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JUNE
Redemption by Lila Dawes
⇢ GENRES: Contemporary Romance
⇢ DATE FINISHED: June 11th
⇢ RATING: ★ ★ ★/5 (3 stars)
First of all, the cover for this book is absolutely stunning and I'm not ashamed to say is one of the reasons I immediately picked it up. As for the content of the book, I felt that the writing was lucid enough for me to get into very quickly. However, I ended up loving the male main character, Jack, more than our FMC, Kat, and that just didn't sit right with me.
Now don’t get me wrong, I did in fact spend my entire day, from start to finish, reading this book— which is why i eventually decided on the rating that I have, because as much as it lacked in some aspects, it was fairly entertaining to me.
Personally, Jack deserved a lot better than Kat’s wishy-washy tendencies. I understand the difficulty and guilt she feels getting involved with the person who killed her mother (not a spoiler, I promise!) but for him to be constantly reminded just feels like a slap in the face, especially since he was trying his best to do everything he can to make it up to her and her sisters.
Runaway by Bazookah
⇢ GENRE: Dark Romance
⇢ DATE FINISHED: June 22nd
⇢ RATING: ★ ★ ★ .75/5 (3.75 stars)
Wattpad saves the day yet again! This app will always be my default, my something old, tried and true, just all of the above. There are true visionaries on this app and this writer was one of them. It was everything I needed to further me ahead of this slump that seemed determined to run me over. This book was for the girls who love a morally gray MMC, a FMC who really comes into her own. You will melt for these characters just like Nico does for Josie (which was so sweet).
JULY
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
⇢ GENRE: Contemporary Romance
⇢ DATE FINISHED: July 11th
⇢ RATING: ★ ★ ★ ★.5/5 (4.5 stars)
After finishing Percy and Sam's book back in 2022, I needed一craved一Sam's book immediately. A lot of people had their opinions of Sam after Every Summer After and the only one I had was how much I adored him.
Now, enter, One Golden Summer, where we're able to learn so much more about Sam apart from being Percy's older brother and I didn't think it was possible to love this man anymore than I did but Carley Fortune made it happen. Reading this book reinforced how much of a good man he is and all the reasons why I was always the number one Charlie Florek defender.
One Golden Summer was such a fun read in a way that I don't think I'd gotten from a book in a while amid this tiring reading slump. I knew right off his and Alice's first interaction that their banter was going to be very satisfying to me and it was. Charlie was an acts of service prince and that's the exact type of man Alice needed in her life.
I also enjoyed the families whenever they graced the page, especially Nan. Anytime Percy and Sam strolled into a scene, I couldn't help but tear up. Their book just holds sentimental value. Anyways, this was an all around delightful read.
Boys of Summer by Jessica Brody
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⇢ GENRE: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
⇢ DATE FINISHED: July 23rd
⇢ RATING: ★★★.75/5 (3.75 stars)
For this book to be in three different POV's, let alone three male characters, it was surprisingly well-paced. This book follows best friends Grayson, Mike and Ian who hoped for a summer of the same epic adventures, but receive a summer where the bounds of their friendships are tested.
I feel like each point of view really gave me a good sense of who these boys were, not only as individuals, but in romantic relationships as well (because there are some ships in here) and within their friendships with one another. This was cute, fast-paced and a good summer read by Jessica!
Glisser by Jane Washington
⇢ GENRE: Why Choose, Omegaverse
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 1st
⇢ RATING: ★★★★/5 (4 stars)
Oh, how I adore Isobel and her Alphas. I genuinely find it so surprising that I was able to keep up with an eleven-way relationship. The amount of relationship dynamics never felt like a tremendous amount of work to understand. Jane is able to seamlessly transition each of them in the right moments and it certainly helped how likeable the characters were all written. The group-chat of them all was hilarious, the ways they're able to speak to each other internally, their banter with one another. All in all, this book just might be my favourite in the series.
AUGUST
Elancer by Jane Washington
⇢ GENRE: Why Choose, Omegaverse
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 2nd
⇢ RATING: ★★★.5/5 (3.5 stars)
I was so excited for the final book in the Ironside Academy series and it left me a little disappointed instead. It kind of felt repetitive and I wish there was more depth in the relationships before we were hearing love confessions, but I digress because I do love these characters. This series was incredibly fun and entertaining, never lacking drama and steam. The fact that I was able to remember all eleven of their names should say something about how good of an ability Jane Washington has to be able to characterize each of them.
