Scan barcode
coralinejones's reviews
374 reviews
The Lake House by Sarah Beth Durst
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Just kind of nothing. Didn't care for any of the characters. Equivalent to a poorly made teen horror; fun to watch, not very fun to read
The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi
2.75
This book is better than the rating I'm giving it. I've been in a reading slump for a bit and, with how entertaining this book is, it just didn't capture my attention. My rating is based off personal enjoyment and now the actual quality of the novel. I don't really remember all that happened, though I had fun with certain parts, and can admit the author's writing style is very nice. This is worth the read for those looking for a detailed fantasy with characters of color. I may return to this again to take in all the details. I would like to read the second installment at some point, too.
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I'll come back to this. Unfortunately in a weird reading slump where I think I need to read something significantly lighter and less-important. Nothing wrong with this book, I'm actually a fan of the premise, but it's not for me right now.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.
I'm sorry, this is so boring. I understand wanting a low-stakes "cozy" read, and for some readers this is certainly that, but nothing happens. There's not enough of anything to really substitute the lack of high action and tension. I personally don't care to read tedious details about making a coffee or cleaning tables, even if it's in a fantasy setting. Personally, the fantasy is also really lackluster. Occasionally we'll read about a D&D style monster with big teeth and a tail, sure, but that's really it.
I'm disappointed.
I'm disappointed.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
4.0
Not my favorite Kristin Hannah, that's for sure, but still written well enough to earn four stars. This will be a memorable read for me this year!
This book didn't make my cry like "The Four Winds" or "The Great Alone" and didn't make me disgusted and uncomfortable like "The Nightingale", so that's the first notable point I'd like to make. I'd also like to preface that I've been anticipating this novel since finding out about it last year and stopped reading everything in my Libby to finish this once it was available to me, so my slight disappointment is justified.
This book suffers from what all Kristin Hannah books suffer from, even the ones I like. They're overwritten and filled with as much trauma porn as possible, that by the end you're just exhausted, maybe even a little annoyed. If something bad could happen to the main character, it will happen, trust. Maybe It's because I've read so many of her books now that this is predictable to me, but I swear, every time something remotely good happens to one of her characters, if I see there's at least 100 pages left, that good thing won't last for long. That's just how she operates. Somehow, this worked for "The Four Winds" and "The Great Alone"; those books had me GRIPPED, totally engrossed and sobbing after 300+ pages of trauma and sadness, but I couldn't connect with this?
I don't typically like war books, but I struggled through for Hannah, since I like her novels so much. Frankie wasn't entirely likeable compared to her other main characters. There were some instances that left a bad taste in my mouth like how certain mentions of protesting was seen as overtly negative, but I think that's just because we were seeing it through naive Frankie's eyes. But still. Meh.
I also rolled my eyes at the romance in this book, whereas in her other books I tend to appreciate how tender and honest romantic relationships were depicted. Just couldn't get over how every man Frankie came in contact with fell in love with her instantly. Like 5 pages in they were head-over-heels in love. Whatever.
I also don't like how Hannah writes black women. It's really not a terrible offense like with some other authors, I do think there's research and respect involved in the process, but it's just a little stereotypical for my liking. Just a tad. (Kendrick Lamar voice) Maybe that's just me, I guess.
Otherwise, she really did it again... If there's one thing Kristin Hannah excels at, it's writing realistic, memorable, historical fiction. It's writing women you want to root for and hope they get a happy ending in the end. It's instilling lessons throughout her pages, teaching her audience something about the time period she's writing in that they may not have known before.
I hope one day Kristin Hannah reels back a bit on piling tragedy on top o tragedy, and focuses on the other points of her books that make them so good.
This book didn't make my cry like "The Four Winds" or "The Great Alone" and didn't make me disgusted and uncomfortable like "The Nightingale", so that's the first notable point I'd like to make. I'd also like to preface that I've been anticipating this novel since finding out about it last year and stopped reading everything in my Libby to finish this once it was available to me, so my slight disappointment is justified.
This book suffers from what all Kristin Hannah books suffer from, even the ones I like. They're overwritten and filled with as much trauma porn as possible, that by the end you're just exhausted, maybe even a little annoyed. If something bad could happen to the main character, it will happen, trust. Maybe It's because I've read so many of her books now that this is predictable to me, but I swear, every time something remotely good happens to one of her characters, if I see there's at least 100 pages left, that good thing won't last for long. That's just how she operates. Somehow, this worked for "The Four Winds" and "The Great Alone"; those books had me GRIPPED, totally engrossed and sobbing after 300+ pages of trauma and sadness, but I couldn't connect with this?
I don't typically like war books, but I struggled through for Hannah, since I like her novels so much. Frankie wasn't entirely likeable compared to her other main characters. There were some instances that left a bad taste in my mouth like how certain mentions of protesting was seen as overtly negative, but I think that's just because we were seeing it through naive Frankie's eyes. But still. Meh.
I also rolled my eyes at the romance in this book, whereas in her other books I tend to appreciate how tender and honest romantic relationships were depicted. Just couldn't get over how every man Frankie came in contact with fell in love with her instantly. Like 5 pages in they were head-over-heels in love. Whatever.
I also don't like how Hannah writes black women. It's really not a terrible offense like with some other authors, I do think there's research and respect involved in the process, but it's just a little stereotypical for my liking. Just a tad. (Kendrick Lamar voice) Maybe that's just me, I guess.
