ari_is_tired's reviews
7 reviews

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

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emotional hopeful 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

4.25

This book is aggressively queer in the best way; there is a love letter here to the community that springs up wherever it can grow, whether through kindness or adversity, and it's amazing to see. The characters are grounded and real despite the time travel aspect, and it doesn't shy away from the consequences of that either. I normally find romance novels of this length to be a bit much, but I tore through this book and despite the satisfying epilogue still found myself with post-novel depression. An absolute must-read for queer romance, honestly.
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It's Not Like It's a Secret by Misa Sugiura

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

2.75

I wanted to like this book so bad. It's got all the ingredients of a book I should like, but the main character is such an awful person, and not in the awkward, teenager-making-mistakes way, either.
She spends most of the book judging her father for an affair, and then turns around and cheats? Like make it make sense, because it doesn't. Never mind the race issue that are brought up, but just completely glossed over.


Overall, this is just a mess. It's been a very long time since I've actively despised a main character this much.
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Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 74%.
The guy is so dishonest, and not in a human-relatable way, either. She's basically living with him halfway through the book, but their dynamic by that point was so odd more than it was intriguing. This is the kind of guy your best friend would fight on sight after you told them about him. And something about the class divide doesn't seem very genuine, like the writer only knows the richer, middle-class end, so they fumble the poorer perspective hard. Just a weird pacing and dynamic ultimately killed it for me.
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas

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

3.25

I was so into this while reading it, but once I finished this I thought about it without the emotions in the moment, it's just...it's okay. It's a perfectly serviceable romance novel. It's nice to see the guy be more interested in the girl than expected, in all the ways imaginable, but that's the only thing that really stood out to me.
I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

This one was heart-wrenching in all the best of ways. You feel the main character's anxiety so well. I liked that not everything was fixed right away - trauma is a real thing that sticks with you, and it's nice to see that reflected here, while also showing hope for the future. I want to say I wish the ending was a bit less open-ended, but I think it was probably more realistic while still being what you hoped it would be.
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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

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

4.0

Rare is it that I don't have a concrete opinion once I've finished a book, but this book? I still don't know how I feel about it weeks later. It's written so well, and Kya's journey really tugs at the heart strings, but the ending. My god the ending. You'll have complex feelings not matter which way you feel about the conclusion, that's for sure.
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Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake

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

4.0

The romance is important, of course, but where the novel truly shines is in how it handles Delilah and Astrid's sibling dynamic, or lack thereof. It's healing, in a way that's familiar to anyone who's had the unfortunate experience of alienation within family, or been on the receiving end of a controlling parent. Having said that, the romance is nothing to sniff at either. The consequences to the situation are real, and Claire's situation is handled so well. I think the title of this novel does it a disservice in it's simplicity; it's without a doubt worth a read.
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