readsbyti's reviews
157 reviews

The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

emotional reflective fast-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

What a cute read and the perfect end to the kiss quotient series! as i listened on audiobook i need to give huge props to natalie naudus who brought so much emotion to anna that i cried a few times at her delivery😭

Anna’s growth and understanding of her autism diagnosis was the main focus of the story & it was written so well, going through that journey with her and the frustrations of her sisters reaction was a load on its own and Helen really immersed us in that through her writing.

the interactions between Anna and Quan warmed my heart so much, Quan was so kind and empathetic and their romance was this tender precious thing i wanted to encase in a bubble🥹 however, i just can’t get over the fact that Anna didn’t claim that man in front of her family properly when they blew it off as just a bump in her and Julian’s road

Babymoon or Bust by Ava Hunter

emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Oh my goodness that was so freaking perfect! Give me 12 of these right now!! I don’t think I have ever felt this many butterflies reading before! Solomon is so goddamn attentive and a fucking sweetheart! It was the perfect balance of sweet moments, laughs swoons and tears.

I love that Solomon gave Tessie unconditional attention and made her realived someone is in her corner snd there to stay & I love that Tessie brought Solemn Man back to life after he had essentially fallen off the grid following the death of his wife, rightfully so. The man was broken & I was worried there would be a lot of comparisons between Tess and Serena (the dead wife) or a huge emphasis on “Tess is better than Serena” but was relieved there wasn’t any, Solomon saw Tessie as her own person from the go and fell in love with her (though Serena did “speak” to him in a guardian angel kind of way which was strange but it wasn’t for a huge chunk of the story) and Tessie respected Serena’s memory and never overstepped or tried to be Serena.

I also appreciate that not everyone was immediately welcoming to Tessie when they got back to Alaska, it sounds weird but it creating a balanced dynamic, if all of Solomons family was like “welcome to the family we love you already” without any scepticism I would have felt very weird about it. Not saying I liked Evelyn and Howlers behaviour though, god if you could see my notes? but I appreciate the balance and their initial concern (though Evelyn really should’ve actually apologised to Tessie idc about that big gesture you aren’t sorry until you speak the words🙂‍↔️)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Death, and Death of parent

Collided by Mary Wyne

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

“𝑰’𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔”

first and foremost, I loved the relationship between not only our main characters (Heath and Hope) but their best friends (Sebastian and Marie) it was toooo adorable because they were very opposite in dynamics but all were/became friends. I love when the friend group actually have depth in the story instead of being forgotten halfway, this has made me curious about Sebastians story.

Definitely would’ve preferred a bit more development in Hope’s home situation, at times it felt like it was paused in favour of the interactions between Hope & co rather than weaved into the story and allowed to progress more towards a resolution but that being said I really did appreciated seeing Hope gain those friendships as well as a bit more confidence in herself. I’ll lock-in for the subsequent books as that cliffhanger has me curious about Heath & Hope’s story but also wanting to see what the Mary has planned for Sebastian and Marie’s book.

I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang

funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

4.5

Ahhh!! Stop this was so goddamn adorable!! It was a cute, light but also impactful read and especially loved those last few  chapters!

I love me a rivals-to-lovers and this hit the spot!! the back and forth between sadie and julius was so funny and cute! I was squealing whenever we got those little hints of julius’ feelings for sadie, boy was NOT subtle🥹

I think my favourite part is sadies growth from people pleaser to her starting to let go of those tendencies & slowly starting to be more of a teen. whilst I don’t think i was a people pleaser as a teen or now sadie definitely had me hurting seeing how she took on burdens she didn’t need to take on and held things in, especially the events of

her dad walking out on them

the fact she really thought she caused that was heartbreaking!

A Summer of Dandelions by Whitney Amazeen

lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year and a first from this author for me but I was very disappointed.

Apart from Addisons interactions with the kids nothing else really stuck with me or had an emotional impact on me, usually I’ll get butterflies and be a giggling mess but this was one where I read this with a straight face the whole way through.

