Shannon O'Connor's Blog, page 6

May 2021 Wrap-Up

5/5 Stars

This short story definitely made me want to read Richardson's 'Love at Work' series if it's anything like this story. The characters had great chemistry, it was realistic and funny. I am definitely going to be grabbing the first book in the series to start.

5/5 Stars

Once again Trista has left me breathless with her words. She never shys from speaking the truth and being blunt about how she feels and deals with things. Her poetry is so raw and beautiful I am once again in love with her books. She touches upon all her past romances and lovers the struggle of letting go, but reminding the reader that it is okay to hold on until you’re ready to let go. She is one of my all time favorite poets. Although this is a re-read I never grow tired of her words and each time they tell me something different.

3/5 Stars

I liked this collection, it had some really strong poems & lines that made me stop and think. This is the first I’ve read by this author but I would read another. The collection did seem a bit scattered, talking about a lot of different topics. I feel if it was more organized I might have liked it better, there were a few political poems that I didn’t care for either but thats a personal preference.

5/5 Stars

Sara Cate is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. She knows the perfect balance of romance, a good story, and sex. Creating books that are realistic and interesting, creating a page turner every time.
I loved the build up of sort of enemies to lovers in this story. The road trip provided a rom-com feel, with all the things that could go wrong did. Laila and Henry’s story is so different in a good way. It wasn’t your typical best friends dad romance and I loved it. There were some things at the end where I raised an eyebrow of really? But the rest of the story made up for that. Their chemistry, their romance, all of it made me want to read more.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

3.5/5 Stars

This is the second collection of poetry I've had the joy of reading by Cisneros. This collection is exactly as described; raw. You could feel the anger and sadness dripping off the pages with each poem. There weren't as many poems I related to this time. At times I felt I was only getting part of the story, the poems leaving me wanting more. With that being said Cynthia still did a great job of evoking strong emotions in me as a reader.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

5/5 Stars

You need this book. I do not often say that, so believe me when I say you need this book. I am a huge fan of Dee's writing but this one hits it out of the park. I loved the writing, the characters, and the overall plot, even the ending didn't disappoint. Audrey is a brilliant, working woman who puts her career and family first. Leo is her new boss who is categorized as a womanizer but honestly I'm not sure I believe that. The chemistry between them is undeniable despite their unique working situation. I loved this book more so because it was a romance where it wasn't the woman falling after the man and risking her career, but a woman who put herself first. Audrey is strong willed and knows what she wants and doesn't, and never loses sight of that. Even when you're supposed to hate Leo for this thing, I never could because he's just so great. I don't want to spoil anything but if you're looking for a romance with a strong female lead, family ties, and a lovable couple pick this up. As usual with Dee's books I was smiling and laughing the whole time, she really outdoes herself this time.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

3.5/5 Stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. This is the second of Richardson's books that I've read, after her short story in the Love at Work series. In the beginning I was hooked, I loved the pace, the writing and the characters. I was curious to see how Anderson and Natalia could possibly go to lovers after being introduced as such strong enemies. The middle was a little too slow for me, I often got lost at the marketing jargon that I honestly think could've been left out. Some was helpful to explain Natalia's job but I felt like at some point I was bored and didn't really care about it. I did enjoy the Harry Potter references at first but after awhile the same one got a tad repetitive. In the end it picked up, I'd say in the last 20-25% I was happy to see the twists come about. Overall I enjoyed the main characters but I was also happy to see a lot from the side characters. It was a nice ending where I felt the main character grew but also stayed true to herself.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

5/5 Stars

So I’ve had this for a while but then I saw Charity’s tik tok about this book & it hooked me to start reading. I genuinely couldn’t put it down. I read it in it’s entirety in less than 24 hours because I loved it so much. It’s such a captivating story with lovable characters. Cohen and Jamie’s story is a unique one but honestly really great. Their slow burn was perfectly executed with their will they/won’t they throughout the book. I was a little bothered about their back and forth so much, I wanted to scream JUST DATE ALREADY. But I’m also very impatient. They had a lot of obstacles in their way so I do understand the back and forth, and being a single parent myself it was nice to see Cohen’s heart was always in the right place; worrying about the effect on his son. Ferrell did an amazing job of tapping into the mind of a single parent and including Noah so much in the story. It’s too often theres a single parent romance where the child is barely mentioned or thought of and this does not do that. I LOVED the world building, seeing so many side characters I know are the focus of next books is so great to me. The attention to detail is perfect and kept me wanting to read more. Except heather, screw her. She was the villain you loved to hate, I kept waiting for her to pop up and each time she did I had so much emotion. To me, thats what makes a great writer, if they can make me feel something and Ferrell did just that. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves romance and wants a new take on an unusual situation.

