jrayereads's reviews
424 reviews

 Rating: 2.5 stars

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Thriller

As someone who rarely reads thrillers, it really says something when I guess the ending by the 3rd chapter. . . 

The premise of this was really interesting but by the time all the plot points spelled out in the book’s summary have come to pass, that is where the intrigue ends. There wasn’t really any additional tension built on top of what you’re told happens in the blurb. Both the reveal of the mystery and the emotional arcs of our characters were unsatisfying and I didn’t get a sense of what THE POINT was. 

I did like the writing though. There was definitely a melodrama to the prose, but these characters were going through very dramatic situations, so I guess it didn’t bother me.

I am interested to try something else from this author to see if, with a different premise, it might be more fleshed out and satisfying. 

 Rating: 2 stars

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Romance

While I do think this book was well written, there was absolutely no way for me to get past the batshit insane premise. As someone who has lost a sibling (though not to suicide), there would never be a scenario where someone who was involved with my brother’s death would ever be a potentially viable romantic partner. There could’ve been a lot of ways to make Grant an “enemy” in the “enemies to lovers” dynamic without him being the person who HIT HELEN’S SISTER WITH HIS CAR.

I finished the book because I had this sick curiosity of “how is she gonna make a HEA happen with this set-up??????”, knowing by the first chapter that there probably wasn’t anything the author could do to convince me of this couple. 

I liked the elements of sibling grief that didn’t relate to Grant - I think she captured the complexity of emotions that you feel in that situation. The guilt, anger, frustration, and resentment that you may feel in grieving a sibling were well portrayed. I also appreciated the parts about her parents and their immigrant story. I would’ve liked to get more of her relationship with them and how they grieved as a whole. 

Anyways. . . I could see myself reading something else by this author with a different premise, but this was just crazy and not in a fun way. 

 

Rating: 2 stars

Format: Ebook, Audiobook

Genre: Romance

girl, wtf was that third act breakup. This was about to be a 3 star read for me and then that shit happened. 

The writing is exceptionally cheesy and corny, but sometimes I’m in the mood for that kind of thing. While I was mostly entertained until the last 75%, the repetitiveness and absolutely INANE third act breakup left me so annoyed. This book could’ve been 200 pages shorter and ended without unnecessary conflict. Maybe I’ll continue with Garrett and Adam’s stories, because I did like them as characters, but wow that was crazy stupid. 

 

Rating: 2
Format: Physical book, Audiobook
Genre: Literary fiction

This book reminds me of that one girl on TikTok who does those “politics for the girlies” videos where she dumbs down complex ideas into vapid analogies of things that are perceived as feminine, like shopping or gossiping, as if women aren’t capable of engaging with nuanced and complicated topics if they aren’t covered in metaphorical pink glitter (no hate to that girl btw - I get that her intention is to be comedic).

I think the satire in books like this can work if I actually have characters that I can connect to that I can view the ridiculous world through their eyes. Damani is not that character. She’s a rideshare driver who is also taking care of her sick mother (and occasionally engages in elder abuse). She’s very involved with her own physique and falls in lust with a woman she drives for named Jolene. I didn’t feel connected to Damani and Jolene as individual characters or their dynamic as a couple.

Damani would have these moments of reflecting on the world and her bleak situation, but at other times she was written to be just as out of touch and unrealistic as everyone else. The dialogue was all very over the top and hyperbolic, so much so that I was typically rolling my eyes rather than finding it funny.

Anyways, I get what this was going for but it didn’t work for me. 

Rating: 4

Format: Physical book

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Okay, I get the hype - This really captured the addictive quality that early 2010’s YA fantasy had. Nothing crazy or super original as far as the world-building or magic system goes, but what it lacked in those elements it made up for in the characterization and relationship building between Rune and Gideon. They both had such understandable and strong motivations. I appreciate that Rune and Gideon felt equally matched in their individual skill sets - they were both in the wrong and both hurt each other BUT both had reasons to feel drawn to one another and build that emotional connection.

This book has the bones to have a really interesting conversation around how women are treated within their society and I would’ve liked to have seen Ciccarelli go deeper with those themes and ideas. The continual push from other characters towards Gideon to get Rune undressed/sleep with her so he could check her body for silver scars that would give her away as a witch felt VERY weird and uncomfortable every time it happened. I think in general that element of the book was underdeveloped and the exploitative nature of forcing witches to strip so their bodies could be checked could have been explored much more. There is a lot to be said there that relates to the way women’s bodies are being policed today. I would’ve liked to have seen Rune and other witches reflect on how those types of marginalization impacted them. 

Overall, this was fun and addictive to read and I’m looking forward to the second book. 

 

The audiobook narrator sounds like the Narrator from The Stanley Parable and it was extremely distracting to me (this is a compliment). Will need to read with my eyeballs. 

Extremely insta-lovey and I'm not vibing with the characters. I can also tell that this one is going to have more serious content (which isn't a bad thing) and I'm just not really in a place for that right now.