daniellelardi's reviews
63 reviews

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

WOW! is this series being made into a show or something?! bc it slayed!!!!!! 

this one def got a little slow for me around the middle but THEN everything started falling into place. 

obsessed with the ending i actually love how avery handled everything and i think it was soooooo brilliant. 

the drama with Blake was annoying  but that final sequence

when avery beat him at his own fucking game!!!!!! i was like yeah that’s what all this drama led to. literally fist pumping on the bus to work

i also love each one of the hawthorne boys SO much!!!!! everything with xander was sooooo sweetie and i loved his ending. 

happy there was

so little skye in this book bc that bitch was pissing me the f off in the last one LMFAO

i’m so excited that this series continues!!!! will def be reading :) 

oh one thing i will say that is slightly critical

the avery and grayson plot was SO OLD like oh my god i was actually getting pissed when avery was expressing some conflicting feelings about him but i will say that her explanation to grayson about not believing in fate was what made everything redeemable for me simply bc i have the same view as avery about love and things like that, but the illusion of a love triangle was starting to really piss my off. happy it got clipped. OH and grayson being attracted to eve like i am so sorry but we need to let the emily plot rest! okay now im done bye

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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? No

4.5

WOAH! contrary to most other sequels THIS WAS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK!!!!! this is so much more of what i was expecting from the first book and it fully did not disappoint. 

the action in this one was next level!!!!! this was totally more what i was expecting from book 1 but i also totally get that book 1 was more setup-esque!

anyway, obsessed w avery she’s so cute. and xander is a fav for me bc he’s such a cutie!!

jamie and avery in that hot tub LIKE OKAYYYYYY. also so happy the grayson thing can be put to bed, or at least i hope it is. ALSO i was shocked when toby wasn’t avery’s father like that totally had me being like it’s him the whole time and then MILLIE AND ELI AND EVE BYE that was brilliant. i also loved bestie jackson he was a true MVP. and toby calling avery horrible girl like ill cry and saying he has two daughters!!!!!!!! okay im done now

lived this one so much starting the final gambit now!!! byeeeeeee

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous dark funny mysterious fast-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

3.75

i have been dying to read this series for a while and i was not disappointed! was i expecting a bit more? yes! did the last 10 pages leave me hanging and desperate for the next book? absolutely yes! 

i don’t know how much im loving the romance aspect of it all. i get why it’s there but i also feel like its not completely necessary. could take it or leave it tbh. 

i was expecting a little more in terms of plot twists and tricks i can’t lie.

derek being the one that shot at her bc the boys mom let her in pissed me off bad like who the f is this lowlife asshole?! also the whole last part while they all had to unlock the door together and the sugar packet being the moment avery and mr. hawthorne met like i just wanted more. obviously they debunked her being related writhing the first 50 pages but STILL

anyway! i really enjoyed this book and the adventure of it all. already can’t wait to start the next one!! 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-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

2.5

i had been meaning to read this and then my aunt told me about a year ago that she didn’t like it and then i saw it listed as one of the best books of last year so i was like “what does my aunt know?” and i do actually feel as though my aunt was right. LOL. 

i just didn’t love it? it was good don’t get me wrong, but i was expecting a lot more from all the hype it had received. the writing was GREAT! def laughed at some points and it was overall enjoyable but at times it did feel like it dragged. i enjoyed the way everything tied together in a nice little bow at the end. 

reading about the history of the time is always something that i find interesting and i liked how elizabeth always stuck to her guns about what she felt! sometimes i did find myself wanting her to give in a little, which is something i am ashamed to admit!! bc elizabeth was right on all accounts. but she was just insufferable sometimes. the feminism in the book was present but i feel like it was almost presented incorrectly? i don’t know how to correctly articulate what i mean but yeah i felt the theme of feminism and social justice present but it also felt white savior-esque.  

i just felt like overall nothing really happened? would occasionally recommend if i knew what type of reader someone is because i can see that it fulfills a niche, just wasn’t for me. 

