Tag: romance

Ever After by Amanda Prowse [BOOK REVIEW] Ever After by Amanda Prowse [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

Ever After by Amanda Prowse [BOOK REVIEW]

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Ever After by Amanda Prowse [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Ever After by Amanda Prowse [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 412

Genre: Romance, Fiction

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

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My Thoughts:

“Ever After” is an emotional rollercoaster of a book, but in the most beautiful way. It had so much emotion poured into it, and I couldn’t help getting invested in Enya’s story. 

Enya is a widow that is still grieving her husband. I mean, do you ever really stop grieving a loved one, especially your soulmate? Her son, Aiden is in a relationship with Enya’s best friend and next-door-neighbour’s daughter, and everything seems to be going well. Except that, one day, Aiden returns from a work conference and has news that will change everyone’s lives forever.

Enya finds herself in a very difficult situation that she neither chose, nor does she have control over. What doesn’t help is that she also keeps a secret that she can’t tell anyone, and this burdens her for multiple reasons. The support network she used to have is now gone, leaving her very lonely, and she reverts to her default setting – making sure everyone around her is okay and happy, even to the detriment of her happiness.

I found it painful, but refreshing, that the characters didn’t shy away from difficult topics and voiced how they were feeling, even though sometimes this took much longer than it should have for them to open up. 

The writing was beautiful and raw, every chapter leaving you satisfied and craving for more at the same time. Amanda Prowse is now on my auto-buy list of authors. I will instantly get her book as soon as I spot the next one. I already have “This One Life” on my TBR to get to it as soon as I possibly can. 

If you are looking for a book that makes you feel things and care for the characters, please pick this book! It will take you on a real and raw adventure and make you open a new tissue box whilst at it. How can you say no to a good old healthy cry? 

Favourite quotes:

“I can’t remember what I used to think about before my head was full of you!”

“Speaking for myself, it has always been rooted in love. Loving those that love me a bit too much and not loving myself enough, I guess.”

“His expression, she feared, matched her own; it was that potent mix of longing and regret that, had it been expressed in music, would have been loud and building, a crescendo that carried you along with its passion and its beauty, a trailing rapture that could pierce her very soul. Feelings that had the ability to floor her, to be her undoing, and her salvation. A moment of connection, knitting all the strands of desire and roping her to him, this man who had come into her life in the most unconventional of ways and had turned things upside down.”

About the Author:

Ever After by Amanda Prowse [BOOK REVIEW]

Amanda Prowse is an International Bestselling author whose thirty-two novels, two non-fiction titles and ten novellas have been published in dozens of languages around the world. Published by Lake Union, Amanda is the most prolific writer of bestselling contemporary fiction in the UK today; her titles also consistently score the highest online review approval ratings across several genres. Her books, including the chart topping No.1 titles ‘What Have I Done?’, ‘Perfect Daughter’, ‘My Husband’s Wife’, ‘The Girl in the Corner’ and ‘The Things I Know’ have sold millions of copies across the globe.

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Heart the Lover by Lily King [BOOK REVIEW] Heart the Lover by Lily King [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

Heart the Lover by Lily King [BOOK REVIEW]

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Heart the Lover by Lily King [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Heart the Lover by Lily King [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 256

Genre: Literary Fiction, Romance

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★

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My Thoughts:

“You knew I’d write a book about you someday.”

I adored “Heart the Lover” for multiple reasons. The first one is reading the book as a readalong. Thanks to the team at Adventures With Words, around 20 of us read the book over a week and discussed it as we went on. I would definitely recommend this book as a book club pick! The second reason was the writing itself. Even though I didn’t always agree with our narrator, the story was so beautifully written. It was emotional, raw and lyrical and I kept wanting to read more after reading the daily pages. 

“And still, there is this sense that I could express it all in just one nonexistent word and you would understand exactly what I mean.”

We don’t know the name of our female narrator, but she is very honest and vulnerable with us. At moments, it felt like I was reading someone’s diary. It also pained me to see how gullible and too trusting she was in certain situations. 

I liked the other characters as well.

Sam maybe not so much. I didn’t like his actions and behaviour, but I liked his depth and how good of a friend he was to Yash. When it comes to Yash, I liked him from the very beginning, but started to lose trust later on. I liked his funny, caring and polite sides to him. The relationship our narrator has with them is very complicated and tangled. It annoyed me that the lack of communication seemed to be a common theme in the book and the biggest downfall. 

“I couldn’t trust you again with my heart.”

As the time goes on and years pass, the book becomes way more emotional. All the feelings people have seem to come to the surface at one time and they cannot run away from them. Without revealing too much, I will only say that the mood shifts significantly and the pages ooze with nostalgia, regrets, secrets kept and truths left unspoken. 

“You have your regrets and I have mine. I sit on the porch step for a while, thinking about life’s tricks, the ones we see, the ones we don’t.”

