midknytowl's reviews
315 reviews

All the Painted Stars by Emma Denny

adventurous hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-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

3.75

This was cute, and it was so nice to read a medieval romance that was sapphic. They were cute, and I will always read anything that has a girl pretending to be a boy for something, it is my favorite microtrope. Docked it a quarter star because it felt kind of slow and took longer than I would have thought to finish. Good, but even the stressful and high stake events weren't enough to keep me staying up to read one more chapter.

Crisis Averted: The Hidden Science of Fighting Outbreaks by Caitlin Rivers

informative medium-paced

3.5

Excellent narrator for the audiobook, and overall a good intro to public health and contagious diseases. 

Covid was barely talked about, which was a bit weird, and some other things were skirted around a bit, like not mentioning smallpox blankets when talking about how the disease killed most of the Native Americans. Apparently there's a DOD disclaimer in the acknowledgements that might have something to do with that; it's not read in the audiobook version and regardless I think the tiptoeing around certain things detracted a bit, hence the 3.5.

holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey

lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

3.0

When a Rogue Meets His Match by Elizabeth Hoyt

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? Yes

3.0

I liked the characters as a whole, but the two times Messalina got extremely angry at Gideon were a bit lame. I mean honestly,

storming out of a ball because you found out that your husband lied to you brother about consummating your marriage? Did he have plans to them seduce her that night? Sure. But he didn't initiate it, she did. She kissed him earlier that day in the bath, she told him to kiss her that night.

Unreasonable outrage. I just kept thinking she was overreacting just to have conflict between the characters.

The second one was even more of a no win situation for Gideon.

 
M: Tell me what my uncle told you to do. 
G: I can't, you'll hate me.
M: Tell me or we have no trust and can't start over. 
G: I can't, you'll hate me. 
M: Guess we can't have a relationship because you don't trust me. I'm leaving. 
G: Fine! -tells her-
M: I hate you.

Honestly you can't demand an answer to something and then get mad when they answer it. She kept setting Gideon up for failure. He sends flowers as amends, normal behavior 101? She hates flowers how could he be so trite.

I read the trilogy out of order, and compared to the other ones Messalina has the least amount of character development and nuance. The ending felt rushed, and how are you going to throw in a classic crowd pleaser trope and not utilize it/give the people what they want?

You had Gideon injured twice! Where was my decent sick bed scenes?? Why throw that in there and then do nothing with it?

Also, that very last second

kidnapping thing

seemed so very random. It wasn't necessary for them to get back together or realize they loved each other (at that point), and it was resolved so very quickly. 

Sad way to end my trilogy experience, but glad I read book three first or I probably wouldn't have picked it up after this one. I'll probably try the fourth one, since I'm sure there will be one. My prediction is Quinton, though I think Lucrecia will go first based on what I know from book 3. 

(And maybe Freya's sister will get a book, because I'd like to know if her name is Catrina like books 1&2 said, or Catriona, which was used in book 3. Or if the narrator just messed up.)

Not the Duke's Darling by Elizabeth Hoyt

adventurous fast-paced

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

4.0

Really liked this one, listened to it in two days. I think where it suffered the most was I had just finished the third book in the series and liked it so much I decided to read the rest, and the third book was a bit stronger (as is usual). Still quite good though.

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Content Warnings

Claustrophobia on page

In the Hall with the Knife by Diana Peterfreund
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

It was fine, but I put it down six months ago and wouldn't even remember I started it if it wasn't in my currently reading list. Obviously has not hooked me at all in the first 11%, so not going to bother revisiting.

Season's Schemings by Katie Bailey

3.75

Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake

emotional sad tense

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

2.5

Oof, I don't know the last time I read a romance where I truly wished they didn't end up together at the end. 🤦‍♀️

Leaving someone at the altar is going to be a hard one to get over at the best of times, but you know that going into it, and honestly, kind of okay with it. She shouldn't have done it and her reasons weren't amazing, but I can kind of get why that was how it was broken off a teeny tiny bit.

I mean if you can't express why it's no good every single time you talk, then no, talking yet again is not going to help. I can buy the panic attack leaving feeling like the only option. However, my dear Brighton, might I introduce you to the written word? A letter, a text, a song, etc. If you can't get it out in person because they can talk around you, remove the them talking part.

