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booktalkwithrae's reviews
810 reviews
Hate by Tate James
dark
funny
fast-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? No
3.0
This was a fun read. I didn’t particularly love it. I think a lot of that stemmed from the main character. As the story went along, she got more annoying. She consistently said “I hate them” and in the same breath drool for them. I would have liked for the hate to build up more before anything shifted. I also found it annoying when the guys called her Madison Kate instead of just Madison or MK.
The plot was okay and the dialogue was good. The smut scenes were very enjoyable. I’ll probably read the second one at some point.
The plot was okay and the dialogue was good. The smut scenes were very enjoyable. I’ll probably read the second one at some point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, and Blood
Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.0
Wow, I finished this book in a day and it was such an easy read yet so insightful, thought-provoking, reflecting, and really makes you question a lot about yourself and society.
The main character, Nigeria Jones, is struggling to find herself as she lives in a world where her father is dead set on de mantling, white supremacist nation, and creating a black nation. She is homeschooled, doesn’t have a lot of experience outside of her small community and when she’s given the opportunity to expand her horizon, she is met with multiple blockades.
There were so many times I wanted to highlight paragraph in this story. I really think this book needs to be in a lot of high schools as it really questions a lot what is wrong, what is right and what can we do as a society moving forward. There were a lot of interesting nuances and situations that the character faced that were difficult to navigate through.
All the characters were complex and interesting. There were a lot of informative thoughts and questions. My only gripe was towards the end of the book. Some of the things felt repetitive.
If you are a fan of The Hate U Give it Mondays Not Coming then this should be your next read!
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The main character, Nigeria Jones, is struggling to find herself as she lives in a world where her father is dead set on de mantling, white supremacist nation, and creating a black nation. She is homeschooled, doesn’t have a lot of experience outside of her small community and when she’s given the opportunity to expand her horizon, she is met with multiple blockades.
There were so many times I wanted to highlight paragraph in this story. I really think this book needs to be in a lot of high schools as it really questions a lot what is wrong, what is right and what can we do as a society moving forward. There were a lot of interesting nuances and situations that the character faced that were difficult to navigate through.
All the characters were complex and interesting. There were a lot of informative thoughts and questions. My only gripe was towards the end of the book. Some of the things felt repetitive.
If you are a fan of The Hate U Give it Mondays Not Coming then this should be your next read!
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, and Racial slurs
Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Gun violence, Sexual content, Grief, and Homophobia
Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
2.0
This was a disappointing read for me. I was so excited for a romance set abroad featuring a man in a kilt. And although it had all those elements, it fell extremely flat for me.
I had no connection to the characters at all. The male lead was intriguing to a certain extent because he’s a man in a kilt, other than that it wasn’t entertaining. Their romance felt bland the meat cute was fine, but it didn’t really feel like enemies to lovers and the romance just didn’t hit me in the feels.
Not to mention, the main character kept referring to her parents by their first name. Which really threw me off especially because she clearly had a very deep connection to her mother. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t like it.
If I did not receive an ARC of this book, I probably would’ve DNF it.
Also, just a note on the audiobook because I did listen to parts of the story. The male narrator did a phenomenal job, the female was OK. I felt like her Scottish accents were not well done.
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I had no connection to the characters at all. The male lead was intriguing to a certain extent because he’s a man in a kilt, other than that it wasn’t entertaining. Their romance felt bland the meat cute was fine, but it didn’t really feel like enemies to lovers and the romance just didn’t hit me in the feels.
Not to mention, the main character kept referring to her parents by their first name. Which really threw me off especially because she clearly had a very deep connection to her mother. Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t like it.
If I did not receive an ARC of this book, I probably would’ve DNF it.
Also, just a note on the audiobook because I did listen to parts of the story. The male narrator did a phenomenal job, the female was OK. I felt like her Scottish accents were not well done.
Thank you to Harper Collins Canada for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I watched the show before I read these books which I personally think affect my enjoyment of this book. The book started off really strong with that classic historical romance/Regency feel. Really enjoyed the set up and the characters were a little odd and funny. But as the book went on, it was just very dry and boring. I didn’t feel like there was a real built-up between the two main characters and I wanted a lot more from them.