Otherwise, she really did it again... If there's one thing Kristin Hannah excels at, it's writing realistic, memorable, historical fiction. It's writing women you want to root for and hope they get a happy ending in the end. It's instilling lessons throughout her pages, teaching her audience something about the time period she's writing in that they may not have known before.
I hope one day Kristin Hannah reels back a bit on piling tragedy on top o tragedy, and focuses on the other points of her books that make them so good.
A Million to One by Adiba Jaigirdar
3.5
Cute! I don't care about little historical inaccuracies in this specific case so that doesn't influence my rating. However, there was something missing from this entire story that left its remains feeling kind of empty and hollow.
For example, I didn't find any of the dynamics realistic or compelling enough to hold the weight of tragedy.
The entire point of a heist, especially one marketed as Ocean's 8 Titanic style, is the allure of gathering a team and creating a plan; watching as all these corners come together and effectively steal something out of the hands of the rich. It's so tasty when done right. I don't think that ever really came to fruition with these girls?
I think this is cute as a little historical fiction book on the Titanic. Instead of it trying to be multiple things at once I think this would've been stunning as, and I mean this loosely and in a silly manner, a story inspired by Little Women that takes place on the Titanic.
For example, I didn't find any of the dynamics realistic or compelling enough to hold the weight of tragedy.
The entire point of a heist, especially one marketed as Ocean's 8 Titanic style, is the allure of gathering a team and creating a plan; watching as all these corners come together and effectively steal something out of the hands of the rich. It's so tasty when done right. I don't think that ever really came to fruition with these girls?
I think this is cute as a little historical fiction book on the Titanic. Instead of it trying to be multiple things at once I think this would've been stunning as, and I mean this loosely and in a silly manner, a story inspired by Little Women that takes place on the Titanic.
A Good Happy Girl by Marissa Higgins
From Zedohee (Via: StoryGraph)
2.0
I've seen two reviews that fully capture how I feel about this novel. With credit, I've put them below. In my own words, the only thing I liked about this, in the vein of TikTok, was the "spice". Don't think this book's intention was for "erotica" in any capacity, but the sex was the only interesting aspect of this book for me. Everything else please see below:
From Luce (Via: GoodReads)
From Luce (Via: GoodReads)
"it's official, i am feeling a gross-grimey girl fiction fatigue. you know the drill by now: she's messed up, has daddy or mommy issues, doesn't know how to wash, doesn't want to wash, wants to be more or less treated like a dog by her dubious sex partners because of guilt, trauma, ennui, neglect. bodies are abject, bodily fluids abound, our main character thinks about outlandish things because she's just so messed up and weird, and her malaise is all consuming, warping her worldview and self-perception. chuck in some supposedly provocative scenes that are actually there for shock value and ta-da. you have on your hands a Sad Girl book. the author here switches things up by making the mc a lesbian (usually they are in the realms of heterosexuality) and becoming involved with a married couple who in very Mona Awad fashion seem interchangeable. but at the end of the day this dynamic, of a single/lonely woman becoming involved with an older/more affluent couple is uninspired."
From Zedohee (Via: StoryGraph)
"derivative. aims for frank depravity and a sort of warped, earnest grit but it's too manufactured and hyper stylized to convince. instead it comes off more than a little pat like it's the kind of book that people will describe as 'raw' but i don't buy it, not when i can see the strings. in books about emotionally inept, grimey white girls are a dime a dozen and only about 1/4 are actually saying anything of substance. like imma need more than excessive descriptions of sex and bodily fluids to hold my interest."
Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan
2.75
Miserable. Insufferable. Embarrassing. Heinous. Emotionally hideous.
And I'm only just describing our unnamed main character.
And I'm only just describing our unnamed main character.
Poor Deer by Claire Oshetsky
4.5
Beautifully written, magical realism, fairy-tale-like, fever dream of book that touches on guilt and grief, especially through that of a child. Incredibly sad and miserable, however. Please mentally prepare for the various types of abuse between mother and child. There isn't a single likeable adult on these pages and that is not to be understated. I really can't emphasize this enough. I was physically yelling while reading some of these chapters!
Oshetsky's writing is intriguing and very atmospheric. Sooo creative. Don't think I've read a book quite like Poor Deer. This novel feels like sitting alone in a quiet space engulfed in fog and smoke. Just only the faint sense of anxiety as you're unsure just how safe you are, but you can't be in too much danger, right? It's just a little fog.
One of my only critiques is that towards the end I think the narrative got a little lost, it wasn't as strong as some of the beginning chapters, but it's enough to keep you going until the end.
I can't sit here and say I enjoyed the book; not in that typical "I-Need-To-Tell-Everyone-To-Read-This-Now" kind of way; bleak and horrid as it is, I do not enjoy reading about little girls being misunderstood, the minor droplets of ableism here and there, how uncomfortable her mother made me... But goodness is this a read.
Oshetsky's writing is intriguing and very atmospheric. Sooo creative. Don't think I've read a book quite like Poor Deer. This novel feels like sitting alone in a quiet space engulfed in fog and smoke. Just only the faint sense of anxiety as you're unsure just how safe you are, but you can't be in too much danger, right? It's just a little fog.
One of my only critiques is that towards the end I think the narrative got a little lost, it wasn't as strong as some of the beginning chapters, but it's enough to keep you going until the end.
I can't sit here and say I enjoyed the book; not in that typical "I-Need-To-Tell-Everyone-To-Read-This-Now" kind of way; bleak and horrid as it is, I do not enjoy reading about little girls being misunderstood, the minor droplets of ableism here and there, how uncomfortable her mother made me... But goodness is this a read.