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shaykay's reviews
693 reviews
SOS Hotel: For a Supernaturally Safe Stay! by Ariana Nash, Adam Vex
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I liked this first one and I kept saying I was going to circle back to the series in October because it just feels like a Fall read but instead, I read omegaverses only. I think I need to go back and reread this first book and then finish the series now that it's completed because it does seem like fun and gives off a lot of Hotel Transylvania vibes. I'm curious about the whole mystery around his identity too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Murder
Alpha's Secret Baby by Jennifer Eve
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It wasn't a bad one. I just wanted a little bit more groveling. Overall it was a pretty fast and easy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy
Minor: Medical content and Death of parent
Ruffled Feathers: An Omegaverse Rom-Com by Grace McGinty
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book! I don't normally like slower contemporary books because they leave me wanting more drama most of the time, but this one was surprising. It was really good. I loved all of the animals and seeing how feisty Tillie was. I do wish that we got to see the black sheep side of things for her because she's supposed to be like the outcast. After all, she's Unshown and just doesn't act like high society sees as right. But we don't really get to see that side of things. We're mostly talked about how awful they were to her while she was in school. I just wish we got to see it a little more than we were told about it. But other than that, I loved this omegaverse and want more in this world ASAP!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, and Grief
Refuge Found by S.M. Olivier
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, I love that I started the year with this series. I love the dystopian meets reverse harem vibes in here. I do wish we had the other POV and really hoped we would get that in this one, but I think this is all going to be only in Avery's POV. I'm really excited to see Emory get some sort of consequences for how she's been acting but I feel like it might get worse before it gets better. We also have more bad guys in this one instead of just being zombies because we really don't see that many zombies in this one compared to regular people just acting terrible/criminals. But I love that they now have like a family tree roster thing at the beginning of the book. Not only does it tell who is who and how they are connected but also who’s alive and who’s deceased. It verified that Avery’s dad’s still alive for me at the beginning of this book and now I’m just ready for him to reappear because I need to see how he handles Emory.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Murder and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
Seeking Asylum by S.M. Olivier
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really loved this one. I feel like it's been pretty hard to find romance, zombie books. Especially with reverse harems and this one just ticked all of the boxes even though they don't call them zombies. I'm curious to see what happens in the next book and I really hope we start getting more POVs because this first book is on the longer side and is only told one POV and I just feel like we get to know the MMCs more if we jump into their POVs. Plus, I'm ready to see what else happens with Avery's twin, Emory. She's just such a brat and by the end of this first one we're starting to see people call her out on it more and more honestly, it should've been addressed way before now since she's always had problems with just Avery's existing and I just feel like she's going to do something really big just because she's being spiteful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Gaslighting
Fighting Fallon by Sinclair Kelly
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
I love Sinclair Kelly, and her books are just always so good. However, this one just felt like it was nothing but steam. I read a lot of romance/steamy books, so I feel a little hypocritical here but when a book is like all smut, they tend to just not work for me and that’s kind of what happened here. I really loved the background story and wanted to focus more on the Syndicate, hunting down who is in charge of that ring and helping it, and rescuing people. It felt like such a huge thing that the book kind of treated as an afterthought. Plus, I needed the guys to grovel and fight for Fallon’s forgiveness, but we honestly don’t get any of that. It’s like she spent 10 years avoiding anything to do with them and the band, and then once she shows up at the concert not only do, they find her basically right away but then right after the concert they’re hooked up! I needed her to hold out more, make them grovel, and be slow burn. But like I said the steam in here is maxed out and I just wish we focused more on the story because it was really good just needed more focus on it. It didn’t feel like a Sinclair Kelly book. I want to eventually continue with the series to see if the balance of the smut and story gets better because there is a whole series revolving around the Syndicate and I hope to get more of the missions in future books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Medical content
Rest In Pieces by Candice Wright
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
3.5
I liked the MC side of things, and I loved the stunt woman angle. Amity’s side definitely took over the book and I was obsessed with it. I also really love that we had so much of the stunt woman stuff. I just feel like this was Amity’s book and the MC was just kind of thrown in. But I can’t really blame the book by itself because this is like an interconnected world and even though it states you can read them out of order I feel like all of the connections to the past characters appearing, the world building, and just the MC overall would’ve worked more for me if I was in on the little behind the scenes things. I do really want to read the next book because it’s Neveah’s story and if Legs gets a book, I’d like to read hers too, but we’ll see when we get back to the next book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence, Stalking, and Murder
Mave Fortune by Elizabeth Dear
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
It wasn’t a bad book; I just feel like it was trying a little too hard. I mean I really love Mave here. I just wish we had a little bit more focus on the supernatural world here because we have more than wolves, but we don’t really touch on it, especially the supernatural council! Plus, these students are supposed to be in high school, but not only do they not act like high school but they’re doing things that are so much older for them and no one batted an eye. I feel like they needed to age the characters up to college age. I get that is kind of a small thing overall, but it just kept annoying me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexual content
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, and Kidnapping
All I Need by E. Salvador
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
It was a really solid book. I loved the second chance and surprise baby that we got in this one. I just feel like it's a little bit on the longer side and some of the issues these characters go through could've just been taken care of if they talked. I just feel like out of all of the books I read this year it does kind of fall into the mid-tier. It's not an amazing/5-star read but it's not a bad one either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming and Pregnancy
Have Mercy by N.E. Henderson
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.5
For such a random find I still think about this one, and I read it back in June! So, this is standalone, and a surprise baby meets second chance. But honestly, a true surprise baby because the MMC leaves for like 18 years! He only finds out about the kid because his other kid is best friends with his unknown son PLUS the woman, he left is like the stand-in mom to his son. It took 18 years for him to realize this is insane, but it's explained away by the family being famous rock stars and constantly on the road and whenever he comes home the wife/mom tries to play a perfect role, so the dad never really catches on. But they had a terrible marriage, and it's showcased all throughout the book, so I don't get why it took so long for him to figure it out! Anyways outside of the drama we have even crazy work drama because the FMC is an FBI agent and we see her be a single mom while working on her career and how she trained both of her sons, yes, she claims the non-bio kid as her own, to be completely able to handle themselves. It's just such an addictive story and one of my favorite 2024 reads. I really need more in this world! I could see how it can spin off into other books and I really want it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Confinement, Gaslighting, and Abandonment