Overall, this was just an average read for me. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but I didn’t love it and it’s gonna be very forgetful. It really made me appreciate the liberties of the TV show took and the changes that they made. When I’m feeling up to it, I’ll definitely read the other ones because I’m very curious and I’ve heard the other ones are a lot better.
Overall, this was just an average read for me. It wasn’t necessarily bad, but I didn’t love it and it’s gonna be very forgetful. It really made me appreciate the liberties of the TV show took and the changes that they made. When I’m feeling up to it, I’ll definitely read the other ones because I’m very curious and I’ve heard the other ones are a lot better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Violence
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
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
4.0
I don’t know how R. F. Kuang writes so beautifullya and crafts very easy reads that give you such complex feelings, thoughts, and questions.
I am always thinking and reflecting upon myself as a human as well as the questions of our society and what is right and what is wrong. Her characters feel so absolutely real and sometimes you can see yourself in the darkest parts of the character, which makes you reflect and think upon yourself as a human in society. Could you ever do that? have you ever had that thought or dark feeling in your conscious self?
As always, the ending left me completely unsatisfied, and yet it is so well crafted and so well done that I don’t know what kind of ending would have made me satisfied. And that’s R. F. Kuang for you… because there is no good ending with her characters that she creates.
I am always thinking and reflecting upon myself as a human as well as the questions of our society and what is right and what is wrong. Her characters feel so absolutely real and sometimes you can see yourself in the darkest parts of the character, which makes you reflect and think upon yourself as a human in society. Could you ever do that? have you ever had that thought or dark feeling in your conscious self?
As always, the ending left me completely unsatisfied, and yet it is so well crafted and so well done that I don’t know what kind of ending would have made me satisfied. And that’s R. F. Kuang for you… because there is no good ending with her characters that she creates.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli
adventurous
mysterious
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? No
3.0
This is one of my favourite authors and for reason. However, this one was not for me. The characters and world building was interesting. The writing was lush and beautiful as always. But I felt like some of the magic system and some parts of the world building Were a little confusing for me and a hard grass. Which infected my enjoyment of the book overall because I could not understand certain motivations of characters.
This is an urban fantasy story with paranormal creatures. Humans have to provide tithes to the creatures in the forest in order to be left alone. When the main characters grandfather is taken, she is determined to get him back. With the help of an old friend, new friend and dark boy who seems familiar, they work together to release her grandfather.
The romance in this book was good, but it was not as exciting as I hoped it would be. The reveal at the end seemed quite obvious and by that point in the story, I was uninterested. I like how the plot ended and it was a well-rounded story but some parts felt inconsistent.
It’s really hard to put my finger on what exactly I didn’t love about the book because there were so many things that were interesting and well written. But as a whole, it just feels like it’s going to be a forgettable story for me.
I think there are many people who would love this story. there is magic, fantasy, mythical creatures, family, romance, and adventure. It’s also an urban fantasy story that is not a series, which is rare. No commitment needed!
This is an urban fantasy story with paranormal creatures. Humans have to provide tithes to the creatures in the forest in order to be left alone. When the main characters grandfather is taken, she is determined to get him back. With the help of an old friend, new friend and dark boy who seems familiar, they work together to release her grandfather.
The romance in this book was good, but it was not as exciting as I hoped it would be. The reveal at the end seemed quite obvious and by that point in the story, I was uninterested. I like how the plot ended and it was a well-rounded story but some parts felt inconsistent.
It’s really hard to put my finger on what exactly I didn’t love about the book because there were so many things that were interesting and well written. But as a whole, it just feels like it’s going to be a forgettable story for me.
I think there are many people who would love this story. there is magic, fantasy, mythical creatures, family, romance, and adventure. It’s also an urban fantasy story that is not a series, which is rare. No commitment needed!
The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
funny
lighthearted
medium-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
3.0
This is my first time reading a book by this author, and I have heard that this author is repetitive… But boy I did not expect it to be that repetitive.
