clare26's reviews
94 reviews

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

A beautiful book that reflects on how we live our lives, how we measure our happiness, and how we all change over time. Each of the characters was fleshed out really well, and I loved spending time with each of them -- reading their stories learning about and from them. This book has lessons I will keep with me forever, and it's one I'd gladly come back to as I reach different milestones and stages in my life.

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

A book about people - about life and confusion and the ways that we change and never really know what's coming next, and how that's as exciting as it is terrifying. The wedding setting was a perfect backdrop and metaphor for all of this, highlighting what it means to "return" to our life (or move forward with how it's changed). I loved each character in this book and learning about their personalities and their thoughts and their stories. This book was beautiful and I'm happy to have read it before the year ends.

Content Warnings

Para Kay B (o kung paano dinevastate ng pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa atin) by Ricky Lee

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emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Simultaneously one of the funniest and one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Love Ricky Lee's writing styles and how he talks about love, heartbreak, stories, and writing -- and how all of these interact/intersect -- in this book! I also enjoyed reading the different stories and seeing how they overlapped or interacted and how they came together in the end.

Content Warnings

Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I don't often read historical fiction but I really enjoyed reading this one. I think it handled the weight of it's topics/contents really well. I personally liked having an entire cast of characters and reading about all of them at different times and seeing how their stories interacted with one another, especially with all of this happening at such a crucial time in history. I have some nitpicky thoughts about pacing, but I loved this book overall!

Content Warnings

Couplets: A Love Story by Maggie Millner

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emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

I'm rating this a 3.5 for now, but I'd love to reread this when I have a bit more experience with poetry and couplet formats! I do like how Miller takes the reader on the journey of love and change ans self discovery - the format is just new to me.

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

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challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

5.0

This book was beautifully candid, vulnerable, emotional, and hopeful. It would be difficult to balance all these (along with the sensitivity of the topics discussed in this nook), but Mellors manages to do so with such grace. Each of the sisters had disntict personalities and lives and opinions, yet all of these were still woven together to create such a cohesive and dynamic story. I truly appreciated how heavier themes and topics were tackled in this book with such care and rawness. This is one of those books I wish I could read for the first time again.

Content Warnings