lilyhales's reviews
81 reviews

The Dare by Natasha Preston

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

my jaw is on the floor, my mind is blown, WTFFF

Wicked Serve by Grace Reilly

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.0

˗ˏˋ ꒰ thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to receive an arc! ꒱ ˎˊ˗

☼ This book is brothers rival, college romance, athlete x athlete (volleyball x hockey) I like how this book is pretty fast paced. I was pretty hooked from the beginning. I do think the book was a bit dragged out, some parts bored me a bit and made me lose a bit of interest. 

☼ Isabelle is a college volleyball player who thinks that she’s not in the right position in her team. She talks to her coach & her coach gave her a chance (after lots of begging) but the condition is, she CANNOT be distracted!! I’m glad she found another passion besides volleyball. I think wedding planning made her a lot happier than when she was playing volleyball. 

☼ Enter Nik, her summer fling & college hockey player. Nik recently got kicked out from his University & his grandpa made him transfer IF Nik agreed to work for the family business & not pursue hockey seriously after college. Nik wants to continue what him & Isabelle had during the summer, but how will it go when Isabelles brother, Cooper, forbade anything romantically happen between them two. 

☼ Listen, at the beginning I wasn’t a huge fan of Isabelle, she was an entitled rich brat. When the coach was talking to her while she begged. I’m glad that she is trying even if it’s only in front of the coach. I related with the fact that I also suck at math. I felt bad for Nik, trying to love & pursue a career in hockey but having guns grandpa undermine his talent & just compare him to his father sucked. I’m happy he had a cousin who still believed in him & wanted Nik to play professionally.  Them being together was kinda cute, even if we mostly read about their sex life. They seemed a lot more relaxed & comfortable with each other. 

Wedding the Wide Receiver by Lisa Suzanne

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

୧ ׅ𖥔 ۫ Thank you to valentine pr for giving me an arc ⋄ 𓍯

ִ ࣪𖤐 Grace works her family’s business, a vineyard. She’s always wanted to work there. Spencer is a football player. He’s having some troubles at work though. After Grace tell Spencer her crazy idea.. things get interesting 

࣪𖤐 Grace is such an amazing friend & tries to be a good sister as well, even if her sister isn’t an easy one. Grace finds some information Amelia was withholding & she takes it into her own hands to ensure that the vineyard truly becomes hers. She’s been dreaming of the vineyard ever since she’s been a child & compared to her sister, she’s put work & effort into it. 

࣪𖤐 Spencer is good guy, you can tell he cares for Amelia, Grace’s sister & Grace as well. He’s a guy who likes his peace & a strategy for life. Unfortunately for him he gets let go of from his team. He does find a new one, which is what he needed in that moment of his life. 

࣪𖤐 I kinda liked the story. I have mixed feelings. Some parts I really enjoyed & others where I was left unsure of what I felt. I don’t really enjoy the siblings ex trope. I liked the characters, they felt like real people since they had their issues. 

࣪𖤐 Reading this book made me feel bad for Grace, her sister is such a bitch. I loved her bond with Spencer though!! You could tell they cared about each other. I liked the fact that they actually liked each other as friends before falling in love! I do enjoy a good friends to lovers trope hehe.

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

I felt so many emotions 😭😭😭🤍🤍🤍 

Twisted Truths by P. Rayne

dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

review coming soon…

Love Not Qualified by Maeve Hazel

challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

-ˏˋ⋆ Thank you to maeve for letting me receive an arc <3 ⋆ˊˎ-

☁︎ This story was so freaking good. I loved it & enjoyed it soooo much. From the first chapter I was HOOKED!! This gave me the fine print x term’s & conditions vibes which I loved so much. This book does talk about eating disorders & alcoholism, so please read with caution. 

☁︎ We follow Haelyn & Tristan, Haelyn is a girl trying to find the perfect job for her & getting back into the dating scene. Tristan is a CEO who doesn’t do girlfriends. They unknowingly meet up in an app & Tristan hires her to be an employee. Haelyn doesn’t know that the guy she’s talking to on the app is her boss!!

