jstudes's reviews
561 reviews

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Fire In Her Eyes by Ruby Dixon

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I was really up for this human dominating the dragon book. Super hot. 

Fire in His Blood by Ruby Dixon

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Listen. It’s a dragon shifter romance so obvi that’s the main thing here. “Hey big guy” is really familiar from the ice planet barbarians series. However. Props to the author for making this as believable and hot as a book like this can be. 💕

Kissing My Killer by Helena Newbury

adventurous medium-paced

3.75

Texas Kissing by Helena Newbury

adventurous medium-paced

3.75

I love romantic suspense if the FMC gets something good to do. I love that this one got to make fake passports. “Why does it say department of homeland security on your forehead?” 😂😂😂
I love how this happy ever after turned out for this couple. Great series!

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Hoodie is my new favorite funny narrator. Then, every other character - from the best friend to the little sisters to the ancient Rabbi - are drawn so cleverly… it was just perfect. 

Blame It on the Cowboy: An Anthology by Delores Fossen

lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

This was fun and cute. The tension relied too much on a constant loop of "I should leave town, I'm not good enough, he doesn't want me" The feelings make sense but would have liked to see FMC get over it faster and then get the bakery going. Is this an example of a HFN novel? Never really run into one officially. 

Lone Star Nights: An Anthology by Delores Fossen

lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

This was really, really cute! Everything about this was fun, BUT here's why it's not a higher star count for me. 
There's not enough interaction between the kids and the adults. They start disciplining the older kid but never have a breakthrough moment with her. They send her shopping with the other aunt character but none of them ever get her to trust them. It's not until the final incident that the MMC gets his fatherly feelings for the teenager, but by then... it just feels like he's protecting property. The little girl is cute and the star thing was fun. BUT neither MC really worked with her to bond. She just kept popping in to tell them that something was going on.
The MCs are goodish together but there's so much happening in the background. When the FMC's exbf shows up that became too much too. 

Cowboy Strong: Includes a Bonus Novella by Carolyn Brown

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Okay. I know what to expect with Carolyn Brown. Lots of cuteness in a small town. Heart-warming sex between two people destined to get married. Incidentally, this makes it okay that the sex often happens the night before everyone goes to church. You can also expect a surprise pregnancy. I'm fine with all of that.
BUT
The bullshit with hearing the baby's heartbeat the FUCKING weekend the FMC would have missed her period was too much. It's like, we followed you down the road of the fake engagement/real wedding. That can be expected in this kind of book. We've already suspended our disbelief. But why start making shit up about the science of gestation?

Call to Honor by Tawny Weber

tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

This was my mind in the first 1/4 of this book.
Seal team. Testosterone. Bikini lady in a picture. Bad mission. Harley and a kid and neignborhood! 

It took a bit to get oriented here. The MMC didn't know exactly what was going on between the FMC and her ex... but neither did the reader... Even though some things were explained. I know it's a way to build suspense, but in this case, it was just a lot to get situated with. Overall though the plot was fun!