February 2024 Mini Reviews
Published: 5th January 2023 by Hodder Children's Books
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
I had no idea what to expect from this, but I was very intrigued by the idea of a heist set on the Titanic ship, especially one performed by teenage girls. Although this is the first book from Jaigirdar that I have read, she is a well-established YA author, and now I can see why! The writing was incredibly strong throughout, and I found it very impressive that she was able to write A Million to One from four different people's perspectives at times, with mostly equal amounts of depth and character development. I did find the first half of the book to be stronger than the latter half, and I also personally wasn't a fan of the pacing of some of the storylines involving the four girls and what happened to them, however. I felt that the heist plot became quite convoluted, and when added to the inevitable sinking of the ship, it possibly became a bit too ambitious of a story to undertake.
3 stars
Bloodstream by Emilee Carter
Published: 4th January 2024 by Penguin
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
This was such a mixed bag for me - on the one hand I loved the premise of a romance centred around the racing world, and the whole bad boy falls for the nice girl trope, but on the other hand I didn't love the writing style and I found the whole back-and-forth between Faith and Julien (mostly from Julien) to be a bit too much, and I found it frustrating more than anything towards the end. The writing felt quite rudimentary to me at times, and while I don't expect the romances I read to be full of lyrical prose, I do think that there are some very strong romance writers who execute a great balance between entertaining and exciting love stories and genuinely good writing to tell those tales, and Bloodstream just didn't have that for me. I also felt a bit put-off by the fact that Carter wrote some scenes which attempted to show a deeper side to the story, but used Julien as the instigator of opinions and actions, rather than Faith.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Published: 6th February 2024 by Quercus
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
I am such a fan of Tia Williams! She was such a pleasant surprise to discover when I read Seven Days in June last year, and it actually ended up being one of my favourite romances I read in 2023, so I was very excited for this newest release of hers. I had no idea what this one would be about, but I really liked the paranormal, mysterious element to this romance, as it gave the story an emotional depth that I've come to expect in Williams' books. The historical element and the generational aspect of the story, and how it intertwined with the present day and Ricki and Ezra's love story was so interesting, and I couldn't wait to see how all of the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place. Ricki's found family warmed my heart, and it made me so happy to see her receive the love she had deserved for so long.
4 stars
Lease on Love by Falon Ballard
Published: 1st February 2022 by Headline Eternal
I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.
This was such a cute little romance - I wasn't sure how I'd feel about a book basically entirely centred around a new living situation and a live-in landlord/housemate, but I ended up really enjoying how the narrative of Lease on Love was mostly domestic, as it helped to create a real sense of intimacy between Jack and Sadie, and allowed them to get to know one another more quickly than otherwise. I particularly liked the thoughtfulness between Sadie and Jack, of them understanding what the other needed, and even the little things like buying coffee or helping clear a space showed a real level of care between them which helped their relationship to feel authentic. I thought that Sadie's support system in the form of her friends was great, and I appreciated that Ballard didn't try and use the fact that two of her friends had been seeing each other as a vessel to create conflict within the narrative.
3.5 stars
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