Category: Reviews

Reviews

Zero Days Review

by amyleighreads2 Comments on Zero Days Review

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

Hired by companies to break into buildings and hack security systems, Jack and her husband, Gabe, are the best penetration specialists in the business. But after a routine assignment goes horribly wrong, Jack arrives home to find her husband dead. To add to her horror, the police are closing in on their suspect—her. Suddenly on the run and quickly running out of options, Jack must decide who she can trust as she circles closer to the real killer in this unputdownable and heart-pounding mystery.

I liked the fact that we start off the book in the middle of a break in. I went into this book completely blind so I wasn’t aware of the fact that they were actually hired by the company and I was kind of on the edge of my seat. This was a great way to establish how the relationship between Jack and Gabe worked and how she suffers without him in her ear for the rest of the plot.

I was a tad annoyed that she injures herself so early on the book and that completely hinders her stamina and strength. I would of liked her to be at her best and not be as debilitated by not being able to think more critically due to pain. Because of this most of the answers to the whole mystery behind Gabe’s death is pretty much told to her by those around her and she doesn’t completely come up with the answers by herself like I thought she would.

Again because of this injury she isn’t in motion all that much and we’re pretty much just sitting with her while she stews upon what her next move is and how much she is bleeding at the moment and should she just give up or keep going. It got just a little bit repetitive I think when I was wanting more action and adventure. She was basically just trying to run from the cops rather than on the hunt for the actual people who killed Gabe which is kind of what I wanted to see.

I was engaged and highly invested in figuring out what happened and her genuine sadness over the death of her husband felt very realistic and authentic to me, didn’t shed any tears but that melancholy feeling overcame me for sure! I was very content with the ending and even though there are still a few answers I wish we would of gotten I was overall entertained.

⭐️3/5 stars Not my favourite Ruth Ware but still pretty good!

Reviews

Such Sharp Teeth Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Such Sharp Teeth Review

Rory Morris isn’t thrilled to be moving back to her hometown, even if it is temporary. There are bad memories there. But her twin sister, Scarlett, is pregnant, estranged from the baby’s father, and needs support, so Rory returns to the place she thought she’d put in her rearview. After a night out at a bar where she runs into an old almost-flame, she hits a large animal with her car. And when she gets out to investigate, she’s attacked. Rory survives, miraculously, but life begins to look and feel different. She’s unnaturally strong, with an aversion to silver–and suddenly the moon has her in its thrall. She’s changing into someone else–something else, maybe even a monster. But does that mean she’s putting those close to her in danger? Or is embracing the wildness inside of her the key to acceptance?

Rory was an interesting character for sure. I feel like even though this is from her perspective we don’t delve as deep into her character than what I wanted. She reacts pretty realistically throughout her attack and the subsequent changes that start to occur. She is a very defensive and overtly arrogant character as well which I appreciated, she’s not the most likeable person.

I understand Scarlett had a lot going on being pregnant and everything but she wasn’t very observant of her sister. I know they don’t really express their emotions to each other in this family but Rory would continuously wear the same outfit for weeks and apparently smelled pretty bad and she wouldn’t say anything to her. Also the fact that she invited her mother over and didn’t really consider Rory’s feelings at all despite knowing how touchy the subject was.

The romance was very cute albeit far fetched. The fact that this man still continued to allow Rory back into his life when she did some pretty awful things to him just wouldn’t happen I don’t think. But because the book overall is pretty over the top and a tad ridiculous I could let that go and just enjoy the cuteness. The mystery behind who was the original werewolf wasn’t that much of a surprise but I did enjoy the build up to the full moon and how Rory was trying to find a way to stay aware after the change.

⭐️4/5 stars I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to!

Reviews

Secretly Yours Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Secretly Yours Review

Hallie Welch fell hard for Julian Vos at fourteen, after they almost kissed in the dark vineyards of his family’s winery. Now the prodigal hottie has returned to their small town. When Hallie is hired to revamp the gardens on the Vos estate, she wonders if she’ll finally get that smooch. But the grumpy professor isn’t the teenager she remembers and their polar opposite personalities clash spectacularly. One wine-fueled girls’ night later, Hallie can’t shake the sense that she did something reckless–and then she remembers the drunken secret admirer letter she left for Julian. Oh shit.

