fiwwa's reviews
213 reviews

All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

5.0

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The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

It's my first mafia romance and I gotta say, it's not as dark as I think it would be but hell I still wasn't expecting that much blood and murder mentioned (though I should've expected that knowing violence is mentioned in the warnings). Nico Russo got me screaming every freaking time he talks and I totally understand the hype.

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Crush in the Cascades by Lisa S. Gayle

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-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? Yes

3.5

"I think I'll look forward to anything with you for the rest of my life. You just ruined other women for me."

The premise of this book caught my attention to read it. A reality tv show of outdoor challenges? Enemies to lovers? Forced proximity? Yes yes yes. But it took me a few tries to finally get through the book; it was difficult for me to get into, particularly because of Cooper's first impression of Amity. That girl did nothing wrong, she wore a dress and high heels because she doesn't get the actual dresscode memo and that isn't her fault, but he misjudged her in a misogynistic way. Let a girl be girly.

The characters were bland, I wanted to like them because (I assumed) they'd be getting their own books, but they were all annoyingly alike to me. However, the characters of Amity and Cooper remind me of Piper and Brendan from It Happened One Summer, especially in terms of appearance and the nature guy x high maintenance girl dynamic. Cooper also reminds me of Ryke Meadows as a rock climber, I'm expecting the author highlights that aspect of him more.

Now, I'm not sure what Easton really wants. One time he hates Amity and constantly insults her, then he becomes infatuated with her as if he's been in love with her for a long time and wonders why she doesn't reciprocate his feelings. Man, try to figure out what you actually want first. And Amity needs to let the man grovel before she actually forgive him, she deserves better.

I can deal with third-person POV, but this book has a lot more tell than show. The story is flat since it uses repetitious descriptions and too many details. I still enjoy the adventure portion of the book; it's entertaining to read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

"There's nothing I want more than turning a house into a home with you."

Let me start by saying how much I LOVE the Lauren Asher universe, believe me when I said I screamed when one of the dirty air series men is mentioned.

Now on to the review, I absolutely loved this book. Miss Asher has once again fed us with the perfect grumpy x sunshine romance, complete with other great tropes (yes, including groveling) and the spice? No need to doubt.

Iris is a freaking girl boss, if there's anyone who deserves to be the CEO, it's her. I adore everything Iris, especially her growth of finally knowing her worth and prioritize her own happiness. And when it comes to fighting Seth Kane, the Kane girls 👏🏻 always 👏🏻 slay 👏🏻 Seriously, if Alana is planning to actually slay him in the third book, know that I (respectfully) support women's wrong.

As for Declan, I understand why some of you have a love-hate relationship with him because I feel the same way. There are a couple of scenes where Declan really pissed me off, I needed to stop a minute before continuing. But him being a total DILF makes all my hatred go away.

I know we all loved Iris-Cal friendship, but please tell me I’m not the only one who shipped them at some point... I hope Lauren won’t make us wait for too long for his book. The appearance of Zahra and Rowan makes the story even better, I loved them even more and seeing Zahra becomes best friends with Iris makes my heart so happy.

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The Guilty Vow by A.P. Leonardo

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lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“I love feeling your pulse. Your breath, as long as this keeps beating, it doesn't matter how you are. I'll take you whoever you are, scars and all.”

As an Indo girlie, I'm so happy to see Indonesian representation in a romance book! And even prouder that the author herself is also Indonesian.

Follows the story of Leah, a talented young artist, who's discovering her true self and falling in love on the way with Eli, a billionaire and a man full of secrets.

The storyline of this book seemed promising, an arranged marriage with second chances and groveling? Yes, please. Even better it also has the age gap trope but sadly, it wasn't really shown much. But I loved the groveling part though it could be so much better if he put more effort, I could I say that Eli is more lovable on the second half than the first.

The characters' development as a couple is great, together they're trying to figure out what's best for them. But honestly? Not as individuals. The characterization itself felt messy to me, the author mentioned Leah was a spoiled girl but I don't see her as one. And in a few scenes, I found Eli as the "you-think-I'm-the-one-who's-wrong-here-?" typa guy (I don't know how to describe it... but it's not good).

I had no idea where the plot is going when I've reached half of the book, one problem ends and one comes again. There are some inner monologues that I found kinda repetitive and the writings are a bit juvenile at some point. Sometimes the POV unnecessarily switched but didn't really tell us much about what's happening to them.

The Indo representation is amazing tho! I loved how the author actually use a couple cities in Indonesia as a background scene, she even included some Indonesian conversation in the book. They're all relatable and realistic, I mean... arranged marriage does happen a lot among Indonesians.

As a debut novel, the author did a good job with her writings! She has thst poetical talent with how she chooses the words, it's not only once or twice i find such sweet words in the book.

Thanks to the author for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!

Content Warnings