It also felt less romance-y & more preachy with a surprising amount of religious aspects which wouldn’t be a problem if I went in knowing this, there are whole bible verses (like corinthian 1:14 whatever that is called), I didn’t feel a romantic spark between Addison and Perry much less a good friendship base and so them ending up together just felt underwhelming.

Sinner by Sierra Simone

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

3.0

“God the fucking irony of a sinner loving a nun”

Jesus take the wheel🫣 i loved the way Sean spoke about Zenny, he was so besotted with her i wanted to cry, even in their filthiest moments it managed to also be the sweetest scenes to read because of how attentive Sean was to Zeni’s comfort and pleasure🥹

Other than that I don’t actually remember much of the plot🤭 i do remember that the constant mention of the age gap quickly turned irritating. Also this was basically all from Seans pov which would be fine if the audiobook didn’t state there was two narrators so I was expecting Zenny’s pov but never got it, she just read out a voicemail I think..

The Devil You Know by Veronica Eden
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

dnf’d at 20%.

This just wasn’t clicking. Not only was the dialogue really cringe (at some point Tatum, the fmc, said “bow chika wow wow” when referring to sex), Tatum herself was just really annoying, considering I read a different book before this following the same “fmc wants to lose her virginity” premise those one felt super objectifying of the mmc Cooper, Tatum essentially just sees him more as a body with a dick  than her brothers friend and nothing really stood out about either characters.

Even Cooper is flawed in this, he seems very 1 dimensional and stereotypical surfer boy and I didn’t know i hated a mmc type before but I hate this type apparently 😬 all this before 20% too. maybe I will eventually come back to this but right now I’m not in the mood and the mc’s irritated me.

Glove Save by Teagan Hunter

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Another day another adorable hockey romanxe by Teagan Hunter. Had such a great time reading this!

Macie is an absolute riot the hell she gave Greer and the Comets but then her and Greer bonding theough her lessons was also so darn cute! It was well paced and had the perfect balance of emotion, banter and romance.

I do wish we saw a bit more of Stevie’s life outaide of her kid and Greer, we got some glimpses of her getting let go at work and then working for Scout but I don’t even know the degree she studies for im the epilogues much less what her passions were?

I was surprised by how spicy these two got I need to a pause a few times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Domestic abuse

Scoring Chance by Teagan Hunter

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

There he is! There’s my favourite boy! As always, loved Miller in previous books and it was no different here, I was so excited to finally get to see him get his love story because he is exactly who I’d thought he’d be as a partner, reassuring, attentive and his partners’ biggest fan and he was all that and more for Scout even in friendship!🥹. A very fast paced read too.

I really enjoyed seeing Miller and Scout build a friendship overtime through their teasing then seeing them fall for each-other unabashedly (especially on Millers end).

However, what could’ve been a simple friends to lovers all the way through had an unnecessary break up/conflict in the last 20%, I kid you not this felt like it came out of nowhere because things were going great they were vibing then boom suddenly Scout says she doesn’t see it going anywhere? All because Miller read her draft? (which btw the misunderstanding of that was stupid af) I was so confused because apart from one time where she questioned what if he doesn’t see this as anything (which quickly got squashed btw) there was no other indication this was an insecurity point that could cause this conflict😭.

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Another series finished! i got comedy, chaos and ALEXIS RETURNED! I cannot believe a talking horny sword has been one of my favourite charcters in a series🥹 Also IT WAS CHERRYS BOOK! (tbf this was in the blurb but i didn’t know because I tend to skim over the blurb or not read it at all, especially if it’s for a series) anyway the way I was so jittery waiting for someone to clock on that Cherry was Cherry Hotpepper but Kimberly damn near dangles that fruit above your head,  the plot didn’t make me feel like I was just waiting for that reveal which is good.

Much like our other fmc’s in the series I adored Cherry’s personality, such a loveable and bright character, even despite being kidnapped and locked away for 5 years. Then Dante and the way he was so smitten over Cherry, GODDAMN😭

My unexpectedly favourite moment was when the merry band of our favourite demon pirates were giving advice to Dante on how to confess to Cherry🥹 I was in stitches because they were all so wrong but A for effort