dennasus's reviews
739 reviews

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

I enjoyed previous novels from this author, but I was a bit sceptic when I read the idea of this one. And I have to admit that I didn't really loose that. I don't know what other solution I had hoped to read for the phantastic idea of ending up in a fictional village. I might have been more satisfied if there actually had been some kind of magic involved? I don't know. I loved the slow-burn romance and Anders backstory was kind of heartbreaking and I liked the HEA and all. But still... something was off with this story for me. There also were WAY too many characters for me to keep track off, but that might have been due to my busy mind. (26 September 2024)

[I stopped rating books in May 2024]

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

This was a fascinating - slightly different, more serious - romance between two very special people. I loved the writing here. It felt different and refreshing and less like following the trodden path of phrases and words and plots used by many others before. If that makes sense. I clearly lack the vocabulary to explain it any better. (22 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024]

And the Rest is History by Jodi Taylor

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

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

That was quite the ride. Heartbreaking for quite a long stretch. I sort of knew (had hoped) that those assumed dead wouldn't/couldn't be, but I still cried a few times. I thought the way they handled the Matthew plot was quite neat and grudgingly admit that it might be a good idea. As I'm not a native English reader, the focus on so much of one year of English history turned a bit boring in the end, but that's ok. (09 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, War

Moderate: Child abuse

Lies, Damned Lies, and History by Jodi Taylor

adventurous emotional 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

I mostly enjoyed this one. It seems to move the various plots (Max & Leon's private lives, fight vs old enemies, future of St. Mary's) forward in a good way and wasn't too much all over the place (e.g. timeline). Unfortunately the bit at the end of the book about the following books in the series spoiled me quite a bit, which means I need to keep reading asap. (8 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024]

Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings by Jodi Taylor

lighthearted

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

Not much to say, except this was another lovely quick "Christmas adventure" for St. Mary's. I liked it (2 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie

emotional medium-paced

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

I was afraid this one would be too much like "Daisy Jones & The Six", which it wasn't and I appreciated that. All in all I have mixed feelings about this story. I loved the independence of the Quinn family, I loved that Jane didn't back down and I thought the insight into the 60/70s music industry was quite interesting. I also liked the variety of supporting characters. I wanted to root for Jane and Jesse to be honest, but Jesse made that difficult. The secret Jane and her family kept caught me by surprise to be honest and in a way it invalidated earlier parts of the story for me and thus by the end I lost a bit of interest in it all ( 5 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

My Mechanical Romance by Alexene Farol Follmuth

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

That was a really sweet story about young love. A bit of the enemy to lover trope, but that's fine by me. I adored Bel and could well relate to her kind of scattered/messy character. Teo was a bit too good to be true and I'd have liked a bit more of a resolution about his own struggles by the end of school year. But all in all I just adored those two. I also very much enjoyed the "girl power" vibe of this story. It was realistic, without being too much. I still don't understand anything about robots though. (4 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

What's Next: A Backstage Pass to The West Wing, Its Cast and Crew, and Its Enduring Legacy of Service by Mary McCormack, Melissa Fitzgerald

emotional informative medium-paced

I'm a hardcore "The West Wing" fan so of course I enjoyed this book immensely. It was so wonderful to get a behind the scene insight and also learn that the cast and crew really enjoyed working together and still are friends. It was heartwarming to read. The structure of the book felt a bit jumbled sometimes, but that's my only complaint. (3 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024]

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor

adventurous funny 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

It was about time to get back to St. Mary's. I admit I didn't recall the details of what had happened in the previous book, which shows that I shouldn't leave too much time between reading them. I liked Max's new challenges as training officer and I was glad that they didn't jump up and down the timeline as much as they did in previous stories. The whole Hoyles sub-plot didn't really interest me all that much and it felt a bit like a filler to set up bigger plotlines / new ? adversaries for the following books, which was fine by me. All in all as always a entertaining read and I'm looking forward to more. (2 September 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

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? N/A

This was a bit different young adult novel than I usually read them, as the main character has a 2 yo daughter. I sort of enjoyed following her through her senior year at school and find out what she wants to do with her life after graduation. Neither the plot nor the characters had me really hooked though. It was fine. (29 August 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024]