Shame started out with a bang: I was captivated and I couldn’t stop reading. I like bdsm books but often authors tend to write sex-fest with min3.5 ⭐️
Shame started out with a bang: I was captivated and I couldn’t stop reading. I like bdsm books but often authors tend to write sex-fest with minimal plot and flat characters. Luckily Shame has a solid plot, complex characters and a real relationship's development.
Basically this book is divided into three parts :
Part one starts when the heroine, Ana, moved next door to Kevin’s family and they became friends. There was an immediate attraction between them which remained unexplored for the most part until they finally revealed their common fascination with rough sex, dominance/submission, pain and humiliation. Part one was simply excellent: their friendship was beautiful and I loved how the book explores the idea of two teenagers characters coming to terms with an “atypical” sexuality.
Up to this point Shame was a solid 4/4.5 stars..then part 2 happened and ruined this beautiful story.
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Why Fiona?!!! WHY?!!
Adult Ana was a wreck: selfish, coward and immature. Please authors, stop making your character so unlikable! Kevin was the only reason I kept reading: he knew exactly what he wanted and he was willing to fight for it.
My major issue in this part was the OM drama. The first part also contains OW/OM dramas but they didn't bother me because Ana and Kev were just friends. In the second part I didn’t need a love triangle.. It was frustrating and totally unnecessary. And I'm so sad because Shame has so many AMAZING elements:
✰ A perfect Hero (Yes, PERFECT I'm totally #teamKevin. You deserved a better heroine!) ✰ the kink exploration ✰ Panty melter sex scenes ✰ a fabulous friends to lovers trope
Yes, Adult Ana and OM dramas ruined this book. Such a pity.
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Luckily the third part was better: Ana was still annoying but she finally came to her senses....more
➸ genre: YA/MM Romance ➸ tropes: bully-enemies to lovers-angst-GayForYou ➸ Fist person, dual POV ➸ Standalone? #1 book in the Hood River Hoodlums Ser3 ★
➸ genre: YA/MM Romance ➸ tropes: bully-enemies to lovers-angst-GayForYou ➸ Fist person, dual POV ➸ Standalone? #1 book in the Hood River Hoodlums Series ➸ Cliffhanger? No. ➸ HEA/HFN? Yes. ➸ Trigger: bullying, violence, abuse, attempted sexual assault ➸ Steam? High .
“Relationship, huh?” I arch a brow at him. “You don’t even like me.” “You’re growing on me,” he says, leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Like a fungus.” “You should get a job writing inscriptions on Hallmark cards,” I deadpan. He snorts. “Seems like a cool job.”
May contain minor spoilers
I read the first 14 chapters of HRR in Bully Me: Class of 2020.That evil cliffhanger killed me and I was dying to read the complete story. I had HUGE expectations for this book and you know what they say about expectations..
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I was sure this was going to be a 5 ★ read.. unfortunately I was wrong. Probably if I hadn't been so obsessed with this book for an entire month, I would have given a higher rating. So yes, I reserve the right to reread it and change the rating in the future.
Don’t get me wrong, This is a great book and I ENJOYED it.
HRR is an emotional, angsty and steamy read. It was a great start to what I am assuming will be another amazing Series by Mrs Webster. I couldn’t put it down and I read it in one sitting.
Here's what I loved:
✰ Writing ✰ Roan and Hollis, the development of their relationship and their chemistry. ✰ steamy scenes ✰ the Hoodlum, especially Jordy ✰ Hollis' family ✰ Roux and Roan's relationship ✰ Roan and Jordy's bromance ✰ Roux and Jordy's bond
Unfortunately it wasn’t perfect and some things bugged me.
The beginning and the middle of this story were great. The last 15-20%? Not so much. Miscommunication, Miscommunication, a lot of Miscommunication. Plus, why adults and authorities in YA are always portraited like idiots ?! Police and CPS were so clueless..sorry it was irrealistic and I didn’t buy it. I won’t write spoilers so I will just say that I didn’t like how some things were handled, especially Hollis' disease, The Evil Mother/ her predator abusive boyfriend and Jordy's mess with the justices. I felt like there were so many running story lines ouside of the main romance plot. I get that this is a series and KW wanted to build the plot/setting for the next book but Hollis & Roan deserved a better and more complete HEA. The end was rushed and full of tragedies/Over The Top Dramas:
an illness, a homophobic father, a gang, guns, murders, assaults, an absent/addicted mother, OD, a creepy abusive mama's boyfriend, police, CPS, prison, (...)
And all of this happened in 290 pages..
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So yes, too much dramas for my taste Sometimes less is better. On the other hand, I can’t wait to read the next book Little Hoodlum..I don't want to have to many expectation but after reading the epilogue/prologue I'm sooo excited.
⚠️ Spoiler Allert : If you don't want to know the couple of the next book you should stop reading.
Really sweet and emotional. Interesting plot-main/secondary characters. Ava and Knox have a great chemistry and I really liked the gradual develop3.5 ⭐️
Really sweet and emotional. Interesting plot-main/secondary characters. Ava and Knox have a great chemistry and I really liked the gradual development of their relationship. The end was a little bit too rushed/full of dramaS for my taste but I really enjoyed the first 70% of this story. Unfortunately I think I've gotten too old for YA romance and I'm really picky with this genre. I know it's wrong but I always end up comparing them to some of my absolute favorites like Binding 13 or Bully or Sempre.. but If you are into YA I highly recommend this one ...more
Well.. A slow burn enemies to lovers is my drug. Sam and Walker have a great chemistry.. I would have loved more scenes with them as a couple.3.5 - 4 ⭐
Well.. A slow burn enemies to lovers is my drug. Sam and Walker have a great chemistry.. I would have loved more scenes with them as a couple. The end was a little OTT for my taste but I really enjoyed this NA....more
Thriller-Mystery Romance Enemies to lovers, small town #1 book in the Gypsy Tin Series First Person, double POV Cliffhanger? Yes and No. The end will3.5 ⭐
Thriller-Mystery Romance Enemies to lovers, small town #1 book in the Gypsy Tin Series First Person, double POV Cliffhanger? Yes and No. The end will leave you with a lot of question. HEA? Yes. Heat: ...more
Young Adult Romance Taboo-RH-love quadrangle-angst-healing Standalone First person, multiple POV HEA? Yes.
