beckyyreadss's reviews
574 reviews

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. This is the twentieth book on this list. I cannot believe I am twenty percent in on this journey. I thought I was going to struggle with this book with it being a classic, but it was very enjoyable.

This book is based on Hercule Poirot. He is traveling on the Orient Express and is approached by a desperate American named Ratchett. He is afraid that someone is going to kill him and goes to Poirot for help. Sadly, the next day Ratchett’s worst fears become reality, when he is found dead in his cabin, a victim of multiple stab wounds. With nothing but a scrap of paper to go on, Poirot must piece together Ratchett’s identity before he can find out which of his fellow passengers murdered him.

I will always love crime books and the mystery of figuring out who commit the crime. I think the mystery is enough to keep you hooked. I liked the fact that it is split into parts and it’s not a very big book, it feels like Poirot is sat next to you talking about the case and what his thoughts are. My favourite bits of any mystery book is when the penny finally drops and you know who commit the crime, which in this case happened at the end of the book which slightly annoyed me because I wanted to see if there was going to be any outcome and what was going to happen to the suspect after the case had been solved. I love Poirot, I think he was so level-headed and yet his brain was working a thousand miles a minute that the other detectives couldn’t keep up.

I was hoping for some action and some bad guys getting their ass kicked, but obviously with the setting on this book and everyone being so calm, it wasn’t like there was a need for anyone’s ass to be kicked. This book ended with me having questions regarding the suspects. I would like answers please, I would have liked for there to be multiple POVs with the killers talking and planning so that we knew what they were thinking, I just wanted to be inside their head during the final chapter.

I enjoyed this book and managed to finish it quite quickly. For my first book I read written by Agathe Christie, it has set my expectations pretty high for her next work that I might read.

Content Warnings

Happily Never After by Lynn Painter

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

I wanted to read this book because I love Lynn Painter’s work and when she announced this book, I instantly pre-ordered this book.

This book is based on Sophie Steinbeck and finds out just hours before nuptials that her fiancé has cheated yet again, she desperately wants to call it off. But because her future father-in-law is her dad’s cutthroat boss, she doesn’t want to be the one to do it. Her saviour comes in the form of a professional objector, whose purpose is to show up at weddings and proclaim the words no couple wants to hear at their ceremony: “I object.” During anti-wedding festivities that night, Sophie learns more about Max the Objector’s job. It makes perfect sense to her: he saves people from wasting their lives, from hurting each other. He's a modern-day hero. And Sophie wants in. The two love cynics start working together, going from wedding to wedding, and Sophie’s having more fun than she’s had in ages. She looks forward to every nerve-racking ceremony saving the lovesick souls of their betrothed masses. As Sophie and Max spend more time together, they realize that their physical chemistry is off the charts, leading them to dabble in a hookup session or two, but it’s totally fine, because they definitely do not have feelings for each other. Love doesn’t exist, after all. And then everything changes. A groom-to-be hires Sophie to object, but his fiancée is the woman who broke Max’s heart. As Max wrestles with whether he can be a party to his ex’s getting hurt, Sophie grapples with the sudden realization that she may have fallen hard for her partner in crime.

This book is so fun and adorable and flirty. I love the aspect of professional stopping wedding discreetly without being the one that is breaking the family apart. I feel like I would find the perfect job, I would love to do this job. I love Sophie, I think she is brilliant, and I wanted to hug her throughout the book, she was going through a rough time, trying to get a promotion and having to see her ex-fiancé every day. I love the character development she had and how she went from being a cynic to be all fluffy and in love. Max took a while to grow on me, I think it’s mainly because I was waiting for the red flag to make an appearance. He seemed too perfect for a main character, even in fluffy romances there is usually something wrong with the love interest. I loved his POV and wanted more than him just talking about how much he missed or wanted Sophie. I loved Larry and Rose and what them to have a book together please? They could be doing anything – bickering, on holiday, working. I don’t care, I loved those two.

