as bad ass as Rosa was, girl, get it together. Camillo, you too. Damn.

This book was a trip. Did I love it? No. But I enjoyed it enough to finish, and I already downloaded the next book in the series for the next time I need de-book-slump read. It was good. The story was engaging enough to pull me along and keep me invested.

This was a complete me dnf. I'm picky with enemies to lovers stories, and Luca and Victor were not for me. But I guarantee their story will 100% be for others. 

Total mood thing. Not feeling the thriller/killer/ stalker & savior vibe.

Total mood DNF. Not the vibe for me.

Didn't feel the chemistry & besties to lovers is usually my jam! There was a WHOLE lot of internalized homophobia on one mcs part and I just wasn't in the mood to read it.

Unlikeable characters except for the kiddo. I just couldn't care.