SPOILER FREE PART:
I love Penelope 3.5 ⭐️
Young Adult Romance Taboo-RH-love quadrangle-angst-healing Standalone First person, multiple POV HEA? Yes.
SPOILER FREE PART:
I love Penelope Douglas, period. She's one of my favorites romance authors (#2 on my all-time favorite list) and I will read everything she writes, even her grocery list. I was excited but at the same time a little bit worried: Reverse Harem isn't my jam BUT I gave myself a pep talk, put on my big girl panties and dived in. Credence was an emotional roller coaster. Curiosity, confusion, sadness, anger, uncertainty, lust, love, bitterness, joy : I have experienced all these emotions. For the first time in my life I enjoyed reading a book I hated in some parts and even wanted to DNF multiple times.
This was my experience: 1%-20% :
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20-50% : A lot of eye roll..I was really frustrated with the direction the story took
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I was also sad because I fell sorry for a particular character :
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and at the same time I was also mad..I wanted to slam my kindle against the wall and DNF.
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50-80% : The game changed and I was hooked again
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Plus the sex scenes were H O T ! , thanks Pen
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80% : I was a little bit sad but proud
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90%- epilogue : I was happy because I had the HEA I wanted and hoped for
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See? A roller coaster of emotion !
This isn't a fluffy Romance.. you need to be prepared because this book deals with questionable (even disturbing) situations and relationships. All the characters are complex and have issues. They are all broken, damaged and imperfect. You might hate them and their choices You might not understand them You might not see their redemption BUT They are REAL. They aren't plain or forgettable..They will leave an impression (positive or negative but still an impression). I can't say the same thing for many Romance and for me this says a lot. (I really loved Noah and Kaleb..Pen did an amazing job with them..I stop here because I don't want to write major spoiler.) If you want to read an epic love story full of love and romanticism..GO AWAY . This will be an intense painful ride. You will either love or hate Credence but it will certainly not leave you indifferent. I gave 3.5 ⭐️( which I don't consider a negative rating ) because I didn't like some things (almost 30% of the book) BUT I enjoyed the journey this story made me live. Penelope wrote something risky and unconventional .. her courage must be rewarded and she deserves a lot of respect. C H A P E A U. ...more
New Adult Romance Forbidden-taboo/insta-love/opposite side of the tracks
“Like Dragonflies” is a sweet/lighthearted story about two broken souls 3.75 ⭐️
New Adult Romance Forbidden-taboo/insta-love/opposite side of the tracks
“Like Dragonflies” is a sweet/lighthearted story about two broken souls who heal each others and find their own brand of happiness. I usually don't like Insta-love but I have to say.. in this story it worked out and didn't bother me. At first Sage was too much meek for my taste but I liked the development of her character and how in the end she stand up for herself. On the other hand I loved Mars with all my heart: he had an horrible childhood, made some mistakes as a teen but he was strong enough to change his life and work to became a better person. I know this book isn't for everyone.. Sage and Mars love story is very sweet but at the end of the day they are still half-siblings and share DNA. I love taboo and forbidden love story because I like to push my boundaries..I know a lot of people don't like this type of story and there's nothing wrong about this. I read Hale and this book is pretty tame in comparison. Sage and Mars didn't grew up together..they were strangers and find out to be related only AFTER having already fallen in love. They tried to do the “right and moral” thing but their love was too strong. Yes, their relationship can be seen as wrong and sick but honestly I don't care. I wasn't uncomfortable or grossed out and I rooted for them. I think this quotes fits this story perfectly : “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of...” I didn't give a higher rating because, compared to Hale, I found that something was missing .. I would have liked more angst and groveling and I didn't like some reckless decisions Sage and Mars made . Despite this I really liked “Like Dragonflies” and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to give this controversial theme a chance....more
3.5 ⭐️ Premise: I liked it. The writing is awesome. The plot is engaging and heartbreaking but I can't enjoy this Romance at 100% because I can't stand 3.5 ⭐️ Premise: I liked it. The writing is awesome. The plot is engaging and heartbreaking but I can't enjoy this Romance at 100% because I can't stand Insta-love. In this book we have an horrible case of insta-love. Did I mention I hate Ista-love? Ahahah Sorry.
I really liked Twisted Bonds, although I must say that the first part bored me a little as it is the repetition of Twisted Pride from the point 3.5 ⭐️
I really liked Twisted Bonds, although I must say that the first part bored me a little as it is the repetition of Twisted Pride from the point of view of Chiara and Nino. I loved Twisted Emotion but in this book I didn't fall in love with Chiara and Nino: Nino is always too detached and cold (his dialogues are so clinical and irritating) and Chiara is too often tied to her past and insecure of herself. The second part, however, rekindled my interest thanks to twists and dramas. I loved all the other characters and I can't wait to read the story of Savio and Adamo. I also loved Remo, Serafina, Nevio and Greta. I would have liked to read chapters from their point of view .. shame! Another small flaw? The author's writing is really simple and sometimes repetitive. Despite this I love the Falcone family and will continue to read this series....more
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