Review: The Winner's Curse

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A big thank you to this book for getting me out of my reading slump ❤️

This book was so good! It was definitely the fantasy book I needed to get out of my school-induced reading slump. It had me hooked from the start with a badass character named Kestrel, who's actually not that good at fighting. This is different from the new trend of kickass female characters that all know how to kill a man. This didn't make her any less badass--she was still super clever and used that to her advantage all the time.

She's sort of like a second-rate Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass. Or maybe I just kept thinking of how the cover looked so much like Queen of Shadows... Honestly...



The romance seemed forced to me, but that may be because I didn't care much for Arin. I 100% understood why he did what he did, but I also 100% did not trust him or care for him. He hurt Kestrel but she still ended up falling for him, which honestly just pissed me off. I mean I'm not for slavery or anything, but I was honestly rooting for Kestrel to win here (to be fair, she doesn't really condone slavery either).

Their relationship was not healthy. I do not approve. Kestrel should've stuck with Ronan.

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Review: A Love to Remember

A Love to Remember by Bronwen Evans
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Love to Remember is a historical romance novel about Rose and Phillip, two people who have always loved each other but refused to marry. Eventually, Rose does want to marry and have children, but Phillip is still dead set against that lifestyle, so they break up. Unfortunately, they still have feelings for each other and have to cope with being alone. Will they end up back together, stay friends, or what?

I didn't really like the plot until the last 1/3 of the book, where everything became high stakes and dangerous. Rose was the typical "strong, independent woman" up to a point where she seemed to just become useless and dependent on Phillip for everything. I understand wanting to marry, there's nothing wrong with that, but she just becomes so helpless and fragile.

The romance was interesting. There weren't many sex scenes, which surprised me, considering most adult romance novels have one almost every chapter. The relationship between Phillip and Rose was very dependent and needy, and it seemed a bit uncomfortable to read about at times.

The book wasn't amazing, but for what it was, it wasn't horrible. If you want a quick, sappy romance novel with some actually decent plot, this is for you.

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Review: Her Book Boyfriend

Her Book Boyfriend by K.R. Grace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank you, Netgalley, for an advanced e-book copy of this story! All opinions are still my own and are not influenced in any way.

Her Book Boyfriend by K.R. Grace is about an overachiever in school named Macey Greere who realizes she's never dated. To find herself a date to the upcoming prom, she's developed a list of tropes that book characters do to get themselves a boyfriend. If she doesn't get someone by the time prom rolls around, she'll end up going with her best friend, Cam.

This book was initially very slow, but once I got a feel for all the characters, I really enjoyed it. It's a very light, fluffy read. It's much along the lines of I Believe in a Thing Called Love, but unique in its own ways too. It's fun having a main character with a fascination for books. You didn't get to see how much she really loved books, though. She mentioned them maybe three times. You'd think that'd be mentioned more since that's the main idea of creating the list.

Cam was a total sweetheart, and he was probably my favorite character. At first he comes across as just this guy who sleeps around with no qualms and gets his best friend to do his dirty breakups so he doesn't have to deal with them. Basically, he sounds like a total jerk. But the further you get along in the book, the more you end up rooting for him.

I do have issues about how naive Macey is, but I can't get into too much detail because that would spoil the book!

Definitely pick it up if you want a fun, light read.

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Review: Royal Pain

Royal Pain by Tracy Wolff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kian is three things: a twin, a prince, and a womanizer. His twin brother, Garrett was born just a bit before, so Garrett gets to deal with being the future king while Kian gets to show off, sleep around, and enjoy the perks of being royal with none of the responsibilities. Then, Garrett gets kidnapped, and Kian has to step it up and learn to cope with being the next in line for the throne.

Kian also meets a girl named Savannah, or Savvie, who seems like the average manic pixie dream girl. There's something about her that's different than all other girls, and Kian finds himself head over heels for her and wanting to be committed in a monogamous relationship--something he's never felt the desire to do before. While he's dealing with his feelings for Savvie, he also has to fill Garrett's place. There's also the chance that Garrett is still alive, so that adds even more stress and drama to the situation.

This romance novel seems very plot-driven, which I wasn't really expecting, to be honest. The sex scenes were long and often, but I was honestly more interested if Garrett ever returned and, if he was alive, what state he was in after being gone for months!!

