The whole book was giving Castlenova energy and I loved that show +the premise and the cover was so hard to pass on so it was already going 2.50!
The whole book was giving Castlenova energy and I loved that show +the premise and the cover was so hard to pass on so it was already going in the right direction for me but then I actually started the book and my main problem would be the pacing it was so terribly slow and it dragged so much that I had to skim a bit because if I didnt it would've been a dnf. I would have never been able to move forward. I also appreciated how we got more than one point of view but the author was clearly struggling with managing three point of views at ones. The characters actually had me hooked at the start but as the book progressed they were dulled down and to be honest this was a very forgettable book. Ask me anything about this book in 4 days and I wont be able to tell you anything about it. Lucy's character for me was very sloppy and immature. Mina was just boring. Im giving this two stars because the first half was somewhat enjoyable. I have had Kirsten's trilogy and I darken on my tbr for 5 years now and I was gonna read it this year but after this book I am pushing it down because I was so excited for this and the disappointment was real. ~~ I saw vampires and I saw the cover and said let's gooo!!
*Thank you to Penguin Random House for this arc*...more
“For keeps?” I breathed. He kissed my shoulder. “For keeps.”
In terms of writing this was so much better than binding 13 but in terms of story 3.85!
“For keeps?” I breathed. He kissed my shoulder. “For keeps.”
In terms of writing this was so much better than binding 13 but in terms of story and pacing? Im afraid it was not (imo) I just feel like this could have been 200-300 pages shorter?? because this book followed a repetitive nature, it had no reason being like that except for its page count. See, with book 1 you at least were engrossed in the story because you wanted to know what would happen but I didnt really have that feeling when it came to this book. THe same dialogues were being thrown around, Johnny was more about Shannon and his whole athletic part went away until the last parts. Shannon's story dragged as it went on as well, like the start was so good and by start I mean the first 250 pages and last 150-200 pages were really good as well but that middle?? sucked so fucking bad. I am still giving it a higher rating because I enjoyed most of this book especially the start with how things picked up right where they left off in b13 and in the end when shit went down but, for a second book for Shannon and Johnny...they felt pretty dull.
Shannon and Johnnyin terms of them as individual characters, I wanted more development on Shannon's part because tbh all the she did was talk back to her mother and Darren, and in a way I think this does contribute to character development because at least she was doing something but I wanted more. To sum it up she talks back (ok good for her) thinks about Johnny and whenever she's around him it's sex, sex and sex although I would admit how well her emotions were described and how the ptsd was shown through her point of view, I just wanted more of her overcoming it and one thing I specifically wanted was the confrontation with Bella which we did got but it was so diluted like actually so diluted smh atp. Johnny im a little conflicted because there were parts that I enjoyed so much and others were so disappointing, the disappointing one would be hi being consumed by the thoughts of Shannon like Shannon this and Shannon that and I love down bad MMC's but 900 pages is too much. I loved how Johnny treated Shannon's siblings, I loved their scenes so much and I liked how muchh cared for Shannon but I really wanted him to focus on his game as well. It was conflicting but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Them together were cute and I did understand the smut scenes like come on we literally spent a whole 800 paged book with slow burn seeping off it and even here it didnt really happen until 350 pages through but I liked their moments together. They were cute<33
The side characters are who took the spotlight!! Claire, Lizzie, Gibsie, Hughie, Feely, Joey and Aoife, Mama Kavs and Papa Kavs. I love them sm. I actually ship Hughie and Katie and Lizzie with Feely so there better not be a cheating switch tropes or im literally gonna riot. I like Lizzie and I want her story. Gibsie and Claire I cant wait for their book because I love them, ESPECIALLY GIBSIE!! I want Joeys books so bad and I know his story will have me sobbing. Also I loved Joeys Mam and Da sm they are actually so precious with everything that they did!!! also that Aoife and Joey vs Bella and Cormac scene!! It healed me.
Overall, considering the hype and the avg rating, I was expecting something mind-blowing which I didnt get but I enjoyed it so much!! __ I just know this one will hit so hard, considering how things ended in the first one (or its just Hoda praying that I cry because she's hell bent on making me cry >:( )...more
Everyone has been raving about Ann Liang's YA rom-coms so I had to see what the hype was about and I 2.05!
I WAS VERY GENEROUS WITH THIS RATING
Everyone has been raving about Ann Liang's YA rom-coms so I had to see what the hype was about and I had gotten an arc of her new adult fantasy book on netgalley. So I thought why not really this first and to say I'm disappointed would be an understatement because this book was so lacking in almost every aspect. It could have done so much better but it failed to read that potential it was also very short? My arc was about 280 pages with 15 pages being additional stuff. I did enjoy it and that's why I'm giving it two stars, the writing was the better part and I had enjoyed reading it during the second half where I quite literally flew through it but I could not negate the wasted potential.