“Heart the Lover” is a beautifully written book that will take you on an emotional journey and make you nostalgic about your college days. Get your tissues ready and give this book a go!

About the Author:

Heart the Lover by Lily King [BOOK REVIEW]

Lily King is the award-winning author of six novels. Her most recent novel, Heart the Lover was published on September 30th, 2025. She has also published a collection of short stories, Five Tuesdays in Winter. Her 2020 novel, Writers & Lovers, won the New England Society Book Awards and was a New York Times Notable Book and chosen as a top-ten best book of 2020 by The Washington Post, NPR, People Magazine, and The Los Angeles Times. Her 2014 novel Euphoria won the Kirkus Award, the New England Book Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Award. Euphoria was named one of the 10 Best Books of 2014 by The New York Times Book Review. It was included in TIME’s Top 10 Fiction Books of 2014, as well as on Amazon, NPR, Entertainment Weekly, Publishers Weekly, and Salon’s Best Books of 2014.

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Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [BOOK REVIEW] Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [BOOK REVIEW]

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Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 406

Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Romance, Romantasy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format I read it in: Hardcover

Rating: ★★★★★

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My Thoughts:

When I truly love a book, I keep a note of my favourite quotes, and “Throne of Glass” was no different. Sarah J. Maas has that ability to instantly transport you into a world full of magic and wonder.

In this case, we were transported to Erilea and our main character is the incredible assassin lady, Celaena Sardothien. Captured and in prison, she is visited by the Crown Prince, who makes her an offer she cannot refuse. If she wins a competition, she will be free. But the competition in question involves killing twenty-three warriors, killers and thieves, a fight until death to become the king’s champion.

As soon as I started reading, I was hooked and intrigued. I have read the prequel, “The Assassin’s Blade”, prior to reading Throne of Glass, so I was aware of Celaena’s past, but I liked the fact that it didn’t impact this story and it could be read independently. 

I loved her connection with the Crown Prince.

Her reservation, the mystery surrounding her past and the events that kept occurring added to the slow burn romance. I am really eager to see how this develops in the next books.

I also loved the competition itself, and Sarah J. Maas is known for making a worthy competition. The different tasks and stages were very entertaining. I didn’t quite enjoy the mystery part though. It felt rushed, and then everything happened at once, all to end with a cliffhanger. But then, as I am writing this, I remember it’s Sarah J. Maas we are talking about. Of course it will all kick off in the last 30 pages. And of course we are left with a cliffhanger. I can’t even be mad about it. And of course, I’ll be there, always eager to read the next book. I just hope it’s as good as this one.

Favourite Quotes:

“He found her beautiful, if a bit strange and sour. It was something in the way that her eyes sparked when she looked at something lovely in the landscape. He couldn’t understand it.”

“Guards are of no use in a library.” Oh, how wrong he was! Libraries were full of ideas – perhaps the most dangerous and powerful of all weapons.”

“Celaena smiled as she watched the Crown Prince of Adarlan lead the Princess of Eyllwe through the basic steps of fencing. He was charming, she supposed. In an arrogant sort of way. But someone with his title could have been far, far worse. It made her uneasy how he’d made her blush. In fact, he was so attractive that she had difficulty not thinking about how attractive he was, and again wondered why he wasn’t married.”

“Damn him for being so handsome.”

“The notes burst from her fingers, staggering at first, but then more confidently as the emotion in the music took over. It was a mournful piece, but it made her into something clean and new. She was surprised that her hands had not forgotten, that somewhere in her mind, after a year of darkness and slavery, music was still alive and breathing. That somewhere, between the notes, was Sam. She forgot about time as she drifted between pieces, voicing the unspeakable, opening old wounds, playing and playing as the sound forgave and saved her.”

“He didn’t know why, but seeing her made him feel like a man. She was something out of a dream – a dream in which he was not a spoiled young prince, but a king.”

“We all bear scars, Dorian. Mine just happen to be more visible than most.”

About the Author:

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas [BOOK REVIEW]

Sarah J. Maas is the #1 bestselling author of the Throne of Glass, Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City series. Her books have sold millions of copies and are published in thirty-eight languages. She lives in New York City with her family.

Website

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The Shelf by Helly Acton [BOOK REVIEW] The Shelf by Helly Acton [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

The Shelf by Helly Acton [BOOK REVIEW]

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The Shelf by Helly Acton [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

The Shelf by Helly Acton [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 416

Genre: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary

Publisher: Bonnier Books UK

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

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My Thoughts:

Reading “The Shelf” was so fun. It’s a “make you feel good” book, focusing on inner happiness, with or without a partner. 

Despite reading the synopsis, I went into this book blind. I blame this on my forgetfulness – I tend to read 10 synopsis of books, and then choose 1 book to read out of them all. I’ll be honest – I did not connect with Amy at all in the first chapters. It was hard to read about her current life and relationship. Then the surprise event happens and Amy ends up being dumped live on TV, and entering this new TV Show – The Shelf!

