Review Rampage | Contemporary Madness, Dragons(!!), and Disappointing Time Travelling Trope

 

Okay, I’m going to be honest here: I’ve been in a blogging slump for a while. It’s not the reading, and it’s not designing the graphics because God knows I spend way too many hours perfecting them. It’s just the dang reviewing that has me in a knot. I just can’t get in that mindset of critiquing and analyzing. I think I do that in my English class more than enough times that I’ve resulted to just wanting to enjoy the books I read for fun instead of peeling the text layer by layer. It’s not like when I review I don’t enjoy the book, I do!! And, it’s not like I don’t bring in themes, metaphors, and character development into my reviews every once in a while (I think I actually talk about character development a lot.) But school and blogging are blending together and it’s getting me more stressed than usual. BLOGGING IS MY RELEASE!! So, until things relax a bit in my English class, know that I’m forcing myself to sit down and review a book to post here, or I’ve gotten to the point where the stress is just too much and reviewing is the only way OUT of this ball of stress that I’ve become.

(How many times will I say stress in this post???)

Let’s get started shall we?

The Way to Game the Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen // 3 stars

This is a sweet, simple contemporary that can no way outshine the other contemporary novels I’ve read. Truth is, I’ve read better but I’ve also read worst. If you’re looking for a quick fluffy read, pick this one up because all you’re going to get is an adorable plot, good characters, and a rather (albeit not amazing) satisfying read. (Also, is that title not a mouthful?! 😬)

Swear on this Life by Renee Carlino // 4 stars

This author has been on my radar for a while and I’ve heard many superb things about her books. Well, I’ve taken a bite out of this acclaimed cake, and you know what? These books are way too over-hyped. I mean, it’s a good book. But I had such high expectations that it really didn’t meet them. The storyline is adorable, and creative, I fell for the characters, and was invested in the ships, but closing the book, I wasn’t left with that, Ohmygodthisbookissogoodmylifehaschanged moment. Not only, the writing wasn’t what I hoped it would be. It just wasn’t…enough? It was so bland and lacked any personality!! That’s what sucked so much!! It was so blah and to be paired with characters and a storyline that is absolutely wonderful?! Disappointing. *sigh* This is still a great book, and I highly recommend it but there could be a few things that could have been better.

Before We Were Strangers by Renee Carlino //4.5 stars

I read Swear on this Life before reading this one. That was a pretty negative review up there, but I liked the book enough to read another one by the infamous, Renee Carlino. And surprisingly, it was better than the first. A whole 0.5 better. What was the difference? Yup, you guessed it. The writing. The writing was a little bit better this time around. I found I was more sucked in than the first and the characters were more interesting. I did find the story a little long, and some part highly unnecessary, but overall it was really good!

To Have and To Hold by Lauren Layne // 4 stars

For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne // 4.5 stars

To Love and to Cherish by Lauren Layne // 5 stars

I love this series so much!! I’ve fawned over this series to everyone. My classmates and friends knows these books as “The wedding planner series that’s got Michelle in a little wedding fantasy”. 😂 Seriously though, as a whole, these books are everything contemporary lovers need. These wedding planners are smart, badass, classy, and have the best beaus OF ALL TIME. How is Lauren Layne so good at creating men that are just ready to melt my poor heart?? 😍😍 Each wedding planner gets their own unique story and IT’S ALL SO GOOD!! I loved watching them be so organized and work hard to achieve their dreams in their client’s weddings, and their relationships. Also, the female dynamic was remarkable. LL loves her girl power and so do I! 🙂

As you can tell, the ratings got better as the trilogy went on. This may or may not be because of Alexis and Logan’s story which is Book #3. Reading the first book and rating it four stars wasn’t my usual when it comes to LL novels, so I was kinda wary picking up Book #2. I should have had more faith in LL cause she made it all better as the series went along. Especially with To Love and to Cherish. 😊

Also, those covers are gorgeous. ❤

Blackmail Boyfriend by Chris Cannon // 3 stars

If you liked or thought The Way to Game the Walk of Shame was interesting than Blackmail Boyfriend is for you. As you can tell, I have a slight weakness for pretend-relationship-turned-real tropes. I thirst for them. This also means I get to read some meh books about my wonderful trope… Again, this wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. This is another sweet, fluffy, basic read if you’re looking for something you don’t have to use too much brainpower to invest in. I did get the feels at some points but it wasn’t one for the books.

Flamecaster (Shattered Realms #1) by Cinda Williams Chima // 4 stars

AAAHHH!!! DRAAAGOOONS!! I FELL IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK SO FAST AND SO HARD!!! 😍😍 I have started to read her other series (Seven Realms) while I wait for the sequel. This new series is a spin off of the original (Seven Realms) which is really unfortunate because I got spoiled real hard right in the beginning. 😭 (Like I’m so sad because I’m reading about the character now in the original and just want to cry because his story comes to a complete stop in this spin off😭😭)

Chima writes some of the best fantasy novels I’ve ever read. Her books are the definition of what my beloved genre is all about. It’s brilliant. For anyone who adores fantasy, pick these up. I guarantee you won’t regret it!

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray // 3 stars

I tell myself over and over again to never pick up another time-travelling novel because I will be disappointed. The only series I’ve read about time-travelling and actually liked is the Ruby Red Trilogy by Kerstin Gier. I adore these books and nothing can get better than these. I’ve tried and failed at looking for one that I’ll enjoy. I actually despise the time-travelling concept. I think it’s overdone, and I think it’s too predictable.

A Thousand Pieces of You is very science based which made it bearable to read. I really enjoyed the science in this novel, especially the science behind the Firebird, the time-travelling device the characters use. The romance wasn’t the best, and I wasn’t for it. The plot was too obvious and predictable.

[Here’s] a small review I wrote on Goodreads if you’re interested in more.

Well, that’s my first review rampage!! There’s more where that came from!! I HAVE SO MANY BOOK REVIEWS ON BACKORDER!!! 😱😭 Haha I’m making this sound like a job. THIS ISN’T A JOB MICHELLE. CALM DOWN. Just review when you want to. Don’t stress about. Why thank you Michelle, that’s great advice!

(This is what it has come to; me talking to my interweb self about myself)

And if you were wondering, I am writing this as a release (thank god), no forcing anyone to do anything here. 🙂 Also, English is actually a lot of fun and I love the class. It’s just a lot of critical thinking which is great in small doses. Things have settled down since I started this post so my stress isn’t as bad as I make it to be. 😂

Side note: I’m studying Edgar Allan Poe and I just love how dark and twisted his short stories are!! 😍

What do you want to know when you read reviews?? Do you like detailed or short ones?? HAVE YOU READ EDGAR ALLAN POE??! If not you must and if yes, what’s your favourite?

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