The third-act conflict wasn’t needed. The miscommunication wasn’t needed. If Max had told Sophie on the phone that Lilabeth was his ex then she would have understood why he didn’t want to be the objector at this one and then moved on, but instead he went behind her back and then was wondering why she was pissed. It was all just very annoying for the last sixty pages.

I will always read anything Lynn Painter writes. I adore her work and I'm hoping to rate one of her books five stars soon, but this was just missing something to make it a five-star read.

Content Warnings

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because it had become a hit all over bookstagram and booktok when it was first released. I am easily influenced. But I decided to wait for the paperback version, which took forever to get here. Sometimes I prefer waiting until the paperback comes out because it gives it time for the hype to die down and it doesn’t cloud your judgement.

This book is based on twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail. She was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant and live a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general – also known as her tough-as-talons mother – has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. But when you’re smaller than everyone else and your body is brittle, death is only a heartbeat away . . . because dragons don’t bond to “fragile” humans. They incinerate them. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter – like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. She'll need every edge her wits can give her just to see the next sunrise. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret. Everyone at Basgiath has an agenda, and every night could be your last. So, sleep with one eye open because once you enter, there are only two ways out: graduate or die.

So I had to re-read certain parts of this book which is why this review took forever. Don’t read a fantasy on holiday whilst drinking tequila sunrise, the words get all blurry and you forget certain key points. I usually judge fantasy with how quickly I understand the book and how quickly I can get into the storyline. I was hooked on to this book from the first page. The way that this writing was done was brilliant, it was the perfect mix of romance, fantasy and found family. There were chapters that reminded me of Divergent especially with the fights and the team building exercises. Besides the fact that there was dragons and sex, it was Divergent and Hunger Games mixed. This book was fast paced and easy to get into. I was trying not to be influenced to get sucked in, but it was hard to. It was so captivating, and the smut was on point. I love Violet and she did remind me of Tris and how she went from this weak child who had to have everyone’s approval and being protected to kicking ass and taking names and standing up for herself. I love Xaden and I love the hot, protective, jealous man. Yet, he knows what he is doing is for Violet’s sake and safety. I just loved him.

Unlike other people, I didn’t find the ending predictable, I nearly threw the damn book at the wall. The way it just ended, and the action beforehand had me screaming. I did find some bits re-done all the time, like the whole picking on the weak girl and the leader bending the rules with stepping in and saving her. The only thing that would have made this book five stars is the dual POV, we got a snippet of it with bonus content, but I would have loved this book to be dual with Xaden’s the whole way through.

I will probably have to wait another year before I read the second book, but I cannot wait for it.

Content Warnings

Curse of the Nine-Tailed Fox by Adelaide Rowan

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

I got this book during one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days and this book sounded interested and I saw that it was an LGBT fantasy book, and I was sold instantly. However, this book was a bit confusing, and it didn’t make sense.

This is based on nineteen-year-old Kuroko, who is an orphaned kitsune and he has survived in the gang-ridden slums of Itazura by stealing. When he steals from Inari Okami, the Goddess of Foxes, her elite warriors thwart and capture him. The Goddess of Foxes curses Kuroko. As punishment for stealing from her, he must venture into the Underwood to reclaim her sacred blades. If he refuses or fails, she will imprison his soul for all eternity. She assigns Hikaru, the arrogant, perfectionist kitsune who captured him to be Kuroko’s guide. Their constant bickering walks a dangerous line between loathing and lust, but Kuroko can’t decide whether to kill the infuriatingly noble, principled male, or kiss him. On the path to regain Inari Okamis sacred swords, Kuroko bathes with a half-naked man, causes a divorce, starts a war and must decide whether his soul is even worth saving.