The amount of times that this main character talked about her family, but always said the same thing… it got annoying. Which is unfortunate because the point of the strained family dynamic helps create an understanding of the character and her history, but in the end every time she brought up her family I was frustrated. Not to mention the main characters dialogue also felt extremely repetitive and overall made the book way too long. It got to point where when the couple finally got together, there was no satisfaction.
The main character herself is also very infuriating. Being in her head throughout the whole story, just became frustrating with the repetitiveness. Her constant thought process was in never-ending loop and I just wanted to yell at her to move on. Everyone in her life was a problem, she complained about everything, and she became a very unlikeable character because of it. Thus, making it very hard to enjoy the romance.
The romance was not as swoon worthy as I would’ve expected, especially for how long it is. It’s strange because I feel like the book needs to be severely shortened however, I would love to have seen more of a buildup of characters romance. The storyline was definitely there. It was not executed well. I wonder if this book was duo perspective if the relationship growth would have translated better.
The audiobook was so well done. If you do want to try this book out, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook because it was so good.
The amount of times that this main character talked about her family, but always said the same thing… it got annoying. Which is unfortunate because the point of the strained family dynamic helps create an understanding of the character and her history, but in the end every time she brought up her family I was frustrated. Not to mention the main characters dialogue also felt extremely repetitive and overall made the book way too long. It got to point where when the couple finally got together, there was no satisfaction.
The main character herself is also very infuriating. Being in her head throughout the whole story, just became frustrating with the repetitiveness. Her constant thought process was in never-ending loop and I just wanted to yell at her to move on. Everyone in her life was a problem, she complained about everything, and she became a very unlikeable character because of it. Thus, making it very hard to enjoy the romance.
The romance was not as swoon worthy as I would’ve expected, especially for how long it is. It’s strange because I feel like the book needs to be severely shortened however, I would love to have seen more of a buildup of characters romance. The storyline was definitely there. It was not executed well. I wonder if this book was duo perspective if the relationship growth would have translated better.
The audiobook was so well done. If you do want to try this book out, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook because it was so good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Violence
Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
dark
tense
fast-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? No
3.5
Holy shit, that book was strangely addicting. I’m sure if you’re reading this review, you are looking into whether this book is worth reading, worth the hype, and there is no easy answer to that.
First off, please, please please please make sure you read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book. I went into this book, knowing that it was going to be one of the darkest books I’ve ever read and it definitely was that. However, I weirdly expected it to be darker and more f***ed up.
I honestly don’t know how to review this book because I weirdly enjoyed it, but there’s also not a lot of substance to this book. I will say one of my favourite parts of this story was solving the mystery of the grandmother’s death. I think having that extra layer in the story, made it more than just a smutty read.
The characters individually are interesting. Some of it seems very unbelievable but in the end, I still enjoyed it. I don’t know why or how this book is just so addicting. But I read it in 24 hours.
It’s something different and not typically something I would read so if you’re looking for something to shake up your reading experience because you’re tired of reading the same thing over and over again then this might be Something for you to try.
First off, please, please please please make sure you read the trigger warnings at the beginning of this book. I went into this book, knowing that it was going to be one of the darkest books I’ve ever read and it definitely was that. However, I weirdly expected it to be darker and more f***ed up.
I honestly don’t know how to review this book because I weirdly enjoyed it, but there’s also not a lot of substance to this book. I will say one of my favourite parts of this story was solving the mystery of the grandmother’s death. I think having that extra layer in the story, made it more than just a smutty read.
The characters individually are interesting. Some of it seems very unbelievable but in the end, I still enjoyed it. I don’t know why or how this book is just so addicting. But I read it in 24 hours.
It’s something different and not typically something I would read so if you’re looking for something to shake up your reading experience because you’re tired of reading the same thing over and over again then this might be Something for you to try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Stalking, Blood, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Trafficking
Moderate: Child abuse and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder
The Endless War by Danielle L. Jensen
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? No
3.5
This book is not bad by any means. This is one of my favourite authors and I absolutely absolutely love this fantasy series. However, this book for me was a little bit of a roller coaster. There were some really high moments that I was enthralled I couldn’t put it down. It was so exciting and enjoyable and then there were some low points where I was just bored out of my mind and I did not care what was happening.
