andintothetrees's reviews
552 reviews

Come & Get It by Kiley Reid

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

Plot/compellingness 4/5
Themes 5/5
Characters 4/5
Emotional resonance 4/5
Writing style 5/5

Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

4.5 stars. Tbh I just really enjoyed reading this book.

Plot/compellingness 5/5

Themes 3/5

Characters 4/5

Emotional resonance 5/5

Writing style 5/5

(There were a few inconsistencies with characters' ages - Arthur would have been born c. 1978 & didn't move to Australia until he had finished uni, yet he's referred to as "coming of age in Australia in the early 2000s. And I'd have liked more of Hera's backstory especially her relationship with her mum. But overall I couldn't put this book down, so I have to call it a win.)

The New Life by Tom Crewe

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Plot/compellingness 2/5 
Themes 4/5
Characters 4/5
Emotional resonance 4/5
Writing style 2/5

I have mixed feelings on this book. The themes were interesting, and the characters well-developed (especially the main two, who I changed my opinion of as I went along). I also liked how the author wrote it as though it just happened to be late Victorian London, rather than cramming lots of historical references in. But the pace was very slow and whilst I can see how some would find the writing beautiful it just wasn't a style that worked for me (too descriptive).

The Murder After the Night Before by Katy Brent

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

2.5 stars

Plot/compellingness 3/5 (varied a lot through the book)
Themes 2/5 (tried to make some deeper points but didn't really manage it)
Characters 2/5
Emotional resonance 2/5
Writing style 3/5 

Potential spoiler, though this happens in the first 10% of the book:

One of the major plot devices is that Molly has gone viral for appearing in a video of her giving a man oral sex on the street whilst very drunk. Apparently this video does the rounds on Twitter and by the next day everyone Molly knows has seen the video and recognises her in it. I don't buy that this would happen at all. Of course moderation isn't perfect, but this kind of video would be reported and taken down; and even if it wasn't, most people - if they are even on Twitter, which a lot aren't- wouldn't be interested in seeing or sharing such a video.

Kind of spoilery but I'll keep it vague

I wasn't at all surprised by how the mystery was solved. It was all very predictable and I kept hoping something/someone would come out of the leftfield towards the end and change it all, but no

Also, minor complaint, but

the ages of characters didn't add up. There are people described as being in their mid-40s yet also as having met at uni 16 or 17 years ago - what, when they were almost 30? Mature students definitely are a thing but it wasn't implied that they all happened to be there at the same age at the same time.

Other Parents by Sarah Stovell

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Plot/compellingness 3/5

Themes 4/5

Characters 3/5

Emotional resonance 3/5

Writing style 4/5

Over My Dead Body by Maz Evans

funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.0

 This was quite a strange book, which isn't a bad thing! It was often really funny and I enjoyed how misanthropic the main character was. I also liked the author's idea of the Afterlife and how it would work. But at the same time it all felt a bit shallow, and the plot was pretty predictable. If you're after an easy, humorous, read then it'll fit the bill (I read most of it on a long train journey and it was perfect for that!). Minor spoiler: the part about the ADHD assessment was ridiculous! It was quite random anyway but then the teacher suggests it one day and the child sees a psychologist and gets a diagnosis THE VERY NEXT DAY?!? Hahahaha. If only. 

Plot/compellingness 2/5
Themes 2/5 (for the satire)
Characters 4/5
Emotional resonance 2/5
Writing style 4/5 (mostly because it was funny) 

Stitched Up: Stories of life and death from a prison doctor by Shahed Yousaf

dark inspiring medium-paced

4.75

Weirdo by Sara Pascoe

funny sad slow-paced

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

3.0

The main character's inner voice here felt so much like my inner voice, it was pretty exhausting. Our life circumstances are quite different but all the over-thinking and going off on tangents and anxiety and saying the wrong thing was very close to home. As a friend of mine said when I told her about it "it's like being in your head twice". I loved the book at first but the plot ran out of steam after a while and I just wasn't that keen to pick it up (see also, it was tiring! I read to calm my hyper brain, not be reminded of it!)

Plot/compellingness 2/5
Themes 2/5 (there wasn't anything original or deep here really)
Characters 4/5
Emotional resonance 3/5
Writing style 4/5 (even though for me personally it was exhausting, it was nice to feel "seen")

Behind Closed Doors:Why We Break Up Families – and How to Mend Them by Polly Curtis, Polly Curtis

3.0

Good Material by Dolly Alderton

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Enjoyable and genuinely funny but ultimately not that deep and rather generalising.

Plot/compellingness 4/5
Themes 3/5
Characters 3/5
Emotional resonance 4/5
Writing style 5/5