bookishbillijean's reviews
493 reviews

Rating 5/5 ⭐️

Spice 1/5 🌶️

I LOVED this book so much. 

I feel like I have been really stingy with 5⭐️ ratings so far this year but this is absolutely a 5⭐️ for me!

Hazel, a thirteenth child, is given to a God and spends the first 12 years of her life feeling unloved and unwanted as she waits for her God to come get her. This God sets her down a path of his own making and she must decide if it is truly what she wants and who she wants to become. 

I do not have any words for how beautifully this was done. I honestly felt so invested in Hazel. In her life, her growth, her love, and her relationships. I loved so many things about her character. Was such a good example of character growth not only for her but the MMC and supporting characters too. 

The relationships were so well done and didn’t feel forced. The slow burn wholesome romance *chefs kiss*. 

If everyone could just read this book now so we can talk about it! That would be great, thanks!

Rating 4/5 ⭐️

Spice 3/5 🌶️

“If you let the ghosts of your past control your present, you’ll never reach your future.” 

Unbound by Brittany Gossin is book 1 in the Dragonflight series and it did not disappoint! 

I am still silently sobbing over here in the corner processing the emotional trauma this just put me through 😭 but for real though I need the next book ASAP!

This does have multiple POV’s but it adds to the development of the plot and the world as a whole. You need them all to help you see the bigger picture. We meet Avalon (a sheltered princess), Keegan (a dragon trying to save his family), Malcolm (a class clown thief), Rowena (a traumatized blood witch), and Zedoc (a hulking loyal friend). All going after the same thing and each with their own reason. 

Brittany does an amazing job building this world, setting the scene, and developing these characters that you just can’t help but get lost in it. I cannot even choose who my favorite is but Rowena has my ❤️. I thought she had the most character development and I cannot wait to see her continue to grow and flourish! I really really hope Malcom gets his own book in the series 🤞🏻

This book really has it all. A stabby FMC, dragons, witches, oppressive government, found family, protective MMC, and comedic relief. 

Rating 4/5 ⭐️

Spice 3/5 🌶️

Wow! I was not expecting this to be so good! I read the blurb and it sounded interesting enough but didn’t realize how much I would like it! 

Brooke has been a captive for 10 years. One day another captive is brought in and changes everything. Together they fight to live and escape. 

The pacing was definitely fast, under 300 pages, and a creepy read! 

Seriously it was so effed up a lot of it, definitely a thriller with some psychological aspects. 

I had hoped for more background on the main characters, we did get some but I think the book could have been a little longer to help flesh them out a bit more and also to give more to the ending. 

Overall though I would recommend this if you like creepy fast paced psychological thrillers! 

Rating 4/5 ⭐️

Spice 3/5 🌶️

Leith is a gladiator fighting to become a Bloodguard, hoping to survive, and make enough gold to save his dying sister. 

Maeve is an elven royal who is doing everything she can to save her kingdom and get her papa out of prison. She offers Leith a chance to win the Bloodguard title. Can they work together? 

Leith is book boyfriend goals. His character was really well developed. You really are able to connect to him and understand his motivations and his state of mind. 

I had wanted a little more from Maeve. I think she is a great FMC but her character growth wasn’t as extensive I felt like. 

Excellent writing though. Loved the plot! Was medium paced but had a lot of action. I didn’t feel like it dragged on. Varied nicely from these typical romantasy books that I’ve been reading with the same type of plot and characters. This was a nice little switch up. 

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! It was really well written and the plot was super interesting. 

It made me so sad at times and I did cry often through out the book, but it also had a lot of really funny parts! 
Was easy to bounce between the emotions as it was so well done. 

I loved all the characters except of course Evangeline. 

This was my first book by this author but it definitely won’t be my last! 

Rating 3/5 ⭐️

Spice 1/5🌶️

Grady is having the best and worst day of his life. He just made The NY Times Bestseller list and his wife goes missing. 

A year later, his wife is still missing and Grady is falling apart. He cannot write, cannot sleep, and is living in a rundown motel with nothing left. He is invited to stay on an island to write in solitude which he prefers. 

Once he gets there he thinks it is a fresh start and a chance to get his life back on track and maybe to move on but strange things start happening and now he isn’t sure if this was a good idea. 

This is about little over 300 pages, so it is a pretty quick read. I enjoyed the book. I liked the premise and thought it was interesting and unique. It had some decent twists and turns that I was not expecting. I enjoyed the dual narration and the switch from past to present. 

There were many things I liked about the book but it just wasn’t a show stopper for me. I had a hard time with the pacing. Felt very slow to me but then everything felt very rushed at the end. Also the writing seemed a little inconsistent. Noticed a few phrases or wording that just didn’t seem to fit but could have been that it is based in Europe. 

Overall, decent read.

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