Book Reviews Archives - Page 27 of 115

Book Review: Scarred by Drew Elyse

Feb 16, 2020

Scarred (Sailor’s Grave #3) by Drew Elyse

Pages: 228
Publish date: October 8th, 2019
Publisher: –
ASIN: B07YW9H7H3
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

TRAUMA HAS A WAY OF LEAVING ITS MARK.

It took years to do it, but I can finally look in a mirror and see more than just the scars. If only that were true for the rest of the world.

The whispers, the stares, the pity, they’re familiar now. Except his eyes don’t linger, his demeanor never changes. Maybe that’s why I trust him and take the leap to move in with a virtual stranger. A stranger who might be more scarred than I am.

YET NOT ALL SCARS ARE LEFT ON THE SURFACE.

The day I got a spot at Sailor’s Grave Tattoo Parlor, I had everything. A roof over my head, an honest living, a few friends. The times when I went without no longer factored.

Until she comes into my life. Until I offer her a place to stay. Until she draws me in with that blinding light inside her, and almost makes me forget to keep the past in the dark where it belongs.

Scarred:

I received an e-arc of this book in exchange for a review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This review should have been up months ago and I mean months. But life likes to change a lot. Anyway, I thought it was time to share my thoughts on the last book in this trio. I’ve really enjoyed the series so far, so I was really looking forward to falling more into this world, and Scarred didn’t disappoint me.

Scarred by Drew Elyse follows Parker and Gwen as they find each other and try and overcome the many hurdles in both of their lives. Parker, we’ve met before. He has been working in Sailor’s Grave Tattoo Parlor for a little while now, but he has always been in the shadows, while Gwen is new to us readers. When Parker goes to the animal shelter that Gwen works at sparks fly, throw in that Parker is giving Gwen a tattoo, things are heating up. And then he offers his spare room to Gwen and the rest is history. But they both have demons, and sometimes those are hard to leave.

Sindy Strife

Parker was seriously such a great male protagonist. I was already intrigued by him from previous books, so it was really great being inside his head in this one. Parker has had a lot of things going on in his life and the reader doesn’t know the start of it, but as the novel goes on and Gwen gets to know him, so do we. His demons not only take over the way that he thinks about life but the way that he thinks about himself. And that was really hard to read at times. Parker’s character arc was fantastic, the reader is really able to see him grow throughout the novel and really come to understand him.

Gwen was also a fantastic protagonist. She was fierce and strong and I just loved getting to know her. She had something about her that just made me connect with her straight away. It was fantastic. Like Parker, Gwen has a lot of demons and it was great seeing her break this down and fight them. I loved seeing Gwen grow throughout Scarred. I loved seeing her become this strong, independent woman who truly starts to understand and know herself. Gwen was so easy to get along with and it made reading the novel so much easier.

The romance in Scarred was so good. I adored Parker and Gwen together so much. While at the start Gwen and Parker seem quite different from one another as the novel goes on, the reader gets to see that they are pretty perfect for one another. They just seem to fit. Parker is able to break Parker down and gets him to talk about his feeling and about this past. While Parker is able to help Gwen realise that she is okay. They were just so great for one another.

Andrew Neel

There was a lot going on in Scarred, but everything worked together so nicely. It wasn’t really any outside things that wreaked havoc, but more of the internal between Parker and Gwen. Sometimes it’s nice not having so many things happening in a novel where everything goes to shit. It was “nice” seeing it was just human mistakes. Or more human guilt and hurt.

Scarred rounds up the Sailors Grave trilogy and can I just say I loved this series so much. It was emotional as hell, but it was also so beautiful. Marked and Inked were both such good reads and I loved getting to know everyone in the parlor. We also got to see some old faces from Drew Elyse’s previous series and that just made everything more perfect.

Genesis Marasigan Castillo

Overall, I loved reading Scarred by Drew Elyse. It was emotional and beautiful all at the same time. Parker and Gwen were fantastic protagonists that really took me on the ride with them. They caught my heart and didn’t let go. I was cheering for them the whole way. Scarred explores what it means to be a family and be loved. But also letting go of your past, because sometimes it’s holding you back. If you are looking for some emotional books, that will also put a smile on your face, pick this series up for sure.

