blissofalife's reviews
89 reviews

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

An interesting read! I enjoyed reading it, though each time I put it down I struggled to want to pick it back up. The ending was satisfying, and the non-linear timeline was well done!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Grief, Violence, Classism, and Misogyny

Minor: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, and Sexual content

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

emotional funny sad medium-paced

4.0

Holy smokes. Just. Whoa. Every time I thought I knew where it was going, I was super wrong. I wish her all the best, and I am grateful to her for sharing her story. She was a wonderful author & narrator, with distinct voices and emotions. It feels wrong to say it was an enjoyable listen? But it was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Body shaming, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Vomit, Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Death, Addiction, Bullying, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, and Mental illness

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Stalking

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

A fun, fairytale-esque YA read. If you’re a fan of hidden worlds within ours, magic, and an unlikely romance this is for you!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, and Stalking

Minor: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Child death, Blood, and Grief

The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath

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? Yes

3.5

A fun read! I think I enjoyed the other books in the series more, but I enjoyed getting to know the absent third Hellion. I appreciate that each book was distinctly different. Predictable, but fun, I was not disappointed. Although, towards the end, I would have appreciated literally any other descriptor that wasn’t “slammed “. So many eyes slamming into each other. It’s a wonder they weren’t all blind by the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism, Death, and Grief

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Infidelity

The sexual content is super flowery, but there’s a lot of it. More of the eye-rolling than blushing sort.

Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

A fun listen, I've enjoyed reading the series out of order (2, 1, 3) and feeling like I could understand some characters better for it. I liked Minerva, but her insecurity was a little grating by the end. Also not generally a fan of the "she doesn't know she's beautiful until a man can show her she actually is" plot, but it's to be expected from the genre I suppose. The writing style does get kind of redundant what with the "but he/she would never accept them because of their HORRIBLE SECRET" every other line and then the secret is like...my nose is too big behind this mask. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

A quick, enjoyable listen over a few days of commuting to and from work. I enjoyed trying to connect the story to my (hazy) memory of reading Wuthering Heights, definitely a last minute reveal. I quite liked the ending. For the most part, there was very little plot. They existed. Tabby isn't the most compelling narrator but her naivety never wavers making for a supremely unreliable narrator which I did like. Ultimately a forgettable read, but not a bad way to spend an afternoon. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Death, and Violence

Spare by Prince Harry

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

It felt simultaneously full of emotion and emotionless, burnout personified. Straightforward, no beating around the bush. It feels wrong to say I enjoyed listening to it, to hearing Prince Harry lay his life out for all to see, but it was well done. I would recommend the audiobook for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death of parent, Racism, Miscarriage, Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Car accident, Racial slurs, Stalking, Death, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy

Princess Furball by Charlotte S. Huck, Anita Lobel

lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

My favorite children’s book of all time, the illustrations are gorgeous and the story is sweet.

You're the Only One I've Told: The Stories Behind Abortion by Meera Shah

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted to understand the nuances of abortion and see how it affects everybody.

Very informative, very well written. I didn’t love switching narrators on the audiobook, one was clear and loud the other was soft and fuzzy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Grief, Child death, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Classism, Miscarriage, and Misogyny

Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Infertility, Physical abuse, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Rape, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Toxic relationship

The Cloisters by Katy Hays

dark mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Loved the writing style & the history & art references throughout! I appreciated that it didn’t open with a murder, leaving me wondering who would die and who would do the deed. As a tarot-curious person, it was fun to read more about them and catch references! I’ll have to reread this in a few years when I have a better grasp on tarot, though the author does a superb job of explaining meanings as the story goes.

And the prologue? Damn. Gorgeously written, with a similar feeling to the final pages. Would recommend, I hope Hays writes more books! I would definitely read more.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Sexism and Suicide