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abeaninapod's reviews
292 reviews
77 FAQs about God and the Bible by Josh McDowell, Sean McDowell
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
I mean it's hard to rate books like this. Because it's not like a story or anything. The information was for the most understandable. Clear and concise. They authors really made certain topics less complex. Their references were also very helpful. And I enjoyed reading about various ideas from their perspective. I can't say I hated anything.
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Good Oil by Laura Buzo
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What did I think? What did I think?!
I think WOW! That's what I think!. Well not "WOW, I've been blown away!" but more like a "Wow, that was SO amazingly good."
Three amazing things (in broad) to love about this book:
1) (à mon avi) Best girl meets boy story ever.
2) feminism...through the eyes of young people and also mentions of feminist authors.
3) a not-so-happy ending that I can handle.
To have a crush on an older is one scary thing but to be 15 and the guy be 21 is unimaginable. And some how after reading Good Oil I feel as if I once experienced this strange and awful thing. Amelia Hayes is like the ultimate 15year old. Old beyond her age. Fancies a bit of reality unlike most teens. But like all 15 year olds full of hormones and self-loathing she happens to have the biggest crush on the "older" guy at work. Yeah the "older guy" by like 6 years. Crikey!
I don't know id I'm just not as worldly as I think I am or that I don't pick up on things as quickly as other people but I was very confused about the location of this story. At first, like all books I read, I started off thinking it was in America. Then when I saw the mention of Donna's mother moving to America I thought "Oh, well England then!" soon to have all dreams crushed and realising it was written about Australia. Good ole Aussie! Never read one from there before.
Anyways. Chris. Ah...Chris. 21 and still writing in a journal diary. It's super cute. And he's struggling with getting over his "one true love" Michaela and hiss on and off again crush on Kathy from Woolies, also feelings he can't act on for aforementioned Amelia who he refers to as the "Youngster". It's really amazing the way Ms Buzo captured the true essence of the story. (I sounded like a complete stick saying that). it was really great. It me as the reader really feel, you know. Understand what Chris as struggling with, what Amelia was trying to deal with. Even the little side stories about Penny's parents and Chris' sister were fun to read.
Once I found myself in the right location things really worked out great in my head. It was fun and cute and all the conversations about feminism that Chris and said Youngster have are really knowledgeable. Loved how she opened his eyes to things going on in his house the way she saw in hers. And I feel encouraged to read some of the book they discussed, just because of the way they described them.
Lastly to end with after the actual "pashing" (Aussie thing that sounds more sexual than it actually is) of Chris and the Youngster and he acknowledges his feelings AND the fact that nothing can come out of them, as long as she is 15, he does something tolerable (not saying) and gets out of the way so she can grieve and whatever. Nice ending. Great point of views. I like when authors can do the POV switcheroo and still manage to distinguish between two completely different characters.
Well done Laura.
Also the miniature "heart-to-heart" between Chris and his mum was one of the nicest things I've ever read , as short as it was. Sigh... well then Laura.
Feeling: Contentment.
I think WOW! That's what I think!. Well not "WOW, I've been blown away!" but more like a "Wow, that was SO amazingly good."
Three amazing things (in broad) to love about this book:
1) (à mon avi) Best girl meets boy story ever.
2) feminism...through the eyes of young people and also mentions of feminist authors.
3) a not-so-happy ending that I can handle.
To have a crush on an older is one scary thing but to be 15 and the guy be 21 is unimaginable. And some how after reading Good Oil I feel as if I once experienced this strange and awful thing. Amelia Hayes is like the ultimate 15year old. Old beyond her age. Fancies a bit of reality unlike most teens. But like all 15 year olds full of hormones and self-loathing she happens to have the biggest crush on the "older" guy at work. Yeah the "older guy" by like 6 years. Crikey!
I don't know id I'm just not as worldly as I think I am or that I don't pick up on things as quickly as other people but I was very confused about the location of this story. At first, like all books I read, I started off thinking it was in America. Then when I saw the mention of Donna's mother moving to America I thought "Oh, well England then!" soon to have all dreams crushed and realising it was written about Australia. Good ole Aussie! Never read one from there before.
Anyways. Chris. Ah...Chris. 21 and still writing in a journal diary. It's super cute. And he's struggling with getting over his "one true love" Michaela and hiss on and off again crush on Kathy from Woolies, also feelings he can't act on for aforementioned Amelia who he refers to as the "Youngster". It's really amazing the way Ms Buzo captured the true essence of the story. (I sounded like a complete stick saying that). it was really great. It me as the reader really feel, you know. Understand what Chris as struggling with, what Amelia was trying to deal with. Even the little side stories about Penny's parents and Chris' sister were fun to read.
Once I found myself in the right location things really worked out great in my head. It was fun and cute and all the conversations about feminism that Chris and said Youngster have are really knowledgeable. Loved how she opened his eyes to things going on in his house the way she saw in hers. And I feel encouraged to read some of the book they discussed, just because of the way they described them.
Lastly to end with after the actual "pashing" (Aussie thing that sounds more sexual than it actually is) of Chris and the Youngster and he acknowledges his feelings AND the fact that nothing can come out of them, as long as she is 15, he does something tolerable (not saying) and gets out of the way so she can grieve and whatever. Nice ending. Great point of views. I like when authors can do the POV switcheroo and still manage to distinguish between two completely different characters.
