Book Review: Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

Title: Good Girl Complex

Author: Elle Kennedy

Series/Standalone: Avalon Bay Series (Book #1)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

Pages: 368

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Year Published: 2022

Format: Audiobook

"She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

Mackenzie 'Mac' Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It's exhausting, really, always following the rules. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but she must get a college degree at her parents' insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

Mac's had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edge. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn't just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he's been keeping from her threatens the only place she's ever felt at home."

My Rating: 2.5/5

I'd heard a lot about this first book in this series and thought it sounded up my alley but the more I read the more it was just ok for me. It was fun, it followed the basic romance linear equation. I liked the characters fine, their separate lives made them feel unique, and the atmosphere was fun enough. It just didn't hit as hard as I wanted it too. I also found that while the sex scenes were fun, the pacing of the rest of the plot felt stilted. I do plan on reading the next book (mostly out of curiosity based on which characters it follows) but I'm not in a huge rush to carry on. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Never Fall for Your Fiancee by Virginia Heath

Title: Never Fall for Your Fiancee

Author: Virginia Heath

Series/Standalone: The Merriwell Sisters (Book #1)

Genre: Adult, Historical Romance

Pages: 368

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Year Published: 2021

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"The first in a new historical rom-com series, a handsome earl hires a fake fiancée to keep his matchmaking mother at bay, but hilarity ensues when love threatens to complicate everything.
The last thing Hugh Standish, Earl of Fareham, ever wants is a wife. Unfortunately for him, his mother is determined to find him one, even from across the other side of the ocean. So, Hugh invents a fake fiancée to keep his mother’s matchmaking ways at bay. But when Hugh learns his interfering mother is on a ship bound for England, he realizes his complicated, convoluted but convenient ruse is about to implode. Until he collides with a beautiful woman, who might just be the miracle he needs.

Minerva Merriwell has had to struggle to support herself and her two younger sisters ever since their feckless father abandoned them. Work as a woodcut engraver is few and far between, and the Merriwell sisters are nearly penniless. So, when Hugh asks Minerva to pose as his fiancée while his mother is visiting, she knows that while the scheme sounds ludicrous, the offer is too good to pass up.

Once Minerva and her sisters arrive at Hugh's estate, of course, nothing goes according to his meticulous plan. As hilarity and miscommunication ensue, while everyone tries to keep their tangled stories straight, Hugh and Minerva’s fake engagement starts to turn into a real romance. But can they trust each other, when their relationship started with a lie?"

My Rating: 2/5

At the start of this book, I was really hopeful about where we were going. I liked the concept and the tropes that seemed to be at play. I haven't read many historical romances so I was excited to get into this one, but near the middle, I had trouble caring about the plot line. By the end, I was expecting things to happen in different steps than they ended up happening and I didn't think that the closure was the best it could have been. The redeeming aspect for me was the fact that there was the fake dating trope which always entertained me. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

 Title: One for the Money

Author: Janet Evanovich

Series/Standalone: Stephanie Plum Series (Book #1)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery

Pages: 320

Publisher: Griffin

Year Published: 1994

Format: Audiobook

"You've lost your job as a department store lingerie buyer, your car's been repossessed, and most of your furniture and small appliances have been sold off to pay last month's rent. Now the rent is due again. And you live in New Jersey. What do you do?

If you're Stephanie Plum, you become a bounty hunter. But not just a nickel-and-dime bounty hunter; you go after the big money. That means a cop gone bad. And not just any cop. She goes after Joe Morelli, a disgraced former vice cop who is also the man who took Stephanie's virginity at age 16 and then wrote details on a bathroom wall. With pride and rent money on the line, Plum plunges headlong into her first case, one that pits her against ruthless adversaries- people who'd rather kill than lose. 

In Stephanie Plum, Evanovich has created a resourceful and humorous character who stands apart from the pack of gritty female detectives."

My Rating:  3.75/5

This book reminds me of something that someone my mom's age would have read in a book club when I was a kid. It's filled with humour, there is a hot ex-cop on the run, a woman trying to piece together her life and a mystery. What more could you want? I would say that I wish so many stereotypes weren't fulfilled, but due to the year it was published I am not surprised. I think that this book completes its main purpose, it was entertaining and fun, not too deep. I plan to continue reading this series when I need a lighthearted, fun read.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Title: The Star-Touched Queen
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Series/Standalone: The Star-Touched Queen (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 342
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffith
Year Published: 2016
Format: Hardcover Copy (Own it)
First Line: "Staring at the sky in Bharata was like exchanging a secret."

"Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you're only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire...

But Akaran has its own secrets- thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance. Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most... including herself."