What I can't get, however, is them ever being in a happy relationship. I don't want this to be one of the reviews where I end up writing six pages, so I'm just going to throw random things that did not work for me. 

1. How did no one suggest therapy to Charlotte until two chapters from the end of this book? What kind of friend was Brighton or her family that no one ever mentioned it. The girl is basically a walking ad for therapist for all. 

2. Elle. Do you remember Elle? Don't feel bad, the author didn't either. They get a set up and are an active part of maybe two chapters in the beginning, and that's it. Almost felt like they were a token gender queer so you had one and then you were good. Also at very nice of them

to have to randomly move across the country so it was easier for you to leave NYC.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it they were the only one not in the epilogue

Christmas. Wes made it, even Darian made it, but Elle? Nah, no Christmas trip for you, you're not allowed out of LA. The two guys running restaurants, including a brand new one, that's fine though.

Do better. 

3. How they crossed paths again. Look, I can suspend so much disbelief in a romance, but you're telling me two exes moved to different cities in different states, one to NYC no less, and made new best friends that happened to be sisters? And that in five years Brighton never pieced it together this? (Charlotte didn't listen enough to know Sloan's sister's name wasn't Deli, so I believe her never figuring it out.)

4. Which let's just talk about Charlotte being a terrible human. Yes, it sucks your mom was not a mother at all, but damn I've seen people with so much worse parent issues be less fucked up than this. Also, 12 on you had basically parents from Brighton's parents. If you had gotten your ass to therapy, Brighton might not have

thought she had to sacrifice everything of herself for you to be happy.

Still not a decent enough excuse for standing up at the altar, but still. 

5. The sex. Now I read smut and straight up practically plotless erotica, so not a prude, but the sex in this one made me uncomfortable. Seriously, first thought maybe it was because I hadn't read anything decently spicy that wasn't hetero in too long, and then I started having an existential bisexual crisis over here wondering if I never really liked women at all. 😅 I think it was just out of place? Or the way it was written didn't work for me? I skimmed the last one of the book, so clearly wasn't doing anything for me. I think probably because it always read like fucking, when some of it should have been making love. It just... didn't always fit the vibe of the scene. 

6. The sex. These two need to stop having it, and not just because of #5. Look, relationships have sexy times, and I am (usually) here for it. But there's a time and place.

The morning before your wedding when you really need to talk shit out?

Nah, just have sex instead!

I think you're a traitor giving our wedding song to your old band and I'm running away crying?

Sexy times for you! Or would have been, if not for the potential frostbite probably. There's so many times where they just need to talk or figure things out but they just end up having sex instead. (And it's not an erotica type just throwing in sex scenes everywhere, it's even off page.) I get when you're reconciling, but it was horny teenagers can't get too close to each other without jumping each other's bones even in the flashbacks when they had been together for years. I'm buying you chastity belts so you can talk and sort things out.

This is already way too long and I have more, but I'll end with my biggest one. 

7. The resolution. You can't build up how incompatible they are so much to try to make the leaving at the altar seem almost reasonable, and then just magically poof that's not a problem anymore.

Thank you Elle and your sick grandmother for your sacrifice to making it a guilt free solution.

These were basically deal breaker issues. But it's fine, bring on the epilogue, it's all magically worked out now! 

I wish they had realized with the history and Charlotte's childhood trauma that they just needed to be best friends and move to a bigger town that had more than one other queer person and date. The fact neither of you ever dated anyone else isn't romantic, it's part of the problem. I would be much happier if they had realized this and the epilogue was years later where they've moved into fully platonic best friends and have their own separate partners. Which is not a great head cannon desire for a romance. 

2.5 because I really enjoyed it in the beginning.

Christmas in Spite of You by K.C. Mills
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.

Just not doing it for me. Don't love either of the main characters. Noel is being unreasonable in her demands with her being in the wrong with the cancellation, and he was characterized as a hard ass with cleanliness issues that bends completely after two seconds because she's got a nice ass. They don't have any chemistry and it's just so meh.

Hello Temptation by Kelsie Hoss
Did not finish book. Stopped at 74%.

Stopped at the third act breakup, because it was going to be so very stupid. I know characters have to be stupid and it's part of the formula, but I just didn't care how they worked it out so I didn't bother listening to the last quarter of it.

Also the relentless adds I got of the plane seatbelt not fitting and the he rescues her scene were the entire thing - quick little things that were resolved in a page. It was kind of disappointing.