bnelson13's reviews
450 reviews

The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.0

A great story. The plot was really there and it was so interesting, the relationships between Sara and Maryam, Maryam and Ali, Maryam and Edward, Maryam and he father. So interesting to get this glimpse into another culture and way of life. A sad and intriguing story. I found it hard to concentrate on reading it, but it was a story worth reading for sure.

Ice Planet Holiday by Ruby Dixon

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

Loved this cute quick novella of one of my favourite series! The human girls have started having their kits, there is a resonance, and the Sa-khui's first holiday. We get to revisit Vektal and Georgie, and explore a new relationship between Claire and Everen. It will be interesting to see what Ruby will make of Bek's character later on in the series, if anything at all. Overall, a great read!

This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay

challenging emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

5.0

Another book, that if I could give it more than 5 stars I would! Mostly funny, slightly gross, this book is comprised of diary enteries from Dr. Adam Kay's time in Obgyn in various hospitals throughout the UK working for the NHS from 2004-2010. Certain terminology that may be lesser known is described in helpful footnotes throughout the entire book. 

Kay writes how difficult it is working in a system that doesn't quite support doctors, midwives, nurses and other hospital staff, and the impacts on their personal lives that also suffer. Kay has since left the healthcare industry but wrote this novel in solidarity, as an insight into hospital life for the general population after the government started to attack the NHS and saying that doctors are only in it for the money in 2016. 

A very insightful read, if you thought working in a hospital was already difficult, it's actually 10x worse than what you had thought. As it is, now in 2023, and with Covid still running rampant, it's clear that a lot of healthcare systems are crumbling due to lack of staffing, lack of care for staff, and governments out to make as many monetary cutbacks as they possibly can. I think we're on a slippery slope with the healthcare system now, and this book is proof that things need to change. Very eye opening. Well worth the read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content

Moderate: Child death, Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy

Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Grief, Alcohol

Marmee by Sarah Miller

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm not crying, you're crying!! If I could give this book 100 stars I would! Everything that I love about Little Women is right here in this very book, but told in a completely different way. Marmee is a collection of Mrs. March's diary entries, telling the tales, not only of her daughters, like in Little Women, but also her own experiences with the same tales, and outside of them as well. Marmee shares

the losses of her children that she could not carry to term, the loss of her son born stillborn,

how Hannah came to work for her and Mr. March, and probably the most often wondered at, the misfortune of her family that led them to being poor mid-upper class. Marmee has long been the standard of perfection for her daughters to strive for, but within the pages of her diaries, we come to know the woman who is both good and flawed, and we love her just the same.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days by K.M. Jackson

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would! It was adorable. I loved Lu and her hunt to marry Keanu. I loved True and his unfailing support for her. Dawn was fabulously fun, and Morphie adorable. This book was such a fun read, and there were many parts where I was freaking out/laughing out loud. It was absolutely delightful! Such a great read!

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

challenging funny informative lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

Wow! What an amazing book! I read this book for a book club and I cannot wait to discuss it! The whole way through I rooted for Emira to get through the incident at the grocery store, to figure things out with Kelley, to have a better relationship with Alix. I was hoping she would find a better job that she loved (and that paid more!), and that she would get to stay with Briar. Emira was a fascinating character and I was really intrigued by her story.

Alix- Alix was something else. I started out really rooting for her too, but then as the story progressed I was just more and more dumbfounded by the things that she was doing and saying. This character was a roller-coaster.

Totally an amazing book, easy to read. It deals with the racism that People of Colour deal with on a regular basis, and what experiences and upbringing does to shape a person. I'll be thinking about and recommending this book for months to come, I'm sure.

Galatea by Madeline Miller

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad fast-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

5.0

Cute short story. The character of Galatea is interesting. It's not a Greek myth that I am familiar with, so it's nice to read a "new" (new to me) one.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense 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

Wow! What a plot twist at the ending! Throughout the whole book, I never would have thought that that would happen! This was a fantastic story, very intriguing. I loved Audrey Rose, she was a fantastic heroine, and Thomas Creswell was delightful as well. I loved his sense of humor and his arrogance was amusing. They make for an interesting pair. Can't wait to read the rest of the books in this series.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe by Jenny Bayliss

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad 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? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed Meet Me Under the Mistletoe. Nory was a fun main character and I found that I could really relate to her. Her family and friends were equally charming. The plot was enjoyable, had parts that I knew were coming and other parts that took me by surprise. It would have been nice to have a content warning about Tristan and his off the page suicide so I could have been better prepared or maybe have saved the book for a different time to read, but overall it was a great book.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol

Dearly by Margaret Atwood

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

A great collection of poems by one of my favourite authors. These poems touch on nature, climate change, life, love, and death.