coca_reads's reviews
454 reviews

One Last Song by Nathan Evans

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautifully written, and with extremely vivid imagery. The descriptions read like poetry. 

It was also emotionally devastating.

Joan an out, loud, proud, and combative senior is forced to move in to a new elder care facility. He is not received with kindness by most of the current staff or residents. 
Some of this is for the reasons you'd expect about Joan being flamboyant, and loud. For others, it's about personal choice or insecurities. 
For Jim, it's some of both. 

The story of these 2 is wonderful and full of so many messages of living presently, and allowing yourself to grow beyond what or who you think you should be.
It's also about grief and loss and about the fear of growing older without our closest family or friends. 

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

This was a wonderful, cozy, story.

Following Viv, an Orc mercenary, who has decided to put her sword away and start up a small coffee shop in the city of Thune.

Its a story about finding family and perseverance to achieve your dreams. I adored it.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I really love her writing style. 

The characters are usually sarcastic and clever. 

The plot is quick paced and interesting, just tense enough to make you a little uneasy. 

Just a pleasure to read.

The Wolf of the North: Wolf of the North Book 1 by Duncan M. Hamilton

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was fine.

Standard hero's journey, this one in a Viking setting. 

The author is a talented writer, but the story was uninspired. 

It was just meh.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad 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

4.25

This was adorable.

Rafe Goldberg is tired of being seen as "that gay kid". So he moves cross country to a boarding school where no one knows him, where he's hoping to just be seen as "Rafe". 

This goes pretty much how you'd expect it to. 

The book tackles some hefty ideas like, if you're not being honest about yourself to others, do they really even know you, and like you for you? It also dips into the struggle of living life openly. Yes it can be so much more fulfilling, but that doesn't mean it doesn't come with it's own set of challenges. 

The writing was witty, fun, and it was a heartfelt story. I really enjoyed it. 

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Wow, it was a little devastating. 

Following the life of Kathy and her 2 friends Ruth and Tommy, this is a story of trying to realize any dream you can, even when you're dealt a really bad hand. 

These 3 young people know what their fate will be early on in life, and they still try have dreams with what time they're given. 

This questions our society and what makes us human, as well as the cruelty we inflict on each other as a means for survival. 

Absolutely crushing book

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston

adventurous dark 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? Yes

4.0

This was a charming book. 

It follows Amari, a 12 year old, black girl from a poor neighborhood, and her search for her missing brother, Quinton. 
After she's expelled from her school on the last day before summer, she comes in to possession of a briefcase left for her by her brother. What it contains changes her perception of reality and leads her down the path to finding out what happened to Quinton.

This felt like part Harry Potter, part Percy Jackson, and tackled some deep themes of classism and racism. 

Wonderful little read.

Breathless by Amy McCulloch

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

This was a fun little thriller. Not groundbreaking, but fun.

The setting was in the Himalayan mountains on a climbing expedition and it really helped to crank up the tension and feeling of isolation of the story. 

The twists in the story were a bit predictable in the story though. 

Still an enjoyable read in the end. 

From a Buick 8 by Stephen King

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really love the way this author writes. 

His pacing is absolutely perfect for a fun adventure story. 
His dialogue is always clever and funny. 
His ability to weave the threads of very heavy themes, into a much larger, over-arcing story is excellent. 

Now I need to wait for book 3 to get here.