Book Review

Two, that’s right, TWO book reviews!

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Whew! I’m on a roll! I have not one, but TWO book reviews here! I’m part of the Probably Smut monthly book club (don’t @ me!) and I am finally all caught up and ready for September’s book! In the meantime, my reviews for both Shadowed Obsession (July) and The Bad Boy Rule (August) are here!

Shadowed Obsession – 2 stars

The nice thing about the PS book club is that we get GORGOUS special edition covers! This was no exception! The colors were *chefs kiss* Perfect! However, the inside of the book, the meat, if you will…left some to be desired. There were many a grammatical and editing mistakes that really take you out the book once you see them. Things like quotation marks not being completed, a whole PAGE being copy/pasted…it was just kind of a mess? The story line could have been stronger too, like the premise was great, but overall? Eh.

*sigh* I REALLY wanted to like this. The smut was smutting and the MC’s had some depth to themselves. But their actual chemistry went from “stalker/stalkee” to “domestic bliss” once the mask came off-literally. Not to mention times when italics were used and then just not turned off. At some point, the emphasis on the Spanish words was annoying. It’s just dialogue like any other, yet it’s italicized. Every. Single. Time. As a non-native Spanish speaker but a Chicana, this was probably the most irritating. In her effort to make the character not othered, she othered his language the whole book.

Unfortunately, those items made the book slightly unbearable and while I finished it, I really only did because the redeeming parts were alright. (See my Goodreads review here)

The Bad Boy Rule – 4 stars

Whew! That was…hot. Like fire! I think I spent more time tabbing all the dirty talk than paying attention to the plot!

Lennon is a socialite, someone who’s parents are the who’s who of New Orleans. She is incredibly privileged and knows it. She is also rebelling against her parents…the blinders are off after a series of events, including forcing her to quit ice skating, her one escape, forces her to acknowledge that her parents are grooming her to be a trophy wife, nothing more.

Saint is a hockey player who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. His adolescent years spent in a trailer with his mother and his abusive and alcoholic father, Saint is well aware that he could end up like his dad and is trying everything in his power not to be. So he gives himself a new persona, “The Playboy” and has sex with basically any girl but with one rule: no getting attached.

Our MC’s meet at…the skating rink. Because of COURSE they do. Of COURSE they have the same time slot by mistake! Lennon, in her effort to rebel, asks Saint to be her fake boyfriend, unknowing that Saint has his own reasons why he says yes. They begin to see that neither is what they seem.

Seriously, this was so good. The tension and the banter between Saint and Lennon was so good. There wasn’t TOO MUCH of the pet names, which can really make or break a book. The only issue this time? A couple of plot holes that really made me question my own sanity, and a couple of grammatical and editing errors. So because of those, this went from a 5 star to a 4. (To see this and other reviews, check out my Goodreads profile here)

Ok, that’s all folks! I am hoping to get to 100 books by the end of the year…I’m currently standing at 67! Can I do it?! YES I CAN!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

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So. After gathering my thoughts, and reading some other reviews, I realized I will not be as eloquent as some here. However, I enjoyed this book. SO MUCH. The folklore, the horror, the gore. How Cora was able to rise above that, make connections with friends after the horrific murder of her sister, with whom she had a complicated relationship with. Re-connecting with her Asian heritage through her one aunt after being forced into accepting Christianity by her white aunt. The racism. THE RACISM. Like holy smokes. During COVID, racism towards Chinese (and by extension, those in other asian countries like Korea, Japan, etc. since white people think they all look the same) was at an all time high. No different than after 9/11, when people (usually white) blamed ANYONE that even looked remotely like those horrible terrorists. For Cora, and by extension, her friends/co-workers, enduring that during the early days and then height of the pandemic and not do anything about it because they knew it would make it worse was heartbreaking to read.

