jemmacrosland's reviews
338 reviews

If you loved My Vampire is a Roommate you must read this sequel, it is just as fun as book #1 and I absolutely LOVED time spent reading this.
I'm completely won over by both Reggie and Amelia and the chemistry between them (and the spice!), it felt so natural. Reggie's character has developed so much from book #1. The humour in this book was my perfect match. Aside from the romance, there was also an interesting plotline throughout the story, I never thought I would enjoy the accountancy side but I was really invested in it. I also am a sucker for a wedding scene in a romance.
I can see the development in Jenna Levine's writing with this book in comparison to her debut, and there are lots of cameos of Frederick and Cassie throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley, Cornerstone and Jenna Levine for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. 

I was bought this as a gift and it was a cover-buy so I didn't know anything going into the story but I found this short novel very interesting, especially with the addition of the Author's Note at the end. I felt deeply about the characters and thought they were well-developed. I like the change in perspectives and times in Kazu's life showing how his life has changed over the years.
I wasn't anticipating the historical context of this book and perhaps this wasn't my favourite but I did find it easy to understand. The ending really pulled at my heartstrings, even if it was quite abrupt. 

I wouldn't have picked this book up if it hadn't been a book club pick so whilst this wasn't the book for me, I am glad I gave it a go and went out of my genre comfort zone.
I enjoyed the fantastical and mystery elements much more than the historical and religion aspects. I enjoyed the torneo, however this part of the storyline didn't feel particularly unique.
I did struggle to listen to the audiobook alone, without also tandem reading the physical book, there are so many POVs. And as much as I enjoyed the characters, there were too many for me to keep track of. I found myself very confused throughout and I was not clued up on the historical context of the book so I think if you are interested in this time period, this book would be more suited to you.
I haven't read from Leigh Bardugo before and whilst I enjoyed her writing style, I don't think her books are for me sadly. 

The second epilogue was included in my audiobook of The Duke unexpectantly so I wasn't prepared for the dramatic jump in the timeline (or the 'spoilers' for the other books). I think this was a nice addition for fans of the Bridgerton series but I wasn't particularly won over by the surprise of this story. 

Finally made a start on the Bridgerton series after enjoying the Netflix adaptation for the first 3 series. I had a good time with this story and reading the source material of the TV show. There are some minor differences here and there, and some parts I can see why, as it was not pleasant to read (without spoiling the book).
I did feel like it was too long as there was quite a bit of waffle but it was just really enjoyable to listen to this via audiobook format and zone out of real life for a bit. I would highly recommend the audiobooks, and I have the next couple of books reserved from my library, so I am definitely looking forward to continuing on with the series soon.

Oh I really wanted to love this one after it was so highly recommended to me but unfortunately I really didn't like this one.
The romance was way too quick for me to get on board with, it was just a bit ridiculous.
I really didn't feel as though we got to know these main characters, Kendall was written in such a contradictory way I don't feel as though the author knew what they wanted in a main character.
I don't want to spoil the 'plot' of this book but there is a spice scene that is so utterly absurd and unbelievable it was a massive red flag to me.
For all the praise I've heard about communication in this book, I just disagree as both our main characters are stuck in a cycle of assuming what the others' intentions are rather than actually talking about it. It led to so many frustrating scenes where the spiralling was just silly and unnecessary. Also the constant referring to book tropes was very weird, this completely took me out of the story.
I was hoping for a quick fun romance, but this didn't hit for me whatsoever. It has obvious set up for the 2nd book, but unfortunately I won't be continuing on with this series.

I was drawn into this book because of the interesting premise, and it is recommended for Japanese translated fiction fans, especially for fans of the 'Before the Coffee Gets Cold' series. However I didn't find this to be cosy like the other translated fiction/magical realism books I've enjoyed as I just found it far too morbid.
It started off well and I was very intrigued as I really do love the expansion of the idea of 'your life flashes before your eyes before death'. The book is split into 3 parts, 3 separate stories. I just found myself lost by story 2 and I was very confused by the storyline. For me, it was the third story which just made me want to DNF, it was so sad and I didn't feel hopeful or find the positives within the story.
There is also an audiobook available for this book and I partly listened to this book via audio, I really liked the narration. If you are interested in reading this, I would highly recommend reading content warnings as the 3rd story in particular was very triggering to me.
1.5/5 ⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan and Sanaka Hiiragi for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy. 

This has been a high priority read for far too long 🫥 I think I was putting it off because it was a 5-star prediction and I was so sure I would love it after reading other reviews. However, unfortunately it did not live up to expectations.
I personally preferred Rowan to Sloane but I didn't feel a real connection to either of the main characters and their romance didn't capture my attention either. The spicy scenes weren't for me either.
I think as a squeamish person, the descriptions in this book were just too graphic for me, although I do appreciate the author's note and content warnings at the beginning. I have to say the writing is great in this book if you like descriptive detail!
I don't think I'll continue on with this series, but I am glad to have finally read this book after seeing it around so much.
3/5 ⭐⭐⭐ 

So I've started the Kings of Sin series which is a planned 7 book series and at the time of writing this review, only 3 books are published so patience will be needed for sure!
I read Ana Huang's Twisted series and this first instalment definitely felt more adult and sophisticated in comparison. I liked the plots overall but I am not a fan of deceit and blackmail, however I don't necessarily see the MMC Dante as a bad guy. I actually preferred Dante to the FMC Vivian who I found to be immature at points. I thought Dante had a great character arc and I appreciated his emotional development. Vivian does stand up to her parents but I wish she found more confidence in herself. There was great spice between them and I really enjoyed the scenes that Ana Huang writes..
I do think with the side plots, these could have been condensed and the story made shorter, maybe like 50-70 pages were filler and didn't keep my attention.
I was debating between a 3 and 4 star rating for this book, I just unfortunately didn't like the characters enough to warrant a 4-star read but it would be 3.5 (rounded down to 3). I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series soon.
⭐⭐⭐ 3/5 

I'm so glad to have got to this book as soon as I did as it really is a new favourite cosy fantasy, I really love this genre.
I just really relate to Kiela and her personality, she is prickly, an introvert and struggles to make connections with people. Her sidekick is a sentient spider plant named Caz and his little anxious self was so cute and funny, and also very relatable. I loved the sarcasm in the dialogue too, along with all of the characters in the town.
There is a lot of world-building and there is even a political aspect to this book which unusually I enjoyed, it was so interesting. It was lush and rich with different characters and phenomena of the land. I loved the magical aspect and would love another book in this world.
Some of the book I found a bit repetitive, within the writing, so I thought it could have been edited down a bit but that's the only thing I could critique the book on. Also the audiobook is really fantastic, I loved the narrator! She really brought the story to life.
I would definitely read from Sarah Beth Durst again and I've heard great things about her books, I would highly recommend this book to cosy fantasy fans.
4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