kayathebookworm's reviews
212 reviews

3.75 stars. This cute summer read was the perfect past-time for the Florida road trip I went on this week.

I liked the dual POV and alternating timeline as well as the character development (well done!) but I just didn’t really connect to the characters. I liked them, I just didn’t CONNECT to them. That’s pretty much the only reason this is a 3.75 star read for me. I also didn’t feel much of a spark between Sam and Wyatt during the present timeline. Overall, the book was good and definitely kept me engaged (I was never bored reading it) but it just lacked that personal connection that I like to develop with characters.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed seeing Warner’s perspective :)

I think most of us can agree that Warner carries this whole series. I was trying to get through it for him but I just can’t do it anymore. We have been getting so little of Warner (and his absolute perfection) that it’s just not worth it. When he makes appearances, though… I mean, I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve been screaming and jumping up and down any time he enters a scene. 3.5 stars for this one but I’m officially calling it quits.

Edit a few hours later:
So, I’ve changed my decision. I’m going to read the ORIGINAL trilogy (If you’re confused by what I mean: basically Shatter Me, Unravel Me, and Ignite Me made up the original series before it was expanded upon to include the rest of the books, which sound like they are a total waste of time). I was prepared to stop reading the series after finishing Unravel Me but I watched emmie’s video on YouTube where she reads all of the Shatter Me books and it sounds like Ignite Me is probably the best book in the series (and the one with the most of Warner!) so I’m going to read that one — the last in the original trilogy — next then be done. (Yes, I’m skipping Fracture Me, the novella from Adam’s POV that comes after Unravel Me and before Ignite Me, as I’m entirely uninterested in suffering through whatever he has to say.) At least this way I can still have a sense of closure, since the ending of Ignite Me was the original ending of the series.

I have so much to say about this book. Seriously, just wow. First of all, I loved that there was not only romance but also a bit of suspense. I won’t get into details, because… no spoilers! But, trust me, it’s good.

I also want to mention that I’m not normally a fan of the single parent trope but I absolutely loved how it was done here and I adored Nora’s kids.

This romance was the type that makes me squeal like a little girl. I devoured every second of it. I especially liked the ending.

Content-wise there were a few cuss words every now and then but it definitely wasn’t that bad. There was also a bit of spice but it was closed door; sex was mentioned a lot, though, just not detailed.

Overall, this book deserves every bit of 4 stars. Highly recommend.


(Personal note: I finished this on a plane to Canada)

This book absolutely never lost my attention. It was both wonderfully hilarious and mysterious at the same time. I have reduced my rating to 3.75 stars, however, because of the foul language and sexual innuendo. I would usually DNF a book because of language or too much sexual content (which was fade to black but still a bit too out there for me) but I feel like I have been doing that so often lately that I decided to just push through it. Mainly, there was just the occasional (or slightly more than occasional) s, f, and a words. Other than that, though, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to those looking for a fun, lighthearted read.

The Enlightenment of Bees was surprisingly and refreshingly real. There was not only adventure and romance; the book also explored confusion, disappointment, loss, heartbreak, and even rarely written-about topics like struggling with a savior complex in helping others. It was not only fun and light-hearted but also deeply challenging and inspirational.

I particularly liked Mia (along with just about all the other characters), the main character, as she reminds me a lot of myself. She longs to help and love others but struggles with finding how she should practically do this. On a lighter note, I also appreciated her love for baking since I myself enjoy this hobby (and along with this, I liked the references to the Great British Bake Off).

And, can I just say, the ending was absolute perfection. It was better than if I had written it myself.

Honestly, I am quite surprised by the negative reviews that this book has gotten. I will admit that I thought the story line was a bit odd at times (and, like others in the reviews I have read, I somewhat expected for the trip to turn out to be a reality TV show or something along those lines) but, overall, I greatly enjoyed it and found that it was just what I needed to get out of a reading slump. 4 stars.

“Your purpose is where your greatest passion meets the world’s great pain.”

Cute romance. I was sometimes bored with it, however, since it’s quite long and I got super frustrated with the characters at times (especially Rory). The You’ve Got Mail references totally make up for it though ;). 3.5 stars.

Before I Called You Mine is a story of adoption and the pain and beauty that comes with it. I loved the characters, the romance, the faith, and the hilarious humor but the book felt slow and dry at times. Also, I know it is meant to be a story of trials and challenges but it was honestly just too heartbreaking for me. I go to books to escape reality so I don’t really prefer to read of hardships and pain. Don’t get me wrong, the book itself is really good but I found it hard to “escape” in it. Just personal preference. 3.75 stars.

P.s. am I the only one who thinks Joshua is literally the perfect guy? Men, take notes ;)

I’m a total forensic psychology nerd, so the fact that Mind Games is all about criminal profiling made my geeky little heart happy. I particularly enjoyed the references and connections to actual cases and serial killers (like BTK and the Unabomber).

The suspense also sucked me in. The author did an amazing job of keeping us readers on our toes as we read, sending us in many different directions and causing us to continually guess who the UNSUB might be.

I’m looking forward to the other two books in this series and to seeing Noah be more developed as a character since we didn’t get very acquainted with him in this one. Honestly, I have kinda been rooting for Alex and Kaely so far but, since I don’t think that is going to work out, I am now hoping that I will move to team Noah and Kaely as the series continues.

I also hope that the faith aspect gets stronger because it felt a bit week in this one. On that note, I found Kaely’s special “technique” a bit creepy. It just rubbed me the wrong way. Especially as a Christian, it felt kind of like consulting spirits/psychic voodoo stuff (gotta love my wonderful eloquence and way with words), which is absolutely unbiblical. I don’t think, though, that this is how the author intended it to appear so I don’t really have a problem with it; I just don’t think it was necessary.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. 3.5 stars.

God bless,
Kaya :)