bellatilford's reviews
71 reviews

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

this book definitely  kept me engaged. i wanted to keep reading and i found myself getting attached to the characters but some of them were so one dimensional and or obnoxious when they were supposed to be loveable and so it made it lowkey hard to like it as much. the ending was absolutely perfect but like the book was very predictable, but a nice easy read that just gives happy feelings. <also i know she wants us to feel bad for ryle cause his fucking brother died but like even before the abuse he was obnoxious from the start and i don’t like him and will not she did not convince me otherwise>

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

challenging informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

i loved the way the information was presented and it was rlly helpful and engaging. there wasn’t any throwaway info and everything this book taught me will definitely  be utilized within my habit building from now on. this book was a very good use of my time, especially considering i listened via audiobook 

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious 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 definitely had my ups and downs with this book. i loved the characters from the start but didn’t love the main girl august which made it hard to get into, but eventually learned to love her. i had parts where i was tired of the plot dragging on and wished it was more fast-paced but overall the book was great with an interesting plot and i thought the love story was rlly sweet and engaging- despite not being the most realistic at times and kind of having a wattpadd feel. made me want to keep reading and i had a really emotional connection to it. also my first wlw book! 

Love Poems for Anxious People by John Kenney

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

literally so so good so funny and relatable. the last poem was a shock but also beautiful and well-written. everything was rlly rlly well represented and you can tell the author actually lives through the anxiety he writes about 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

rlly beautiful message and an absolutely genius way to convey it 

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

like nothing i have ever read 
rlly strong writing and overall very enticing 
i wasn’t at all hooked at the beginning but read 100 pages at once by the end 
rlly intresting stories and ideas and i found myself very attached to the characters 

The Best of Me by David Sedaris

slow-paced

3.75

Just a series of short stories I was listening to on audiobook on a long trip. Absolutely fantastic but just fell asleep cause I was tired and my stopping points were so random that I don’t want to go back and read more. 


ok so finally went back and finished it via audiobook. this book solidified one thing for me i HATE audiobooks. they really truly ruin stories for me. but looking past that this book was rlly good truly unique funny and scathing but some of the stories were winners for me and some just weren’t it was a shame to have that be the case but at the same time it’s understandable considering how many short stories are included 

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

very powerful and fanatastic writing. not the kind of book i typically read but it makes total sense why maya angelou is so famous for her writing. the stories she chose to point out and the way she made seemingly typical things so engaging is incredible. 

Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

funny hopeful sad 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

3.0

the first book was so good so i had high expectations for this book, but i felt like it completely fell flat. the characters were very one dimensional, the plot lines and dialogue was pretty unrealistic, and i feel like it was written for a very young audience. i love the characters and relationships but that’s the only real thing that kept this book getting three stars. i felt the metaphors and grand poetic statements really just didn’t hit and a lot of the time the points were obvious or juvenile. there were good moments and scenes tho! and i think it had an overall good message

One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

funny inspiring mysterious 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

4.0

• A solid book. Well-written and interesting. I didn’t predict the ending but it also wasn’t rlly a shock. It was more cut and dry than I would’ve hoped, but the book was still pretty engaging and the romance kept it semi intresting. All the ending stuff following the reveal was totally unnecessary though and kind of just emphasized even more heavily what a ya novel this is. great great ya novel. underwhelming novel in general. but it was a good read