It could have been such a beautiful tragic novel, if it was done and this unfortunately was not done right. The fantasy elements were missing from this novel, they were so minute and not well explored. For a romantasy the romance felt missing too. The world building was lackluster and the action was barely there. The political/court intrigued could've been more drawn out more explored but that wasn't the case here either. The book fluctuated a lot sometimes it would be so slow and the other times it would be extremely fast and it was very off putting. The way it was written maybe fun and enjoyable but it lacks so many things that would make it actually good.
I'm not as critical about this series as im about other books because this is a more comfy, 4.19!
“The Villain didn’t miss light. He missed color.”
I'm not as critical about this series as im about other books because this is a more comfy, feel good series and I review this solely based on my enjoyment
I had such a fun time reading this book. It's a book that you can read on a bad day and would make you happy or a book that you can read while you're sad and will make you laugh. It has so much angst, tension and swoon-worthy romance. It is worth it and I think this trilogy is shaping up to be one of my comfort reads. While, I did not enjoy it as much as the first one, the middle book syndrome really played a part in this one because the pacing wasn't as fast and the first and not much happened of substance but the way this story is written and presented is so fun to read which made these issues of less significance for me. I loved how it started with all the action and plotting and humor and as we progressed the action minimized a bit and the plotting drifted away as well but the humor remained lol and I was hoping for a big cliffhanger like we got in book 1 but that was missing so my only urge to read the third one is to see Evie and the Villain get together.
The characters were so fun to read. Evie was strong and stood up more, she made decisions and I liked her. We got to see more of her badass side and she was ready to risk everything for that kiss lmaoo, she was great but The Villain stole the show for me he was such a grumpy, broody, jealous, possessive cutie patootie. I loved him so much and I love his relationship with Lyssa. Him taking the things he did with her so seriously lol and I love how Lyssa tried imitate him. I also loved the scene where villain kicked Blade because he got jealous of Blade hugging Evie lol. Becky and Blade deserve their own book because I want more from their side- tbh screw all of them. We need Kingsley's book!!
The romance was the dumbest, cutest, giggles inducing, feet kicking, blush inducing, smirk forming romance that I have ever read!! it was so fun to read them both pine over each other and think about each other and care for each other. uggh I loved it soooooooo much!! I want MOREEE. I am not satisfied but also am??
Overall, this was super fun to read and I cant wait to dive into book 3!! ___ I'm here to collect my cutie patootie villain ...more
The first 200 pages of this book were absolutely horrendous, atrocious, the 4.05!!
“Boom, boom, fucking boom,”
JOHNNY KAVANAGH FANS LOOK AWAY!!
The first 200 pages of this book were absolutely horrendous, atrocious, the worst 200 pages that I have ever read in my life. I was so bleckh'd out by the fact that shannon was 15 and the amount of dick talks and dick mentions in Johnny's chapter was so infuriating like every fucking second you'd look at the book and it would Johnny and his dick being described LIKE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE STOP MENTIONING HIS POGO STICK+ the actual meaning of binding 13 ...more
How much milking is too much milking?? ISTG up untill book 6 this series was amazing!! I even enjoyed book 7 ngl but book 8 was eh and this is the worHow much milking is too much milking?? ISTG up untill book 6 this series was amazing!! I even enjoyed book 7 ngl but book 8 was eh and this is the worst and 9 isn't looking better either. So just prayers now...more
“We’re all a little broken, Briana. We are a mosaic. We’re made up of all those we’ve met and all the things we’ve been through. There are par3.65!
“We’re all a little broken, Briana. We are a mosaic. We’re made up of all those we’ve met and all the things we’ve been through. There are parts of us that are colorful and dark and jagged and beautiful. And I love every piece of you. Even the ones you wish didn’t exist.”
After the success that part of your world was (for me) I thought that this would be an amazing read as well, especially with the way it was shaping out to be. the first half was so strong and so sweet and cute. It was honestly looking like it was gonna be a five star read, sure it was slow at the start but i I was having a good time with this one but then came the second half and it frustrated the fuck outta me. I would still say that this was a fun read and not at all bad- it just could've been so much more than it was. One thing for certain is that Abby Jimenez is actually very talented and has the ability to write the best summery rom-coms and I will read her grocery list if I have to.
Jacob was easily the highlight of the story! He actually saved this book. This man was a walking, talking green flag and one so adorable. I actually saw so much of myself in him- well....he was a lot more selfless than I could ever be but I related to his reactions to social anxiety and the way he dealt with them because reading his arc felt so real, I go through the stages that he goes through and I loved the way it was depicted because I could see myself through it and I loved it! it was like I was screaming at the book "SEE?!?" because everything that Jacob did felt so relatable. I feel like Jimenez did everything for his character and made it feel so perfectly done. I loved how he did not shy away from confessing his feeling to us in his point of views and the effort that he put in for Bri spoke louder than anything. Jacob was truly the star of this book.
Bri's part was where Abby messed up. I felt particularly nothing towards her- I feel like her trauma and past wasn't explored more and she wasn't given the dept Jacob was given which made her actions rather more erratic. I did understand why she had trust issues but I did not feel that strongly for her despite her heavy losses because they barely get talked about in the book. One thing that I absolutely hated about her was her constant need to assume everything which messed everything up and caused so much miscommunication, both of them struggled to express their feeling but when Jacob actually asked her out, she denied and assumed that he was seeing her as a booty call and I was like yk that man for 6 months, you work with him everyday, he donated his fucking KIDNEY for your brother and hid it to avoid any recognition and you still assumed that?? the back forth that bri caused was not fun to read and when it got all resolved Bri (Jimenez) slaps us with a third act and I was furious.
