bookwormkayla's reviews
228 reviews

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.25

The Historical Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman

informative slow-paced

3.75

Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler

emotional informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

dark sad tense slow-paced

2.25

The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman

informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

Stars in Your Eyes by Kacen Callender

emotional hopeful fast-paced

2.5

💫 RATING:⭐️⭐️

📚  PERFECT FOR:</b> Someone looking for a quick read.

💭THOUGHTS: I’ll start with what I liked.

The pacing was really nice, and I found myself flying through this book. I ending up busy in February and didn’t read for several weeks, which is why it took a minute for me to finish. 

The beginning was actually really nice. I would say the first 1/3 of this book was actually somewhat plausible.

However, in my opinion, during  the last 2/3 of the book really falls apart. The writing gets chunky, the dialogue is unbelievable, and certain storylines have one too many twists to be believable.

Muppets in Moscow: The Unexpected Crazy True Story of Making Sesame Street in Russia by Natasha Lance Rogoff

funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.25

Ascension by Nicholas Binge

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

💫 RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚 PERFECT FOR: Readers with a big imagination, a love for strange twists and turns, and those who enjoyed The Martian by Andy Weir.

💭 THOUGHTS:

Wow.

This is such an impressive work of fiction that I don’t quite know how to adequately describe it without giving too much away. Even if I did spoil it for the sake of this review, Ascension leaves you with so many thought provoking questions that I’m not sure it would be helpful.

What is consciousness? What is love? What is family? What is worth exploring, and at what cost? Morality - is it a faith, or is it intrinsically sewn into our consciousness?

If you enjoyed The Martian by Andy Weir, you will enjoy this book. It is written in a similar format, except the protagonist’s “mission logs” are letters. Both are dangerous expeditions. Both explore loss, teamwork, and what it means to be human. 

I love books that have strange twists and stretch the imagination, and Ascension did both effortlessly.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This was a great read. Filled to the brim with facts, statistics, and notes of women who once reached historic feats only to be lost to history, this book sets out to prove that in our society, men are seen as the “default” human. By the end, I was convinced that this hypothesis is true. 

I listened on Audible, and it was a very enjoyable audiobook.

Love Interest by Clare Gilmore

emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.25

Love Interest is a sweet, fun, fast-paced romance novel.  Alex and Casey are lovely characters. I love the peeks into their past that we get.

I’m a bit iffy when it comes to enemies to lovers books, as the trope can go horribly awry. This was done very well, and didn’t make me feel icky inside (lol).