Have you read Scarred by Drew Elyse? What did you think of it? Have you read anything else by Drew Elyse? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Heartland by Sarina Bowen

Feb 9, 2020

Heartland (True North #7) by Sarina Bowen

Pages: 239
Publish date: January 28th 2020
Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
ASIN: B07ZD8WWLZ
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

An emotional friends to lovers romance full of risky secrets and late-night lessons in seduction.

Dylan is my best friend and the only person in my life who understands me. He doesn’t mind my social awkwardness or my weird history. The only glitch? He doesn’t know that I’ve been hopelessly, desperately in love with him since the first day we picked apples together in his family’s orchard.
But I know better than to confess.
Now that we’re both in college together, I’m seeing a new side of him. College Dylan drinks and has a lot of sex. None of it with me.
Until the night I foolishly ask him to tutor me in more than algebra…and he actually says yes.
But the cool morning light shows me how badly I’ve endangered our friendship. And I don’t know if anything will be the same again.

Heartland:

I received an e-arc of Heartland by Sarina Bowen in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I’ve been reading Sarina Bowen for a couple of years now, and I’m always excited to read something new, especially about someone that I really enjoy. So when I heard that she was writing a book about Dylan and Chastity, I was intrigued. It wasn’t the matchup I was expecting, but I wanted to know more.

Jens Johnsson

Heartland by Sarina Bowen follows Dylan and Chastity as their once seemly easy friendship turns into something more that could change both of their lives. Chastity has always thought about Dylan as her best friend. He accepted her for who she was, where she came from and why she is a little different. When they were both on their farm’s things were easier. But now away at college, Chastity gets to see Dylan, the party boy. But then things start to change between them and both Chastity and Dylan see different sides of one another and life is about to get a little different.

I’m not going to lie, it took me some time to really like Chastity. I understood where she came from and where she grew it, but it also made it really hard to read at times. Her thoughts were very ‘childlike.’ But as the novel went on and Chastity came out of her shell, I really enjoyed getting to know her. I felt like her character arc was fantastic. Seriously, I loved it so much. The reader truly gets to see Chastity grow throughout Heartland. She becomes this strong, independent woman who can stand up on her own. That doesn’t let her past define her. And that was so fantastic to see.

Dylan was a pretty entertaining protagonist. Readers have gotten to see Dylan grow quite a bit and it’s finally time for him to shine and boy he does. There were so many times that the reader will want to scream at him, get him to face what’s in front of him. But he eventually got it. Dylan is a lot of fun to be around and while sometimes he acted like a dickhead, it wasn’t that bad. Throughout Heartland, the reader really gets to see Dylan grow. He comes into himself, he starts to understand and know what he wants, but he also has to face his past. And that comes with a lot of emotions. One of my favourite things about Sarina Bowen is that she can write male leads that are able to show their emotions that don’t hide from them. Stijn te Strake

The romance in Heartland for me had its ups and downs. For the most part, I loved it. Dylan and Chastity were totally adorable together. From the start, the reader is able to see how much they like and care for one another. But they can also see that there is a lot of push back from both Dylan and Chastity. It was really nice seeing them fall for one another, to see them go from friends to lovers, to something more. There were times throughout Heartland that both Dylan and Chastity had a lot of doubt, not just with their relationships but with themselves. And it was great seeing them work through that.

There are a lot of other themes that pop up throughout Heartland one of those guilt/regret. This was really interesting to see and I loved that it was looked into. This also caused a lot of tension between Dylan and Griffin. This really brought out a lot of issues that they have with one another, but it was also great to see them work through it all.

Laura Fuhrman

Overall, I really did enjoy Heartland by Sarina Bowen. It’s not my favourite in this series, but I really enjoyed getting to know Dylan a whole lot more. The reader gets to see them grow throughout the series and really come into himself in this one. The reader also gets to see Chastity put her life back together, to try and find a new normal. Heartland explores family and changing relationships. It has friends to lovers romance that is adorable and just put a smile on my face. I love the Shipley family so much and this really looks into a different side of them. If you’ve read the rest of the True North series, pick this one because it will melt your heart.

