lindseybarnett's reviews
395 reviews

I Survived Ted Bundy: The Attack, Escape & PTSD That Changed My Life by Ann Rule, Rhonda Stapley

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

Hex Appeal by Kate Johnson

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this read!

I was excited to read this book because I felt like it would be perfect to start of fall/spooky season. I read The Ex Hex around this time last year & expected this to be similar! The romance & quirky witch vibes were definitely the same, but I didn’t find the plot to be as good.

I really did love all of the characters in this book. Essie was a badass who did whatever she had to do to protect those she loves. Avery was my favorite of the other witches. I thought their style & whole vibe was great. Siena really grew on me as the story went on & her sibling relationship with Josh, who was a sweetie, was so cute.

Picturing the witches’ house & all of the animals & magic that went on was so fun for me! I feel like the descriptions were detailed enough to make it clear but also vague enough for there to be some creative liberty in my mind.

I will say, I didn’t totally love the plot of this book! The romance was pretty cute & the characters were lovable, but the obstacles the witches had to face were very confusing to me. I get the big picture of what happened, but some of the hows & whys were never made very clear. I feel like the conflict could have been more enjoyable had it been clearer & less detailed.

This definitely wasn’t the worst book I’ve read, but it wasn’t my favorite either. This is only the second witchy rom com I’ve ever read, but I would recommend The Ex Hex before I would recommend this! That being said, you enjoyed The Ex Hex & like fantasy rom coms, you may enjoy this. It comes out on October 1, just in time for the Halloween month

Content Warnings

Just My Type by Falon Ballard

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Thank you for NetGalley for the ARC of this book! I was so excited when I saw it available for request because I really enjoyed Ballard’s debut novel, Lease On Love.

I liked this book, but it took me a little bit to get into it! I’m not sure why, but I couldn’t connect with the characters originally. I liked that Lana was so into sitcoms & Marvel (we’d definitely get along) but I didn’t feel much depth with her until later in the book. About 60% into the book I started to really enjoy her character. Confronting that fact that she’s a serial monogamous, Lana is told to write about single life at her job as a romance writer. It’s a job she’s been waiting to advance from & this assignment seems like the perfect way to do so, until she is told she’ll be competing against her first love/ex boyfriend, Seth. While she writes about staying single, he will be writing about settling down.

This is a second chance romance with slight enemies to lovers vibes in the beginning & I really didn’t know what was going to happen between Lana & Seth. I had suspicions about certain plot points that would happen, but I really didn’t know how their relationship would turn out. I liked Seth from the beginning & only came to like him more as the book went on.

This book is written from Lana’s POV, so you learn a lot about her past. Facing issues with her mother, ex boyfriends, & then her boss, Lana grows a lot in this read. I loved seeing into her therapy sessions & how she processed what was happening to her. I also loved her supporting group of girlfriends.

Overall, I think this is a good read for anyone that likes a slow burn, second chance romance, or liked Lease On Love. It’s definitely a cute romance that’s worth giving a chance. It will be available in February 2023.

Before We Were Strangers by Renée Carlino

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dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced