casey_larsen's reviews
168 reviews

A Proposal They Can't Refuse by Natalie Caña

funny lighthearted 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

4.5

Great, light read. The narrator was fantastic and between her and the author, I laughed out loud quite a bit. More fluff than smut, which is an A+ for me, and though a discussion of mental health may seem out of place in a romcom, Caña blends it in seamlessly. 

I'd recommend for fans of cutesy romances and will definitely be grabbing the next one in the series.

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.0

This book moved very quickly and with short chapters and just enough of an interesting premise, it kept my attention. However, that's where the positives end for me.

There were multiple errors throughout, usually linguistic, that took me out of the story. For instance, it's not the "balls of his hands;" palms or heels of a person's hands, maybe, but the term balls is usually in reference to a person's feet right before the toes begin. The repetitive nature also drove me a bit crazy...we get it, Millie did something bad to land her in jail and the Winchesters don't know what she's capable of; I don't need to be reminded of that every other chapter.

As for the "twists," I'll admit I didn't see every single one coming, but I wasn't necessarily surprised by an of them either...

• Millie being in jail for murder: obviously she committed a violent crime because otherwise she a) wouldn't have been in jail as long as she was and b) wouldn't be so concerned that the Winchesters would find out what she did. 
• Andy being a sadistic asshole: he was sketchy from the jump, and you'd be a fool to trust a man in any thriller
• Nina getting herself out by acting "crazy" when in reality she was perfectly sane: her crazed actions happened throughout the book and became increasingly drastic, the absolute lack of subtlety with this from the author told me from the beginning that her craziness was an act
• Nina hiring Millie to kill Andy: a slight twist I didn't see coming, but definitely not a surprise. I knew Millie had done something violent in her past and I knew Nina was in an abusive relationship, so it wasn't a huge jump.
• The detective sliding everything under the rug regarding Andy's murder because his daughter was Andy's ex-fiancee: Again, not a huge jump because the ex was mentioned a couple of different times, so I knew she'd come into play, I just thought it'd somehow be in relation to Enzo.

I think that's all of the so-called twists, none of which truly blew my mind.

I will not be reading the second one and will likely not be picking up another title from the author, as I'm not a fan of her writing style. I would likely recommend this to someone who isn't a frequent reader, who's looking to get back into reading, or who frequently reads Hoover, and the like, and raves about it.

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

funny lighthearted 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

4.75

Adorable, light read that is a love letter to audiobook nerds everywhere. I did call that

Nick and Brock were the same person from the very beginning, but it was still satisfying when the reveal was finally made.

More fluff than smut, which is always a win in my book. If I'm recalling correctly, I believe there were 2 explicitly spicy scenes. I would read again and would recommend to fans of cutesy romcoms.

I Hate You More by Lucy Gilmore

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

Adorable, light read. I was laughing out loud at Weezy, as I've also had to deal with a very smart dog who has a mind of his own. The story itself was adorable and injecting dogs makes pretty much any book good in my mind. There were only two explicit sex scenes; romance was more the focus, which is always a plus in my mind.

The only thing I'd add that I didn't love is the fact that there's a golden retriever puppy on the front, but none in the book, it should really be a border collie puppy, but other than that: thumbs up.

Project F by Jeanne DuPrau

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious reflective 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? No

4.0

I kept waiting for there to be more "meat," but it is a middle grade book, so I think my usual standards were too high. That said, I think it was great for a middle grade book and a good conversation starter for how climate change affects our world. It's good a good amount of adventure/mystery to keep kids intrigued while also probing them to think about what the world may look like if we continue using fossil fuels like we do.

I definitely want to read her "City of Ember" series after reading this one.

Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay Redfield Jamison

informative slow-paced

2.75

I read this as a textbook for a class. I found it to be dry and likely out of date as the psychiatry is from 30 years ago. I also wished for more than learning about old white men.

That being said, I understand it was likely to be dry, as it's a science-based psych book. I also understand why the author chose to focus on old white men, as the resources and data for more diverse subjects are likely lacking. As for it being out of date, that's on the professor for choosing an old text.

The concept was interesting, but I know I wouldn't have sought it out if it weren't for a class.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn

funny lighthearted 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? No

3.5

Good, light read; perfect for summer. Though I started rewatching the second season and I do like the show a tad more. If I happen upon the third one somewhere inexpensive like I did with this one, I'll probably read it, and that's just because the background premise of "historical fiction" isn't something I'm necessarily jumping at to read, so I'm unlikely to seek out the next one.

Overall, a cute romance and Anthony and Kate had me kicking with their banter. Also, not an offensive amount of sex scenes, which is always a plus in my book. I think the first explicit scene happened like 60% in, which was great for me, but I know others read romance more for steam than romance, in which case, this may not be for them.

Someone We Know by Shari Lapena

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

It was a pretty fast read and overall kept me intrigued, but I guessed who the killer was about halfway through. Other than that, good, and I’d still read another Lapena.

My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

Centered around a Japanese TV show and 2 women tied to it, My Year of Meats was a bit strange to say the least. I feel like maybe if I was more familiar with TV shows in Japan, I would've been more easily able to wrap my head around the television show's concept of selling meat through telling the stories of American families. But I'm really only familiar with American (and some British) TV norms, and I just couldn't grasp this particular fictional TV show. This is another book that I read for a class and likely wouldn't have picked it up myself, nor do I see myself rereading.

On a more positive note, I did like the dual POVs, along with the occasional interjection of the featured TV wives' individual story. I also really liked the strong, very identifiable, character development in both of the main characters and I liked where they both ended up.

Power by Linda Hogan

dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

It had very flowery, literary language that I just couldn't get into. It also felt like it was meant to be read for all this deeper meaning, but I felt like I could never get to the level the author wanted me at. If I didn't have to read it for a class, I likely wouldn't have picked it up myself, and I don't really see myself ever being in the headspace to reread it.

All that being said, I did like learning about a Floridian Native American tribe, since I'm more familiar (though clearly no expert) with midwestern tribes.