Cora, after the death of her sister, becomes a forensic crime scene cleaner. The past few cleans, though, have shown a pattern of brutal deaths of Asian-American women, and the calling card of dead and mutilated bats. The last thing Cora remembers was someone calling her sister “bat-eater” before throwing her in front of a train and decapitating her. Remember, this story it GORY and it STARTS with that death. We then move into her and her co-workers trying to figure out just WHO could be doing this, when Cora divulges to them that she is being followed by a Hungry Ghost. Something Cora didn’t believe in because she didn’t really believe in anything from her Asian heritage. Not that I blame her, she was definitely in the category of “not Asian enough, not white enough”, since it was something she was basically told her whole life. Once they decide that they need to get rid of the ghost, who Cora believes is her sister, they think it’s over. But it’s just the beginning.

I can’t even decide just how much I loved this book. It hit all the feels, all the tropes, all the checkboxes for a great horror novel. Horror isn’t always gore and jump scares (which this had a LOT of and I’m so glad I read it during the daytime haha) but sometimes the horror is in the everyday people. Of the people you think should be protecting you (looking at you cops) who are instead, covering up crimes by those higher than them, at the cost of the people dying. It was a crazy read, but a great one. I would absolutely read this again.

Oof…sorry

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You would think, since I’ve already done the whole “I’m sorry but I’m here” post before, that I would remember to actually post here but NOOOO of course not! However, I am proud to say that not only did I beat my Goodreads book challenge, I’ve surpassed it and I’m STILL GOING! I’m 72 book strong! I haven’t read this much in a LOOOONG time and I’m loving every minute of it!

Some books I’ve read since I was last here:

Plus some various arcs and fan fics, of course! Don’t forget, you can always find my reviews here AND on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/lupedominguez). Ok, I promise I won’t be so long next time!

Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood

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Honestly, the only downside is that I never got a POV from Conor and that is DEVASTATING. Ali Hazelwood is QUICKLY becoming my favorite author and I cannot begin to describe how much I freaking loved this book. Maya and Conor are endgame, and I thought Eli and Rue were…I just…I need more. I want a Nyota and maybe Paul or Nyota and someone because she is my FAVORITE side character. Or give me a Minami and Sul…god I would love to see their dynamic.

Maya is 23 and Conor is 38, very much an age gap, but honestly, they worked together so well, and it wasn’t even creepy. He tries so hard to make it go away and I think that’s why I loved this so much. Maya can be a little shit, and I kind of wish we had gotten more with her and Eli, but OMG she is just enough for Conor. They meet again, after not speaking for 10 months, at Eli and Rue’s destination wedding (the description of all things Sicily made me desperate to take a vacation there) and it’s here that they are unable to avoid each other. It makes such great tension.

I think I’m going to go ahead and just devour everything else Ali has written now. BRB, off to live dream about unattainable men and love I wish existed.

*to see this and other reviews, head over to my Goodreads page https://www.goodreads.com/lupedominguez

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

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Well this was…something. I guessed a lot of the twists and turns so it wasn’t as OMG as I was hoping for. Nico was such a jerk and I hated that Lux had zero self esteem to see that. It seemed too contrived to have people already on that island, Meroe, so I knew something was up already. Amma was a horrible person too. Just all of it was not great. Then I got total Lord of the Flies vibes in the last third of the book and I HATE Lord of the Flies so much that turned me off of the rest of the book. At that point, I could not have cared less about any of those characters. This was a very meh book for me. 🤷🏽‍♀️ 3/5 stars

Between The Pines by Amber Palmer

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Am I…into cowboy romance now??? Holy HOT. Author Amber Palmer wasted NO TIME in getting to the spice. The very beginning was hot hot HOT! Josie is running away from another man cheating on her, and runs to her family’s cabin in Tennessee. On the way, she stops at a dive bar and meets barkeep Lincoln…hot barkeep Lincoln. What transpires is 5 days of bliss, before Josie gets scared and leaves in the middle of the night. Their chemistry is off the charts…Also, pretty sure I imagined Jensen Ackles as Lincoln the entire time. *swoon*

