January 2024 Mini Reviews
Published: 8th December 2022 by Harper Fire
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
Kiera Cass feels like such a nostalgic author to me, as I remember reading and absolutely being hooked by her Selection series back in the day. I wasn't sure how much I would still enjoy her books now, but this was a perfectly enjoyable story. This took the whole enemies-to-lovers trope to the extreme, as Princess Annika and Lennox are from warring lands, but I enjoyed seeing the small sparks of tenderness they held towards one another right from the start, and knowing that it was indicative of their later loyalty and alliance. Having read this a while ago now, I do have to say that this wasn't a particularly memorable story, with no real plot points standing out to me. The two main characters were fine, but I wasn't strongly invested in them or in their future together. I did root for the two of them, but mainly because Annika's intended husband had no redeeming qualities, and anyone would have been better than him.
3 stars
Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan
Published: 14th November 2023 by Piatkus
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
This was a fun book! I enjoyed the originality of the concept, as although there's been a massive surge in magic-centred romances, the curse-breaking element of this made it feel unique enough, especially with the setting of this crumbling castle and an archaeologist male love interest. I enjoyed the curse element, and how it seemed as though the house was literally bringing Riley and Clark together. I believed in the chemistry between these two main characters, and how there wasn't a huge amount of pretending to hate while secretly falling - the pacing of the change from hate to love was pretty quick, however. I also thought the plot was pretty predictable, which isn't necessarily a huge criticism, but I wasn't completely gripped by the story because of this. I'd heard good things about Danan's other novel, The Roommate, but I probably won't go back and pick it up on the basis of Do Your Worst.
3 stars
DallerGut Dream Department Store by Mi-Ye Lee
DallerGut Dream Department Store #1
Published: 9th November 2023 by Wildfire
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
I've really been enjoying reading some more Korean literature recently, and this really intrigued me! I'd never heard of anything remotely like the premise of this novel before - a worker at a department store revolving around the selling of dreams for a better night's sleep? It sounded incredible, and it was really refreshing to read such an original story as this. However, I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing, and whether that's a translation thing or not, I'm not sure. It felt quite rudimentary at times, which was disappointing considering the world-building that this book could've contained. I also found that the plot lost my interest towards the end, which wasn't great considering how short the book actually was! I just didn't love the way in which a whole host of secondary characters were introduced all at the same time and we were just expected to care about them immediately.
3 stars
How to Fail at Flirting by Denise Williams
Published: 1st December 2020 by Piatkus
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
I really don't know how to feel about this one - I enjoyed the writing, as I feel like I always do with Denise Williams, and the romance seemed sweet and believable, but I am slightly in disbelief that this was an entire book? That sounds really harsh but I just feel like the scenes spent with Naya and Jake, certainly in the beginning as they were getting to know one another, were disproportionately the focus of the book, where nothing much really happened, and the whole evil ex, trouble at work situations just felt like it remained firmly on the sidelines until the very end of the book. I didn't love the abusive ex being an active character who we had to spend time reading about, and Naya having interactions with, and I don't think it added enough to the story to justify him being around. I wasn't convinced with this one, sadly.
3 stars
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