KJK Reads

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Classics, Historical Romance, 19th Century, Romance Thoughts: Austen’s works are classics for a reason. Not only Mr Darcy and Lizzy but also the other characters such as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Georgiana Darcy and even the younger Bennett girls are fully realised and developed individual characters which is often overlooked for more background characters in more contemporary works. The romance element of a slow burn and enemies to lovers fight is also very well written and has readers cheering at the end.  Favourite Quote: "There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense."

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Mental Health, New Adult, Family, Contemporary Fiction, Romance Thoughts: This book despite being billed mainly as a romance book was much more of a psychological fiction book than I expected, which I enjoyed. The descent into worsening mental health went through was interestingly portrayed and although I personally had an issue with the messy girl note Merit tried to leave I am aware it is representative of what some individuals go through.   Favourite Quote: "A lot of people who suffer from depression don’t even know they have it. It’s a gradual change. Or at least it was for me. I used to feel like I was on top of the world. Then one day, I noticed that it felt like I was no longer on top of the world. I was just floating around inside of it. And then eventually, it felt like the world was on top of me."

Rating: 5 Stars  Themes: Memoir, Holocaust, Non-Fiction, Classics, History, Biography  Thoughts: A heartbreaking memoir of a holocaust survivor who survived so long with his father only to lose him to death right at the end of the concentration camp journey. The end of this copy also contained a copy of Elie’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech which is also important with his acknowledgement of the current day horrors (at the time of the speech) such as the Israel/Palestine conflict with compassion for both sides.  Favourite Quote: "Human suffering anywhere concerns men and women everywhere."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Dual POV Thoughts: This book is an interesting read with Owen and Auburn developing a fast but intense relationship. Trey creeped me out from the start but I must admit overall so did Owen with his continuous hinting at a prior knowledge of Auburn that she didn’t share. The book was quite tropey but the confessions as paintings and including reader confessions was a new and interesting idea to me.  Favourite Quote: "Every day of my life it feels as if I'm fighting my way up an escalator that only goes down. And no matter how fast or how hard I run to try to reach the top, I stay in the same place, sprinting, getting nowhere."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Mystery, Suspense Thoughts: Another chilling thriller by Lisa Jewell. The beginning initially felt like it was dragging on a little as it focused on the after effects of Olivia’s disappearance on the rest of the family but later on it becomes obvious that its actually important to the development of the story. I was able to guess the Poppy twist but that is the kind of thing I enjoy and feel accomplished to guess.  Favourite Quote: "The blame game could be exhausting sometimes. The blame game could make you lose your mind . . . all the infinitesimal outcomes, each path breaking up into a million other paths every time you heedlessly chose one, taking you on a journey that you’d never find your way back from."

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance, Forbidden Love Thoughts: A beautifully written forbidden style romance with a Cinderella style twist. An illegitimate daughter to a Duke is turned into no better than a maid but in one night of fashion, she falls for a Bridgerton boy, and after a very slow burn they finally get their happily ever after. Sophie herself is such a sweet and loveable individual who remains strong despite what she is put through. Bennedict, however, is a lot more problematic than I expected he would be. The night of the ball he is a loveable character and I loved the chemistry between him and his mystery woman (who we know is Sophie) and seeing him rescue her from assault years later reinforced this. But his later actions not so much, he is imposing to Sophie when they're both in My Cottage willingly blurring boundaries, he then continually propositions her to be his mistress after multiple refusals, threatens her to get her back to L...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance, Enemies to Lovers Thoughts: This book is a beautifully written historical enemies to lovers romance book. The banter between Kate and Anthony is extremely entertaining and the slow burn into love is wonderful. In terms of characters, Kate is easily loveable with a spirit that cannot be broken and such strong sisterly love guiding her actions. Anthony, on the other hand, though fairly well redeemed at the end was somewhat problematic in his pursuit of a partner who was perfect for the role of Viscountess but he wouldn't love and didn't seem to mind whether he hurt the sisters along the way.  Favourite Quote: "Love's about finding the one person who makes your heart complete. Who makes you a better person than you ever dreamed you could be. Its about looking in the eyes of your wife and knowing all the way to your bones that she's simply the best person you've ever known."