What I've Been Reading
Hello everyone! In the continuing saga of how many romance books can one bookworm read, we have a new What I've Been Reading post. As you all know, I've loved reading the genre more than ever in the past few months and today I'm excited to be back with more reviews for you guys. I'll be talking about a kindle unlimited romance along with Pretty Words by Gabrielle Sands, which I was super excited to be gifted a copy of. I mean you all know I will never turn down a rockstar romance.
Disclaimer: This blog post will contain affiliate and referral links. I may earn a small commission to feed my book hoarding tendencies if you use these links to make a purchase. This in no way impacts my opinions of the books listed - they are all my own.
Title: Pretty Words
Author: Gabrielle Sands
Genre: Romance
Description: On the eve of my eighteenth birthday, I fell in love with a rock god.
Light-haired, green-eyed, and carved to heavenly perfection. Oliver. He’s the guitarist of Ritual Disruption, and he writes songs that are as devastating as him.
Who would have thought that I, Ivy Abbott, would capture his attention? On tour with my brother’s band, Bleeding Moonlight, I hear what they say about me. Boring, shy, straitlaced. Compared to my famous sibling, I’m nothing special.
They’re wrong.
After all, what’s more special than being chosen by a god?
But where gods go, demons follow…
Jamie’s shared the stage with Oliver for years, but they’re nothing alike. He’s dark where Oliver’s light. Jamie claims his bandmate is nothing but a fraud who wants to use me and toss me aside. I don’t believe him, no matter how much he insists he only wants to help me. Jamie is an addict who steals kisses and spreads dirty lies.
Lies. Lies. Lies.
Or so I tell myself.
Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
Trigger Warnings: Drug Use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual Assault
*I received Pretty Words by Gabrielle Sands from Give Me Books PR but it in no way impacts my opinions on the book.*
I started Pretty Words by Gabrielle Sands without a complete understanding of what I was getting myself into. It sounded like an ideal rockstar romance, a genre that has recently been right up my alley. The description brings up two men, Oliver and Jamie, which had me intrigued about where the story would end up going from there.
The book delivered for me in its cat and mouse game of romance. It gently coaxes you into false senses of security and complacency only to dramatically pull the rug out from under you. Gabrielle Sands has a knack for doing a total reversal of the perception a reader may have about a character. Ones who you start out falling in love with inevitably betray the reader and others who you may not think much of can become favorites in the blink of an eye.
I was constantly engaged with what I was reading as I mapped out scenarios in the same way I may a well-plotted mystery novel. I found my mind spinning every second I was reading Pretty Words trying to anticipate what would happen next. This was the case in every aspect from the characters to the plot itself. Reading this book is like getting emotional whiplash with how quickly things can change on a dime in the best way possible.
PURCHASE LINKS
Title: When Forever Changes
Author: Siobhan Davis
Genre: Romance
Description: Gabby
Looking back, I should have seen the signs. Perhaps I did, but I subconsciously chose to ignore them.
From the time I was ten, when I first met Dylan, I knew he was my forever guy. Back then, I couldn’t put words to what I was feeling, but, as the years progressed, I came to recognize it for what it was—soul-deep love. The kind only very few people ever get to experience.
Dylan was more than just my best friend, my childhood sweetheart, my lover. He was my soul mate. We were carved from the same whole—destined to be together forever.
Until he changed.
And I believed I was no longer good enough.
Until he shattered me so completely, it felt like I ceased to exist.
And I’d never experienced such heart-crushing pain.
Until he leveled me a second time, and I truly wanted to die.
But I had to stay strong because I wasn’t alone in this cruel twist of fate.
I look to the sky, pleading with the stars, begging someone to tell me what I should do because I don’t know how to deal with this. I don’t know how to cope when my forever has changed, and I can’t help wondering if I had seen the signs earlier, if I’d pushed him, would it have been enough to save us?
Or had fate already decided to alter our forever?
Rating: ★ (1/5)
I don't even know where to start with this one, but I'll give it a shot.
When Forever Changes by Siobhan Davis was very much written like the worst caricatures of every Wattpad book to ever hit the scene. Mind you, I've used Wattpad in the past and love the platform. I spent my teenage years there writing and posting. There are many great books on there that break boundaries with their writing, but there are also a few duds - as with anywhere. If When Forever Changes was posted on the platform it would fall into the latter category.
I dnfed the book at about 12% when the slut-shaming that is present from the beginning became more prominent. I have a limit for how much of this kind of thing I can bother tolerating and the author passed that threshold impressively early. I guess that's somewhat of an accomplishment at least. The feminist in me couldn't help but roll my eyes at how the narrator blames every woman to exist for the situations they encounter with her boyfriend. I sometimes have difficulty just getting through the dreaded, "not like other girls" trope but the author steamrolled past that one and landed in a worse position.
I am assuming everyone has also seen those posts on social media making fun of authors who obviously don't have siblings yet try to write them. I can honestly say that the author abused all the most obvious signs by using "sis" and "bro" in every other sentence. They also had the narrator call her brothers hot and drool-worthy way too much for comfort. I have three siblings and I can say I have never thought of any of them in the way the main character does. I actually wrote, "low-key incest vibes" in my notes for this review because it was that bad.
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