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cozyhosie's reviews
364 reviews
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.5
Oh, Sarah. This was a disappointing finish to my least favorite of her series. Too many ideas packed into an already overstuffed story. There was no central thread to guide the narrative and tire it all together. The end felt as though it was left dangling. I feel as though SJM was trying to live up to the excellence of Throne of Glass and fell short.
Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake
4.5
Iris Kelly has been unlucky in love. Stevie Scott has been too anxious to meet someone new after the end of a six-year relationship. Did I mention she's still friends with her ex... and her ex's new girlfriend? A chance encounter in a bar (that leads to the world's worst one night stand) leads these two women on a journey of discovery unlike anything I've read by another author.
Ashley Herring Blake has a way of writing women in a way that never fails to make me feel deep feelings and make realizations about myself and my own life. I related to Stevie immediately and found pieces of myself in her character so easily. Stevie's struggles with anxiety, while more pronounced than my own, felt so real and grounded to me. As a pair, Stevie and Iris fit so well together that I teared up when they confessed their love for each other. Both Iris and Stevie struggle with their loved ones deciding that they know best what the women need, despite the women's own feelings on the matter. Iris' family and friends continuously tell her she needs to be with someone, that she's not happy. Stevie's best friend Ren and friend/ex-girlfriend Vanessa both have firm ideas of what Stevie should do with her life. While all these opinions clearly come from a place of love, Iris and Stevie both learn that they need to be able to control their own lives, rather than other people making decisions for them.
Out of the three Bright Falls books, Astrid's is still and will always be my favorite. However, Blake's characters have firmly placed themselves in my heart and soul and I cannot wait to read more of her work.
Ashley Herring Blake has a way of writing women in a way that never fails to make me feel deep feelings and make realizations about myself and my own life. I related to Stevie immediately and found pieces of myself in her character so easily. Stevie's struggles with anxiety, while more pronounced than my own, felt so real and grounded to me. As a pair, Stevie and Iris fit so well together that I teared up when they confessed their love for each other.
Out of the three Bright Falls books, Astrid's is still and will always be my favorite. However, Blake's characters have firmly placed themselves in my heart and soul and I cannot wait to read more of her work.
Sister of the Bride by Lauren Morrill
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
In this retake on Father of the Bride, Pippin Marino is not good with change. When her twin sister returns from England with a fiancé and asks Pippin to plan the wedding and then her mom announces she wants to sell the 100 year old family restaurant that Pippin has been running since her father's death, she begins to panic. The only bright spot for Pippin is that her best friend Toby Sullivan is finally moving home to Boston, until one kiss changes everything.
I am a huge fan of the Father of the Bride movies. When I read that this book was a retake on it, I was intrigued. My hopes for the story were high and I was thrilled by the way Lauren Morrill wrote the story. The changes she made to the story both updated it and helped it feel restored. The homages she included to her source material were just enough for fans of the movies to notice, but not too much that it would take away from the story. My personal favorite was that Pippin's sister, Polly, was engaged to a woman named Mackenzie Bryan instead of a man named Bryan Mackenzie.
As a rom-com story, I loved the way Morrill took familiar and well-loved tropes and made them feel fresh again. Pippin and Toby are very clearly a friends-to-lovers relationship, but Morrill made their friendship feel so grounded in reality that when Pippin realized she was in love with Toby, it didn't feel forced. It felt like a completely natural change to their relationship. Morrill took an opportunity to use a miscommunication trope (which I absolutely hate) and made it into a way to show Pippin's character development instead.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the retake on Father of the Bride and I really loved the way Morrill took these characters and made them feel so real. I'm looking forward to finding more of her work to read.
I am a huge fan of the Father of the Bride movies. When I read that this book was a retake on it, I was intrigued. My hopes for the story were high and I was thrilled by the way Lauren Morrill wrote the story. The changes she made to the story both updated it and helped it feel restored. The homages she included to her source material were just enough for fans of the movies to notice, but not too much that it would take away from the story. My personal favorite was that Pippin's sister, Polly, was engaged to a woman named Mackenzie Bryan instead of a man named Bryan Mackenzie.
As a rom-com story, I loved the way Morrill took familiar and well-loved tropes and made them feel fresh again. Pippin and Toby are very clearly a friends-to-lovers relationship, but Morrill made their friendship feel so grounded in reality that when Pippin realized she was in love with Toby, it didn't feel forced. It felt like a completely natural change to their relationship. Morrill took an opportunity to use a miscommunication trope (which I absolutely hate) and made it into a way to show Pippin's character development instead.
Overall, I loved this book. I loved the retake on Father of the Bride and I really loved the way Morrill took these characters and made them feel so real. I'm looking forward to finding more of her work to read.
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
I had the ending spoiled by accident and lost interest in finishing the story.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
5.0
After having read all of Sager's books, I can confidently say this is one of the best. I was making predictions throughout reading and, while some of them were kind of correct, I didn't guess the full extent of the story and loved every minute of this wild ride.