thindbooks's reviews
1079 reviews

Camera Shy by Kay Cove

4.0

This story follows a woman who is dumped and goes to Las Vegas where she meets a man who changes her confidence. I enjoyed this story written by Cove. I really enjoyed the story in the beginning but I have to say that the story did get slow and very repetitive. The story was still entertaining but there weren’t huge conflicts throughout the book. I loved the message behind the book about having confidence and no matter what someone says, you are beautiful. The story nailed it with the message and I loved the plus size representation. This book takes place majority in Las Vegas and I loved exploring it through the MC’s eyes. The story is told from both Avery and Finn’s pov. 

 

Avery is dumped by her boyfriend/business partner of 4 years so when she has an opportunity to go to Las Vegas, she goes. I loved seeing her grow throughout the book and building her confidence. Then we have Finn who is a great guy but his heart has also been broken. I liked his story too and seeing him able to find love again. I do have to say that his story was quickly finished with as he didn’t go through much heartbreak in the beginning. The side characters were well-written and I loved Lennox in this story. I can’t wait to read her book. I did hate Avery’s bff and if you read the book you will see why. This book is very steamy with neighbors to lovers, insta-love and teacher/student romance. The chemistry was great but it was such a slow burn for them to admit they love each other. 

 

The ending was cute and I loved the epilogue we got. They are such a perfect couple for each other. I can’t wait to read the next book in this world as I enjoyed it. I do hope the next book has more conflicts or the book-length is shorter. 

 

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return* 

Second Night Stand by Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters

4.0

This story follows a burlesque performer and a ballerina who fall in love while competing on a reality tv show. This story is written by two wives and I loved this. They are amazing writers who wrote such a great romance story. I do have to say that the povs were a bit hard to track as it does make it hard to make a connection with the characters. This book was fun and steamy with a fast-paced storyline. The story is great especially if you love reality tv shows. I recommend checking this book out especially those who live in Portland! 

 

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

Gentle Scars by Willow Winters

3.0

This story kind of picks up after book 1 but starts with new character povs. I’m not exactly sure where this story is going and after finishing this book, I still don’t know much. This story still includes the previous povs of book 1 but includes Veronica and Vince’s pov. Veronica is a vampire who’s mated to a werewolf. So far she’s the only character I liked. I wish there were more character development to these characters but the other girls are still weak with no improvement and the guys just want their mates. The amount of times I read “my mate” is insane like think of Ice Planet Barbarians but those books are better. The ending ends with a minor cliffhanger but I will be reading the last book to see what happens next. 

 

*this book was sent to me by verve romance to give an honest review in return* 

Fake Flame by Adele Buck

3.5

This story follows a bookish firefighter who suggests fake dating an English professor to send of her ex. I really enjoyed this book as it was a fun, short, cute read. I liked the fast-paced story and reading about two people who instantly fell in love. The storyline was good but I do have to say that it wasn’t well structured. The beginning started of good but then I felt like the story was going a bit all over. It wasn’t too bad but you can tell. I also didn’t enjoy the pov switch throughout the book as in usually you would see a new pov start when a new chapter starts but for this story it switches midway. The book is told from dual povs which was great but it needed to be more direct. 

 

Eva is the FMC of the story whose ex is harassing her and the firefighter that saved her decides to help her. I liked her character and her passion for reading. I do have to say she was kind of bland as there wasn’t much story going for her. Then we have Sean who’s a firefighter who decides to help Eva because he has a crush on her. He’s a great character (love that he loves to read romance) but we just don’t know much about him. There are a few side characters in this book but none who stood out to me. There are a lot of tropes in this book but the main ones are the reverse age gap, fake dating, and instant love. I didn’t like the third-act breakup but the couple are cute together. 

 

The ending was well done and I loved the HEA the characters got. This story was great and perfect to read in one sitting. I do wish the povs were written different as I believe they would have enhanced that reading experience. Overall not a bad read. 

 

*this book was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return* 

The Problem with Players by Brittainy C. Cherry

4.0

This is the second book in the series which follows a female coach whose past comes to the present where her ex-boyfriend is now the assistant coach. I really enjoyed this book written by Brittainy and loved the storyline she created. As this is the second book in the series but follows new characters, I didn’t feel lost in this small town. The conflicts were great and I enjoyed the pacing of the story. I loved the message behind the story and seeing mental health issues represented. This book is written in dual povs of both Avery and Nathan. 

 

Avery is a teacher/coach and needs a room. I loved her character and seeing her grow throughout the story. Then we have Nathan who’s a popular baseball player but is back to the small town and is now an assistant coach. I loved his character and seeing how he moved through his struggles to get to what he was. There are many side characters in this book and I believe some will have their own books in the future. The romance is second chance and forced proximity which was well done and I liked the chemistry between the couple. 

 

The ending was well done and overall I really enjoyed this story. I believe this might be my favorite Cherry book. I do have to say that I wasn’t really into the whole baseball aspect of the story which did downplay some areas but other than that it was great. I recommend checking out this story! 