Well done Laura.
Also the miniature "heart-to-heart" between Chris and his mum was one of the nicest things I've ever read , as short as it was. Sigh... well then Laura.
Feeling: Contentment.
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Okay so. Just when you think that you can safely root for a particular character and things are going to work out, everything takes a horrible turn. After the whole debacle with "Keenan" (which I fell for unfortunately, even though I could tell that something was off with him as a Scholar rebel, but just not Nightbringer off) I was smart enough to not get caught up in the love story of Elias and Laia because I just knew that was never going to work out so easily. And here we are, still no progress and rightly so. Laia needs to focus 100% on ending this mess because seriously, the girl sometimes acts like the world is literally not ending in front of her.
A minor/major plot twist I did not expect though...Blood Shrike's ring is not the last piece of the star!!! What?!
Also if Helene doesn't have herself some Avitas before this series ends, I'll be legit upset because I have no hope for anyone else finding love at this point. Like I think I've given up on Elias and Laia completely. If they get a happy ending I'll be pleasantly surprised. I was kinda getting cool with Elias finding his lil groove in the forest there with Mauth but now... things are looking shaky. I'm not so happy anymore.
To be honest though, the one thing I really like about this series is the fact that the characters have complex problems that have nothing to do with just romance. I hate when I'm reading a story about the world going to shit and the biggest concern is how loved one main character makes the other main character feel. Even though she kinda annoyed me in book 2, I actually like that Helene is so driven and intent on ending this shit show even though we know the girl is just burning on the inside for Harper (as she should be).
A minor/major plot twist I did not expect though...
Also if Helene doesn't have herself some Avitas before this series ends, I'll be legit upset because I have no hope for anyone else finding love at this point. Like I think I've given up on Elias and Laia completely. If they get a happy ending I'll be pleasantly surprised. I was kinda getting cool with Elias finding his lil groove in the forest there with Mauth but now... things are looking shaky. I'm not so happy anymore.
To be honest though, the one thing I really like about this series is the fact that the characters have complex problems that have nothing to do with just romance. I hate when I'm reading a story about the world going to shit and the biggest concern is how loved one main character makes the other main character feel. Even though she kinda annoyed me in book 2, I actually like that Helene is so driven and intent on ending this shit show even though we know the girl is just burning on the inside for Harper (as she should be).
A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
What am I going to do when this series is over?
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery and Physical abuse
An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Slavery, and Rape
A Love Hate Thing by Whitney D. Grandison
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Summary: a well off black girl described as being uppity and "white" because she listens to lame music (Lana del Ray) and is dating a white boy is reintroduced to her used to be childhood friend, a poor black boy from "the hood" who was shot alongside his mother (now orphaned) and is now staying with said uppity family in surburban utopia. Add in a bunch of borderline racist stereotypes and cliches.... everyone assumes he's a gangster, he's dressed hood but look at that he's actually smart (who would have thought), he hangs with actual gangsters but he doesnt actually shoot people or smoke or drink and oh yeah he's super super hot but his dirty cornrows take away from that effect for the first 2 chapters.
Sigh. I don't think I could go on. Then this little girl just said France is overrated. She wants to learn Spanish instead and go to the Caribbean islands. Which caribbean islands sis? How many caribbean islands you think are speaking Spanish?
Either a white women ghostwrote this or the most obtuse black American to ever use a keyboard.
As someone from "the hood" and from a Caribbean island (that doesn't really speak Spanish) I would say to Ms. Whitney please stop writing about things you don't know about.
Sigh. I don't think I could go on. Then this little girl just said France is overrated. She wants to learn Spanish instead and go to the Caribbean islands. Which caribbean islands sis? How many caribbean islands you think are speaking Spanish?
Either a white women ghostwrote this or the most obtuse black American to ever use a keyboard.
As someone from "the hood" and from a Caribbean island (that doesn't really speak Spanish) I would say to Ms. Whitney please stop writing about things you don't know about.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Murder, and Drug use
Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A very strong 3.8. This was cute. Corinne reminds me of myself but a little more "intense" and three hundred times more focused than I could ever be. Halti reminds me of the first guy I ever kissed with tongue. But he was infinitely more of an ass.
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
More black female main characters please! Also I can't remember the last time I read a story told in first person perspective. It was so nice. I felt really connected to Tessa. Also Sam sounds yummy, no pun intended.
The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Okay so I love this series! I love the characters, the plot is so rich and everytime I think that it's the end it turns out it isn't. And we finally got to uncover so much about the mysteries of book one and two. But it was a little anticlimactic.... I don't know if it will pick back up in the next book. But this one lacked some of the umph that the others before had. Don't get me wrong my butt was clenched just as tightly (but I'm a scaredy cat) so all that sneaking around in the dark and the murders... yeah not good for bedtime reading. And guess when I do 95% of my reading!
I felt like the relationships were kinda flung together too. But I also understand that they went through a lot together and that brings people closer or at least makes them more curious about each other so I'll allow it.
Anyway. This is not a light read. But it's a great read.
I felt like the relationships were kinda flung together too. But I also understand that they went through a lot together and that brings people closer or at least makes them more curious about each other so I'll allow it.
Anyway. This is not a light read. But it's a great read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, and Suicide
Mentions and describes anxiety and panic attacks in detail.