Mini Reviews (part ten)

Hi everyone!

Here are my next five non-podcast reads of 2022.

This time I dip my toe into reverse harem romances, start listening to the Aurora Cycle on my runs and pick up one of my most anticipated 2022 releases.

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1)

Believe me, I don't think anyone is as surprised as me when I rated this 5*. This is primarily because, for about 80% of the book, I often had the urge to throw the book across the room.

Don't get me wrong, I really liked the premise but let's be honest - this wasn't exactly original. If anything, it was Joss Whedon's Firefly but with a younger cast of characters. It also really grated on me that the gang were all described as 'losers' but were, in fact, the coolest of the cool. Every single one of them (except for Zila) was incredibly self-assured and quippy in a way that felt too unrealistic - maybe I'm just showing my age here, but do teenagers actually talk like this to each other?

I did like the inclusion of the alien races and the Big Evil is an interesting concept. I also read this because I wanted something a bit funnier than the books I'd been reading and on that, it delivered. But what ultimately saved the book for me was the ending - I won't spoil it here, but if what happened TRULY happened, then that was a ballsy and rare enough move to deserve 5* from me.

Rating: 5/5

Faking With Benefits

This book was a lot of fun, following Layla and her developing relationship with 3 best friends who live across the hall from her and host a relationship advice podcast. It is a reverse harem and it's funny and sexy and angsty - all good things.

I liked the all of the characters and how they all interacted together. I enjoyed how contemporary the story was - Layla has her own online business, while Zack, Josh and Luke are podcasters. It was great to read a book set in London.

My main issue was with Layla's school and the extreme bullying she experienced as a teenager. I just found it a little bit unbelievable that not a single teacher in her whole school believed her accounts of the sexual harassment that was happening and that they all judged her and turned against her...

I also think Zack's actions were pretty reprehensible and it should have taken a bit longer for Layla to forgive him. Also, the internet turning on Layla for 'cheating' on the guys was strange considering the whole premise of their segment was that she would be dating all three of them at the same time.

Rating: 4/5

Love on the Brain

After the success of ‘The Love Hypothesis’, I had high expectations for Ali Hazelwood's follow-up novel and it did not disappoint!

As always, the main female character is small and quirky, while the main male character is big and quiet. The miscommunication/misunderstanding trope is out in full force at the beginning of the book which bothered me at first but was resolved quickly enough. I really liked Bee's RA - can we get a spin-off about her, please?

The science wasn't overwhelming and was easy enough to understand - it sounds like a fascinating concept! My main issue was with a plot-twist near the end of the book, which I thought was a bit far fetched. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this and it had me chuckling a few times.

Rating: 4/5

A Lady of Rooksgrove Manor (Tempting Monsters #1)

A reverse-harem about Esther, a young woman who is offered a position at Rooksgrave Manor, an establishment catering to the needs of supernatural men.

This was generally light and steamy, with a small side-plot that added enough tension to keep the story going. I liked all of the different men with whom Esther started a relationship, they were all individual and I think they worked well together.

Overall I had a great time reading this.

Rating: 4/5

Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2)

Wow ... just wow!

Aurora Burning picks up a few hours after the end of Aurora Rising and is one wild roller-coaster ride. There is so much action packed into this book and it works so much better than in the first one, I think. The characters have more depth and while they are all still funny, the jokes and sarcasm have been toned down which I appreciated.

This was extremely entertaining and for the first time in a long time, I find myself not wanting to read the next book immediately simply because I don't want this story to end.

Rating: 5/5

Have you read any of these books? Do you agree with my ratings? Let me know in the comments below, via e-mail or DM us on Instagram - we love to hear from you!

Until next time, keep reading!

Lucia