My Rating: 3/5

This book has been raved about on booktube since it came out and the sequel/companion novel also was spoken about highly and while I understand some of the praisings, some parts of this novel just fell flat for me. The writing in this book is beautiful and so poetic, but I found myself having trouble keeping up with where the story was going. Personally, I just think that the writing was too flowery for the story that was its companion. I also found that most of the twists and turns were predictable. I gasped once or twice over the choices of our main character, but other than that I found it all slightly predictable. 
All these things considered I have decided not to continue on with the series, but would be interested in other works that the author comes out with, just in a different series or subject.

Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Spoiler: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

So this book was all over booktube when I first started watching booktube, and it was all over the place. People were raving about the cover, the story and the writing. So I decided to pick it up. Overall for me, this was just a bit of a letdown. It did not live up to the hype. While the writing was beautiful and almost poetic, it was too flowery for the story itself I had trouble keeping up with the metaphors and symbolism so much that I had to reread paragraphs to grasp where the story was going. I also found that the twists and turns were not as surprising as they were intended to be. I guessed that Amar was death himself and that Nritti was the villain in the story. These things aside, I won't be continuing the series/reading the companion novel, although I'm interested in other works the author may put out.

Characters:
Maya: She was a sad main character at first and to see her struggling just to feel alive and like she belonged broke my heart, but when she found Amar it seemed like things started to head in a different direction. Until she was naive enough to believe everything anyone freaking told her. It was frustrating that she believed anything anyone told her when she was so quick to question Amar to begin with.

Amar: I liked him but during the flashbacks, I saw why she stepped into the pool of souls for reincarnation. To say, fine go is a horrible idea but that happens in so many couple arguments. I also think that his love for her was beautiful, but I wish that their story of the meeting had been expanded a little more (and yes I know there is a novella and no I am not going to read it).

Gauri: She would be the only reason for me to read the companion novel. And I loved her attitude by the time we saw her again. Her power and the love of her people are beautiful. 

Gustpa: I'm very interested in his background but not enough to read the prequel, unfortunately, his love of riddles was sweet to read about and reminded me of the riddles in ACOTAR

Kamala: Everyone seems to love her, but I didn't really care for her overall. We saw her for a short time and when we did she was just obsessed with chomping on someone. Which is fine.

Nritti: Obviously the villain but her story was also tragic. That being said, he was going to be reincarnated, but that's not soon enough apparently. 


Moments to Remember:
Pg. 269
"'You're not a sadhvi, not a thief and not entirely a charlatan,' said Mother Dhina. 'Who are you?'
If I could tell her, I would. But that answer was beyond me, so I gave the only one that felt right.
'I'm a dead girl walking.'"


Final Line: "I was Queen of Naraka."


Thanks for reading,
Sidny

Book Review: The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams

Title: The Haven
Author: Carol Lynch Williams
Series/Novel: Novel
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Science Fiction
Pages: 224
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Year Published: 2014


"For the teens of Haven Hospital and Halls, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surronds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in 2020. But the Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know. Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease  that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs- and memories. 
But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they've been told is a lie? What if the Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shilah starts asking dangerous questions?"

My Rating: 2.5/5

Why is this rating so low Sidny? Because it was a good premise but not well executed. I read alot of dystopian. I know what I like and this book just wasn't meant for me. I found it hard to pay attention and while it was a short I had a lot of trouble reading it. It was supposed to be a quick read but took longer to read then other longer books I had read this month. I hope to read more books like this just written a bit differently with characters i found more interesting. This being said the setting in this series was interesting to me I just wanted more from what I thought I was going to be reading. I wouldn't really suggest this book to anyone, but if anyone probably someone younger than me. So under 21.

Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny

Spoiler: The Haven by Carol Lynch Williams

I found that this book was interesting in premise but didn't follow through with the way it was written. I wasn't ok with how like The Island this was. I also wasn't ok with the use of characters or the lack of knowledge about the outside world. Although we know some things about the world based on the internet I just felt no connection to anything. I was interested in the idea of clones, but just disappointed. I did enjoy the slight things throughout the book based on literature and the learning that the Terminals have about things of the Whole. I also thought that that was an interesting premise. Ps what's in the Tonic????

Characters:
Shiloh: She's so strung out on the Tonic that I couldn't relate to her, but I thought it was really interesting how she observed the Terminals after. How she noticed things around her and the way they were being used. Also that she had an out of body experience.

Gideon: I found him hard to trust near the end especially because I found that he was too close with Dr. King.  I also think that it was weird how he stepped away with Ann. I was confused. 

Abigail: She's so strong and I wonder what happens to her.

Daniel: Screw you!

Dr. King: And also you! I understand that he has a God complex. It's scary to think that this could happen and that he honestly seemed to think that he was doing the right thing. I wish that I didn't think it was a possibility, but....

Final Line: "She opened her arms to me."

Thanks for reading,
Love,
Sidny