5/5 Stars

So this book took a little time to get through, because it is rough. This is the book I wish I had after my sexual assault. It was so much I needed to hear and read that I wish this book existed years ago. It is incredibly raw and I urge everyone to read it at their own pace and to practice self care. I read it slowly, this poems truly touch something in you. They made me feel so many different emotions I can’t begin to describe.

2/5 Stars

I feel poetry is subjective and this collection just wasn’t for me. It has some strong poems and you can feel the emotions the author has written. But for me the collection didn’t seem strong enough, I almost felt like this is a situation where ‘less is more’. The author had a tendency to go on and on when a few lines could’ve given the same point. The poems were epically too long and didn't do it for me. There were some incredibly tough poems, it’s a hard situation the writing showed that but at times it felt like we were only getting half the story despite the poems being so long. Perhaps considering prose for their next collection might be a better option.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

4/5 Stars

A soft & sweet collection of love poems.

4.5/5 Stars

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

I liked this collection a lot, the author created a lot of wonderful imagery that kept me captivated. She uses unique metaphors and language that made me stop and think while reading, “My heart is not broken. she’s stretched, oozing and bare, holding on”. I really enjoyed the last section which was appropriately labeled love. My favorite poems were ‘Whispers’ and ‘Lovers’.

3/5 Stars

This collection had some strong poems and I liked the overall theme but I thought it could be stronger.

5/5 Stars

This collection made me sad, in the best ways. It tapped into a lot of how I felt in the start of the pandemic and the feelings I have now as things are changing. Mateer writes poems that make you feel like you’re not alone. This collection broke my heart at times but in such a good way. I really loved this new collection.

Stirred

Stirred by Charity Ferrell

5/5 Stars

So I’ve had this for a while but then I saw Charity’s tik tok about this book & it hooked me to start reading. I genuinely couldn’t put it down. I read it in it’s entirety in less than 24 hours because I loved it so much. It’s such a captivating story with lovable characters. Cohen and Jamie’s story is a unique one but honestly really great. Their slow burn was perfectly executed with their will they/won’t they throughout the book. I was a little bothered about their back and forth so much, I wanted to scream JUST DATE ALREADY. But I’m also very impatient. They had a lot of obstacles in their way so I do understand the back and forth, and being a single parent myself it was nice to see Cohen’s heart was always in the right place; worrying about the effect on his son. Ferrell did an amazing job of tapping into the mind of a single parent and including Noah so much in the story. It’s too often theres a single parent romance where the child is barely mentioned or thought of and this does not do that. I LOVED the world building, seeing so many side characters I know are the focus of next books is so great to me. The attention to detail is perfect and kept me wanting to read more. Except heather, screw her. She was the villain you loved to hate, I kept waiting for her to pop up and each time she did I had so much emotion. To me, thats what makes a great writer, if they can make me feel something and Ferrell did just that. I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves romance and wants a new take on an unusual situation.

Say You Hate Me

3.5/5 Stars

I have mixed feelings about this book. This is the second of Richardson's books that I've read, after her short story in the Love at Work series. In the beginning I was hooked, I loved the pace, the writing and the characters. I was curious to see how Anderson and Natalia could possibly go to lovers after being introduced as such strong enemies. The middle was a little too slow for me, I often got lost at the marketing jargon that I honestly think could've been left out. Some was helpful to explain Natalia's job but I felt like at some point I was bored and didn't really care about it. I did enjoy the Harry Potter references at first but after awhile the same one got a tad repetitive. In the end it picked up, I'd say in the last 20-25% I was happy to see the twists come about. Overall I enjoyed the main characters but I was also happy to see a lot from the side characters. It was a nice ending where I felt the main character grew but also stayed true to herself.


