Book Review – Page 16

Book Review: “Verity” By Colleen Hoover

This book has been sitting in my Kindle library for over a year now and I have no clue why it took me so long to read this book. I mainly downloaded it because I had seen a lot of people talking about the book when I had first started reading so the idea of reading this book seemed really nice. I feel like I remember reading the first chapter and just not really feeling like it was worth my while, so I essentially just let it collect electronic dust in my kindle. But who does that? Who reads one chapter and then gives up on a book? I do, I have done it with countless books and now because of this single 300 paged book I think I need to reconsider my process.

“Some families are lucky enough to never experience a single tragedy. But then there are those families that seem to have tragedies waiting on the back burner. What can go wrong, goes wrong. And then gets worse.”
Direct quote from book.

About The Book

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Date Published: October 5th, 2021

Page Count: 336

Main Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Romance

GoodReads Rating: 4.37

Synopsis

When famous author Verity Crawford gets in an unfortunate accident rendering her incapable of finishing her series book contract with her publishing company her husbands seeks out Lowen Ashleigh to finish the last three books in the series Verity started. Lowen had just lost her mother, money wasn’t coming in from her previous books and she was about to get evicted from her apartment, so even though she felt uneasy about finishing such a famous authors books she really had no other choice.

In order to get in the headspace of Varity, Lowen has to go through Varity’s home office and sort through piles upon piles of notes from her years of writing. But when she stumbles across a manuscript for an autobiography everything changes. In this manuscript lies everything from innocent sexual fun to the omission of murder. Does she show this to Verity’s husband or let him continue to love a possible psychopath?

“And that’s what love at first sight is. It isn’t really love at first sight until you’ve been with the person long enough for it to become love at first sight.”
Direct quote from book.

Rating

Review

What do I even say about this book? I am still trying to comprehend the ending. Maybe I should have waited a few days before I posted this review to give my mind some time to really think about my feelings for this book but I really wanted to get this out here while it is freshly engraved into my brain.

This book started off kind of slow for me but I gave a few chapters and I was hooked! I didn’t put this book down other than to do my job that I am actually getting paid for but I didn’t really even want to do that. This is the ultimate thriller in my eyes because it had a really good story but also made you question every thought in your brain.

This is the first book that I have read by Colleen Hoover and it definitely won’t be my last! I absolutely adored her writing, I might has well been the main character of the story because I felt everything this girl was feeling, every thought she had I was right there with her. If every book of hers is written like this I will be a life long reader of Collen Hoovers books. Well done!

Over all I highly recommend this book and I think everyone should read this in their lifetime. I know I am very glad I got around to it.

The biggest question I have for you, Are you team manuscript or diary? If you don’t know what I am talking about I need you to stop reading this post and pick up this book because I guarantee you will have a preference! (Maybe also don’t read the next few sentences) For me at first when I finished this book I didn’t know which team I was on and who I believed and maybe I still really don’t know for sure because this book messed with my head so much! But I like to think I am on team manuscript. Verity was just such an amazing writer that she could manipulate anyone who read something she wrote. She knew she could get away with whatever she wanted because of her writing and might I say acting skills. There is no way someone who can write such dark things like that manuscript (About her own children) could actually be ok in the head. I am not sure if this is really my final stance because like I said this book really messes with your head especially the last few chapters.

“No matter which way I look at it, it’s clear that Verity was a master at manipulating the truth. The only question that remains is: Which truth was she manipulating?”
Direct quote from book.

Book Review: “The Collective” By Alison Gaylin

This book was a November Book of the Month pick that I initially skipped over. This was a mistake! Once people received this book reviews were coming out so fast that I couldn’t keep up and each of them were raving about how amazing this book was. So naturally I added it to my December box and sure enough finished it within the week.

“They need to be punished to feel guilt, and then they’re never punished, so they never do.”
Direct quote from book, page 139.

About The Book

Author: Alison Gaylin

Publisher: William Morrow

Publish Date: November 2nd, 2021

Main Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery

Page count: 352 Pages

GoodReads Rating: 4.07

“Nothing’s guaranteed- Not future plans or justice or love or goodwill or the integrity of groups to whom you swear your allegiance. Not the good guys winning or the truth prevailing and certainty not life, the least guaranteed thing of all.
Direct quote from book, page 266.

