kandisteiner's reviews
609 reviews

Omg... No one writes New Adult quite like Tijan! I fell in love with her when I read Fallen Crest High, practically asked her to marry me when I found out what a genuine person she was in real life, and now I think I'm about to buy her an island because she gave us CADEN! Bless herrrrr. *drops to knees*

New Adult is my favorite to write and my favorite to read. There's just something about that time in our lives, the discovery, college, the drama, all of it. It totally wraps me up, and Tijan has this unique flare to her writing that is like a quill signature. She writes these perfect bad boys, the misunderstanding between the main characters, all the angsty things I CRAVE. It's perfect!

Summer was hilarious. She just shined in this story. At first she was a little shy, a little awkward, and then she slowly started growing into herself and embracing the weird. I honestly think that should be a shirt she wore - #EmbraceTheWeird. It was such a joy to get inside her head and watch how her love and feelings toward those around her shifted once she really opened her eyes to who they were.

Caden... sigh, y'all. He is just YUMMY. I was in love with him almost from page one, but definitely halfway through and by the end I was just all heart butterflies and starry eyes. He makes me feel so GOOD. He's packed with feelings, and he's possessive and caring while also being smart and not just some hotheaded brute. I loved how he protected Summer and also asked her to look around more, to see what she was worth.

Them together... YESSSSS the angst! The little touches, the looks, the DOES HE LIKE ME IDK I CAN'T TELL haha I was so into it. I really wanted to die the first time they kissed, because it was just like fireworks in my hands (I had a paperback ARC because Tijan kind of wants to marry me too obviously). Every time they touched, whether it was steamy or sweet, I swooned. I love them together!

Another five star read from Tijan. We might as well just call her the NA Queen and bow down. I know I'd do so happily! :)

Dear Lord, I was a snotty mess in my reading hammock with this one. It was simply another B Cherry masterpiece. There are books you like, there are books you love, and then there are books that completely consume your soul - The Silent Waters is one of the latter. When your chest aches with every word you read, you know it's a soul-shattering book. Just beautiful!



Let me just start by saying Maggie May is a unique, fresh character and her story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. I am in absolute awe how well Cherry was able to capture the trauma Maggie experienced, and even more amazed by how she managed to find beauty in such a situation. I loved her connection to books, and the way reading helped her through her life. What a sad and yet incredible thing - sad to live only through books, incredible to have the chance to live at all through books. I found myself clutching my heart with tears in my eyes several times in this story, and almost all of those times were due to the strong emotions I felt for Maggie. She was just such a lovely character.

Brooks is like a book boyfriend on steroids. I love reading about heroes that respect and care for the heroines. I loved how he cared for her, brought her books, played music for her, shared his life experiences, and omg FIVE MINUTES *dies* I just can't. SO SWOONY. And you know what? Brooks isn't perfect. He breaks, too - just like Maggie - and that makes me love him even more. We all have flaws, they make us strong and beautiful, and I loved reading his journey and how he and Maggie helped each other through life.

What I loved most about this book is what I love about ALL of Brittainy Cherry's books - it was so WELL-WRITTEN that it's just almost ridiculous. Like, when I read Brittainy's books, I seriously want to quit writing. I feel like I should bow down screaming, "I'M NOT WORTHY!" You can just tell that every word, every sentence, every scene is well thought out. It's almost as if every sentence is treated as its own story. Absolutely stunning.

