Another week of mini reviews. I can't believe I started doing mini reviews barely six months ago, why didn't any of you tell me that this was an option!
Anyway, this week I bring you a heart-pounding mystery, charming conclusion, and a slow fantasy.
Title: Monday's Not Coming
Author: Tiffany D. Jackson
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 stars
I knew Tiffany D. Jackson was something special when I inhaled her debut, Allegedly. In the same tone as Allegedly, Monday's Not Coming kept me anxiously reading and desperate to know what happened to a 15-year-old no one seemed to care about. What I loved about Monday's Not Coming is that it instantly transported me back to middle school. I didn't go to a school similar to Claudia's, but the language used and how the children treated each other is something that everyone could relate to. Monday's Not Coming was an important read because it focused on gentrification and the judgments that can be made on young black girls to the point where no one seems to care about their wellbeing. My one minor complaint is that the book took place in three timelines: The Before, the Before Before, and the After. It isn't until the very ending that I grasped what 'the After' was and it was a bit frustrating up until that point. Much like Allegedly, Monday's Not Coming will stick with me for a long time.
Title: Bad Influence (Bad Bachelors #3)
Author: Stefanie London
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 stars
First and foremost, Annie's story was everything I wanted and needed. From the first two books, I was dying to know what made Annie tick and what event encouraged her to launch Bad Bachelors. Her relationship was Preston was just as complicated and devastating as I expected and I shipped the two together immediately. In addition to being second-chance lovers, Annie and Joseph Preston were opposite's attract as well. Annie extended all of herself to help others and be around people, while Preston was more reserved and didn't have the best role models in life. When the two got together, it was like fighting fire with fire, but you could always tell that they had a soft spot for the other. Besides the romance, I was surprised that London chose to insert hacking and doxxing. The internet is not always a safe place for women and the London captured Annie's absolute fear as well as the cowards who act high and mighty behind a keyboard.
Title: Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1)
Author: Joanna Hathaway
Source: Work
Rating: 3 stars
Dark of the West had my attention with the prologue. It promised an epic romance between two star-crossed lovers who fell in love during a time of war. If I had read the prologue and only a prologue, this would have been a 4-star read for me. Unfortunately, the actual story dragged on and the characters lacked chemistry. In almost 500 pages, Dark of the West told the story of a brewing war but did not have any of the urgency or tension you would associate with war. Aurelia and Athan both had different motivations with interacting with each other when they should have been wary of each other, and their relationship just seemed too easy. Even with their differing opinions on war, they managed to establish a courtship within days of knowing each other. One thing I did appreciate was that Hathaway gave each character time to grow without always needing to be with their love interest. It just got to the point where I forgot what the conflict was.
Have you read any of the above?
What's one of your favorite second-chance romance books?
What February release are you dying to read?
Labels: 3 stars, 4 stars, bad bachelors, bad influence, dark of the west, glass alliance, joanna hathaway, monday's not coming, stefanie london, tiffany d. jackson