Synopsis

Five years after her daughters death Camille is still struggling through her grief. The one thing that keeps her going is knowing that her daughters killer is still living a happy and normal life and that her daughter needs justice.

After a drunken misstep at a college awards ceremony for her daughters alleged killer a video surfaces on the internet and brings light back to her daughters case but bad publicity isn’t ideal.

When a strange lady hands her a card with one word “Niobe” listed on it, she goes down a rabbit hole that leads her in the end to the dark web. She finds a community full of grieving mothers looking for justice for their children but when fueled hatred meets a sisterhood, words become action.

Walking a thin line of justice and criminality, Camille’s forced to face the truth of how far is too far?

Rating

Review

* Possible Spoilers *

I am a huge sucker for thrillers and mysteries, throw in a twist that I didn’t see coming and you have a fantastic read!

I had high hopes for this book and honestly the first half of the book I was a bit skeptical because this felt so morally wrong but you can understand where these woman are coming from. I found myself very upset with the tasks the main character was sent to do and I would end up screaming at her to stop because it is just wrong! But then you hear her talk about all the horrible things these people have done and then you think “Yeah, He should die.” Ugh, I was torn!

Towards the end of the book the main character becomes aware that what they are doing is probably not the best thing to be participating in which was probably my favorite moment in the book. However, (Major Spoiler, don’t read this if you don’t want to know…..) the ending of the book was so good! I love a depressing ending where the main character doesn’t get the fairytale ending they wanted. These endings are so rare but that is what makes them feel like a breath of fresh air. Does this make me a monster?

This book is in the running for the best book of the year? Can this beat out two romance novels? I guess you will have to wait and see my final rankings for the year.

QOTD: What book had the best twist?

Book Review: “Crave” By Tracy Wolff

Let me start off by saying I am typically not a huge fantasy reader, let alone a book about vampire’s. I really have no desire to read Twilight and honestly that could be because I have already seen the movies, I hate Robert Pattinson and I think it is way too popular (is popular the word I am looking for? Probably not.) I found this book all over Booktok for a fun YA Romance Vampire read and I was already not super stoked about it but like I said, I saw it everywhere! So I decided to purchase the first book with low hopes and jumped in.

About The Book

Author: Tracy Wolff

Published Date: April 7th, 2020

Publisher: Entangled: Teen

Main Genres: YA, Fantasy, Romance

Page Count: 592 Pages

GoodReads Rating: 3.77 Stars

Synopsis

When Grace’s parents unexpectedly pass away due to a car crash she must leave hot and sunny California and move to cold and snowy Alaska to attend her uncles Boarding school. But when she arrives she can tell something is off about this school. Every student belongs to a clique but she just can’t seem to fit in to any of them. She can’t even make it to her first class without her life being threatened. The worse part is that everyone seems to be keeping secrets from her. How could a boarding school be so mysterious and dangerous?

Rating

Review

I have read so many mixed reviews about this book ranging from five stars to one star. I have seen comparisons to twilight (which I haven’t read yet) and I have seen people stating it was super cringy.

Did I think parts of this were cringy? Yes, the romance aspect of this book felt very strange but then again it is a fantasy novel based in a high school age group. Thinking back to my high school romances I guarantee we were this cringy and awkward. So I feel like for a YA romance read this was suitable. The main character and her love interest also started off hating each other and just a few short days later can’t keep their hands off of each other which seemed fast until you read the whole book and the author I felt tied it together nicely.

As for this book being a knock off of Twilight, I guess I can see where these people are coming from but then again it still had its own storyline. I can see a few similarities just from what I have seen of the Twilight movies but honestly, I found this book and plot more interesting. Maybe I should read the Twilight series before I make the assumption that this is better. However i have no desire to read that series.

I gave this four stars rather than five stars because I honestly found the main character grace annoying more often than not and towards the last fourth of the book I did get a little bored but the ending pulled me right back in. I also felt like this book did not need to be 600 pages long, but even so I read it in a week and that is very impressive on my end.

I am very excited to read the rest of the books in this series and I really hope they just continue to get better.

QOTD: Should I read the Twilight series or just call it good?