Five stars just seems too weak of a rating to express my feels. I laughed, I swooned, I fell in love. I cried, I ached, and I hoped. Every character had a beautiful story to tell, from parents struggling to keep their love alive through life's grief to a loving sister who finds herself along the way. I could read this book a million times and find a fresh breath of life every single time. Brittainy, if you're listening - please, PLEASE - don't stop writing! <3

I started reading DPT slowly, wanting to savor it piece by piece, but one plane ride was all it took for me to completely devour it without being able to control myself enough to stop. Faudet's writing isn't just poetic, it's unique -- it calls to the darkest parts of your mind, beckoning those thoughts you so often ignore to come into the light. Throughout this book I found myself thinking, I found myself feeling, and at times, I found myself blushing. As a romance writer and reader, I appreciate anyone who can capture the intense feelings of love (whether it be as serious as a decade-long relationship or as exciting as a newfound lust) well. In DPT, these emotions spill off the page, and not in a necessarily "classically" beautiful way, but in raw, gritty detail that I truly enjoyed. Looking forward to more from this poet!

Bad Penny is a bad betch. This is Staci Hart's steamiest, most hilarious writing yet, and I couldn't get enough. Between the hilarious one-liners that had me spitting out my wine and the steamy, intense scenes that had me blushing like a school girl, this romantic comedy was a home run for me.

Penny is me. She's you. She's pretty much every girl trying to figure out the dating world in 2017. Except SHE has a plan, one that's worked very well for her up until now -- until Bodie. And that's what I love most about this book. It's basically a role reversal. Here's this GIRL who doesn't have time for relationships, who doesn't want to get into feelings, who has a very strict 3 date rule. But how can you stop at just 3 nights with Bodie who is an absolute GOD in the sack, not to mention hilarious and smart to boot?

Hart always writes amazing characters, but the way these two interacted, the chemistry between them, the witty banter -- it was absolutely flawless. I fell in love right along with them, and I'm still reeling.

The Queen of romantic comedy is back and better than ever, proving yet again that no one writes sexy hilarity quite like Staci Hart. Bad Penny isn't just rom com gold, it's platinum.

If you want to laugh, read this book. If you want to swoon, read this book. And if you want to continue falling even more in love with Staci Hart and her brilliance, well... you get it. ;)

This is Staci Hart at her very best. Fun, sexy, and laugh-out-loud hilarious, Bad Penny is hands down my favorite romantic comedy of 2017. Simply brilliant!

I'm completely spent. A Little Too Late is yet another 5-star smash from Staci Hart. This unique take on the single dad storyline held me from the first page to the last, so much so that I seemed to fall into the pages and live inside them instead of in actual reality. I LOVE when a book can do that, can rip you from your own life and thrust you into another one entirely. Hart's writing in this is... just... unexplainably poignant. It's soft and beautiful, each chapter like a song written for the heart, this book like an album I want to listen to on repeat forever.

Charlie is hauntingly broken, and Hannah brings him back to life one tender moment at a time. She is everything I love in a heroine, strong and humble, kind and giving. And Charlie is the perfect Hero to balance her. The way they fall for each other, the tenderness, the forbidden feelings they fight only to give in because there's not other choice -- physically, emotionally -- they're just meant for each other. They can't fight it, and it's that feeling I love most in a romance novel, that hard fall into waiting arms. Add in the hilarious and well-written side characters (like Oma, the kids, and Hannah's best friend), and you've just got this incredibly unique book that you CAN'T put down -- especially with villains like Mary and Quinton.

What I loved most about this book was the culture woven into every page. Hannah is from the Netherlands, and she brings her life and culture to the city, fusing it with Charlie and his family's own. It's amazing, the way they learn from each other, the soft and tender moments they have and the humorous ones, too. Like I said, every page of this book is just so RICH. It's like sitting down to eat one of those delectable pastries Hannah loves to bake, and I devoured every morsel, every crumb, and still wanted more.

If you loved A Thousand Letters, you will adore this story, too. The writing is lyrical and poignant, the romance so beautifully described, you'll feel like you're reading a modern day fairy tale set in New York City. It's a PERFECT fall read, one full of emotion and incredible scenery, with a poetic story of love, loss, and rebirth. An absolute MUST READ for 2017!