Swanna in Love by Jennifer Belle
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⇢ GENRE: Coming of Age, Literary Fiction
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 3rd
⇢ RATING: ★★★.5/5 (3.5 stars)
The tagline for Swanna in Love claimed this book to be a reverse lolita which in retrospect I understand why the author, Jennifer Belle, did so. It introduces fourteen year old Swanna whose roped into her mother's plans alongside her young newer lover, Borislav, as Swanna and her little brother, Madding, are forced to stay at an artist colony (that doesn't allow kids) despite wanting to go back home to New York. So, Swanna decides to it'd be a good idea to seduce Dennis, the thirty-seven year old man and father, whom she meets at a bowling alley in order to get him to take her home to her Upper West Side apartment.
While I understand a fourteen year old isn't exactly the world's most reliable narrator, Swanna went from sounding like a little girl on her way to teen-hood, not quite there but reaching close, to something out of a porno. The ways she'd talk during the sex scenes (which were not needed in my opinion) felt extremely unrealistic for her age. The writing makes it feel like we're inside of a younger girls mind, and yet, it didn't quite match with the grown attitude the author so often implemented throughout the narrative.
This book was definitely well-written and I often found myself laughing out loud at the absurdity that'd come out of Swanna's narrative as well as her little brother's. I can appreciate what the author was trying to do with Swanna in Love but I'm still unsure how to feel about it.
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
⇢ GENRE: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 6th
⇢ RATING: ★★★/5 (3 stars)
I remember reading the second book in the Perfect Chemistry series and loving it but I hadn't ever actually read the first one and maybe that was a good thing.... nostalgia can only take me so far. The beginning of the narrative, where the plot is all set up, quickly captured my attention but the overall execution of it ended up falling flat. I do give this book the benefit of doubt seeing as it was published in 2008.
The main characters, Brittany and Alex, were still enjoyable to me despite that. I tend to love the "good girl" and "boy from the wrong side of the tracks/bad boy" narrative in a young adult romance or contemporary romances in general.
Love is A War Song by Danica Nava
⇢ GENRE: Contemporary Romance, Indigenous
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 16th
⇢ RATING: ★★★★.5/5 (4.5 stars)
The chemistry between Lucas and Avery was delectable. The minor characters were able to stand out in a way that added to the book's enjoyment. I'm embarrassed to say this is the second romance book I've ever read that included Indigenous representation but it certainly won't be my last. It gave such a refreshing perspective, setting itself apart from other romances I've read.
I feel like I say this about a lot of books but I truly mean it when I say I had one of the best times reading this, and if you don't mind pop-culture references (there is a few in here), you will too. I know this because every minute that I wasn't reading this book, I was think about it and itching to pick up my kindle. I genuinely could not and did not want to put this down. I adored not only the romance but the found family and individual relationships that were formed, the sense of community found on the rez and the ranch was one of my favourite parts.
It reminded me so much of Hannah Montana: The Movie一popstar is sent back to the small town/ranch she has family on to get back in touch with her roots where she meets a rugged cowboy who isn't particularly fond of her.
Loved this one.
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
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⇢ GENRE: Non-fiction, Essays
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 17th
⇢ RATING: ★★★★★/5 (5 stars)
John green's ability to string sentences together in a way that provides a tremendous amount of comfort and understanding should be studied. This book is not only about his personal musings but he's able to to connect it to the collective human experience in such a profound way that leaves me in awe.
I just couldn't give it anything below a five stars which is ironic considering he opened up a conversation on societies need to subject everything for reviews, basing something's value on a five star scale.
Passion Project by London Sperry
⇢ GENRE: Contemporary Romance
⇢ DATE FINISHED: August 20th
⇢ RATING: ★★★.25/5 (3.25stars)
The first half of this book I have no comments on. I was
genuinely enjoying it so much. For a debut, London Sperry's
writing flowed extremely nicely. Honestly, it reminded me of the way Lauren Layne
writes a lot of her books so that was an added bonus because I adore Lauren Layne's books. Bennet, the FMC, was a character I related to
because of the simple fact that she let her anxieties rule over her
life.
However, that's where the relatability stopped. While I acknowledge that grief is a multifaceted emotion that comes with many
tribulations, it felt like this was the only thing we knew about Bennet. She let her grief over Sam (not a spoiler, you find out pretty early on) cloud everything she does; her relationships
with friends, family, potential suitors, even jobs. She felt one
dimensional in the sense.
Eighty percent through is where it started to lose me. However, I still recommend this to anyone looking for a book that feels like a comfy rom-com movie and I'm excited to read more from London.
This was everything I read this summer and I truly hope this fall season turns out to be better luck for me. I've already curated a very hopeful TBR that I'm aiming to at least read a few from it. I cannot wait to become more consistent on here as well.
Until next time,
leema
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