Book Review: “In a Holidaze” By Christina Lauren

This is a Christmas book that I started before Thanksgiving and finished on Thanksgiving day which honestly felt really strange. I was very excited to dive into this book and I just didn’t even think about what season I was in which normally wouldn’t bother me but for some reason not having snow on the ground and thinking about turkey really threw me for a loop.

This book is set in Utah which is my home state which made this book kind of a fun read! I was just worried that the Author would skip over some details that might have bothered me, but to be honest I don’t know much about Park City Utah to do any fact checks.

“You can’t erase mistakes. You just have to figure out how to fix them.”
Direct Quote from book. Page 268.

About The Book

Author: Christina Lauren

Publisher: Gallery Books

Date Published: October 6th, 2020

Total Pages: 307 Pages

Main Genres: Romance, Holiday, Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 3.76

Synopsis

Two families get together ever year for Christmas at a house in Park City Utah. The kids all grew up being very close with one another and Maelyn has had a huge crush on their friends oldest son Andrew but wait, there’s a love triangle including the other brother Theo. Theo and Maelyn have a little too much eggnog on Christmas eve and after one very awkward make out session all seems lost for Maelyn. Theo treats her as if she doesn’t exist, Andrew saw it all go down, and worst of all they have to sell the house! Many years of Christmas memories are about to be washed away and the final year would be left in ruins. But one wish and an accident can change the course of nature.

Rating

“My biggest fear in the car before the accident was the prospect of things changing. But isn’t that what I wanted when I threw that wish out to the universe? For everything to change?”
Direct quote from book. Page 122.

Review

I don’t do half star ratings so this was pretty hard to decide between three stars or four stars. I did a lot of deep thought before posting this review to finally come up with which way I wanted to lean. I finally landed on four stars based on a few facts. Why don’t we dive in?

I feel like I have read so many fake dating romances lately that this Groundhogs day type book was quite refreshing. Even though Maci did have to repeat a few days a couple of times it didn’t get repetitive. The author wrote this in a way that Maci did something completely different on each restart so it felt like a new storyline.

Another plus was that it was based in Utah and I liked the familiarity of that. I may not be up in Park City very often because lets be frank, it is a complete tourist trap, but honestly it is also super expensive and bougie. I live about 45 minutes away and that’s good enough for me. However it is really cool to see places you are familiar with being referenced in books.

I really liked Maelyn and Andrew being together for the most part. Maelyn has always liked Andrew and honestly it reminded me of all my childhood crushes. I love getting a nostalgic feel when I read. However, I do believe it is also the reason its not a five star rating though. They have known each other their whole lives so they have “cute” (Honestly gross) nicknames for each other and it felt really childish and awkward reading. Also the steamy scenes were worded really weirdly and I just felt awkward reading them. I have said it once and I will say it again, I think it is impossible for an author to write a steamy scene without using awkward phrasing. I need these steamy scenes to start coming together and leaving me speechless rather than wanting to close the book and move on from the moment.

Maybe I have just read way too many romance reads recently that I am becoming too picky about the stories I am reading. I am not sure to be honest. I had high hopes for this book and for the most part it was really good! I loved the whole story of her trying to find what makes her happy and trying to save the house, but the romance of the book was kind of meh to me.

Over All

If I did half ratings I would be giving this three and a half stars but because I don’t I weighed out my options and decided it deserved the full four stars. I think this was a cute and cozy holiday read and I would recommend this to someone who is looking for a Christmas read this year.

QOTD: Have you read a book that was based in the area you are from?

Book Review: “Branded” By Neva Bell

I found this book actually through an add on Facebook surprisingly enough. When I went to buy it on my paper white it ended up being part of Kindle Unlimited which completely sold me! I actually finished this book a week ago but I haven’t had much free time to write recently due to my new job but I promise I am still here! Why don’t we dive into this book.

About The Book

Author: Neva Bell

Date Published: October 31, 2019

Publisher: Self Published (I believe)

Page Count: 287 pages

Genre: Fiction

GoodReads Rating: 4.53

“Ellie believed every being, witch or not, deserved a happy and peaceful existence.”
Direct Quote

Synopsis

Chloe and Chelsea are twin sisters ready to leave for college, but not just any old college, Livingston is a college for witches! In order to go to this witch school you have to be branded first with either a white dove or a black hawk to decide what you will study.

