annilane's reviews
28 reviews

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This is the second Emily Henry book I’ve read. I preferred Beach Read. Found this one a bit disappointing, leaning heavily on character tropes but not committing enough to turn them on their heads. Found the characters and their issues over dramatized and hard to relate to. GREAT sex scenes tho. 
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The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

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dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-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

The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black

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adventurous emotional 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

This series was so good and ended really well. I am mourning the end of this trilogy. 
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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Did not finish book.
The pick-me vibes coming off Daisy Jones were wild, and everyone acting like her and Billy were hot shit annoyed me. I didn’t even get to the point where they all joined together. 
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

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Did not finish book.
Honestly found these books hard to follow and just started watching the bbc series instead, and liked it better 
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Moby-Dick: Or, the Whale by Herman Melville

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adventurous challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

My assessment of this book is obviously skewed by the 170 odd years of distance between us, but I am able to appreciate the quality of narrative of information in this novel. There’s a lot of information that is relevant to the story but not actually important, really, and since I read it on audiobook I found rather boring, since I think I’m print there are diagrams to accompany, for example, the chapters outlining every species of whale whose existence was known at that time. I loved Queequeg, and otherwise had a bit of a hard time telling all the men on the ship apart. Overall I would recommend, because there’s lots of information about whales which is cool, and in general if a book’s popularity has somewhat survived over 150 years, it’s probably worth noting. There were some messages throughout the story that I think a lot of people can learn from. 
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This Charming Man by C.K. McDonnell, Caimh McDonnell

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book was phenomenal - it is so rare to find a sequel that upholds the quality of the first book, and I think “This Charming Man” actually exceeds it. So many new characters and plot lines are added - there literally is not a dull moment. Very tasteful handling of the vampire theme, which has been done hundreds of time and yet McDonnell kept it fresh and relevant. I also appreciate that these books give significant story arcs to all manner of characters, including for example Stanley, an unlikely candidate for any notable redemption. Even the victims are given a chapter to show a bit of their lives so the reader better understands who they were, giving a feeling to the book that everything is constantly connecting and intersecting. 
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Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-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

4.0

This book had enticing main characters and lots of action scenes that kept the plot interesting.
I liked that the protagonists got together early on in the novel, because it changed up the regular formula where the romance only climaxes at the end. It was fun to watch their relationship ebb and flow as new challenges surfaced around them. The sexual tension was great.
. The Ballenger family has a lot of siblings, which was easier to keep track of than I thought it would be when I started the book. Also, the Rahtan are mostly female which is awesome to see play out. I like how characters from the Remnant chronicles are used in this novel too, and it actually made me like the old books more, because I got a better understanding of the characters based on how they developed after the Remnant chronicles left off. 
Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This novel is an incredibly well-written exploration into the life of indigenous people in the early 20th century. The characters are complicated and yet despite having experiences that are not common now (living in the bush, fighting in a world war) are relatable in their relationships to each other and earnest emotions. The switching between the perspectives of Nephew and Niska keeps the narrative dynamic and offers valuable insight into how many layers and experiences make a person who they are. 
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