The romance was cute, I enjoyed it a lot. The letter and the fake dating + the kind gestures and all the domestic moments, it was so fun to read but I feel like the miscommunication was done for the sake of more angst and tension and it failed miserably there :(
All in all, I had my share of enjoyable and frustrating moments! ___ "Jimenez is a true talent" is what Emily Henry said and she's not the one to lie ...more
"Trust me, Lib," I said, picturing her lips. "In a crowd of million ski masks, I'd still be able to find you."
-My biggest flex is having watc3.95!
"Trust me, Lib," I said, picturing her lips. "In a crowd of million ski masks, I'd still be able to find you."
-My biggest flex is having watched all the movies/shows mentioned.
This book was not needed and the breakup felt so odd that I wasn't able to enjoy that aspect.However, I would be lying if I said that I did not enjoy this book because it was very enjoyable, maybe it was Lynns writing in this one or maybe it was the longing that I felt to meet these characters again but despite this, I still had problems one of them being the overuse of Taylor swift references, to an extent are fine but this was just too much, and other problems. one thing that I really appreciated was the length of the book it wasn't overwhelming or too much, I liked it, it was easy to read and the flow of writing was there, keeping me connected to the story. I also liked the fact that Lynn sticked to chapters with short to medium length instead of those long chapters in bttm because this was much more easy to read, tbh I read this faster than bttm because its written in an easy to reads way. Now where did my problems start? well:
“Now we’re just two people who used to know each other.”
The characters. it was obvious that the characters that we have come to adore so much would face changes because of the time jump but man :( I did not enjoy it that much, it was understandable that they had to change but I was just not happy that they had to change because the way they were written in bttm was near perfect and I loved that version of them.
Liz Bauxbaum, her character was likeable to an extent, I was with Liz on this side of the break up because she did nothing wrong and was kept out of the blue, I liked how mature she was and I also liked how she handled and managed everything and how good she was doing. Though I liked that part of her, I so missed her old character that I loved sooo much was missing and I loved that Liz, she was charismatic and fun to read. The traces of her juvenescence vanished into thin air. One more thing about Liz that I found missing was her love for rom/coms and I liked how the quotes from the rom/coms written in bttm were something reflected Liz and Wes's love and how Liz would talk about them, this was so missing and the quotes from the rom/coms in this one didn't hit. That was one of the reason why I did not enjoy it because I missed her old version so much.
Wes Bennett, I was excited to read about Wes the most because I loved him in bttm and I wanted to read more about him, but it was not the way I wanted to read about him. His story was very complex, I did and did not agree with his actions. I loved how much he groveled, I loved how he didn't give up when he came back and I also loved how he was head over heels in love with Wes but I did not agree with him shutting off Liz and breaking her heart like she was nothing and then trying to claim it back?? I was so mad tbh at this because the break up hit Wes so hard and with how he lies to Liz because he knew she would not give up on him and she would have helped him but his constant need to push her away and to be alone made me furious, I did understand it but it still made me mad because I knew he was worth looking over, worth caring for and worth everything Liz had to offer but his constant denial at that fact and his guilt driving him and Liz apart made me so angry because I did not want to see Liz like that, These two are inseparable and no matter what the other says they would always stick with each other, so when I saw the methods Wes used to keep Liz away, it broke me because that was just low. Some people won't understand this but in my eyes the Wes from bttm movies would NEVER do that. I still forgave him but it bugged me a lot.
“Say it again.” “I love you.” “Again,” “I love you, Wes Bennett, I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love you.”
The romance, I mean come on guys?? it's Wes Bennett we're talking about. He is everything. The way he groveled for Liz and tried to keep a distance when he learned that she was dating (fake) someone else, so it wouldn't ruin her relationship with him, that is the Wes I know and love. I loved how he didn't give up, I loved his banter with Liz, his little flirtatious comments , the teasing, the pining, the angst, the tension, everything was so well done and how it went till the end was the saving grace for this book in my eyes it was so well done and I loved Liz the most here for acting so mature in this situation and with how she handled everything, especially their conversation outside the ice cream shop where everything bottled inside of them bursts free and the confessions + the arguments that we got were *chefs kiss* I was knees deep in love with that and oh my god!! Lynn just aced the romance part. However, everything related to the breakup made me mad.
It was truly such a complex novel to love, I would have lived happy without having read this because in my eyes the perfect version of these characters exist, although now they are flawed, I still enjoyed the more mature gaze from their perspective, maybe in another year when I pick up this book, I would appreciate the emotions put into Wes's pov more and would be able to look at it from a fresh pair of eyes, enough to make it worth five stars.
Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend to people who are dying from more LizWes content. ___ I got this book but I'm so scared to read this ...more
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