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

the year isn’t over but i think this is going to be a tough one to beat. this genuinely might be my favorite book ive read this year and i do not say that lightly. 

i wish i could just copy and paste this book into this comment section because every single line of this book was genuine perfection. the last chapter of averys monologue to chiti talking about missing nicky like i’ll cry and think about that everyday for the rest of me life probably. bonnie’s one liners. luckys graphic depictions of feeling too much at all times.

god and when avery went to visit her mom and was talking about how she blamed herself for nicky’s death and her mother looked her in the eyes and told her “you are not that important” will haunt me for the entirety of my life

god the realities of addiction and the way they are depicted in this book were so unbelievably raw and real in a way that you could only understand if you’ve had an addict in your life. 

the sisters! the sisterhood of it all! god i don’t have a sister but this book made me feel like i was the fifth blue sister. what i do have is a brother and this book made me realize that there is just simply no one else in the world that is going to understand why you are the way that you are better than your sibling. 

the discussions of grief. the hold it can have on us. the places that it can take us to, good and bad, are so frightening while also being beautiful. god i really have no words. 

avery, bonnie, nicky and lucky forever like wtf i loved this book an unimaginable amount. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

3.0

i have been wanting to read this book for the longest time and i’m so happy i finally got around to it. there are so many life lessons packed into this one that i really enjoyed. i ALWAYS think about all the different lives i could be living and it was nice for the book to end

with nora being content in the life that she already had, although i really did hope she would end up with ash and molly LOL

i also think the way that nora’s mental health was depicted should be commended. matt haig did a lovely job of showing how depression takes over no matter what life you are in. 

very well done! 

Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

this book has been on my tbr for a while now and the only thing i can say about it is im sad i didnt read it sooner!! everything about this book was so emotional. 

wren…my girl!!! the life you led was one of beauty and poise and i saw so much of myself in parts of you!! i am so happy you found your joy

pun intended

also angela’s story was so heartbreakingly beautiful and it was a twist i wasn’t expecting! what an incredible mother. 

also the moments with the “tiny pregnant woman” jeez those were heavy but so important to wrens story. 

and lewis! the love you found and lost and found was so beautiful! 

me literally talking to these characters like they’re real LMAO but that’s how good this book was, such an outlandish idea felt so so so real. love it a lot one of my favs of the year

My Murder by Katie Williams

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

this book was very different from my usual reads but i enjoyed it nonetheless! i feel like there were some weird gaps that i had to fill in when it came to the world building. obviously its a futuristic society but the VR an the different skins weren’t explained super well so that made it kinda hard to follow at first but then i got into a groove and it made sense but i do think it could’ve been explained more. also! i liked the ending i actually thought it was better than what i thought it was going to be when the revealed

that lou wasn’t actually murdered by early,

it was different and fun! 

overall i enjoyed and would recommend! 

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

i am apparently learning that i am a girl who tends to judge a book by the cover which is so embarrassing to admit! but anyway when i first picked this up from the library i was confused bc i thought it was a romance book?????? like why LOL 

to my most pleasant surprise, it ended up being one of the most fabulous, emotional, and beautiful books ive read this year. 

i obviously through about my own mom the entire time and what her favorite foods were and how desperately i am seeking a mothers love and how wonderful that through this book i’ve realized i’ve always had it. 

anyway here’s some of my favorite lines: 

“she obsevered me with unparalleled interest, inexhaustible devotion” this was after michelle found all those pictures and BAH things when the tears really started flowing 

“if there was a god, it seemed my mother must have had her foot on his neck, demanding good things come my way.” like period the epitome of a mothers love 

also her whole paragraph of a dedication to peter had me sobbing. ugh this whole book was so masterfully written. it also made me wildly hungry everything sounded so delicious LOL

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

adventurous dark emotional fast-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

suzanne collins i feel lucky to live in the same lifetime as you. mockingjay is genuinely such a beautiful ending to such an incredible series. 

i haven’t read ballad of songbirds and snakes so i am really looking forward to reading that and to read haymitchs book as well. 

the political meanings behind every single one of these books is so timely and always will be. 

katniss is such a real protagonist and her emotions in every way shape and form of so raw and valid. i will continue to carry her with me, as i have since i was 12. 

p.s. i still fucking hate gale and he deserves not a single human right.  okay fine missed the meaning of the book with that last comment but being for serious