so_many_books's reviews
828 reviews

While I'll probably never stop reading Saxon James' books, I've come to the realisation they are not really my favourite things anymore.

Just Bromantically Invested was a nice, comforting read, but it was also a mess when it came to the writing and the storyline. In the end, I felt a bit underwhelmed by this story.

This book tells the story of another Bertha Brother, Madden. I liked his character, mostly because he's so different from any other character that I've ever read about. He's a naturist, aka nudist and a big chunk of the story is dedicated to that side of him. To a point where I kinda felt like it's his only personality trait. Yes, he's kind and caring, but it wasn't really shown.
His best friend, Penn, is the love interest. His struggles felt a bit closer to me. He had to come to terms with his sexuality, his feelings for Madden, and also his slight codependency with him. However, those struggles were solved in a rush. It took him two minutes since he realized he's not straight to jumping Madden's bones. At least, that's what the story showed.

The book tells their story of realising feelings and working out how they can morph their best friendship into a functioning relationship. I like that the book takes it seriously that becoming a couple does not solve issues overnight. They have to put in the work to make things work between them.

Best-friends-to-lovers is one of my least favourite tropes because it usually includes a codependent, slightly unhealthy friendship that develops into something more. And it was the case with this one. Penn and Madden's issues came from a lack of communication. And I can't understand how two best friends, who've been friends for over a decade, struggle so much with sharing things with the other. Like, what have you been doing all this time? It was very frustrating seeing them struggle internally when all it would have taken for them to get over it is to sit down and talk honestly.

My biggest issue with the book was that the storytelling was choppy and lacked any kind of cohesion. There was literally no connection between chapters, we jumped weeks between some with only a sentence telling us what they came to terms with in that time, or it just completely lacked placing the scene in time and I had to juggle in my head when and where we were right then. Additionally, some scenes were written from the wrong POV, or at least the one that required less work.
For example: one chapter, Penn was staying with the idea of trying out a nudist lifestyle, and they had a great conversation about it. Then, stuff happened with Madden mentioning several times how much he liked that Penn was considering this, but no more conversations happened. Then Penn just simply tells, nah, he's not doing it a few chapters later with no explanation. There is no explanation at all. This is just poor writing.

I don't understand where the sudden tension in Big Boned Bertha is coming from. It felt very sudden. And while I get where it's going - breaking down the unhealthy codependency - it also feels a bit unfounded. I mean, all previous books have been saying how much the housemates mean to each other and that it's like a family, and now, we're having fights and passive-aggressive comments.
I've wanted to see Xander's story (which will be the next book) from the beginning, but right now it seems it's gonna be a hard one and I'm not sure how seriously his issues will be taken. With a track record of writing fluff and smut, writing about medical anxiety and breaking mental health issues and the consequent manipulative behaviour is something I'm not sure the author can handle with enough gravity. I'm curious, though. And I hope I'll be surprised.

Overall, it's not a bad book. It's just very average. One huge thing keeping me interested is that if I've read 50+ books from the Sadenverse already, I'm  not gonna stop now.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book to share my honest review.*

Rest in Peaches by Alex Brow has the vibes of a classic slasher scary movie, but it's also slightly ridiculous and queer. When I got the opportunity to read and review Rest in Peaches, I honestly had no idea what to expect. I just knew I wanted to branch out towards horror a bit more.
And with this story, I did.

Quinn is one of our heroines. She's Peaches the Parrot, Olivia Newton-John High's beloved mascot. But her promising career as the third best Peaches in history comes to a crashing halt when her performance is sabotaged and she's unmasked in front of everyone. And to top it all off, Little Peaches, her pet parrot, gets birdnapped. After all this, she launches an investigation to figure it all out, but the secrets are deeper than you think. The mistery is mistier than usual, and soon, the murders start.

This is a slasher movie made into a book. It's bloody, it's a tad ridiculous, it doesn't really make sense, and the twists just keep coming. Killer Peaches, the serial killer dressed up as the mascot creeps me out. Killer Peaches is obsessed with Tessa, ONJHS's star pupil and Quinn's long-time crush.
We also get Tessa's POV while she reconnects with Quinn to help her find Little Peasches and later try to figure out who's out for them.

The storytelling is propelled by segments of a fellow student's true crime podcast following the happenings of the past and the present, and also notes from the killer.
The uncovered clues point in several directions, and among all the characters who become suspects, it's not easy to figure out who the culprit is. And, of course, the twist and turns make it even more unpredictable.

I could criticise the storytelling and the unpredictability of the story by telling you about all the inconsistencies in the timeline, but that would be pointless. Becasue I truly believe it doesn't matter. The book reached its goal by being a predictable yet unpredictable slasher with little to no sense to the story. It is very enjoyable if you like this stuff and that's all there is to it.

I appreciated the queer cast and the sapphic romance, too.
However, I did not like the main characters that much. They were both deeply flawed, but especially Tessa made me want to shake her a little. I think it was intentional on the author's part to make them imperfect and do things that hurt others, but it was still a bit annoying. Refreshing, but annoying.

Overall, the I enjoyed this book, it took me a little bit to warm up to it but by the end I couldn't put it down.

Billionaire romances are not my first choice when it comes to romance books, but I've been enjoying the Billionair Brotherhood series. Mostly because of the strong friendships.

Inheriting Miss Fortune is Dev's and Tully's story, and it has the single dad trope, which always makes me happy.
It does start with a tragedy, though, as Dev gains custody of his daughter, Lellie, after her mom passes away.
When Tully brings Lellie to Majestic to execute the will that put her in Dev's custody, the events of two years ago stir inside both of them.

The story mostly circles around the custody battle and Dev learning to and coming to terms with being a dad. It was bittersweet to see him open up and come out of his shell with his daughter. On the one hand, it's beautiful and heartwarming stepping up without hesitance to take care of her, even if he only plans to do it temporarily at the beginning. But it's also kind of heartwrenching when he struggles with his past and his guilt that makes him feel that he's not good enough for her.

Tully is hesitant about leaving Lellie with Dev at first as he doesn't know much about the elusive man. He's only point of reference is their hook-up a few years ago, and he obviously can't form opinions based on that. He also comes a long way in the book, setting his priorities straight and learning what he is and what he isn't willing to do for his job as an attorney.

The romance in this one is kinda cosy and revolves around Dev and Tully finding their foot together while caring for the 15-month-old baby. On a ranch. In Wyoming. They slowly gravitate towards each other, rekindling the Flame that once burned between them and learning to trust one another. It's actually really sweet seeing the coparent.
The spice was spicing, but with almost all Lennox books, it was just a tad more than I enjoy (in terms of quantity).

The setting in Majestic is the perfect scene for the story. It brings the small-town atmosphere, the ranch vibes, and all the loving people. Dev is forced to relaize that not only are his friends there for him in every situation, but townspeople of Majestic are also on board with him raising the baby.

All in all, the story was sweet with a lot of excitement around the custody battle and a sweet sweet romance. Lellie was a sweet little thing who we could love and Dec and Tully are a sappy pair of men who's romance is definitely satisfying.