Something about this book just gave me a headache throughout the book. I think it was the mystery of the name and the fact that he kept referring to himself as it throughout the whole book and everyone else was. The target audience confused me. At times it felt like it was a young adult especially with Kuroko’s thoughts and the way he behaved, but then at times it felt like it was going to be a new adult with the chemistry between Kuroko and Hikaru and that it was going to be a smutty LGBT book. The way that Kuroko describes things was like a 12-year-old trying to describe his day and like he had imaginary friends. I think the worldbuilding could have been done in more detail, it was a very short book, and I was wanting more. I was wanting more from the tails and how this world got to be this way. The way this was written as well, I didn’t end up caring for the romance where if it was written better, I probably would have cared more.

The character that saved this book was Su. He was adorable and the one who saved the day. He was the only character as well that seemed to have a brain and have a plan on how to fix it. I would have loved it to be a multiple POV story with Hikaru to have a few chapters. I liked the aspect of found friendship and I liked the tropes listed, I was just hoping for more.

I was really rooting for the author and for this book, if it was cleaned up grammatically and if the inconsistencies were sorted, it would have been four stars.

Content Warnings

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

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challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

4.0

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. This is the nineteenth book I've read on this list. I thought I was going to struggle with this book being a non-fiction book, but my heart was hurting for this family throughout this book.

This book is the story of the three daughters of China and it’s their family history that spans a century. Jung Chang recounts of three generations of women in her own family, the grandmother given to the warlord as a concubine, the Communist mother and the daughter herself. She reveals the epic history of China’s twentieth century. It is breathtaking in its scope, unforgettable in its descriptions. This story is heartbreaking and empowering.

Usually I struggle with non-fictions book, I find them slow, boring and can never pay attention to what is going on that it feels like a drag. This book is heartbreaking and discusses heavy topics and is brutal with some of the descriptions, it was a book I managed to get through and I think this was due to the writing and how Jung had a way of getting her grandmothers and mother’s story across. It was heartbreaking and throughout the book I just wanted to hug these ladies. Even though I hate this generation, it made me thankful on where I was born.

I wouldn’t say this book had any weaknesses, but I think that the length of the chapters sometimes made it a struggle to finish them and obviously some of the dark subjects, I was cringing a bit. I was glad that we got an ending, even though Jung Chang is still alive and well, so I don’t know if there is another book hopefully with the next generation with her children. But I'm hoping that they have all had a healthy and happy life.

Content Warnings

Tangled up by Sophie Andrews

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emotional funny 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

3.0

I got this book during one of the Stuff Your Kindle Days and this cover and storyline sounded cute, and it looked like it was going to be a fun romance. I was rooting for this to be great, but it had two major problems that I hate in books – pregnancy trope and miscommunication trope.

This book has two points of view. The first is Gemma Turney and she is a walking contradiction. She is short-tempered, foul-mouthed vegan yogi and an environmentalist with a tongue sharp enough to bring a lesser man to his knees. Unfortunately, Jason Mitchell is not one of those men. When they are thrown together for a wedding, she does everything she can to get under his skin. Which works, just not in the way she is hoping. She's a thorn in Jason’s side that he has no interest in removing. So, it’s no surprise that one minute they are nose to nose in an argument, and the next Jason has Gemma pinned against the wall.

This book started off so stronger with the enemies to lovers and the way they both have different lifestyles and didn’t like each other and now they were both the maid and man of honour at the wedding but had to work together. I loved the banter and how Jason ended up winding Gemma up on purpose because he loved pushing her buttons. I liked how the reaction was slow between the fact that they were enemies and then they were lovers, and it wasn’t done instantly from the second they got over the original conflict.

It was all going well until she got knocked up. Why ruin a perfectly good book with a pregnancy and then instead of being adult and having a conversation, they were avoiding each other, faking illnesses, being petty. I just wanted to scream at them both. Like I understand that being pregnant is scary and things but if you loved and trusted your partner then I don’t get why it was hidden.

I’m assuming the other books in the series are to do with the girls that we met in the friendship group which I'm intrigued to read about as they sound fun and cool from the few chapters, we saw with the friends together.