 

*this e-arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return*

Lucky Charm by Anne-Marie Meyer

3.5

This story is loosely based on Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. The story follows an aspiring singer looking to further her career and decides to fake date her long-time football player crush. I love Taylor Swift so I was excited to read a loose story based of a singer’s career. I have to say that this story was pretty good. It was such a quick read and with the bit of mystery, you want to finish this book quicker. I do have to say that the storyline was good but didn’t have many strong conflicts. I felt there was a lot of background information missing that could have helped know more about the situation so readers can feel more attached to the books and the characters. This book is told from both Stone and Emerson’s pov. 

Emerson is a barista who wants to become a singer but so far nothing is happening. Then there is Stone who’s an NFL player and known to steal Emerson’s brother’s scholarship. Both characters were great and had good development throughout the book. I did wish we got to see more of their fake dating relationship playing out. There are many side characters in this book and I really loved Tilly who did anything she could to help Emerson but she did make questionable choices. The romance is cute and I loved the couple but I do have to say that there were too many tropes being played out. I did like the next door neighbor and fake dating part of the book. 

The ending was well done and we get a cute ending scene of how the couple ends up. This was an enjoyable read, perfect for the summer. I would have loved to see more fake dating playing out in this book and seeing the family approve of Stone as that was the main conflict of the story. 

*this book was sent to me by the author to give an honest review in return* 

Wounded Kiss by Willow Winters

3.0

This story follows two women who are taken by the werewolves as they are claimed to be their mates. This is my second Willow Winters book and I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed that there isn’t much of a plot to the story except the werewolves claiming their mates. We don’t get much background or too much information of the world to understand. This book is short but I have to say that 50% of the book was filled with steamy scenes. The pacing of this book is fast and this story is told from multiple povs. 

I won’t go into each character of this story but I can say that I enjoyed all the povs. They weren’t hard to keep track of and I loved seeing the different sides of everyone’s story in this story position they are in. We have an Alpha, a human, two reg werewolves, and a new werewolf. There aren’t side characters from what I remember but there are names mentioned in the book which I guess will make an appearance in the second book. The romance is fated mates with different tropes that are quite steamy. I do have to say that I liked the Alpha’s romance more than Lizzie’s due to the fact the Alpha was more patient and Lizzie’s mates were basically forcing themselves on her. 

The ending was kind of strange to say that there wasn’t a cliffhanger but the story wasn’t complete. I know there is a second book but I took a glimpse and there’s new povs so I wonder how this story will go. I will be reading the next book to see what happens next. 

*this book was sent to me by Verve Romance to give an honest review in return* 

Acquisition by Nana Malone

4.0

This is the second book in the series and the first book must be read in order to understand this book. This story picks up after the first one ended where Gwen is heartbroken after she is dumped. I enjoyed this book more than the first one as the story was much slower and well-formed. There’s more suspense to this story which I liked and a building to the previous conflict from book one. There is more drama and chaos in this book which was well written from the beginning to the middle. This book is told from both Gwen and Atticus’ pov. 

 

Gwen is heartbroken after she’s dumped but Atticus is back to steal her heart again. I liked her character as she’s such a sweetheart who wants love. I enjoyed seeing her develop throughout the story. Then we have Atticus who I didn’t enjoy in this book. I have to say that I didn’t like the decisions he made half of the time and if I was his gf I would leave him right away. He needed more of a character development which was lacking. We do have many side characters in this book and I liked Gwen’s sister and best friend who are so caring for her. The romance for this book was steamy with second chance romance. 

 

The ending was okay but it went way too fast compared to most of the book. I felt like too much happened that I didn’t fully grasp the information of what happened. Overall the book was great and I’m excited to see what Malone has in store for the next book in this series after the cliffhanger. I also hope we get more of Gwen’s sister and see her book, 

 

*this e-arc was sent to me by the author to give an honest review in return* 

Archangels of Funk by Andrea Hairston

3.0

This is a dystopian fantasy that follows a girl on the run and is threatened by the Darknet Lords. This book was easy to get into but very confusing to understand. The storyline wasn’t bad but it was a bit too chaotic. If the world-building was more introduced in the beginning, it would be a bit easier to understand but I felt things were being thrown into the story throughout the book. I did enjoy the main character, Cinnamon, and how she was badass. I liked her development in the story and seeing her grow throughout the book. The side characters were interesting and made the story enjoyable. Overall not a bad book but it would have been more enjoyable if I understood the world a bit more. 

 

*this arc was sent to me by the publisher to give an honest review in return* 

Heartless by Willow Winters, W. Winters

2.0

This story picks up after book 1 and I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed with the way this one went. We don’t get much information about the storyline and I feel that the story began to fall before it properly began. I was hoping to know more information about Carter’s business and what Aria may have to do with it but honestly, I just read a lot of sex scenes. Carter often gaslights and manipulates Aria’s feelings and Aria is not becoming the strong woman I was hoping to see. 

 

*this book was sent to me by verve romance to give an honest review in return*