aprilyang1's reviews
96 reviews

This Time It's Real by Ann Liang

inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

3.5

I rated this a 3.5/5

Truthfully, this one started off a bit slow. I enjoy getting a glimpse into life at Hogwarts, but once our trio devised a plan the execution felt dragged. 

I must admit though that once it finally picks up it’s hard to put the book down. For me, it started picking up around the middle/end area and from then on I was 100% hooked. In the beginning, I felt myself losing interest and forcing my way through.

Rowling did a great job adding in characteristics that match the age range and Ron’s comments were absolutely perfect! As someone who only watched the movies prior to reading, the movie definitely failed to touch on a lot of important details and characteristics.

Overall, this was a good book and I will be reading the third book!

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

2.0

I really thought I’d like this more considering I loved the show… but this might be the only time I say the show is better than the book. (Minus the Edwina drama. Book Edwina and how that played out is 10000% how it should’ve been in the show. Definitely unnecessary drama.)

Bridgerton S2 Anthony (I will preface by saying I’ve never watched S1, but I will) >>> Book Anthony

The only things I like about this book are Colin, Edwina, and the Pall Ball scenes (including the 2nd epilogue included at the end). Anthony is probably the worst man in the world! I mean I understand the time period or whatever, but Simon wasn’t like this so why is Anthony. Why is this almost everyone’s favorite Bridgerton book?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

3.5

It’s definitely not one of my favorite books out of the series, but still a great and interesting read. I especially loved the glimpse into Voldemort’s family and childhood. However, I felt like there was a lot of back and forth going on between Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Dumbledore that could’ve been dealt with faster and quicker if people just told each other what was going on.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective 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

The complexity and layers of this story are so intense, beautiful, and intricate. It’s hard to describe how amazing this story is. It hits on topics surrounding women, race, classism, grief, learning your history, and more in a way that is so simple yet complex. Everything Bree learns really stays with you.

One negative that I have is that I do think the beginning takes some pushing through. You’re left with, in my opinion, a lot of confusion about so many things, but what’s nice is that as Bree learns you also learn. I was so confused at first that I created a few charts to help me visualize and remember who brought who, who held what role, what each title entailed, and who was connected to who. Regardless though, without all of that you’ll still get all the answers as you read. 

Technically I rated 4.5 because of the beginning, but rounded to a 5 because honestly Legendborn is such an AMAZING read. I mean I don’t do this book justice with what i’ve written. There are still so many questions to be answered, so I am excited to read the second book as soon as I can.

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

4.0

As a big fan of Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim, I didn’t absolutely love this book… BUT I still really really enjoyed it!

I love that it takes place in the same world as Six Crimson Cranes. There is just something so captivating about it. I also loved the beginning and the end. It was engaging and the trials were fun to read about, but the middle is where it fell a bit flat for me. All this to say, my boyfriend who read this book with me said the middle was his favorite. So, do your own research lol Another thing I wasn’t a fan of was the back and forth between Maia and Edan. I understand there was/is so much uncertainty in their futures but they constantly said one thing and did the other.

Overall, an enjoyable story, a quick adventure, and I am ready to read the second book!

Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn, Shonda Rhimes

3.0

The book might as well have been the script for the show because almost every line was exactly the same, except for a few parts here and there. I get that the book and show are supposed to be similar or even the same…but honestly, in my opinion, if you have watched the show there’s no reason to read the book. I still enjoyed the book though!

I did feel a little more annoyed with Charlotte’s decisions, but I understand the whole point is she’s 17 and learning how to be a queen. Sometimes though, I found myself siding with others more than her. What I did love without a doubt was Brimsley… he’s absolutely amazing and i’d do anything and everything to keep that man safe and happy

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

4.0

I don’t have much to say about this book because I don’t know how to word it. It was simple, yet beautifully moving. You didn’t need extra details or fluffy writing to learn from or experience Tin Win and Mi Mi’s love. It’s a delicate, innocent, and moving story. I felt intrigued because I wanted to know what happened to Julia’s father Tin Win, to understand why he left, and to determine if I felt angry, sad, or happy for him.

Julia is ignorant, but not in a negative way. Just in the way most people living like you or me would be if we traveled to a small remote and isolated village in a foreign country. As an upper middle class lawyer living in New York she has her opinions, but during her trip she learns and accepts and understands.

A beautiful story that I think you can only really understand if you read it for yourself.

The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson

2.0

I wanted to like this book SO much but it actually felt so disappointingly flat. The majority of this book is Stevie essentially repeating what she did in the first two books and somehow “guessing” how the case went down? I’m not even sure how she managed to solve the case based on the evidence she found. The big reveal was incredibly anticlimactic and unfortunately a huge let down. Plus, there was a lot of that mystery, anticipation, and feeling of excitement missing, so I did not feel that to desire to pick up the book and read it.

The only real redeeming factors were Nate, Janelle, Vi, and Hunter. They were the best characters and the most reasonable. Also, I preferred reading about the past more than the present with Stevie in regards to the case. I mean, we as the reader discover everything through the chapters retracing the past. Again, Stevie just has some sort of feeling about the case and it’s not always backed up by actual evidence. Another review I read on Goodreads explains it as some sort is divine intervention and honestly that’s all I can use to describe how Stevie comes up with her conclusions.

Overall, not my favorite. I was disappointed. However, I wouldn’t say I’d never read the next book in this series, which I think covers a new case.

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

4.0

This was a really sweet story. I loved the realistic-ness of the characters and I know Fern was not perfect by any means. However, I liked that about her. I also liked that the side characters weren’t unrealistically perfect and personally, I liked younger Will just a smidge more than older Will.

I know that a lot of people struggle to see how two strangers can fall in love in a day and continue to have those feelings
years later and yeah it’s pretty far fetched, but I still think it is plausible