Content Warnings

Breathless by Jennifer Niven

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

I wanted to read this book because I wanted to read more work from authors that I've enjoyed previously. I enjoyed All the Bright Places and I’ve seen this book in bookshops and online that I thought I would give it a go. This book hurt my head and I didn’t really care for the main characters.

This book is based on Claudine Henry, and she wasn’t supposed to be spending her summer on this remote island off the coast of Georgia. She was supposed to be on a road trip with her best friend and spending every minute together before they go to college. But after her father makes a shock announcement, she is exiled with her shaken mother, with no phone service and no one she knows. She is completely cut off. Until she meets Jeremiah who is free spirited, mysterious and beautiful. Their chemistry is immediate and irresistible. They both know that whatever they have can only last the summer, but maybe one summer is enough.

My issue with this book is that nothing happens. Absolutely nothing interesting. It just sort of moves along, there are no twists, no turns. It was very predictable. Coming of age learns her father is a cheater and now she has daddy issues and she hates her mother for ruining her summer, she falls out with her best friend because her mother ruins their summer, she falls in love with the bad boy, they have sex, they fall out, get back together and then they leave to carry on with their lives. I wasn’t shocked or hooked, I was getting bored, and I had a headache from rolling my eyes too much. Claudine was annoying me for like 65% of this book, her thoughts were exhausting, and she was making everything sound like the end of the world. Miah was just shut off and then became too emotional when the flip was switched, I would’ve liked to see more of a slow change. The ending wasn’t the ending, because it felt like it was setting itself for a sequel that hasn’t happened.

Like most people, I liked the island aspect of it and I would have LOVED for this to be a self-growth journey for Claud rather than the fact that she spend 20% complaining about the fact that she was a virgin and wanted to sleep with someone else and then she loses her virginity and all of a sudden she’s not self-conscious or overthinking anything? Bullshit.

I just wanted more from this book, I think my expectations was way too high after All the Bright Places and I don’t know if I will be reading Holding Up the Universe after reading this.

Content Warnings

If He Had Been with Me by Laura Nowlin

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

I wanted to read this book as I had seen it all over the book community and I love books that make me want to cry. This book was emotional but didn’t make me cry, I just spent half of my time rolling my eyes due to teenage pining and the biggest issue is that they were still a virgin and loved their boyfriend.

This book is based on Autumn. Her best friend was Finn and they used to be inseparable. But then something changed. Or they changed. Now, they do their best to ignore each other. Autumn has her boyfriend Jamie, and her close-knit group of friends. And Finn has become that boy at school, the one everyone wants to be around. That still doesn’t stop the way Autumn feels every time she and Finn cross paths, and the growing nagging thought that maybe things could have been different. Maybe they should be together. But come August, things will change forever. And as time passes, Autumn will be forced to confront how else life might have been different if they had never parted ways. This book is a contemporary young adult book.

Even though I rated it four stars, it was the final ten chapters that made me rate the book four stars. Yes, the ending was sad, and it was all heartbreaking and melancholy, and it was the ending no one wanted but we knew it was coming from the first page. Autumn ended up growing on me and by the end I really felt for her, and I wanted to give her a hug. But I wanted to hug their mums more. I would have loved this to be multiple POV with Finn and their mums. Their mums went through a whole lot of shit and yes it affected Autumn and Finn, but I just felt for them especially with the ending.

However, even though I was sad about the ending and the events of this book, it took a mountain to get to that point. All of the middle bit was a bit forgettable, to the point where I'm probably not going to remember it in a week. I was rolling my eyes through all the petty high school drama that wasn’t needed and yes Autumn took a while to grow on me, but she annoyed the crap out of me at the beginning with the whole tiara thing and the way the writing was about the seasonal depression just sort of rubbed me the wrong way. I usually love the deception of mental health in books, but this was just needed a bit of work.

Overall, even though it was a mission to finish, I enjoyed it. I’ve seen that there is a second book in the series, and I don’t know how it’s going to go, but we will find out.

