annamariesreads's reviews
66 reviews

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-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

Funny Story by Emily Henry

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.0

I really enjoyed this one! I felt like Emily Henry was doing something a bit different here and it paid off.

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller

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dark hopeful tense fast-paced

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

3.75

I really like the premise of this novel. That mistrust in the police leads to a life dedicated to the law to make sure everyone has the fairest possible experience. Until you realise that you are aiding and abetting a system that is so deeply flawed and rigged with corruption.

And when you become the victim, you finally see that what you've been fighting for your entire adult life stops you from getting the outcome you deserve.

Tessa is a really interesting protagonist and I learned alot about the inner workings of barrister life. As a Liverpool diva, her home life felt very much like my family up there. Every character was very believable and this helped me tear through the novel in two days flat.

I love novels that teach me things I didn't know before and there was nothing in Prima Facie that I wasn't expecting or anticipating. That's why it falls short of the 4 star. However, like the Barbie movie, it could really change someone's life.

I would definitely watch the Jodie Comer play, perhaps it takes it to a different level.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Cal Trask, they could never make me hate you.

The Trees by Percival Everett

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dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

I read this on the back of Erasure, which was amazing satire. I was very excited

I think the first third of this book is immaculate and throughout, there's alot to love. Ed and Jim really made me laugh and the pure ridiculousness of the white people was very entertaining. I also think Everett always does a great thing of making you laugh out loud and then immediately questioning why you just laughed out loud.

I think it's also really factually interesting. You learn alot, particularly about the Emmett Till case.

Ultimately I think it lost its way. I'm unsure if we were supposed to be surprised by the ending but for me, it was evident early on who was responsible so I was a bit disappointed by that.

I also think the pacing was off when they were skipping between counties. I was mostly invested in the activity in Money, Mississippi, so I found this quite frustrating. I can see why he did it though, to show the

enormous scar of racial violence

that will never disappear and for these victims to finally have their

vigilante justice on white America.

I think maybe the cast of characters became too large and it threw the pacing off.

Definitely not his best but a good read and I had some laugh out loud moments, for sure, as well as profound moments of reflection, which I think Everett does so well.

Trigger warnings are as to be expected for a novel about black history in the deep South.

Content Warnings

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is not an easy read, but a worthwhile read.
I only wish I could've read it in 1974, when it came out because it has so much to say about the cultural context of that era.
This book shows us black love in every possible way- between two lovers, between family and between mother and unborn child. Despite the adversity, Tish is always looking for the positive that will come in the end. Even when all the lights are out.
Every character is interesting and necessary to the story.
James Baldwin has got to be one of my favourite authors, I could read his prose all day.
No spoilers here but please check the trigger warnings I put on this review before reading. Description is not graphic but they are mentioned often and frequently.

Content Warnings