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Books I read in April 2021

Books I read in April 2021

THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!! 

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Hello sassy people! I stayed away from the blog for a little while because college was occupying all my waking hours, now that I had some vacation time I’m going to update you guys about all the books I read during this time. So here are the books I read during April!

Kings of Rittenhouse

1- Kings of Rittenhouse

Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #0.5

 Author: Maya Hughes

Blurb: A Shameless King Prequel

Declan and Mak have been at each other’s throats since sophomore year and now it’s time for the party to end all parties for the seniors of Rittenhouse Prep.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Long live the Kings…

This book was a little bit disorienting cause I didn’t really know any of the characters, I believe that if I read it after I read the series it would make more sense. But anyway, it was cool, gave some small spoilers about the other books and it made me know all the characters a little bit more even before they appeared much in the first book. So overall, enjoyable, but I believe that someone who already read the series would love it.

General grade: 4/5 (It presents all the characters, but as I said, it’s very quick and a bit disorienting since you don’t know anyone)

Feminist grade: 5/5 (No sexist characters, but also not a lot of story development, so there is not much space to know them)

Final grade: 9/10 (For fans it must be awesome, I’m pretty sure if I came back right now I would like it really much)

2- Shameless King

Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #1

Author: Maya Hughes

Blurb: Declan McAvoy. Voted Biggest Flirt. Highest goal scorer in Kings of Rittenhouse Prep history. Everyone’s impressed, well except one person… After a blow out in high school, Makenna Halstead and I were happy to never have to cross paths again. Except life has a way of knocking you straight in the teeth with a puck when you least expect it. She hasn’t just returned to my life, she crashed into it like a wrecking ball…into my college kingdom, into my class, and smack dab into the seat next to mine. My new lab partner to be exact. For years we hated each other… I may be King on the ice, but she is the Ice Queen. She has no problem calling me out, doesn’t back down, and her piercing blue eyes have me picturing more than than just my arms wrapped around her. Now we’re stuck with each other and there’s no getting around that fact that we have to work together. My hockey career hangs in the balance. Problem? Oh, yeah. I can’t deny it. I want her. More than I ever thought I could want a woman. I’ve got one semester–only four months–to convince her everything she thought about me was wrong. Will my queen let me prove to her I’m the King she can’t live without? Only one way to find out… 

Shameless King - cover

On the surface, this story may sound shallow. Perfect girl meets jock. But it has so much dept! Makenna is not just a perfect girl, she is a grieving sister, trying to live up to her dead brother’s expectations. She pushes herself harder and harder, to make up for the life that her brother couldn’t have, while also having other big problems in her life. Declan is a hockey player whose main goal is to be better than his deadbeat father, who is a famous hockey player. The way they get together is a classic college romance, they have to be partners in a class, but the way their friendship and, later, the relationship slowly builds is super cute, sweet, and heartwarming, while also going through some deep personal trauma.

General grade: 4/5 (the characters had a good development, but the main problem wasn’t really deep, the relationship and its slow growth were believable and cute.)

Feminist grade: 5/5 (Non-sexist male character, strong and determined female character, the book touches topics such as grief and childhood trauma and how that affects the choices and goals of the characters.)

Final grade: 9/10 (Super cute, I saw myself in Makenna a lot and I loved their relationship)

Reckless King

3- Reckless King

Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #2

Author: Maya Hughes

Blurb: The only things I’m worried about during my senior year: A national championship. Going pro. Partying.

A dance. A kiss. A night seared into my soul for eternity. I’ve always been a go with the flow guy, but Kara’s turned me inside out with her laugh and smile.

Hockey. My grades. Going pro. It all falls away when I’m holding her in my arms.

Our first night together I saw stars reflected in her eyes and I was done for.

The first day of class sends both our futures into a tailspin leaving us both stunned. Why didn’t she tell me who she really was?

She has my heart in the palm of her hand and my future balanced on a razor’s edge.

We’ve started something that can’t be extinguished.

Can we both make it out of this semester without getting burned?