I feel like this book you need to be a little shorter, especially in the beginning. The character growth in this book was a little lackluster. some character growth? But for some reason, it fell a little flat for me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what in the story made me feel that way, it just did.
The romance was good, but it didn’t excite me like the other books did. I felt like the characters for gave each other and madly back in love way too quickly. I would’ve liked a little more challenge and build up to the initial moment when they choose each other.
The politics felt a little rushed in this book. There were some new elements that were brought into the story that forced the story to rush a bit. I really appreciated learning a lot of the background things that happened politically which occurred in the past. But overall, it just felt a little rushed.
The ending was very enjoyable and satisfying. I really did enjoy this book. I just went into it with very high expectations and it didn’t quite meet it for me. I am very excited for the next two books I think Ahna is going to be a very interesting character to follow and it is going to be really exciting to be in a brand new kingdom.
I feel like this book you need to be a little shorter, especially in the beginning. The character growth in this book was a little lackluster. some character growth? But for some reason, it fell a little flat for me. I can’t pinpoint exactly what in the story made me feel that way, it just did.
The romance was good, but it didn’t excite me like the other books did. I felt like the characters for gave each other and madly back in love way too quickly. I would’ve liked a little more challenge and build up to the initial moment when they choose each other.
The politics felt a little rushed in this book. There were some new elements that were brought into the story that forced the story to rush a bit. I really appreciated learning a lot of the background things that happened politically which occurred in the past. But overall, it just felt a little rushed.
The ending was very enjoyable and satisfying. I really did enjoy this book. I just went into it with very high expectations and it didn’t quite meet it for me. I am very excited for the next two books I think Ahna is going to be a very interesting character to follow and it is going to be really exciting to be in a brand new kingdom.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
ASAP by Axie Oh
funny
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
3.0
I loved loved loved Axie Oh’s debut book XOXO. So you can imagine my excitement when this book was coming out following one of my favourite characters from the K-pop group, Nathaniel. In the first book, he just seemed like such a bad boy with an attitude, and someone who likes to break the rules. And yet in this book, I feel like his character completely changed and it was different.
The romance buildup was lacking in this book. This is marketed as a contemporary romance, so I expected there to be a lot of romance. However, this book really focusses on the main character Sori as she tries to find herself and what she wants to do with the rest of her future. Although the character development was enjoyable and watching Sori build a name for herself and discover who she is and what she wants to be, it’s not what I expected going into this book. By the time the romance happened, it was too late for me to enjoy it. My favourite part of any romance is the buildup and that was severely lacking in this book.
I wonder if maybe this was duo perspective it would’ve changed my enjoyment of it. Being in Nathaniel’s head and seeing what he’s thinking and experiencing could’ve added a layer to the romance, that would’ve made it more enjoyable.
Overall, this was a severely disappointing read for me. It wasn’t bad in anyway it’s just not what I expected and it really disappointed me. I’m not sure if the author is planning to continue the series. It seems like from some of the things that happened in the second book. There is a plan that is going to follow another member of the XOXO K-pop group. I will definitely give it a try but I am going in with very low expectations.
The romance buildup was lacking in this book. This is marketed as a contemporary romance, so I expected there to be a lot of romance. However, this book really focusses on the main character Sori as she tries to find herself and what she wants to do with the rest of her future. Although the character development was enjoyable and watching Sori build a name for herself and discover who she is and what she wants to be, it’s not what I expected going into this book. By the time the romance happened, it was too late for me to enjoy it. My favourite part of any romance is the buildup and that was severely lacking in this book.
I wonder if maybe this was duo perspective it would’ve changed my enjoyment of it. Being in Nathaniel’s head and seeing what he’s thinking and experiencing could’ve added a layer to the romance, that would’ve made it more enjoyable.
Overall, this was a severely disappointing read for me. It wasn’t bad in anyway it’s just not what I expected and it really disappointed me. I’m not sure if the author is planning to continue the series. It seems like from some of the things that happened in the second book. There is a plan that is going to follow another member of the XOXO K-pop group. I will definitely give it a try but I am going in with very low expectations.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content