My June in Book Reviews

The Month That Started It All

 

June was the month I made my account, but in the beginning I didn't write reviews. Mainly because it was easy to just rate the book, but also because I was not yet aware of the satisfaction one gets from writing reviews.

So, when I did write reviews, it was mostly because I had some bone to pick.

1. Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey

 

The first book which drove me write a review was Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey. The reason why this affected me so much was that I was pissed.

Yes, my first review was more or less a rant. Also, I used to use too many ellipses, so my first reviews aren't exactly things I'm really proud of, but they are there.

 Synopsis:

Georgette Castle’s family runs the best home renovation business in town, but she picked balloons instead of blueprints and they haven’t taken her seriously since. Frankly, she’s over it. Georgie loves planning children’s birthday parties and making people laugh, just not at her own expense. She’s determined to fix herself up into a Woman of the World... whatever that means.

Phase one: new framework for her business (a website from this decade, perhaps?)

Phase two: a gut-reno on her wardrobe (fyi, leggings are pants.)

Phase three: updates to her exterior (do people still wax?)

Phase four: put herself on the market (and stop crushing on Travis Ford!)

Living her best life means facing the truth: Georgie hasn’t been on a date since, well, ever. Nobody’s asking the town clown out for a night of hot sex, that’s for sure. Maybe if people think she’s having a steamy love affair, they’ll acknowledge she’s not just the “little sister” who paints faces for a living. And who better to help demolish that image than the resident sports star and tabloid favorite?

Travis Ford was major league baseball’s hottest rookie when an injury ended his career. Now he’s flipping houses to keep busy and trying to forget his glory days. But he can’t even cross the street without someone recapping his greatest hits. Or making a joke about his… bat. And then there's Georgie, his best friend’s sister, who is not a kid anymore. When she proposes a wild scheme—that they pretend to date, to shock her family and help him land a new job—he agrees. What’s the harm? It’s not like it’s real. But the girl Travis used to tease is now a funny, full-of-life woman and there’s nothing fake about how much he wants her...

Review:   ⭐⭐✰✰✰

I did not finish.

I'd like to say got bored around 75% into the book.......which was when I stopped reading by the way.......but I was thinking of putting this down a long time before that.

I was intrigued by the premise.....fake/pretend is a favourite trope of mine.....and the sex scenes were point......but the sex crazed thing was just freaking me out around a third into the book.......and the BABY GIRL was putting me off ......BY THE MENTION.....it was just weird.

Like seriously there was way too much sex and way little plot .......and though I might like reading sex scenes I need plot even more.....it was just one sex scene after the other after that.....I gave up by the third one??? I think.......I was just exhausted.

I would not recommend this for people who like reading plot.

I came here for a romantic comedy.....but I got stuck reading a smut fanfic.......like I'm not lying .....I have read PWP fanfics that are better than this.....and I don't read PWP fics a lot.......around halfway through the first sex scene I was literally thinking this is written like a badly written PWP smut fic.

The plot is not too bad.......but it could have been a lot better.....also the characters required a little work.....Travis was literally creeping me out.....and Georgie was a little too damsel in distress.....if you know what I mean.....I mean as a rule I love the male hero coming to save the female.....taking care of her....stuff like that....I loved The Hating Game if you have read that one.....and I fully recommend it.....but in this it was just too much???....I don't know what exactly put me off here.

I don't think I will ever finish this or continue this series if all of them are going to be like this. 

 

 

2. Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams

This one I wrote a review for mainly because I was slightly irritated by it, and so, the review was written. So many ellipses!

Synopsis:

Nadia gets the 7.30 train every morning without fail. Well, except if she oversleeps or wakes up at her friend Emma’s after too much wine.

Daniel really does get the 7.30 train every morning, which is easy because he hasn’t been able to sleep properly since his dad died.

One morning, Nadia’s eye catches sight of a post in the daily paper:

To the cute girl with the coffee stains on her dress. I’m the guy who’s always standing near the doors… Drink sometime?

So begins a not-quite-romance of near-misses, true love, and the power of the written word.

Review:   ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

This book might have been the slowest slow burn I have ever read......like they keep missing each other again and again and again.......and then again.....

AND THEN AGAIN......AND THEN ONCE MORE FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!!!!

And when they finally met I was like F***ING FINALLY!!! ......and I don't swear.....like as a rule....(thank god there wasn't any angst after they finally met....I could not have handled any more of that)

That being said I loved this book.....the drama of missing each other constantly was enthralling......and it kept me hooked....

The reason this has four instead of five stars is that I felt like putting this down and giving up on it one time too many....because of the aforementioned slowest slow burn ever read.....I was seriously having doubts as to whether they were actually going to get together or not......

Also the ex boyfriend thing was going on good.....with the angst I mean....but then wasn't used at all......and it just seemed like an empty plot point i think???

Fully recommend it if you have a lot of time to kill......this is definitely not the longest book I've read......but it felt like a journey in itself......I'm exhausted right now....but feeling content.....was a lovely book.

 

3. The Upside of Falling by Alex Light

This deserved a review because, again, I was pissed.

Synopsis:

It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.

Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse.

Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?

Review:   ⭐⭐✰✰✰

I should have loved this book.....it had one of my favourite tropes: fake/pretend relationships.......but this book was just boring....so boring I would have given up on it had it not been so short.

One of the main problems was the speed.....this book just jumped into the relationship.....right in the first chapter......now I know I really don't love it when a book takes too long to get started with the story......but this one just went superfast......like really really fast......like BAMM!! Shes got a fake boyfriend....BAMM!! they're on their date.....BAMM!! Both of them start developing feelings.....

Another problem was the writing......I was expecting this to be like To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han......but this disappointed me......the writing was just boring ......and the story seemed forced......and the main characters were just not appealing to me.

This book would've got three stars if not for the "BOOK DESTROYING".

I draw the line .......no matter the reason.....at DESTROYING BOOKS....you CANNOT appeal to me if you destroyed books....ripping off the covers....tearing out pages.....throwing them in whatever water body you saw fit to pollute.....contemplating BURNING BOOKS!!!!!!.....I was like can you believe this book?!?!?!

After the book burning debacle i only stuck around because there wasn't much left.....and i was really bored with life...

This book was just flat....most of the time I was just wondering what the f*** was going on....oh my god weren't they outside in the rain?!?!....oh my god aren't they inside?!?!

This book is okay for a read if you have lots of time and low expectations.....i don't mean to judge....a lot of stories on Wattpad are really nice......but at the end of the book when i saw it was first published on Wattpad....i was like THAT EXPLAINS A LOT.

Don't read expecting a good story....if you're only reading to pass the time or something then you might like it.

 

Remarks:

Wow. Of the 39 books that I read in June, I reviewed 3. And all of them rants too. There were quite some books that I wished I had reviewed, and I'm hoping I reread and review them in the near future.

This list was pretty easy, but I reviewed almost all the books I read in July! So that's going to take some time.