So I was excited to know Heath’s story because he is very present in Declan’s book since they are roommates in their senior year in college, but I was presently surprised with the depth of his story. Heath is a guy that on the outside is just super relaxed, he never loses his temper and just sounds positive and cute and happy all the time. However, we discover in his book that he is constantly battling his internal anger, trying not to be like his father. Meanwhile, Kara is also battling the influences of her past. She was adopted when she was a teen/child (I don’t remember the age exactly, but she was older than most kids and had already suffered a lot under the bad influence of her mother) so her entire goal in life is not to be her mom and to prove to her family that she belongs with them. So while they are both trying to escape from their past, they are also fighting for a future that they will be happy with themselves and make their parents proud. I love the level of development in this author’s characters and this book is no exception. I love both these characters and I also love that Kara is older than Heath, not by much, but I just like that she is older and more “mature” than he is, it just falls out of the trend in romance novels and I love that.

General grade: 5/5 (super developed characters, amazing plot, and devastating plot twists, really well written)

Feminist grade: 5/5 (Love the age difference, love the power dynamic and both their struggles with themselves, just great examples of self-awareness and growth)

Final grade: 10/10 (I just loved and understood both characters, especially Heath, I already loved him in the previous book, but now he has a special place in my heart)

 

4- Ruthless King

Series: Kings of Rittenhouse #3

Author: Maya Hughes

Blurb: My d*ck never got me in half as much trouble as my heart…

We were high school sweethearts. I was head over heels for her and no one could tell me we weren’t going to last forever. College? Going pro? My family’s money? None of it mattered. She was all I needed.

Then she ripped my heart out. But I’m not going to let that happen again. 

She’s back. Invading my life and acting like she was the wronged one. The pain is still there, but I can’t keep my eyes off her. I can’t stop thinking about her and how much was left unsaid between us. Being this close is making me question everything I thought I knew about her. 

This time everything will be on my terms. Everything…

Ruthless King - cover

Okay, so I read Kings of Rittenhouse and in that book, we see the end of Avery and Emmett’s relationship and I just really wanted to know what happened. In the beginning, while in high school they sounded like the cutest couple, like the ones you want to throw up from how sweet they are, and I just couldn’t believe Avery would cheat on Emmett, so I waited, very patiently for their book.
In the other books, I didn’t like Emmett so much, he was always brooding and angry and he always made Avery leave friends gatherings, so he sounded like a jerk, even at the beginning of his own book. When we go into his point of view we realize that he just loved her so much and she hurt him as nobody had before (and he had been hurt before) so he has to deal with loving her so much and also hating her so much. Meanwhile, Avery is one of the strongest characters I’ve ever read, and she is fiercely independent, she never wanted anybody’s help or pity, and that prevented her from being honest with pretty much everyone in her life. I understand her and admire her, but I also think that this couple needed, from the very beginning, communication, and honesty, up until the very end of the book, that was their major problem. No matter how much you love someone, if you are not honest and always communicating, it is never going to work. Throughout the book, she is always hiding something, to protect herself, to protect her family, or to protect Emmett.

General grade: 5/5 (The story is told at a very nice pace, the flashbacks are well written and in strategic places, the writing makes you understand really well both characters sides and feeling at all times, from high school to present days)

Feminist grade: 5/5 (Avery is just so strong, I really admire this character and Emmett just loves her as I’ve never seen (read) before, their major problem, like I mentioned before, was communication)

Final grade: 10/10 (Super cute couple, super deep story, and one of the most in love couples I’ve ever read)

 

Okay, that was all. Those were all the books I read in April, soon I’ll be posting individualized reviews for each of them where I tell in extreme detail (and some spoilers) why I loved all these books. 

Well, that is all for today, I hope you like this post, hope you enjoy these books if you decide to read them. Feel free to leave your opinion about it in the comments and I will see you next time! 

Bye sassy people! 

 

  • I know that some comments I make about decent guys on my posts are the bare minimum a guy should do, so no, they don’t deserve to be treated like gods for doing the minimum, but at the same time, I’ve read a lot of sexist books and I appreciate authors who make characters that can serve as role models and examples of how a decent guy acts and what a loving and respectful relationship looks like. I believe we should always encourage these authors and bring attention to the ones that still write sexist characters and stories. 
  • I make a lot of comments about sexism and healthy role models in books, but a lot of times these characteristics don’t make the book a bad book and definitely don’t make the author a bad author. Please never shame these authors and these books for these comments, I simply feel that we need to have awareness of the less than ideal situations some books bring us, and not use the romanticized problem as examples of what a relationship should be. Most of these authors are still amazing and the content they write doesn’t reflect directly with their personal views and opinions. Always make sure to respect and be kind to everyone, even while criticizing their content. 

 

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Brazilian architecture student and book lover

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