Hallie’s character I didn’t really gel with. She’s supposedly 27/28 years old and she honestly acts as if she is 20-22. Running around town, getting drunk and vandalizing businesses whilst being very cavalier in her own business ( showing up whenever she wants). I understand she is still mourning her grandmother but I don’t think that’s an excuse to throw away all sense of composure and decency. I feel like she needs to grow up and maybe book that appointment with her therapist she keeps putting off and start to heal properly.

Julian I didn’t really like all that much as well. He is very standoffish and he also knows he has a lot of issues that he kept pent up and won’t get any kind of help for it. For the most part he is quite comfortable sticking to his routines and burying all of those emotions further and further down until the inevitable break down. Also in the smutty scenes where he whips out all of this dirty talk was very jarring and kind of pulled me out of the story.

I did however, really enjoy the setting and premise of the plotline. If these character were a bit more memorable and slightly more mature maybe it would of worked a bit better for me. I kept waiting for twists and conflicts and passion but overall it was just a bit weak.

⭐️2/5 stars I felt unfulfilled

Reviews

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers Review

*BEWARE OF SPOILERS*

Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet). But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

I absolutely LOVED Vera! Just the way she cuts through all of the mess and is just straightforward with everyone is so entertaining and engaging. Her helpfulness definitely has no boundaries and she will not take no for an answer. I really enjoyed how she just comes to accept that this man has died in her tea house so now it’s her responsibility to figure out who killed him.

The way the rest of the characters are introduced to us by turning up to the teahouse just as Vera suspected was a great way to form a connection with everyone. Throughout the course of the plot I was definitely trying to pin point which of the 4 actually did it and how they were connected to the murder.

The plot at times did get a little unrealistic for me which did in turn kind of take me out of the story a little bit, but once I was able to overlook that I very much enjoyed the book as a whole. It kept me guessing right up to the very end of the plot and I couldn’t predict absolutely anything that was going to happen. This was low stakes but still had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

⭐️4/5 stars Kind of silly but entertaining!

Reviews

The Spanish Love Deception Review

by amyleighreadsLeave a Comment on The Spanish Love Deception Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Catalina Martín desperately needs a date to her sister’s wedding. Especially since her little white lie about her American boyfriend has spiraled out of control. Now everyone she knows—including her ex and his fiancée—will be there and eager to meet him. She only has four weeks to find someone willing to cross the Atlantic and aid in her deception. New York to Spain is no short flight and her raucous family won’t be easy to fool. Enter Aaron Blackford—her tall, handsome, condescending colleague—who surprisingly offers to step in. She’d rather refuse; never has there been a more aggravating, blood-boiling, and insufferable man.

Catalina was kind of a forgettable character. There was nothing really about her other than her culture that set her apart from every other female romance protagonist out there. She kind of got on my nerves how much she didn’t communicate her feelings to Aaron and projected her fears from her past experience onto this current one. She should of definitely called out her ex and how his inaction over her torment affected her a lot sooner and should of realised that Aaron wouldn’t of let that happen to her again.

The way Aaron was introduced into the story was very abrupt and strange. We are essentially told all about the horrible things he’s done in the past towards her but we only see the Aaron who is obviously infatuated by her. We don’t see a lot of him the the weeks leading up to Spain and then it’s like once they hit those foreign shores all his doubts fade away and he’s this ‘casanova’. It does come across a little strong yet it was very romantic and cute, in no way realistic though.

I think that’s kind of what put me off this book in the end (other than the obvious sexism that is demonstrated multiple times in her company that is never called out by any male colleagues) the development of the relationship just felt so rushed and unrealistic. The very long winded monologue of how much she loves and adores him felt very cringey to me and I couldn’t come back from that.

⭐️2/5 stars Just a no for me!