***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

Conflict of Interest

5/5 Stars

You need this book. I do not often say that, so believe me when I say you need this book. I am a huge fan of Dee's writing but this one hits it out of the park. I loved the writing, the characters, and the overall plot, even the ending didn't disappoint. Audrey is a brilliant, working woman who puts her career and family first. Leo is her new boss who is categorized as a womanizer but honestly I'm not sure I believe that. The chemistry between them is undeniable despite their unique working situation. I loved this book more so because it was a romance where it wasn't the woman falling after the man and risking her career, but a woman who put herself first. Audrey is strong willed and knows what she wants and doesn't, and never loses sight of that. Even when you're supposed to hate Leo for this thing, I never could because he's just so great. I don't want to spoil anything but if you're looking for a romance with a strong female lead, family ties, and a lovable couple pick this up. As usual with Dee's books I was smiling and laughing the whole time, she really outdoes herself this time.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

Burned Tongues

Burned Tongues by Cynthia Cisneros

3.5/5 Stars

This is the second collection of poetry I've had the joy of reading by Cisneros. This collection is exactly as described; raw. You could feel the anger and sadness dripping off the pages with each poem. There weren't as many poems I related to this time. At times I felt I was only getting part of the story, the poems leaving me wanting more. With that being said Cynthia still did a great job of evoking strong emotions in me as a reader. 

PLEASE READ

As an author I was hesitant to speak out about this, but I won’t be silenced. Yesterday was the release day of my first sapphic novel, Electric Love. A project I have worked tirelessly on for over a year. But instead of celebrating my release, it quickly came to my attention that a toxic ex of mine, in accordance with several others, was attempting to ‘ruin’ my book's reputation. Just to be clear, this is not about ‘bad’ reviews or attempting to silence genuine readers. There are in fact some 1 and 2 star reviews from actual readers that genuinely did not like the book, and that’s okay. I am however speaking against and bringing attention to the over 20 (and counting) fake accounts on Goodreads that were created in the last 48 hours, having only rated and reviewed one book… Electric Love at 1 star. To add insult to injury, these accounts were made in the name of the man who sexually assaulted me, in the name of my friend who was murdered, and so on. This is NOT okay.
My ratings on Goodreads dropped from a 4.5 to a 2.4, with new falsely negative reviews popping up every hour. This isn’t a coincidence, these fake accounts were made with the intent to hurt and silence me. I will not be silenced. I’m not asking for anyone to go after them, I’m specifically leaving their names out of it because they’re not worth it. I am not asking anyone to rate it 5 stars without reading it, as this does not help. I am asking to be heard. I am asking for help.
I have reached out to Goodreads directly and haven’t heard anything back yet, despite the fake reviews being flagged and with more and more popping up. I know I’m not alone, just this week Goodreads has had other attacks on authors and they have offered no support on those matters either. There should be a way to combat such blatant personal attacks on authors when it affects not only them but their livelihood.
Please help authors' voices be heard by sharing this information any way you can. Let’s bring awareness to the reading & writing community.

Handsome Devil

Handsome Devil by Sara Cate

5/5 Stars

Sara Cate is slowly becoming one of my favorite authors. She knows the perfect balance of romance, a good story, and sex. Creating books that are realistic and interesting, creating a page turner every time.
I loved the build up of sort of enemies to lovers in this story. The road trip provided a rom-com feel, with all the things that could go wrong did. Laila and Henry’s story is so different in a good way. It wasn’t your typical best friends dad romance and I loved it. There were some things at the end where I raised an eyebrow of really? But the rest of the story made up for that. Their chemistry, their romance, all of it made me want to read more.

***I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review***

April 2021 Wrap-Up

5/5 Stars

I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of Sara Cate's writing, so anytime she puts out a book I'm the first to read it and this time was no different. This book surprised me in the best ways. It wasn't just a spicy book with no plot, but an amazing plot that was carried on with great spice. I was kept on the edge of my seat about what would happen throughout the story, unable to even determine who I was rooting for Iris to be with. It's a unique and compelling story that I would urge people to give a chance.

Four

Four by Sara Cate & Rachel Leigh

I am surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I am a big fan of Sara Cate's writing, so anytime she puts out a book I'm the first to read it and this time was no different. This book surprised me in the best ways. It wasn't just a spicy book with no plot, but an amazing plot that was carried on with great spice. I was kept on the edge of my seat about what would happen throughout the story, unable to even determine who I was rooting for Iris to be with. It's a unique and compelling story that I would urge people to give a chance.

My Burning Depths Vol 4: Air

My Burning Depths Vol 4: Air by K. Leigh

5/5 Stars

I really loved this series, they were short poems but each collection stood powerfully on its own. This Volume specifically hit me harder than the rest, ranging in topics of poems from love to motherhood tying to the elements was beautifully done. My favorites were #2, #5, and #10.

“I miss you in the fleeting moments because we never had any other kind”