bdilley28's reviews
99 reviews

Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

This is possibly the best book I have ever read. I started this book without truly knowing what it was about, and I finished it in tears, feeling inspired. This book is painful, beautiful, heavy, and encouraging, and everyone should read this. The small moments of hope in the Swedes who saved Chanel, the doorwomen of her apartment, the old man on the bench, Alaleh, Tiffany, Lucas, and Chanel's own voice reading the audiobook were a comforting hug in a book riddled with trauma. I will never stop recommending this book to anyone I ever meet.

Favorite Quote: "It is not a question of if you will survive this, but what beautiful things await you when you do." 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Beach Read by Emily Henry

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

What a cute summer read. Emily Henry truly knows how to write a feel good romance that is perfect when I’m feeling anxious. Gus and January were so likable and I liked how there wasn’t any conflict that promotes domestic abuse that I find in a lot of romance books(specifically Colleen Hoover). It was more graphic than I thought it would be in a few parts and it felt off to me. Other than that I enjoyed it and read it very quickly!!
Animal Farm by George Orwell

Go to review page

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

3.0

Not a bad book. The concept was definitely unique and I liked how Orwell didn’t make it too long and had shorter chapters. The ending line was so witty I really enjoyed it, but honestly, if you want to read a dystopian book that is a commentary on totalitarianism, I would just read 1984. Animal Farm wasn’t bad per say, but 1984 is just better.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Go to review page

emotional inspiring lighthearted sad medium-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

I really enjoyed this book. Although I wasn't sure if I liked it in the beginning, I ended up being quite invested in Evelyn's story. I liked the aspect of Evelyn wanting her biography written, but I felt like Monique's story could have been more thought out. It felt like TJR was just using that character for the big plot twist at the end which I thought was ok. I liked the parts about grief and this theme really grounded the story, especially in parts that I felt were a little misguided or felt out of place. I wanted a little bit more of Monique's storyline, but I like the way it ended and overall was captivated by this book(I read over 200 pages in one night)!
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Pretty good book. I really liked the first half of the book when we see Achilles and Patroclus learning from Chiron and seeing their relationship bloom. The second half of the book was good but I'm not a huge fan of war books so I didn't enjoy it as much. The last 30 pages were weird because it was in first person narration but felt like third and it was a little confusing. I think this book is a little overhyped and I liked Circe much more but overall this book was good. I didn't cry at the end even though I heard a lot of people have. 
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Go to review page

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

4.5

This book was so good. Real rating is 4.5 but goodreads doesn't let me do half star rating ugh. It took me a bit to get used to this book because there aren't very many paragraphs about setting that I could skip over(which I do often in other books). Jane Austen INVENTED the enemies to lovers trope I swear. I found Mr. Darcy to be charming and proof that if he wanted to he would!!! I liked the commentaries about how class affects a woman's marriage, especially if it is a family of all girls. Very good and highly recommend even though the writing was a bit out of my comfort zone.
Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

Go to review page

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

5.0

Apparently my mom saved the books I read as a kid and I was bored so I read Clementine. I loved this series as a kid and it was so fun to read them now that I've grown up. Very nostalgic. Wish I had red hair like Clementine.
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

3.0

This is my second volume review since I read the first one a few months ago and they were originally published separately. To me, the first volume of Persepolis is Marji learning how to cope while living in Iran during a war and the second volume is her learning how she fits into this world. One thing I consistently liked about Persepolis is that Marjane didn't paint herself as the hero but rather showed her flaws and mistakes. I thought the chapters about Marji feeling Iranian in the West and Western in Iran and her struggling with her identity were really interesting. Overall, I liked the ending of the second volume even though I liked it a bit less than the first, and I 100% recommend Persepolis. Very very good memoir and graphic novel with an interesting art style.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

Go to review page

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

3.0

I didn’t have a hard time reading this book because I did want to know how it ended, but I didn’t enjoy it most of the time. I didn’t like any of the characters and though I felt sympathy for them, I never got invested in their stories. There were some parts that were uncomfortable but I don’t think they were written that way intentionally so that definitely brought my review down. I hated the last 50 pages but the epilogue was the saving grace. I’m happy with the ending and would’ve been so angry if it ended any other way.
Severance by Ling Ma

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

Although I had a hard time getting into this book, I found that 100 pages in I was completely enraptured in the story. It took a bit to get used to it, and I eventually liked how the story wasn’t told chronologically. It peaked my interest to find out how the present came to be and what Candace experienced to get there. The plot twists at the end we’re really good, and I was satisfied with the ending.

Also unreal that this was published in 2018 and is eerily similar to how the pandemic played out.