dennasus's reviews
740 reviews

The Scent of Death by Simon Beckett

dark tense medium-paced

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

This story kept me hooked for the last few days, even though I realized I'm not as comfortable with grisly thriller plots as I used to be. Thus I'm not sure if I'll read the next one in this series. I thought the plot was well constructed and I had no idea who the killer was until it was revealed, which is always a good thing for a thriller plot. I also mostly enjoyed the variety of side characters and in some cases felt really bad about what happened to them. The subplot of someone from previous stories (still) want to kill Dr. Hunter felt a bit too far-fetched for me. (27 July 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

Cassandra in Reverse by Holly Smale

emotional hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

I might add more elaborate thoughts to this in a while [scatterbrain that I am, probably not though]. I really enjoyed this one. I like the unique way of time-travelling and could relate to Cassie much more than I thought and more than I might like to admit in public. I sometimes feel like my personality includes various neurodivergent aspects, but I shy away from self-diagonsis. But the comforting routines, staying inside my comfort zone, feeling like I'm not sharing my authentic / real person self with the world, if that makes sense. I loved the (hidden) message in this plot and found it inspiring and encouraging: People in general are kind and lovely and not in general hostile or dismissive and it's worth the "risk" to be more open about stuff. And myself.

Ugh, I segue into self-therapy-talk, back to the book. I figured out the mystery of the letter writer about halfway through, I think and the final revelation about Cassandra's mum felt a bit too much and on the nose so to speak, but all in all I really, really enjoyed the being invited into this section of Cassandra's life. Let's end with positivity: The writing was great, the right variety of fun and emotions and I especially love the intro / finale about "what's the beginning of a story anyway".  (24 July 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

medium-paced

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

Another enjoyable and this time also quite sad story from the Thursday Murder Club. The plot and how those seniors and the police act and react is quite unrealistic, I know, but that is sort of the fun of it. (15 July 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

Thees Uhlmann über Die Toten Hosen by Thees Uhlmann

reflective medium-paced

[Audiobook] One of my favourite German singer/songwriters reads his book about the most successful German punkband Die Toten Hosen. Very entertaining, very relatable and beautifully written. (13 July 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny

reflective

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

I sort of enjoyed the actual writing in this book and to be fair it's the only thing that kept me reading till the end. There wasn't much of a plot and even though I don't mind a story which tells only snap-shots in lives of some people, at least make these snapshots interesting. For me this dragged and meandered on and on. (8 July 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024] 

No Time Like The Past by Jodi Taylor

adventurous medium-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

Another entertaining story from St. Mary's. There is always so much going and again they are a whirl-wind through history, that I sometimes wish they'd slow down a bit. I mean they do in the plot, but it's not noticeable in the storytelling as such. I just sometimes feel like I'm loosing track of who's where/when and what's happening to whom and all. But maybe that's just me. (30 June 2024)

[I stopped rating books in May 2024] 

The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary

slow-paced

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

I enjoyed previous works from Beth O'Leary, but this just didn't quite land with me. The writing was fine and the plot idea has such okay for me. I liked the competition angle and miscommunication as a trope often enough works for me, but at least halfway through the story I wanted to knock some sense into the female lead and force her to address what upset her last Christmas. Ugh! The actual reason for the not / wrongly delivered reason was so lame IMHO. All in all... just no cup of tea sadly.   (22 June 2024)

[I stopped rating books in May 2024]   

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

emotional inspiring slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

If I still rated books, this would have gotten 5 stars. Such a lovely story about real people and their lives, misfortunes and mistakes but also their joys and achievements. It's also about books and why we love and need them. Sooooo good.  (18 June 2024)

[I stopped rating books in May 2024] 

American Panda by Gloria Chao

slow-paced

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

For some reason this book wasn't for me. I found the writing a bit boring, didn't find it in me to care all that much about the main character and all in all neither the plot. (15 June 2024)

[I stopped rating books in May 2024]

The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris

slow-paced

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

The summary mentioned "skillfully weaving these two stories" and I found that misleading, because it wasn't really two stories, was it? I don't know. I kind of enjoyed the story, but it was such a slow burn and sadly enough I didn't manage to care about neither the main nor some of the side characters all that much. The end comes with a few surprises at least, but by that time I had already almost lost interest. (11 June 2024)

[I've stopped rating books in May 2024]