☁︎ I liked Haelyn, she was super funny & such a quick thinker ! She’s had a rough past but tries her best everyday for her mom & for herself. She has some good friends but she doesn’t let herself open up to others because she thinks she’d get judged & she’s ashamed. I’m sad with her background since nobody should go through that, I just want to give her a huge hug. 

☁︎ I liked Tristan, he was a guy with a rough life & trying to do his best for himself & his brother. Since his father’s death, he’s been taking care of his younger brother & trying to stop drinking so much. When he hires Haelyn, things take a turn for the best, he decides he wants to better himself & not continue on his alcoholic lifestyle. 

☁︎ I truly think that Haelyn made Tristan’s life better & finding each other was a blessing for them. They became better people. 

(Un)Bounded by Liss Montoya

funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

thank you so much to truly yours pr for the arc!

ღ We meet Isabella & Gabo in this story. Isabella is fresh out of college with no clue what she wants to do now with her life. Gabo is a billionaire who owns a restaurant in Italy! He offers Isabella a chance to stay in his place in Italy so she can figure out her next steps & join an art school during her stay. But what they don’t expect is to fall for each other…

ღ I liked Isabella, but she did seem annoying sometimes. She has some trauma with her parents but she’s taken care of by her two older brothers. She doesn’t like to feel like the baby of the family & wants to be treated like an actual adult. She felt stuck in life.

ღ Gabo is okay. He was super nice to Isa & treated her so kind. The nicknames came fast & I felt kinda weird by them. He helped Isa & gave her some advice since he also felt stuck in life & often compared himself to his brother as well. 

Frayed Bonds by Leia King

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

4.5 ⭐️ ≡;- ꒰ ° Thank you so much to truly yours pr for the arc ꒱

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ We follow Valerie & Ambrose in this story. She’s an artist & he’s a CEO. This is best friend’s brother, age gap (not the creepy kind) & a bit of fake daring! 

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ I truly enjoyed reading their story. I loveloveloveeeee these types of books & im a sucker for them. I loved Val & how funny she was. I loved her relationships with her family. She’s a going through a divorce but she’s not fully comfortable & she’s kinda paranoid because of her ex-husband. Her father needs surgery & she needs a job fast! So her best friend makes her the brother’s assistant muahahaha.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Ambrose is a cocky, playboy type CEO. He has to make his appearance & reputation better & prove that him & his siblings are good for the roles that they’re dealt with at the company. His reputation gets in the way since he always has somebody new & nothing stable. 

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚ Ambrose realizes his feelings for Valerie as she works as his assistant & Val’s feelings for Ambrose spark up again! They go through some challenges but they do make each other better. I loved them together & how they were able to make jokes & be comfortable with each other. Ambrose made Val safe & comfortable with her life & Val made Ambrose loved . 

Next Chapter of Us by Alaina Rose

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

The Light Within by Carliann Jean

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

4.0

Thank you to truly yours pr for this arc 🫶

-‘๑’- I enjoyed this fantasy book! Like all fantasy books, it took me awhile to actually fully understand & get into it. I had so much fun imagining the world & how it looked through the descriptions the author gave. there were also super helpful in the beginning of the book with placements & how to pronounce all the new cities!!! Not many fantasy books do that so the fact that they took their time with that truly is something cool! This book is truly unique & it keeps you hooked & wanting more.

-‘๑’- This book has multiple povs, so you do get certain scene twice so you can see what that character is thinking throughout that particular scene! I truly enjoyed having all these povs since I feel like I got to know the characters a lot better. 

-‘๑’- In the book, we get the pov of 4 main characters & what each of their jobs/roles are! Eira is a therapist trauma healer, Del is like a magical creature, Tryg works at an office at the capital/has a government job, & Nyx is a captive who has a ‘secret’.  

-‘๑’- Throughout the book we experience & witness blanks struggles with certain memories & nightmares, we get to see how it affects her life, work & even social interaction. We also get some romance which is always nice to have.