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daniellestarredpages's reviews
189 reviews
The Build Up by Tati Richardson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Unfortunately, this book was really disappointing. I had issues with the writing, the characters and the romance.
My first issue was the writing style. I couldn't connect with it; it felt flat and awkward. There was also quite a bit of telling without it being backed by any showing through the characters' behaviour. I also had issues with some small scattered things throughout the portion of the book that I read, but when you add that up with everything else it impacted my enjoyment. There were multiple times when a character would describe something as funny or laugh at a "joke" that wasn't funny at all. Also, in the first chapter, a character said they expected the FMC to be a man because of her name, but her name is Ari. Which to me is a feminine name.
Next the characters. I'm always up for reading romances that have plus-sized MCs but in this book, the author would frequently bring up Ari's size and I believe the intention was to show how comfortable Ari was with her body while other people had issues or how smaller people could take accommodations for granted but after a while, it just started to feel there was too much focus on her body and the other was showing a neon saying saying "remember Ari is fat". Also one of the partners at the firm came off as a cartoonish antagonist to contrast the other nicer partner and it just felt ridiculous.
Finally the relationship. It was very Insta- lusty and to me, the connections that the characters kept referring to was just not shown.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Unfortunately, this book was really disappointing. I had issues with the writing, the characters and the romance.
My first issue was the writing style. I couldn't connect with it; it felt flat and awkward. There was also quite a bit of telling without it being backed by any showing through the characters' behaviour. I also had issues with some small scattered things throughout the portion of the book that I read, but when you add that up with everything else it impacted my enjoyment. There were multiple times when a character would describe something as funny or laugh at a "joke" that wasn't funny at all. Also, in the first chapter, a character said they expected the FMC to be a man because of her name, but her name is Ari. Which to me is a feminine name.
Next the characters. I'm always up for reading romances that have plus-sized MCs but in this book, the author would frequently bring up Ari's size and I believe the intention was to show how comfortable Ari was with her body while other people had issues or how smaller people could take accommodations for granted but after a while, it just started to feel there was too much focus on her body and the other was showing a neon saying saying "remember Ari is fat". Also one of the partners at the firm came off as a cartoonish antagonist to contrast the other nicer partner and it just felt ridiculous.
Finally the relationship. It was very Insta- lusty and to me, the connections that the characters kept referring to was just not shown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
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? N/A
4.5
4.5 Stars.
I really enjoyed this book, in fact, I binged it in one sitting. The characters, the romance, and the discussions in this book were quite amazing to read.
I really loved seeing different characters with different thoughts and feelings towards their deafness and interacting with both deaf and hearing communities. I for one empathised when Lilah expressed feelings of wishing she was fully deaf to make it easier to fit into parts of the community or for hearing people to not underestimate her disability. While I am not Deaf I do find myself having similar thoughts about my own diagnoses. I, from a Hearing perspective, felt the way the author wrote the interactions in this book, either between Hearing and Deaf or Deaf and Deaf did a good job of exposing readers both to issues the Deaf Community faces as well as how communicating with other Deaf people can be an entirely different and refreshing experience, without feeling like the story was being paused to educated readers.
I felt a sense of pride reading Lilah's grasp and usage of ASL expand as the story goes on.
The characters in this book were so well written, they practically jumped off the page. Their varying personalities and the different dynamics and friendships being formed were a treat to read.
Finally, the romance in this book was quite cute and I was rooting for it from the start. I loved the development and a few bumps were handled very well and were written realistically.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
I really enjoyed this book, in fact, I binged it in one sitting. The characters, the romance, and the discussions in this book were quite amazing to read.
I really loved seeing different characters with different thoughts and feelings towards their deafness and interacting with both deaf and hearing communities. I for one empathised when Lilah expressed feelings of wishing she was fully deaf to make it easier to fit into parts of the community or for hearing people to not underestimate her disability. While I am not Deaf I do find myself having similar thoughts about my own diagnoses. I, from a Hearing perspective, felt the way the author wrote the interactions in this book, either between Hearing and Deaf or Deaf and Deaf did a good job of exposing readers both to issues the Deaf Community faces as well as how communicating with other Deaf people can be an entirely different and refreshing experience, without feeling like the story was being paused to educated readers.
I felt a sense of pride reading Lilah's grasp and usage of ASL expand as the story goes on.
The characters in this book were so well written, they practically jumped off the page. Their varying personalities and the different dynamics and friendships being formed were a treat to read.
Finally, the romance in this book was quite cute and I was rooting for it from the start. I loved the development and a few bumps were handled very well and were written realistically.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
The Dunnie by Keith Thomas
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Unfortunately I was really disappointed with this book.
My biggest issue was the writing style. There were a lot of info dumps from the very beginning to the end of the book, the author would insert random information into sentences and they information was never brought up or useful after that.
I struggled to understand why Beth, would move far away from her abusive father and then have a child and bring him around her father so much that the son felt more comfortable in that house than most other places. Another thing was that Asher had a complete 180 in terms of personality, especially in regards to his behaviour towards his mother, and it was very sudden and I felt there was no substantial build up to it.
The horror element was the redeeming quality as I feel it was done quite well and definitely involved a creepy atmosphere.
The ending also felt very rushed and didn't do a good job wrapping up the story in my opinion
My biggest issue was the writing style. There were a lot of info dumps from the very beginning to the end of the book, the author would insert random information into sentences and they information was never brought up or useful after that.
I struggled to understand why Beth, would move far away from her abusive father and then have a child and bring him around her father so much that the son felt more comfortable in that house than most other places. Another thing was that Asher had a complete 180 in terms of personality, especially in regards to his behaviour towards his mother, and it was very sudden and I felt there was no substantial build up to it.
The horror element was the redeeming quality as I feel it was done quite well and definitely involved a creepy atmosphere.
The ending also felt very rushed and didn't do a good job wrapping up the story in my opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Gore, Body horror, and Blood
Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I don't have coherent thoughts, I'm just screaming with pure joy.
And Break the Pretty Kings by Lena Jeong
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I'm a bit sad to say this book was disappointing and forgettable. The world-building was lacking. Frequently the tension and history between Soella and Josan is mentioned but we never actually get any backstory on what caused this tension to arise. The magic system was interesting and I enjoyed reading scenes where the magic is used. However, I had issues with how Mirae's time-travel magic was treated as a plot convenience. In every single scene that should have been high-tension the other would have Mirae time-travel to the future and when she returns her future self has health with the issue and neither Mirae nor we as readers have any idea what happened. Also, I found the budding romance to be lacklustre.
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Grief, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, War, Death of parent, and Gore