Book Review: Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

Jan 16, 2020

Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

Pages: 300
Publish date: November 5th 2019
Publisher: Entangled Teen
ISBN: 9781640637320
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It’s easier–
It’s safer–
It’s better–
–for the other person.
She’s got issues. She’s got secrets. She’s got rheumatoid arthritis.
But then she meets another sick kid.
He’s got a chronic illness Isabel’s never heard of, something she can’t even pronounce. He understands what it means to be sick. He understands her more than her healthy friends. He understands her more than her own father who’s a doctor.
He’s gorgeous, fun, and foul-mouthed. And totally into her.
Isabel has one rule: no dating.
It’s complicated–
It’s dangerous–
It’s never felt better–
–to consider breaking that rule for him.

Sick Kids in Love:

I received an arc of Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz from Entangled Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

From the very first moment, I knew that I needed Sick Kids in Love. It sounded like everything that I needed. Sick Kids in Love follows Isabel as she tries to navigate life, being a teenager while also managing her chronic illness. to do this Isabel has a rule – no dating. All is going well until she meets another sick kid. And he might just change her mind – because he understands. Sasha understands what it’s like to be sick, what it’s like to feel alone. For once Isabel might consider breaking her rules.

Olga Kononenko

Isabel was an interesting protagonist throughout Sick Kids in Love. I didn’t really fall in love with her, but I still was able to enjoy her as a protagonist. Isabel was really easy to connect with throughout the book that made me fall in love with the novel even more. I loved her resilience not just regarding her health but with life as well. She had a lot of things going on and was being pulled in so many different directions. And sometimes she did feel overwhelmed, but that was fantastic to see. You see it a lot in YA, especially in contemporary. Characters being able to deal with everything that is thrown at them without a care. But Moskowitz was able to really show the realistic side of any human in Isabel and that made the book that much better.

Like Isabel, Sasha was a fantastic protagonist. It was easy to connect with him and I loved seeing him grow throughout the novel. Sasha had fantastic characterisation and character arc. I really enjoyed seeing the way that he shared his emotions and the way that he looked at life. It’s not often that you see an honest male character. And I don’t mean honesty. Sasha felt very real. His emotions, his character and everything in between. I loved that he cared for his family, it added another dimension to his character and made me love him even more.

Alice Donovan Rouse

I adored the romance in Sick Kids in Love. Like the characters, the romance felt so natural and real. I loved seeing Isabel and Sasha’s relationship grow throughout the novel. It’s a very slow burn kind of romance and it was really nice to see. At times Isabel did pull away and because of this pause in the romance, it made it feel jarring. But it’s also what made it feel very real. Isabel and Sasha were totally adorable together and that just made me fall in love with them even more.

Now to the nit and gritty part. Reading books that focus on disabilities is always a hit and miss for me. Sometimes I adored and the representation and other times, it makes my blood boil. But Hannah Moskowitz did an absolutely fantastic job. Now I can’t talk about the preciseness of the medical conditions. However, in relation to chronic pain and illness, it was done so well. I have chronic illness and pain so I was really able to connect with the characters on this part throughout Sick Kids in Love.

Another reason why I loved this book, was the disabilities weren’t everything. Sometimes in novels, I find that disabilities take over and it isn’t about the characters anymore. But Hannah Moskowitz was about to find the perfect balance between representing disabilities and life with chronic illness and pain, while also letting Isabel and Sasha be characters, and people who just aren’t their medical condition.

Coming of age is a massive theme throughout Sick Kids in Love and Hannah Moskowitz was able to excel at representing it in an honest and real way. Isabel and Sasha are both at that stage in their lives where there is a lot to think about and decisions to be made. And the exploration fo this was really enjoyable. Along with coming of age, relationships of all sorts are explored through Sick Kids in Love. One of the highlights for me was the contrast of Isabel’s friendship with her ‘healthy’ friends and with Sasha. I really liked how Moskowitz explored it and I was really able to connect with the troubles.

Fabrizio Verrecchia

Overall I really enjoyed Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz. It’s the perfect example of exploring disability and illness in a book without it being all about it. Sick Kids in Love explores coming of age, first love, and finding yourself. Isabel and Sasha are put through a lot throughout the book. And their honesty and resilience really shine through. Throughout the novel, Hannah Moskowitz is able to explore and represent chronic illness and pain through Isabel and Sasha in a way that worked so well. If you are looking for a book that would make you smile and cry, then this book is perfect.

Have you read Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? Let’s Chat!