Ugh. Bleck. I feel gross that I even entertained this book. However, I am giving it 3 stars because it hooked me enough to make me finish it, it made me laugh a few times with the offensive humor (before it grew extremely old and tired), and it gave an interesting insight not into the average American male, but the average American fuqboi. #byefelipe

JUST. YES. I love angst SO FREAKING MUCH and Hawkins always delivers. I fell in love with her after reading Slip of the Tongue, and every book I've read since has just solidified the love affair.

Book one in this series was absolutely nothing like I imagined it would be, and this book was the same. It was so unpredictable, and in the last 20%, my heart was in my throat from all the intensity. I had no idea what was going to happen, and as the events (and emotions) unfolded, I found myself gnawing off my fingernails in anticipation.

This story is addicting. The characters are all flawed and all connected in such unique ways. Their backgrounds, their motivations, their reasons for behaving the way they do -- MAGIC.

I have been devouring this series slowly due to ARC commitments and my own writing deadlines, but I almost love it this way better. I FEEL THE BURN and it is so, so delicious.

I can't wait to see what unfolds in the next installment. I'm hooked!

Lovers of rockstar romances will lose their minds with Midnight Blue. This was my first L.J. Shen book, and I can't wait to devour more. The writing was superb, the plot intriguing, with a twist I didn't see coming at the end. The tension... the STEAM. *sigh* I lost myself within the pages of this one. Most of all, the characters were SO beautifully written, and I found it nearly impossible to put this book down until I'd finished every last word. That's my favorite kind of read -- the unputdownable kind. Phenomenal!

Man oh man.

When I saw the cover reveal for Voyeur, I immediately added it to my TBR. And then, I got an ARC, and I jumped in as SOON as that baby hit my Kindle. I was so excited. First of all, THAT BLURB. And the cover, and the fact that I've been wanting to read Fiona Cole for some time now, but haven't.

Well, damn. What a ride she took me on.

I'll confess, I'm not usually an erotica reader. There were definitely some differences in this book compared to what I usually read, and I saw that within the first few chapters. The way the story and the characters are set up, the pacing, all of it felt different.

And I liked it.

I found myself hooked, glued to the pages, flipping and flipping to find out what would happen next. ESPECIALLY after the first performance at Voyeur. What a hot concept, so forbidden and juicy, and I was sold on the experience. I wanted more. MORE MORE MORE.

I expected the hot sex. I expected the niggling feeling in my tummy as I read, a combination of, "Man, this is hot," and "Gah, this is wrong. Should I feel ashamed to like this?" I expected the angst and tension that goes with a student/teacher romance.

And Fiona delivered on all accounts.

But, she also surprised me.

Because what I DIDN'T expect was for these characters to have such depth, for them to pull me into their story with an aching heart. I wanted them to find happiness together, and more than anything, for them to find peace.

I have been Oaklyn. I worked my ASS off to get through college, to pay my way and keep up with classes and social life. I felt for her so hard, because I know what it's like to survive on ramen noodles, to skip meals, and to work multiple jobs to make ends meet. I instantly felt empathy for her, and the more I got to know her, the more I loved her character.

But the real stealer of the show for me was Dr. Pierce. His backstory, the scars that have smeared his relationship with sex for his entire life -- gah, they just GUTTED me. I felt for him more than I can even say, and I applaud Fiona for shedding light on a VERY important issue that most of our society doesn't dare touch, let alone write about. It was so moving, and so important. I absolutely ached for Cal and fell madly in love with him.

Overall, I am just floored by Fiona Cole's bravery in writing about such sensitive issues with such grace. I love a story with flawed characters, with imperfect situations, and I will forever remember Voyeur for its beautiful scars. Five stars for this angsty, emotional ride that leaves you burning long after the sex scenes end.

I have never been so emotionally moved by a book in my life. I didn't just fall in love with these characters, I walked 300 pages in their shoes, I BECAME then, and I am forever changed. Behind the Bars is true Brittainy C. Cherry magic. 5 achingly beautiful stars!