readintowonderland's reviews
468 reviews

No real rating or review for an incomplete story. But I read it and liked where it is headed

This was a very powerful and engaging story. I thought it had a lot of extra value being told from a BIPOC perspective. This depth and representation was wonderful to see!

A proper review is coming when I process my thoughts

What a ride. Seeing Evie take on the mystery genre with this series has been interesting. It feels like as each book in the series goes on, she matches the tone I'd expect from a mystery with some romance elements more and more. I would still never complain if there was a heaping helping more of Evie's signature romantic sweetness in the final book though. What can I say, it's what I love her for. 

I will admit, I had a bit of a hard time staying engaged with this one. Something about it just didn't let me get sucked in. Perhaps it was that the where the chapters started and ended felt really arbitrary. Being in a liminal reading space like that can be a challenge for me especially. 

I loved the chance to learn more about Quinn and Tommy. They are deeply fascinating characters that absolutely deserved a bit more of the spotlight. I hope to see them fully blossom in the final book where we better get a happy ending for them all. 

I received this book as part of Evie's Hayling Bookstorm street team. My review is honest and voluntary. 

This one was a fun time to read. I loved the inclusion of mixed media to break up the monotony and add a bit of humor. I had a lot of fun annotating the funny elements and interacting with the book as I went. 

I will say this book was probably longer than it needed to be. There were a TON of spicy scenes which upped the page count a good bit, but does reflect the characters quite well. In terms of the actual plot, I wouldn't remove any of it. It had me hooked the whole time, excited to see where things would unfold next. There were a lot of different forms of drama and I was here for it. It honestly gave me the vibes of a soap opera set at a college. 

I liked the dual plotline of Will and his father drama, plus Charlie's family drama, and Beckett's trust issues combined with the romance elements. Having these characters have things to work out on their own really added to the realism. They all have flaws that make them feel like rounded out people. 

As I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of spicy scenes, including literally on page one. If that is not your thing, I do not recommend this book. 

I received this book as an arc from Hambright PR. My review is honest and voluntary. 

This one was a nice and fun read to squeeze in at the end of the month! The concept was super fun, and I enjoyed reading it. 

My only complaint was that there were times it was a bit difficult to follow who was who and what was happening. I assume the final book does have that fixed though.

There are spicy scenes but they can be skipped without missing any plot. That said, the novella is already quite short so it may not be worthwhile in that instance. 

I received this book as an arc from Ariana. My review is honest and voluntary.

I need to preface that this book wasn't a perfect fit FOR ME because of a few factors, but I still think the writing was fantastic and that the story was totally valid. This one features the cheating trope, which is always a "not gonna love it" for me and made the book lose half a star from that alone. My other very personal reason for not vibing with this book is that one of the MCs shares a name with my brother and does some things that were rather triggering given that.

Onto some much needed positivity. This book is going to put you through the emotional ringer in the best way possible. It is going to keep you invested and on the edge of your seat the whole time. It has drama and tension from cover to cover. These characters aren't gonna be redeemable but that is the point. It is truly fascinating to read about characters who are immoral but still going after what fulfills them. I like Shae's books to break up my happier romance reads for this very reason.

I also have to shout out the incredible playlist Shae made, included in the book. It is full of fantastic songs that perfectly fit the vibe of the story. 

This book does have some spicy scenes and major trigger warnings that I have to advise you actually heed, unlike me. Take care of yourself before picking this one up. 

I received this book as an arc from Shae as part of her street team. My review is honest and voluntary. 

Kinda boring as it just kinda happens and both a lot and nothing occurs. It is touted as a self-help book, but it's really just an autobiography about how this guy is helpful to people. I'm not sure how it really helps the reader other than being inspirational.

It was a wonderful time as I knew it would be coming from Erin. She never fails to bring the angst and make her characters truly earn their happy ending. This one did that in such a wonderful way. It was really rewarding to see Judah slowly come out of his shell.
 
I absolutely adored the more thrilling aspects of this one. It was a fun twist on her style of writing I'm used to. As a thriller and romance fan, this was the perfect combination for me. I was swooning and on the edge of my seat waiting to see who was after Beckett. If you like books with a bit of a blend of genres, this one is the perfect recommendation. The twists and turns in the story got me every time. 

While reading this I was fighting a pretty strong slump so I could only give my focus to it in chunks. (Admittedly it didn't help that I was reading another book with an MC named Beckett at the time) Despite that, I got way more reading done than I expected to within those chunks. It truly speaks to how well Erin's writing will suck you in. When I was in it I was fully immersed.

It was really fun that all of the Benson siblings were involved in the story. It felt like such a full circle moment which totally fits with the vibe of the family. I think we all wish we were honorary Bensons. 

This book does contain open-door spice but those scenes can be skipped without missing too much plot. 

I received this book as an arc from Erin. My review is honest and voluntary

This one was my least favorite in the series. That said, I still enjoyed reading it. My main problem was that it was less engaging which is surprising for how great the other two books are in this series. It felt like a bit more of the story was filler than in the rest of the series.

I also absolutely hated the one character that sounded like a Willy Wonka wannabe. This absolute clown's (pun intended) stupid voice completely took me out of the story. I realize this is a harsh take but nobody who sounds like a children's story character should be in a dark romance; just no.

Now to focus on the positives. While I am obviously anti-murder, I have to admire Rose's logic behind what she does. It helps land her more towards the morally grey end of the spectrum. I appreciate how real and raw Fionn and Rose felt. 

This book did make me giggle more than a few times. Especially every single moment with the raccoon. Said raccoon must be protected at all costs. I would honestly read a book just about the raccoon antics.

Please keep in mind there are a lot of dark and spicy scenes in this book. If that is not your thing I do not recommend this series.