Mini Reviews: City Of Ghosts, The Beast of Beswick, The Deal & The Princess Trap

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

***.5 (3.5 stars)

I can finally say I have read a Victoria Schwab book!! I have owned several of this authors books for years but kept putting off reading them for some reason. City of Ghosts is my first book by this author and I thought it was pretty good. I’m pretty sure this is middle grade and I think for it being a middle grade it was done well and I can see the age group that it is marketed to loving it. For me I found it was very simplistic. Don’t get me wrong I did really enjoy the story but I wasn’t blown away by it. Everything just seemed to easy and predictable. I will say I absolutely loved the friendship between Jacob and Cassidy. That was probably my favorite thing about this book. There were some things hinted about Jacob that I really hope turn out not to be true because I really love his character at this point and I don’t want that to be ruined. So overall an enjoyable read and I do plan to continue on with the next book in the series at some point.

The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard

***** (5 stars)

I say this in every Beauty and the Beast retelling that I read but that is my favorite Disney movie. I haven’t yet read the original Beauty and the Beast book but I have read several retellings and I have enjoyed all of them so far and that was definitely the case with The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard. I read this book over a month ago and I am trying really hard to remember everything I wanted to say about it but I am drawing a blank. I remember that I absolutely loved the banter between the hero and the heroine and I found it funny at times. It was also pretty steamy at times as well and you know me the more steam the better. Beyond that I can’t remember anything else I had planned to say about this book which bugs me. I really need to get in the habit of writing my reviews as soon as I finish the book so this doesn’t happen. I loved this book and definitely want to read the next book.

The Deal by Elle Kennedy

**** (4 stars)

This is another case where I left the review to long. It’s told in dual perspectives from Garrett and Hannah. Garrett is your typical hot jock and Hannah is I guess the nerd in this situation. She ends up tutoring him and the story goes from there. Both of these characters have traumatic pasts that get slowly revealed throughout the book and for the most part for Hannah at least she has come to terms with her past. They both still have things they have to deal with with their pasts but I feel like they each grew a lot throughout the book. Garrett is brutally honest and up front about everything which I loved and I also loved how that kind of threw Hannah off at first. It’s pretty steamy but also romantic in a way. The brutal honesty made for some pretty funny scenes as well. Another one I enjoyed and definitely want to continue on with the next book in the series.

The Princess Trap by Talia Hibbert

*** (3 stars)

This is only the second book I have read by this author and while I did enjoy it I wouldn’t say it’s a favorite. This book does have a little bit of a BDSM aspect but it’s very light and I think done in a positive way. The sex scenes were definitely steamy which we all know I love at this point but I do have to say I felt the romance was a little lackluster. Like at times it was believable but at others it wasn’t. It’s hard to put my finger on why the romance didn’t fully work for me. Ruben had a traumatic past and despite that he cares tremendously for others which I loved. He was always looking out for everyone around him not really caring about himself. I also have to point out the diversity in this book. There is bi rep plus our heroine is black/curvy. While this wasn’t my favorite book by this author I definitely want to read more by her.