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bottomofthebookshelf's reviews
236 reviews
City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
4.0
I really enjoyed this one! I binged most of it in a day because I just couldn’t put it down. It kept me guessing as to what would happen next and everything came together nicely in the end. That cliffhanger ending also got me stoked for the next book. The only reason I didn’t rate this 5 stars is I really don’t like the Clary and Jace plot line. They have problems every single book and I’m freaking tired of it. They aren’t my favourite couple by any means, but it’s exhausting for them to always have something keeping them apart.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
5.0
What a beautiful book this was! It’s the perfect mix of coming of age tale and mystery that’s told through two timelines. I fell in love with Kya from the very beginning and only wanted the best for her throughout the book. The story made me laugh, cry, and gasp as I read through it and it’s found a forever home in my heart. I just found the characters and story to be so well done. The mystery of the story also really grabbed me and intrigued me all the way through and kept me guessing until I got to the end. On top of all that, the writing style is beautifully poetic. The way nature is described in this book is nothing like I’ve read elsewhere; it really felt like a love letter to the natural world.
Overall, I couldn’t recommend this book enough. It’s a beautifully told story of loneliness, prejudice, and love that really tugs at the heartstrings. It 100% lived up to the hype for me.
Favourite characters: Kya & Jumpin
Favourite quote: “I wadn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.”
Overall, I couldn’t recommend this book enough. It’s a beautifully told story of loneliness, prejudice, and love that really tugs at the heartstrings. It 100% lived up to the hype for me.
Favourite characters: Kya & Jumpin
Favourite quote: “I wadn’t aware that words could hold so much. I didn’t know a sentence could be so full.”
The Shop Before Life by Neil Hughes
4.0
*Thank you to Book Sirens and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review*
This book was a refreshingly unique read for me! The way everything was explained in this pre-life was believable and I could really picture every scene. I found myself engaged in this beautiful world and all of the things that go wrong at The Shop Before Life. Beautiful at certain times, and witty at other times; this book is truly a gem.
I’m only rating this book 4 starts, however, because I couldn’t stand the protagonist Faythe for the better part of the story. Her decisions frustrated me and I had a hard time feeling for her character until closer to the end of the book.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique read about fate, humanity, and the power of belief.
This book was a refreshingly unique read for me! The way everything was explained in this pre-life was believable and I could really picture every scene. I found myself engaged in this beautiful world and all of the things that go wrong at The Shop Before Life. Beautiful at certain times, and witty at other times; this book is truly a gem.
I’m only rating this book 4 starts, however, because I couldn’t stand the protagonist Faythe for the better part of the story. Her decisions frustrated me and I had a hard time feeling for her character until closer to the end of the book.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a unique read about fate, humanity, and the power of belief.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
3.0
I feel pretty meh about this one. The second half was somewhat enjoyable to read, but I disliked the first half of this book. The characters didn’t really interest me and I found the story to be quite boring at first. I also found some of the dialog to be super cringey. The second half held my attention a bit more as the plot unraveled and got me to shed at least one tear, but even then I found it to be somewhat predictable. Overall, I expected more from this one.
Disneyland Hostage by Eric Wilson
2.0
This was an odd book, not gonna lie. I got it because I was interested in reading a mystery set in Disneyland, but this wasn’t for me. It’s listed as a children’s mystery but some of the themes are pretty mature such as fire arms, terrorism, and execution. So it reads like a middle grade level book, but with added violence. I also didn’t like the main character and didn’t really get a sense of how old she was. One scene she’s saying she can’t wait to tell her friends she met the real Goofy (just a cast member in a costume), then the next her aunt is telling her to go explore Disneyland by herself. Is she 7 or is she a teenager?? Another big issue I had is that more than half of the characters just randomly because friends with the main character and her aunt, then stuck around the whole story. An example of this is the man they meet on the airplane to L.A. and then proceed to spend their entire vacation with, even when he’s sketchy af. The interactions between characters just didn’t feel natural and I found myself laughing at some of the silly phrases in this book, ex: “There’s no way I can win an argument with her, so I just sat back and listened to my sweat splash from my forehead.” lol wut. The only positive thing I can say about this book is I enjoyed the Disneyland setting as I’m really into the history of the park. It was cool hearing about the rides/attractions that were still there in the 80’s. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this book to people of any age.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
5.0
How did it take me this long to read this book?! From the first page I was pulled in by J.R.R. Tolkien’s writing style and I didn’t want to stop reading. I felt like I was going along for the adventure right beside Bilbo and company. The descriptions of scenes were amazing, the characters were loveable, and the story gripped me from beginning to end. I can’t wait to read the lotr now!
Curing My Venom by Fatima Munir, A. Rinum
3.0
*Thank you to the author for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
This book is a collection of poems describing the 5 stages of grief. It touches on themes such as self-worth, self-love, and personal growth. I enjoyed reading some poems more than others, as there’s a variety of poetry styles in this book. Some of the poems truly resonated with me. The artwork was also beautiful and I loved looking at the illustrations. For me though this book could have been way shorter. I found it to be a bit repetitive and some messages became redundant after reading them a few times in different poems. I also found some of the poetry to be too dark for my liking, eg: talking of self-harm. Overall, I’d recommend this book to poetry lovers who don’t mind dark topics but this just wasn’t for me.
This book is a collection of poems describing the 5 stages of grief. It touches on themes such as self-worth, self-love, and personal growth. I enjoyed reading some poems more than others, as there’s a variety of poetry styles in this book. Some of the poems truly resonated with me. The artwork was also beautiful and I loved looking at the illustrations. For me though this book could have been way shorter. I found it to be a bit repetitive and some messages became redundant after reading them a few times in different poems. I also found some of the poetry to be too dark for my liking, eg: talking of self-harm. Overall, I’d recommend this book to poetry lovers who don’t mind dark topics but this just wasn’t for me.
The Martian by Andy Weir
5.0
It took me a bit to get into this book because of all the science talk, but once the story really got rolling I loved it! The story bounces between journal entries from Mark who’s stuck on mars and accounts of what’s happening back on earth. I thought each perspective was done well and made this book a page turner. I’m also not usually a science fiction reader, but I found the use of real science made the story more believable. On top of all that, Mark’s journal entries were super fun to read. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading this book. Overall, I’d recommend this to everyone whether you’re a science fiction fan or not!
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
3.0
I started off really liking this book, but as it went on it felt like nothing much was happening. The writing style was easy to digest so it kept me reading, but I just found myself getting bored. I know Austen was probably making fun of the gothic genre by writing about a so called spooky estate, but I wanted some ghosts or something man! I also wasn’t really a fan of any of the characters in this book including the main character. The whole book was about her being naive and I’m not really down for that. For example, she basically accuses this man who kindly invites her to his estate of murdering his wife with zero evidence simply because she let her imagination run wild and has read a few mystery novels. The only part I was slightly invested in was the love story and I felt that that was barely even a part of the book. Overall, this was a short simple read but it didn’t do much for me.