Also, the sex scenes seemed very unrealistic. I don't want to be sexist and stereotypical, but this was very obviously written for women. The sex scenes were full of emotion and love more than lust. They were all about pleasing the woman and making her feel amazing more than mutual satisfaction. Also, not to be graphic, but I don't think orgasming three times in a row every single time they go at it is very realistic.

I was very on the edge about giving this three or four stars. On one hand, the writing was very choppy and lackluster. On the other hand, the plot itself was a bit interesting and this was a truly entertaining read, even if it was just chuckling at mediocre things.

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Review: I Hate Everyone But You

I Hate Everyone But You by Gaby Dunn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I Hate Everyone But You is a story told in emails and texts about two best friends named Ava and Gen who go their separate ways to college and discover themselves, their sexuality (sexualities?), and more throughout the story.

Even though this is told in emails and texts, it was still told very well, and you really get a feel for the characters throughout it all. Ava has OCD and is depressed and is trying her best to make new friends and find a social circle in film school. Gen is wild and reckless and definitely exploring her sexuality, which is almost the exact opposite of Ava. Even though these two are so different, they compliment each other very well. It was so fun reading the interactions between the two.

The story itself wasn't boring at all. It reminded me of ttyl, where so much happens through just online interactions. You get a feel for the background characters (such as Alex and Charlotte and Sophia), but it's mainly just about Ava and Gen.

Definitely read this book!!! It's so cute and fun and also sorta dramatic. It's such a quick read.

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Review: Nyxia

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nyxia by Scott Reintgen is about ten poor teenagers from all over the world that are brought together by Babel Corporation, a space organization that wants to train them to gather Nyxia--a substance that pretty much does everything. The only problem is that only eight of the ten can get to Eden, so they are pitted against each other in many trials. This story follows Emmett, a boy from Detroit who wants to win for his family.

This book was AMAZING. It hooks you from the first line and keeps you wanting more. Emmett is such an interesting and fun character to go on the journey with, but the other nine characters are also incredibly interesting to learn about. You get to slowly learn all their habits, backstories, reasons for fighting, and personalities. It's not too hard to keep them all straight, but it's a little challenge at the beginning because they're all just thrust at you at once.

The idea of nyxia is really interesting. What I got from it was it can form into practically anything, and there's tons that need to be mined from this Earth-like world called Eden. It's really cool reading about the different ways to use nyxia and how far you can go with manipulating it.

So I guess this is a bit like a sci-fi Hunger Games or Throne of Glass, where the kids learn and fight against each other to win spots on Eden. Alliances and nemeses form, and it's just all SO FUN AND INTERESTING!!! You definitely end up wanting multiple people to win + lose. (I personally loved Kaya and another surprise character I don't want to spoil).

There's a slight romance, but it doesn't really seem important to the story. Not much happened that was really needed, but it didn't seem too forced. I think it could've done without the romance, but it'll definitely make it interesting in the next book how that plays out.

Also, I just really want the next book now. I wanna know what happens next!!! It ends at such a good part!

Please read this book; you won't be disappointed.

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Review: Spellbook of the Lost and Found

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you, Penguin First to Read, for an advanced e-book copy of this story! All opinions are still my own and are not influenced in any way.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle is an enchanting story about items that get lost and found. Three different friend groups all notice items getting lost and find a Spellbook, which has a spell to return the items they lost. These girls and boys find out that magic isn't what it seems, and become connected to each other in mysterious ways.

The characters were all individual in their own ways, but it turns out that I kept getting them all confused until about halfway through the book. The story itself seemed to drag on. It WAS an interesting story, I promise! I just felt like I was reading the same stuff over and over again each time I picked it up and read a little more. The writing was definitely different and full of adjectives and the word "lost." I can't even tell you how many times that word appears. I tried counting, but got too tired after the first 50 pages.

The pace is slow but rewarding. All the events slowly unfold and new layers of depth and mystery are revealed with each chapter. Everything's all connected in a way that has you screaming and kicking yourself for not figuring out what's going on, even though it's pretty hard to guess what's going on.

I would recommend this to anyone who has the patience for a slow, mystical mystery.

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