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Petra

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Petra is Currently Reading

Petra is currently reading

Love and Other Brain Experiments

by Hannah Brohm (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Sep 14, 2026 04:17AM

Petra is currently reading

Better Than Revenge

by E.J. Blaise (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: arc, banter, black-cat-golden-retriever, book-bf-badge, college-romance, fake-to-real, golden-retriever-boy, he-falls-first, netgalley, sickbed-trope-hurt-comfort, sports-romance, he-yearns, currently-reading

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Petra said: " 𝐄𝐉 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄 - 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄
🎉𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

So this is really big news if you're an EJ Blaise stan/fan/stalker like I am: Better than Revenge is her (I believe) first traditionally published book! I was lucky enough to attach myself to it early on 𝐄𝐉 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄 - 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄
🎉𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖

So this is really big news if you're an EJ Blaise stan/fan/stalker like I am: Better than Revenge is her (I believe) first traditionally published book! I was lucky enough to attach myself to it early on. Which honestly wasn't a hardship on my side as I was a little dog wagging its tail every time any art, quote or juuust a little mention about the story and its main characters was popping up my feed.
And I wasn't disappointed with this story!
Erin is one of those romance authors who's yet to write something I don't devour instantly, so it wasn't a big surprise that I gelled with the characters.
Better Than Revenge's MCs were two college kids, falling into a (let's say pretend) relationship to spite the FMC's cheating ex. Add in some golden retriever energy and biiiig black cat vibes from a brokenhearted girl, viciously attached found family dynamics and swimmer drama and you've concocted more than 400 pages of sugar rush.
Let's start with my biggest take:
I loved Heath. Besides the fact that I was associating him to Heath Ledger, but I guess his willingess and fun loving persona kinda matched the MMC's in 10 Things I Hate About You, so we'll take it.
He was a top yearner, quietly adimiring Daniela from afar for years. He was vocal about his crush, so much so that all his friends knew who she was and what he felt about her. I admired his tenacity regards to securing his dream girl, even if it came with the price of faking it into existence.
Heath was attentive, caring and a soft teddy bear, with a tough outer shell. His tattoos and sheared hair made him look like a badass surfer, but his inside was all gooey and goofy.

The other part of our dynamic duo, Daniela was a strong heroine with a lot of trauma and various, explicitly not great coping mechanisms. Please, check any TWs just for this reason before picking up the book!
But boy was Dani fierce! Loyal, determined and a bit of a type-A personality. Totally the type of FMC I like reading about as their strenght is inspiring. Dani's rigid schedules and set in stone goals, both in terms of her personal and professional life ('swimming and academics are non-negotiable, must achieve the best outcome' mantra for the win!), were determined by her parents.
She feared inadequacy, seeked measurable validation from outside sources and was never just happy being second. This type of stress and strain had emotional and physiological effects, all of which Heath was actually kind of a balm to. He knew how to look past the jagged barbs and spiky scowls, knew how to teach her that there's value outside her own rigid ways.
She learned to lean on him, learned to trust a person to like her for what she is. This type of loving was so important for the storyline, and so great to read about, I might have swooned a couple of times!!
With a book about college athletes falling in love, comes a bit of silliness in terms of figuring out what they want from each other. It was the same for Better Than Revenge. A bit of misleading situation, scheming exes, getting hard done by fate etc puts the pair into a whirlwind, but honestly... I was kind of impressed how they navigated through their issues and fights, even if it wasn't my favourite part of the book.
Also, need to do a fave quotes compilation as I highlighted the everliving everything on my Kindle.
Take all of my ramblings as a sign to pick up Better Than Revenge! I don't think you'll regret it!

(P.S.: I really need a certain redheaded man and Imani's story like ASAP if it's possible! Thank you!) ...more "

Aug 25, 2026 11:51AM · see review

Petra is currently reading

Story of My Life (Story Lake, #1)

by Lucy Score (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: banter, comedic-romance, contemporary-romance, grumpy-sunshine, he-enjoys-her-romance-novels, meet-cute, owned, owned-physical-copy, physical-tbr, small-town, currently-reading

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Aug 01, 2026 05:47AM

See all 15 books that Petra is reading…

Petra’s Notes & Highlights

The Rebound by Catherine Walsh

7 highlights

“You’re good at this game.” “I’ve had a lot of practice. And I don’t have an accent.” “You have a little twang.” “A twang?” I stare at him in mock horror. “And what do you have? A lilt?” “A brogue. It’s completely different.” “Now you’re ...more

See Petra’s 9 books with notes and highlights…

Petra’s Quotes

“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?”
― George Eliot

tags: inspirational

3122 likes

“People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned.”
― Saul Bellow

tags: book-lovers, libraries, reading

3603 likes

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero

tags: attributed-no-source, books, simile, soul

136200 likes

“Yes: I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Critic As Artist: With Some Remarks on the Importance of Doing Nothing and Discussing Everything

14719 likes