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kingrosereads's reviews
666 reviews
Christmas at Turtledove Place by Jennifer Griffith
0.25
Only 0.25 cause the kids were semi cute.
This book was sooooo poorly written. There wasn’t a thing likable about it. All women are vixens or only good for being wives and mothers. BLEH. MMC is a military weapons contractor which is just not great. He “needs a wife” so his kids can be taken care of (barf). He convinced his ex-wife to have these kids to “repair their marriage” in the first place. The author literally had to forcibly write their mother as a terrible person cause I honestly could understand why she would leave. It was DISGUSTING that Tracey felt that she needed to keep her little sister away from her husband so he wouldn’t lust after her. HER SISTER WAS A CHILD WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED. The age gap between Sophie and Beau could be anywhere between 7 and 12 years and they met when FMC was 12 years old. It was just really gross. And MMC says he wished he waited for FMC to turn 18 and would’ve been with her instead of marrying his ex-wife like WHO SAYS THAT. It’s clear that MMC will expect FMC to be a stay at home mom if they got married (as he often says he can’t take her away from her career and that’s why he can’t marry her). And WHY did the author make Sophie and Tracey look nearly identical?? It just keeps getting more disturbing by the chapter, folks. Not to mention, MMC mentions that FMC (who only had the kids visit 3-4 weeks of the year) knows HIS kids BETTER than HE does. Wow. Yes, he’s such a good father (*eye roll*). Somehow, busy single mothers make time for their kids. Also, it’s clear the author has some religious beliefs, and while that’s valid, it’s pretty ridiculous to have adults cursing like children (adults already have their own words they could use instead of cursing) and instead of alcohol making FMC lose her inhibitions, a lit fireplace made her near-drunk?? To be clear, her being inebriated while they have the Christian version of doing the deed, is not okay either way. But it’s so ridiculous to say a fire did this to her.
Look, I love wholesome, sweet, cozy romances that don’t have sex talk in it or even fade-to-black scenes. Very chaste and focused on the corny, cutesy stuff. But this book was trying too hard and was insanely cringey. If I didn’t need the book to fulfill a reading challenge and I was down to the wire on completing it, this would’ve been the first book I DNF’d in 4 years.
This book was sooooo poorly written. There wasn’t a thing likable about it. All women are vixens or only good for being wives and mothers. BLEH. MMC is a military weapons contractor which is just not great. He “needs a wife” so his kids can be taken care of (barf). He convinced his ex-wife to have these kids to “repair their marriage” in the first place. The author literally had to forcibly write their mother as a terrible person cause I honestly could understand why she would leave. It was DISGUSTING that Tracey felt that she needed to keep her little sister away from her husband so he wouldn’t lust after her. HER SISTER WAS A CHILD WHEN THEY GOT MARRIED. The age gap between Sophie and Beau could be anywhere between 7 and 12 years and they met when FMC was 12 years old. It was just really gross. And MMC says he wished he waited for FMC to turn 18 and would’ve been with her instead of marrying his ex-wife like WHO SAYS THAT. It’s clear that MMC will expect FMC to be a stay at home mom if they got married (as he often says he can’t take her away from her career and that’s why he can’t marry her). And WHY did the author make Sophie and Tracey look nearly identical?? It just keeps getting more disturbing by the chapter, folks. Not to mention, MMC mentions that FMC (who only had the kids visit 3-4 weeks of the year) knows HIS kids BETTER than HE does. Wow. Yes, he’s such a good father (*eye roll*). Somehow, busy single mothers make time for their kids. Also, it’s clear the author has some religious beliefs, and while that’s valid, it’s pretty ridiculous to have adults cursing like children (adults already have their own words they could use instead of cursing) and instead of alcohol making FMC lose her inhibitions, a lit fireplace made her near-drunk?? To be clear, her being inebriated while they have the Christian version of doing the deed, is not okay either way. But it’s so ridiculous to say a fire did this to her.
Look, I love wholesome, sweet, cozy romances that don’t have sex talk in it or even fade-to-black scenes. Very chaste and focused on the corny, cutesy stuff. But this book was trying too hard and was insanely cringey. If I didn’t need the book to fulfill a reading challenge and I was down to the wire on completing it, this would’ve been the first book I DNF’d in 4 years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Stealing Home by Grace Reilly
2.75
Ugh can we just normalize cutting out toxic family members and recognize that they will not do a complete 180 in a week. Also, these are college students. They are not this sophisticated or confident in sex talking. Just be dorky and horny.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia
The C*ck Down the Block by Amy Award
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson
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? It's complicated
3.75
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison
challenging
dark
reflective
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
3.75
Trick Shot by Kayla Grosse
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" I silently scream into the void at the Christmas ornament scene. I could only imagine it shattering and that kept me in a state of panic for 10 minutes.
Let's just say this book was not it. I'll admit it had its moments where it was kinda hot, but mostly it was incredibly cringe. It could've just been a silly one night stand happy holiday novella, but it had to be all instalove and yucky.
What's the point of fictional men if they're going to be just as bad as real men??? I'm happy that we're starting to put some sword crossing into these 3+ relationships, but man was this just so bad. The dialogue was too cringey and unnatural. Also it is NOT okay to lie to someone about your identity UNLESS both parties are aware that they're giving a false name when you're both going to have sex. Leo and Jace are both trash (and gross) for lying about Leo being his famous identical twin BROTHER the WHOLE time they were intimate with Riley. And Riley's sister, Stevie, is the WORST sibling to ever walk the earth for thinking their lie was okay. This is dubious consent at best and at worst...
Listening to this audiobook was just a trainwreck I could not stop watching. This book also seemed to unnaturally shove every kind of kink it could into it to the point it didn't even make sense. I know its just supposed to be smut, but it's not meant to make me drier than the Atacama while tensed up and ready to make a run for the hills.
Let's just say this book was not it. I'll admit it had its moments where it was kinda hot, but mostly it was incredibly cringe. It could've just been a silly one night stand happy holiday novella, but it had to be all instalove and yucky.
What's the point of fictional men if they're going to be just as bad as real men??? I'm happy that we're starting to put some sword crossing into these 3+ relationships, but man was this just so bad. The dialogue was too cringey and unnatural. Also it is NOT okay to lie to someone about your identity UNLESS both parties are aware that they're giving a false name when you're both going to have sex. Leo and Jace are both trash (and gross) for lying about Leo being his famous identical twin BROTHER the WHOLE time they were intimate with Riley. And Riley's sister, Stevie, is the WORST sibling to ever walk the earth for thinking their lie was okay. This is dubious consent at best and at worst...
Listening to this audiobook was just a trainwreck I could not stop watching. This book also seemed to unnaturally shove every kind of kink it could into it to the point it didn't even make sense. I know its just supposed to be smut, but it's not meant to make me drier than the Atacama while tensed up and ready to make a run for the hills.