It was at this time when I instantly sided with her, and loved reading about her journey.

“The Shelf” show has to be the worst, most hectic, most sexist show I’ve ever come across in my years of reading fiction. Basically, you get to win the show if you can prove that you are the best “housewife material” out there. And I have nothing against housewives. My favourite person in the world – my late grandma – was a housewife, and I know her life wasn’t easy at all. It was busy and filled with manual work, house work, gardening. But it was a house that was always filled with lots of love. Some of my fondest childhood memories I have are connected with that woman.

And to see the “housewife” term used as a TV-show concept in this way was not the nicest thing to see, is all I can say. I just believe that this should be a woman’s choice of life and not a decision made on her behalf, or a mandatory tick box when finding a partner, as portrayed in this book. In this show, you could only win the game if you are the perfect housewife material. The show was full of men treating women in a way they shouldn’t ever be treated.

“We’re all so busy trying to find the right person, we aren’t trying to be the right person.”

All the other women are in the same boat with Amy (dumped and left on the shelf), competing for one million dollars and being crowned “The Keeper”. I know, the show is a huge red flag. But the contestants are here to save the day. Aside from Amy, we’ll meet Jackie, Gemma, Hattie, Lauren and Flick – all of them very different and with their own stories. And most important of all, all these women make their lives a priority, despite their environment telling them otherwise.

I devoured this book in just a few days.

It was heart-warming, fun, uplifting and powerful. It spoke to my younger-self, that it’s okay to be single and happy on your own until / if you meet your person. And it spoke to my present self that it’s okay to have your person and share experiences and work things out. And that if something suddenly goes wrong – you’ve still got your person – yourself! I can only warmly recommend “The Shelf” for you. I hope it brightens your day like it did mine.

About the Author:

The Shelf by Helly Acton [BOOK REVIEW]

Helly Acton is a copywriter from London with past lives in the Middle East, Africa and Australia. Born in Zimbabwe, Helly and her family emigrated to the East Sussex coast when she was 15 years old. Here, she finished school and spent her holidays in Saudi Arabia, where her father had been placed with work. She studied Law at King’s College London before following a more creative path into advertising.

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Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang [BOOK REVIEW] Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang [BOOK REVIEW]
Book Review · Books

Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang [BOOK REVIEW]

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Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 343

Genre: Romance, Contemporary

Publisher: Piatkus

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★

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He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world

A diverse new adult steamy romance from Tiktok sensation and USA Today bestselling author Ana Huang.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.

A melt.

A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember.

But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want.

Her brother’s best friend.

Also her neighbor.

Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen-but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear.

My Thoughts:

“Twisted Love” is a book I’ve always had my eyes on. My sister gifted me a copy, and I instantly dived in. Now, I am all for “bad boy” romances, but this one just wasn’t it. It felt like the author wanted to include all romance tropes at once, and whilst doing so, created a proper mess.

Firstly, our main male character, Alex Volkov, is a horrible person. Rich, as in, I own my grandpa’s company and no one can touch me. Stubborn, arrogant, jealous and possessive. Usually, I don’t mind this in a romance book and just go with it, enjoying the book, despite a character’s red flags. Who am I to judge, right? But Alex was way too annoying. I should request some kind of compensation for the amount of eye rolls this book gave me. Maybe I am owed some eye drops or something.

As for Ava, I really liked her, even though I thought she was a bit gullible at times. I also have to remind myself that she had a crush on Alex, and with that comes a lot of tunnel vision and her wearing her rose-tinted glasses. I liked how her trauma was presented, and it added great depth to the character.

There was one moment in the book that really made me chuckle.

It mentioned how easy it was to cross borders in Europe. And I laughed, because it is clear the author never tried to cross a Balkan border during a summer holiday. If she did, she wouldn’t have made that statement. Europe is much more than crossing the French-Italian border. 

What I found interesting about the book is that despite the unlikeable characters and cliche plot, I devoured this book in two days. Writing this down, I don’t know if that says more about the book, or me. 🙂 And that’s the main reason I haven’t given this book a 1 star. The second book in the series is the story of Bridget and Rhys, and I have to admit, I’m extremely excited about that! I think and I hope that we will see characters with way less red flags. I will still be reading the rest of the series, as I am now intrigued about the rest of the characters.

About the Author:

Twisted Love (Twisted #1) by Ana Huang [BOOK REVIEW]

Ana Huang is a #1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, #1 Sunday Times, and #1 Amazon bestselling author. Best known for her Twisted series, she writes New Adult and contemporary romance with deliciously alpha heroes, strong heroines, and plenty of steam, angst, and swoon.

Her books have been translated in thirty languages and featured in outlets such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, NPR, Cosmopolitan, and PEOPLE magazine.

A self-professed travel enthusiast, she loves incorporating beautiful destinations into her stories and will never say no to a good chai latte.

Website

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