One year later, Josie is working with her family on their ranch in Texas, and who should show up but Lincoln Carter himself…to work for the summer on her family ranch. But this time, Josie has a boyfriend, Ellis, that she’s been dating for a few months. But their heat, hers and Lincoln’s, is one for the ages. I’m not kidding when I say their chemistry was amazing. Lincoln was the epitome of gentleman and devil. He wants her and lets her know it, but is also just an amazing man, someone who was kind and gentle and ready to walk away if Josie said the words. Josie has a lot of self doubt, so sometimes watching her self-deprecate and sabotage herself was painful, but the mental health representation was really well done here.

Fantastic story. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! 5/5 stars

Pucking Around by Emily Rath

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OH. MY. GOD. I think I am in heaven. This book. THIS. BOOK. Had me in a chokehold the whole time. I am obsessed with Jake, Caleb is the bestie I didn’t know I needed and Mars??? MARS??? Please, crush me with your whole body, I BEG you. The spice was S-P-I-C-Y in here, had me sweating and wishing I was reading alone….with some electronic help, if you know what I mean whew.

Outside of that, though, this was such a thoughtful and provocative book about polyamory, bi-sexuality, demisexuality, and every kind of queerness in between. It was about finding out who you are as a person, not just sexually but professionally. Emily Rath states it in the beginning of the book, that the book is going to be like 3 love stories in one, and she is SO SO right. Seeing the relationship between Rachel and her paramours bloom was so beautiful. Them all learning to lean on each other, to be secure in the relationship was so breathtaking. They communicate ALL THE TIME, which is, quite frankly, how ANY relationship will work, much less a poly one.

I just…I didn’t know how much I needed to read this, especially during Pride Month, especially as an ally. This opened up so many new ways for me to see, REALLY SEE, my friends and neighbors who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. I see you, and I love you.

Accordion Eulogies

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Accordion Eulogies…what can I say about this novel? Not much, tbh. For as short as it was, for me, this took FOREVER for me to read. I put it down about halfway through because I grew bored and extremely disinterested. Alvarez has a way with words but sometimes they were just too much. Too many euphemisms, too many allegories, too many too many. He is trying to relate his trauma (? I guess?) of not having his grandfather around and thus not knowing his family history, to the not very well known history of the accordion in the Latino/Hispanic (whichever of those words you like) community. But he only does so at the very first half of the book. The rest of it is his perilous journey into Mexico to see his grandfather one more time. Honestly, this book just made me depressed the entire time I read it. And annoyed with him? I can’t really put my finger on it. I should have just stopped reading it, but I really don’t like to DNF books, especially by those in my own community, but maybe that’s not a reason to finish it either. IDK. I wanted to love this but I just didn’t.

*For this review, others, and what I’m currently reading, head over to my Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lupedominguez

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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I can’t even begin to tell you how many tabs I have on this book. SO MANY AREAS I left for notes and coming back to! I actually left little tabs to go back to my favorite passages. I haven’t done that since needing to annotate in college! There are quite a few 2 and 3 star reviews but I have to say, as someone who also reads fanfiction and can sometimes feel like a complete nerd, I LOVED this book. I was thinking about it for days, just trying to come up with a good review. I’ve had to read other books since then just to be able to come back now and write one, almost 9 months later!

Cather is a very introverted girl, a freshman in college. Her twin sister, Wren, is far more outgoing. They had, until now, done pretty much everything together, but Wren is going off and using college as her way to find out who she is (as one does). Cather wants everything to stay the same. Her roommate Reagan, is a couple years older than her and on her first day, she meets Levi…who is just in the room, because he is best friends with Reagan. Thus begins Cather’s college career. Her father is kind of a mess and her mother has never been in the picture so Cather was counting on having Wren by her side. Good thing she has Simon and Baz…well, if they were real anyways. Cather is a super popular fanfiction writer of a popular wizard series Simon Snow. But between classes, a crush and her dad’s spiral without the girls being home, will Cather even make it through her freshman year?

