bookbonds's reviews
335 reviews

Forbidden Intent by Cadence Keys

fast-paced

2.25

the pacing of the book made the characters and story feel quite flat. everything moved so quickly that by the time they said ily i wasn’t convinced lol. 

How to Save a Life by Lisa Steinke, Liz Fenton

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

god damnit, this was one of the depressing time loop stories. i loved it, it was great. I thoroughly enjoy seeing characters learn to grow as people when in time loops. i love the “oh god it’s groundhog day” realization, i love the pain and acceptance when it comes to cases like this one. had to take off my glasses to cry. 

Discord by Becca Fogg

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this did not need to be almost 600 pages i’m sorry. absurd. could’ve been at least 100 pages less. but whatever. never back down never give up 🫡
it was fine, so few ryan scenes that a part of me actually died. but this book does tackle the intricacies of the relationships between EVERYBODY and just the jealousy that’s brewing that also got on my nerves. but it’s fine. they had a smutty kumbaya and THAT was fantastic. 10/10 group scene.

Duplicity by Becca Fogg

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

that ending was so fuckung demented that the author needs to pay for my therapy. i’m so serious. i don’t remember the last time i had to take off my glasses to fucking WEEP. besides that, this book was great, lots of interesting developments.. derek needs to be put in a straight jacket, nicky is a really fun character and i’m curious to see how her relationships evolve with the others. jax is better than me bc at this point i think i would’ve gone completely batshit

Duality by Becca Fogg

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

Woahhh. i haven’t read a book that’s been able to balance comedy, world building, characters and just overall plot that well in quite a while. this book had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions. jex’s inner monologue is just so absurd sometimes but honestly, she’s so me! 
the author has done a good job warming us up to her love interests as well as other characters she interacts with often. i care about the side characters. 
and with the way this book ended.. girl i’m nervous!

Sweet Berries by C.M. Nascosta

3.25

another super cute installment cambric creek series. this helping me learn that i very much enjoy a dorky, shy, affectionate mmc <33 

A Soul to Guide by Opal Reyne

adventurous funny medium-paced

3.75

firstly, i adore the duskwalker brides series! so fun, smutty and super interesting characters on both sides! i’m going back and forth on this one though. i loved both raewyn and merikh to bits and the way their relationship grows is really nice.. my two problems are “small” ig.
*spoilers are of two scenes. one of a minor point of conflict that’s brushed over quickly and the second is an offhand comment a character makes* 

1. raewyn-albeit unintentionally- taking merikh’s sight and basically saying she wouldn’t give it back to him was so fucked omg? 💀 if that scene didn’t end in sex man idk. that was smth..
2. raewyn wanting a family and merikh being like “ig if it makes you happy” also bothers me bc having kids should not be such a flippant fucking decision. there’s so much there i won’t get into.

Nightshade: A Dark Paranormal Gothic Romance by Keri Lake

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

3.0

i don’t know if i absolutely loved or hated this fucking book. i don’t KNOW OKAY? i have so many conflicting fucking emotions i don’t even know how to sort them into coherent thoughts and sentences. great world building, great dialogue, intriguing mystery/plot, interesting characters.. albeit very deranged. take tws seriously. the last 10% of this book felt like i was getting slapped around while simultaneously being dunked into ice water. that’s the best i got. 

Nocticadia by Keri Lake

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

4.75

and that’s how you leave someone fucking gagged! i’m kinda mad this is a standalone.. this world is so rich with so much to explore jesus fuck. the mystery aspects of this novel kept me HOOOKEDDD BRO! absolutely fantastic. from what happened to lilia’s mom, to devryck’s whole thing(dude has baggage galore), these “hallucinations” lilia sees, the secret society shit?! whew. then of course you have the actual romance aspects!! i really enjoyed seeing this push and pull between lilia and devryck, it was very amusing. good smut too 😁

Moonflower by Elira Firethorn

3.25

sometimes the smut is indeed the plot. but also this was just a cute story about best friends finally getting the girl and not having to choose. my FAVORITE 😁
also very accurate and honestly comforting depiction of depression.