alexatthelake's reviews
717 reviews

While ghost stories never really work for me, the way Simone St. James writes keeps me interested enough to enjoy them. I thoroughly enjoyed the back and forth POV's to explain this dark story. I loved the different dynamics and plot lines through the story and how they all intertwined.

It literally took me five months almost to the day to finish this book. I figured if I listened to it, I would get through it faster and that maybe says a lot. At first, I tried to do the tandem read (listen) with Kingdom of Ash, but I got really confused and kept forgetting to switch over, so I gave up and just finished this one first. 

I have no idea what happened through the 600+ pages of this book. I think I grasped the main concept, but I was so confused for so much of this book and found it really hard to keep track of all the characters. The world building and character development in this book is typical of Maas' books, both incredible and easy to follow in that sense. I do think I grasped most of the end of the book, and loved the end, so I'm going to say this was still a win for me. One day I'll finish the last 75% of KoA!

The entire time I was reading this book, I had the total creeps. I was so uncomfortable and on edge throughout the whole book. It was simply dark and creepy and perfect. I love finding a thriller that really creeps me out without scaring me and leaves me blown away. 

The Quiet Tenant is so different than almost all thrillers I've ever read. While it's a bit of a slow burn, it still will keep you totally enthralled and addicted to knowing what's happening. I loved the multiple POV's, to give us all sides of this twisted story.

Let me be totally honest here -  I was fully prepared to hate this book and roll my eyes many times. I'll also admit I didn't really know what to expect, but I definitely expected it to be a typical awful thriller. I'm so happy I was wrong because this author has been suggested by many trusted reviewers! 

I found myself totally blown away, my jaw on the floor a few times. I have seen the reviews saying this book was very similar to another book I loved and while I do agree with it, there was enough differences for me to love both equally. There was a lot of things I thought I'd figured out, but even still I was blown away and constantly shocked. I can't wait for the next book in the series!

Another huge hit from Christina Lauren! I loved The Soulmate Equation, but The True Love Experiment was incredible. While it's not a sequel in any way, it does follow a secondary character and we get a little bit of a peek from our beloved characters from The Soulmate Equation. I don't think I've loved a character as much as I've loved Fizzy in a really long time. She was so relatable and loveable. Connor though was an absolute top tier book boyfriend. He was so swoony and lovely. 

I loved this plot of following a 'bachelorette style' reality tv show. While it was a little predictable, I definitely enjoyed every second of it. I loved that the chemistry between the characters built naturally and felt electric despite the reality tv plot.

What the actual F did I just read? This book was insane. It was so dark, so twisted, so uncomfortable and just so messed up. I was also totally convinced this was a real story and not fiction. Dark books like this are a really hard sell for me, but this one totally nailed it. I don’t know if I’d classify it as a thriller necessarily, but more of a dark family drama/fiction as it really focuses on the main character and her life trauma (which is dark AF). 

Sally’s character was unmatched. I see a lot of comparisons to The Maid, but Strange Sally Diamond was so beyond that and so unbelievably well written I couldn’t stop reading to find out what happens, and again I couldn’t believe it wasn’t a true story it felt so real. The characters felt real. 

I’m a little on the fence about how much I enjoyed this one. I’m giving it 4 because I loved learning the history and the incredible story, especially with the authors note added, and some of the characters were unforgettable but I’m just not sure how much I loved it overall/certain parts. Without too much detail, I guess I didn’t love where some of the story lines went, but maybe that’s just a personal preference? 

However, it had all the elements that I love about historical fiction novels. Still totally worth the read! 

I really need to start reading a synopsis of a book before adding them to my TBR, especially before picking them up to read. I had literally no idea what this book was about or what to expect and I just don’t think I was in the mood for super graphic and gory. 

Well, the overall story was heartbreaking and infuriating, the overall novel was excellent. I just think I read this book at the wrong time.

I definitely enjoy this author's thriller novels more than romance, at this point. Sure, there were cute messages and a swoony MC, and the writing was quite decent which is why I gave it the stars that I did, but it didn't really work well for me. It felt like it was pushing a political agenda and I guess I just really don't like politics to this level in my romances? Maybe should have read the synopsis before reading. Probably just a case of me not loving the plot, but the MC also drove me mental in so many ways. 

Ultimately I think I’m gonna say 4 stars, but a lot of the way through I was thinking 3. The last 25% of so was beautiful, I felt like it did wrap up well enough to boost it overall for me. I liked a lot of the little messages throughout but…. It felt like the author tried packing like 6 stories into one and I got lost with all of the characters and lives to follow through. 

It truly seems like I’m in the huge minority here saying it didn’t absolutely blow me away and change my life, it just felt way too long and packed with too many storylines to stay on top of. I appreciated the journeys and the ultimate message portrayed and did really enjoy that aspect!