When Chloe gets a brand that no one was expecting her and Chelsea’s life changes drastically! This brand becomes a dangerous mark and both of the girls lives are at risk. Werewolves are the witches biggest threat and when a surprise attack goes in the werewolves favor Chloe is forced into a dangerous path of revenge.

“It is a big deal! I act tough, but I’m still a woman. I still want the guy I like to like me back. No one wants to hear it’s nothing more than a scheme.”
Direct Quote

Rating

Review

This book had a really cute, and what I felt unique, story line. I was hooked from the very beginning of this book! I thought the twins relationship was really close and special and I really feel like Neva wrote their characters well. I loved the Idea that there were two different brands they could receive and it was fun trying to guess which twin would get what brand.

You might be asking, If I was hooked from the beginning and felt like the characters were written well, then why did I give the book only three stars? Well let me tell you! This all happened really fast in the book and about 40% into the book everything I loved was stripped away from me and I was very upset! The story line completely changed after the werewolf attack and I just felt like it happened too soon. Also the ending of the book, Without giving spoilers, was way too easy and I was left wishing not necessarily for a different ending but maybe a more thought out ending. However there is a second book and maybe by reading that book it will all come together cohesively but to be honest the ending of this book didn’t make me want to read a second one.

This could be a quick read for anyone who needs to knock another book off their list but if you want something that had you hooked for the whole book you can skip this one.

QOTD: What is a book that started off with a lot of promise but left you feeling disappointed in the end?

Book Review: “The Love Hypothesis” By Ali Hazelwood

I feel like I am a tad bit late to the game on this one. Where this book was only released back at the beginning of September maybe I am not that late to the gate but I feel like everyone devoured this book in one sitting as soon as it came out. I would say this is probably the most popular book I am seeing on my Bookstagram and Booktok feeds, no joke! With over 90,000 ratings, 16,000 reviews and a 4.47 overall rating on Goodreads, so I would consider this a very hyped up book with those details.

“Listen, I’m clearly bad at real dating. Maybe fake dating will be different. Maybe I’ve found my niche.”
Direct quote from book, page 64.

About The Book

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Date Published: September 14, 2021

Publisher: Berkley Books

Page Count: 352

Genre: Romance

Goodreads Rating: 4.47

Synopsis

Olive is a Ph.D student who has never really been a romantic person. However, in order to keep her friend happy she finds herself kissing a random stranger in the middle of the night.

This random stranger ends up being the schools most hated professor, Adam Carlson, and Olive immediately feels like her world is about to fall apart. The biggest surprise is when Adam agrees to keep the kiss a secret, but even more surprising was the fact he was willing to keep up this charade and fake date Olive to help benefit the both of them. Olive, to help her friend find love, and Adam, to convince the school to release his research funds. After all, it is a win win situation with a deadline. What could possibly go wrong?

“And then I’ll come find you, and I’ll take care of you.”
Direct Quote from book. Page 327.

Rating

Review

This book was vastly recommended by I believe everyone on my bookstagram, am I the last person to read this? I know I’m not but it sure felt that way.

I normally don’t like books that seem to be super popular, they always feel over hyped and I end up being disappointed in the book. Not with this one! This book truly lived up to its hype in my opinion. I think I am willing to say this is my second favorite romance read this year following “One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston, I honestly don’t think anything will beat that book for first place in quite sometime.

(Possible Spoiler) If I had to come up with something I was a little put off on, it would have to be the steamy scenes, please don’t come after me! This whole book had so much sexual tension that by the time it all came together I was left feeling a little awkward and granted upset by the event that immediately followed. The words used to describe the scene were a little off putting such as, “He made a guttural noise.” It could just be me but that is not a sexy sentence.

This book was very well written and really had me on an emotional roller coaster! There were quite a few moments where I was ready to chuck the book at a wall because I know the full story and how each character is feeling but Olive just doesn’t understand Adams feelings and I was screaming at them to “Just get a room already!” Also there were times where I really felt sorry or upset for the character due to the way they were treated. Ali really has a way with writing to bring all the emotions out of the pages.

I highly recommend this book! I can now see why so many people have already read it more than once, maybe this will be the first book I ever read twice.

“You can fall in love: Someone will catch you.”
Direct quote from book. Page 342

QOTD: Have you ever fake dated someone? With all these fake dating books I have been reading lately I feel like this is more common of a thing than it probably really is.