Content Warnings

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I wanted to read more work from authors that I've enjoyed previously. I enjoyed the Me Before You series and cried my eyes out and wanted to read more of her work. This book kept popping up on my TBR and on my amazon recommended. This is one of the first historical fiction I've read, and it was an interesting read.

This book is based on Alice Wright in England 1930s, and she is restless and stifled and decides to make an impulsive decision to marry wealthy American Bennett Van Cleve and leave her home and family behind. But in Baileyville, Kentucky, her husband favours work over his wife and is dominated by his overbearing father and Alice is not getting the adventure or the escape she was looking for. That is until she meets Margery O’Hare, a troublesome woman and a daughter of a notorious felon that the town wishes to forget. Margery’s on a mission to spread the wonder of books and reading to the poor and lost and she needs Alice’s help. Trekking alone under the big open skies, through wild mountain forests, Alice, Magery and their fellow sisters of the trail discover freedom, friendship and a life to call their own. But when Baileyville turns against them, will their belief in one another and the power of books be enough to save them?

This book is so different from the other books of Jojo’s I've read, and it was so refreshing. I loved Alice and I just wanted to hug her so much, she was going through it during this book and all she wanted to do was live her life. I loved the found family aspect in this book especially the womanhood that grew between the ladies of the Book Club. Each of these women had their own stories and only strengths and weaknesses and I adored them all and I'm so happy they all stood up for themselves and each other and kick the small-town bullshit. I love Margery, she was like the badass sister that everyone wants and loves. The storyline was brilliant, and it kept you intrigued and hooked. The storyline did have some sadness in especially when the men were involved (rolling my eyes at the Van Cleve men). After the issues with Alice, I was more interested in the murder mystery aspect.

This was the first historical standalone fiction I read and the only other historical fiction I've read is the Bridgerton series and those two books were completely different. Once you got through maybe 25% of the book, you end up focusing on the characters and their stories rather than the things of like horse and carriage and letters and women cannot be in men’s club.

I cannot wait to read more of Jojo’s work especially her historical fictions.

Content Warnings

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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? No

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I wanted to read more work from authors that I've enjoyed previously. I love the Dumplin series by Julie Murphy and when I saw this book, I immediately added it to my TBR. However, this book was on my TBR for way too long before I read this. I enjoyed this book; I just wanted it to be longer.

This book is based on Cindy, she has just graduated with a degree in shoe design and trying to get her feet on the ground. In the meantime, she is working for her stepmother who happens to be the executive producer of America’s favourite reality show, Before Midnight. When a spot on the show needs filling ASAP, Cindy volunteers, hoping it might help jump-start her fashion career, or at least give her something to do while her peers land jobs in the world of high fashion. Turns out being the only plus size woman on a reality dating competition makes a splash, and soon Cindy becomes a body positivity icon for women everywhere. What she didn’t expect? That she may find inspiration and love in the process. Ultimately, Cindy learns that if the shoe doesn’t fit, maybe it’s time to design your own.

I really enjoyed this book mainly because I was able to relate to it. Self-confidence is still a massive issue of mine and I have been working on it. Seeing someone like Cindy being able to be on a reality TV show and not have the public rip her to part (because if it was based in the UK, she would have been). I loved her journey and how she was standing up for herself and that she is this badass who chooses to decide on her future. I liked that the stepmother and the stepsisters weren’t evil unlike the original story of Cinderella, it was so refreshing to see that her adopted family cared about her and didn’t see her as a burden.

Even though it was based on a reality TV show, I hate reality TV and the whole challenges and petty girls and challenges were slightly annoying. I would have loved this book to have been more in-depth especially with the ending, we don’t get a happy ending expect for Cindy and Henry reuniting. I wanted them to go on dates as themselves without the reality TV aspect.

I’ve seen that this is a series with different authors, and I cannot wait to carry on with the re-telling and hopefully, the books are longer.

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beckyyreadss's reviews 574 reviews

beckyyreadss's reviews
574 reviews