abbysbookadventure's reviews
519 reviews

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage
Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.

DNF @ 46%. I went into this one expecting fluff, but I was unprepared for the complete lack of depth or writing skill. 🫠 Was not vibing a decided to move on before I truly started hating it.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

emotional funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I love Katherine Center and quirky style of her writing and MCs. Her books are so fast and fun to read. They're true rom coms and I pretty much picture an early 2000's Sandra Bullock starring in all of them. And I love that all her books of late include an ode to romance books at the end. 

 

I was very excited to dive into her latest, but unfortunately quite a few things didn't work for me, like the lack of character development for most of the characters but especially the MMC, the missing setup of their relationship, and certain plot points that I found unnecessary and lacking at the same time (but won't get into because of spoilers).  This all said, KC seems to sprinkle some fairy dust on her books that make them just so charming. So even despite all the qualms I had one this one, I came out liking it. 

 

This is my 4th Katherine Center, and though I liked it the least, I remain excited for whatever she writes next. 

Thank you so much @stmartinspress for the gifted e-ARC. 

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging hopeful informative tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Did I have any idea what was going on or who any of the side characters were for most of this book? No. Did I love it anyway? Yes. I love these books and this world. My advice? Just go with it.

I will definitely be rereading 1-3 before the 4th book comes out though. Reading in depth synopses of 1 & 2 in preparation wasn't enough. 😅

Loved buddy reading with @megan.the.book.worm.elf, @tothineshelfbetrue, @thebookishletters, @readingwithbeans and @libraryofanormalgirl. Always necessary to have people to talk to about a book like this!

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Another excellent book by Charmaine Wilkerson. After absolutely loving Black Cake, I was so excited to see what she would write next and this didn't disappoint. This is a multigenerational saga that mixes stories of generations past alongside the present day main storyline. It reminded me a bit of Homegoing in that it traced the main family's lineage from ancestors being kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery in America all the way to present day, except this was tied to a specific family heirloom: a stoneware jar that was made by an enslaved ancestor. This book contains heavy themes (check triggers, though many are spelled out clearly in the synopsis) and is about generational trauma and grief, but it's also about resilience and healing. I highly recommend this powerful book. I went the audio route and the narrator was excellent.

It took me a long time to get through this one, which is more a comment on my state of mind/January being a tough month in the world and less about the book. If I'd had more momentum, I think there's a chance I might have rated it even higher, but I still really liked/loved it regardless.

Thank you so much @libro.fm and @prhaudio for the gifted audiobook and @randomhouse for the gifted ARC.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Gun violence

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Sexual violence

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

2.75

This one didn't work for me.

All I knew about this book is that it’s about the elite ice dancing world, it’s compared to TJR’s Carrie Soto Is Back and it had a bunch of glowing reviews from people I know and trust: sign me up! I really WANTED to love this one but just didn't.

Well, joke’s on me. First, I think it’s insulting to compare this to Carrie Soto (one of my all times faves) for any reason other than they’re both about elite athletes. There is nothing beyond that that I found even remotely similar. And sure, it’s in a similar interview style to Daisy Jones at times. But again, the books themselves are not similar.

Overall, I found the characters super annoying and for what was supposed to be a juicy drama, it was immature and boring? There’s a total lack of character development (esp. Heath) so I never felt invested in the characters as athletes nor was I ever invested in their romance. I’ll also say, my #1 biggest pet peeve is when characters are obsessed with each other and Kat and Heath give Harriet and Wyn a run for their money (IYKYK). Okay and while I’m at it, I’m going to say something inflammatory that you can all disagree with me about and that’s well and fine, but I don’t get why ice dancing is a sport and I think it’s boring and this book did not convince me otherwise. Gimme pairs skating any day. I said what I said!

I listened to 51% of this on audio because I had heard great things about the full cast narration. It was fun but felt like it was taking 10,000 years to get through (it’s decently long) so I decided to switch to physical, which was definitely the right move for me. 

I’m bummed because I LOVED They Never Learn by the same author a few years ago, which is a thriller about a female serial killer who targets men who do bad things to women.

Thank you Random House and PRH Audio for the gifted ARC and ALC.

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

🤬 RAGE REVIEW INCOMING! 🤬 TL;DR, literally awful. I feel tricked by the good reviews.

I started off this year with the promise to myself that I would read more fantasy. It’s one of my favorite genres but I end up deprioritizing it because I feel overwhelmed by the commitment. I vowed this year would be different though, and was excited to kick things off with a book I had seen nothing but the most glowing reviews for. Le sigh.

There are different books for everybody and that’s what makes reading (and life!) so fun. I deeply believe that, I do. But I finished this book baffled, feeling like I read a completely different book than everyone else. So glad I buddy read this with @thebookishbollinger and @catreadthat and that we were all on the same page about this book…not being it.

I’m just going to paste my final comment from our @the.storygraph buddy read as my review, with the additional comment that the MC was one of the most annoying characters that has ever existed and every single character in this book was a caricature.

“Wow, I deeply hated that!!!!!!!!!! Literally wtf.

Things I liked:
- Opening scene
- The idea of how you measure “good” - results of actions or intentions
- Magical system, but only in theory - the coding base is cool but I didn’t actually flesh out in a way that made full sense

Things I hated:
- Literally everything else
- Omg the writing was so cringe and painful. Literally the most heavy handed book ever. 

At least it seems like a standalone so won’t have to hear about it again.”

And a bonus comment:

“How is this literally the most boring book that has ever been written? They have had the same conversation for 378 pages now! I am so sick of the waxing on and on omg I can’t stand this BOOK ARGHSJSHDIDO”

So yeah, in case the above wasn’t clear, I thought this book was awful and I hated it and I wouldn’t recommend it to a single soul except apparently everyone else loves it and I’m taking crazy pills? The end.

The Shift by Tinx

inspiring fast-paced

4.0

Love You a Latke by Amanda Elliot

funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

After absolutely loving Sadie on a Plate, I was so excited to see that Amanda Elliot was coming out with a Hanukkah romance. This was everything I wanted it to be and more! At its surface, this is such a cute romance with a fun plot and tropes everyone will love (fake dating - my favorite!). But there’s so much depth to this story too and I loved watching the characters learn and grow. It’s also a big Jewish hug and I loved so many of those aspects - and you’ll learn a lot and love it even if you’re not Jewish. 

Joan Is Okay by Weike Wang

funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

With Weike Wang’s newest book, Rental House, just recently published, I realized I had meant to read her last and never did so I dove into the audio. The narrator was very good and it’s nice and short (6.5 hours). This is a character study of a doctor in New York grappling with the death of her father, familial expectations of her Chinese family, expectations of what it means to behave “normally” and, towards the end, the start of COVID. I love that Joan is authentically herself, even when those around her tell her she should act a certain way. It’s very quirky and funny and a bit sad all rolled together.

Thank you Penguin Random House Audio for the gifted audiobook.