Seriously, I cannot even begin to describe how much I adored this book. I can still remember parts (which is saying a lot since I tend to forget books almost as soon as I’ve read them) and remember how I felt when Cather had her first college kiss and the butterflies she must have felt…it was like reliving my own college days too!

Some favorite quotes:

“He nudged his nose against hers, and their mouths fell sleepily together, already soft and open.”
“Kisses aren’t…just with me.”
“That it wasn’t JUST a kiss, Cather. There was no JUST.”
“I want that kiss to have been the start of something. Not the end.”
“I mean, I spent four months trying to kiss you and the last six weeks trying to figure out how I managed to fuck everything up. And I just want to know-are you rooting for me? Are you hoping I pull this off?”
“You know that I’m falling in love with you, right?”

I even ended up reading the manga series that was written too, as if I didn’t already know how the book ends, and now I’m not-so-patiently waiting for volume 4 to drop! If you like coming of age stories with a little dash of fanfiction, then this is truly the book for you!

to make monsters out of girls by amanda lovelace

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this whole review will be done as amanda wrote her book. no caps.

“sometimes

no closure

tells us

more than

the closure

ever

could.

–some people were never worth your words”

i have to say, i don’t usually read poetry. it never seems to strike me in any kind of way, visceral or emotional or anything. but this. this captivated me. it made me angry. it made me self reflect. it made me realize things about myself that i didn’t know i had been holding on to all these years later. i didn’t realize how much that other person had taken a hold on my life, on my heart, until i was reading this collection. i have a hard time letting go, i find myself dreaming of him still, even when i think i’m over it. i don’t follow him on facebook or any other social media. i don’t understand why he still permeates my thoughts while i sleep. i try so hard to get rid of him and he still is there. always there.

i have a new man and i can’t bring myself to love him even though i know he loves me. i just don’t think i do that anymore. i am apathetic to him and some days wondering if it would be best to not be together. then other days, i’m wishing he could come and hang out with me and just watch tv. is it simply because i crave adult interaction? i don’t know.

“‘but my heart-i don’t know if it can love again just yet,’ i warn him. 

‘let your heart take it’s time,’ he replies, his voice surer than any i’ve ever heard before. ‘as it happens, mine needs a rest, too. we’re both here, anyway-we can take them both & lock them away in a box so they can figure things out together.’

–closed for repairs”

this whole book made me question everything i know and everything i thought i knew about myself and my heart. while my old relationship wasn’t physically abusive, i have come to realize how emotionally abusive it was, especially towards the end.

“my body didn’t want to know what it was like to survive without you. for a year after, i watched that disappearing act of a girl from the corner of my bedroom ceiling, where she couldn’t hear me screaming that she needed to stop depriving herself of the things she needed the most. to stop with the numbers, with the counting. even then i knew how fucked up it was, but i started to feel happy when all the parts of me that were still in love with you were dripping like nectar from my bones.

–i’m still rebuilding”

still, this was a hauntingly good book of poetry. i’ve never had such speak to me in such a profound way. i’ll leave you with a few more pieces.

please, go read this.

“i can no longer remember how warm your nicotine laugh felt when it slid through me.

–how to know when it’s really over”

“love does not need to be tragic in order for it to be good. the truth is that i would much rather stir to the feeling of his lips meeting my forehead at 5:30 a.m. every morning for the next eighty odd years that settle for living an eternity alongside someone who can’t even be sure where he left his promises the night before.

–fuck those fairy tales”

” ‘that girl is mine,’ the monster-boy growled.

‘that’s where you’re wrong. that girl belongs to the coffee shops & the bookstores & the treetops – but mostly she just belongs to herself,’ he said, unafraid.

–thank you”

*please see review also on Goodreads.