Friday, March 8, 2024

Quick Reviews

 She Wouldn't Change a Thing by Sarah Adlakha (2021)

Maria is a 39-year-old wife and mother, totally overwhelmed by her job and family - until the day she wakes up as her 17-year-old self, unsure of how she got there or how to get back to her family.  She comes to realize that she has a chance to change history, but the change will prevent her from meeting her husband or having her children in the future - how does she make this impossible choice?  I love time travel stories and I was so taken with the premise of this one, but unfortunately, I was left with more questions than answers and it hindered my enjoyment of this book.  We find out that a certain event propels Maria into the past, where she learns she isn't the only one this has happened to.  She then discovers she has been sent back for a "purpose," which to me wasn't super clear - like, if you couldn't figure out this purpose, what was the point?  And also, there's basically no going back, but completing your purpose will change the future you thought you knew.  So, why these people?  Why this purpose?  And since you can't go back to your old life, what is the point of you reliving your life, albeit very differently?  Would certain things still happen, regardless?  And should you (or could you) try to change those things, too?  I didn't care for the bit of insta-love that was thrown in as well.  I did enjoy the connections between the characters and trying to figure out how it would all work out.  Incredible premise, but the execution didn't work well for me.  3 stars


Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (2023)
 
When a college hockey team and ice skating team are forced to share a rink, sparks fly between the captain and the star skater.  Anastasia doesn't have time for a relationship, but will she make room for a new partner?  I have to admit, I'm not quite sure what to think about this one - it's definitely going to end up being 3 stars for me, though.  There were parts I liked - the college setting is one I don't read often, so it was nice to revisit that.  It was way spicier than the cover might make you think (although sometimes it felt like the sex scenes were taking over the story).  The timeline is realistic (no real insta-love here).  But, I did have issues with it.  First off, there were WAY too many side characters to keep track of and after awhile I just stopped caring.  The book is at least 100 pages too long (it's well over 400 pages, there's a lot of repetition in the forming of the relationship between Anastasia and Nathan, and there were plot points that could have been omitted entirely while important ones were totally glossed over).  While it makes sense than Anastasia would be deeply in touch with her emotions after many years of therapy, I felt like the characters were a little too self-aware (and mature, maybe?) for their ages, and there's so much talking at the expense of actual plot.  And don't get me started on that epilogue!  3 stars


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10 comments:

  1. I didn't have much interest in Icebreaker (college-age characters don't usually grab me) and reading your review makes me think I made the right decision to skip it. (Although now I'm curious about that epilogue. lol) She Wouldn't Change a Thing has kind of been on my radar but I think I'll pass on it, too. I like the time travel aspect but the rest sounds pretty muddy.

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    1. Icebreaker was an impulse buy for me - I wish I had done more research on it!

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  2. I had thought about reading She Wouldn't Change A Thing a while back, but I never got to it. One day, maybe. LOL

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    1. Well, if you do read it, I hope you enjoy it!

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  3. I feel like I have seen Icebreaker around a lot lately. After reading your review, I think that it isn't for me. A lot of these romances that I have been reading lately have really steamy scenes, but not enough plot!

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    1. Exactly!! And with it being so long, you'd think there'd be more plot.

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  4. I felt the same about Icebreaker, it was just way too long for me and the spicy scenes indeed took over the plot.

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    1. So long and really not what I thought it was going to be about, either!

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  5. I picked up a copy of Icebreaker a while back, but every time I think about reading it, I change my mind and pick something else that sounds better instead, lol.

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I'm so glad you stopped by, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Comments are always greatly appreciated!