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divineauthor's reviews
327 reviews
Queen Charlotte by Shonda Rhimes, Julia Quinn
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
“I will stand with you between the heavens and the earth. I will tell you where you are.” —Queen Charlotte
one thing i will say: this is better than most of the quinn histroms i’ve read, but i’m pinning that on rhimes. this was good in the sense that it was like rewatching the show, but funnily enough i did enjoy the show more!
one thing i will say: this is better than most of the quinn histroms i’ve read, but i’m pinning that on rhimes. this was good in the sense that it was like rewatching the show, but funnily enough i did enjoy the show more!
The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
“But the past stayed blank, and the present stayed cold, and the future loomed before her, totally empty.” —Zoe, page 7
there are two wolves in me: one is that i love spies and the other is my inherent hatred of government intelligence agencies. i was reading and enjoying the fun, punchy tropes and the main characters’ (albeit very fast but it gets a pass) romance and then i’m reading a chapter and it hits me. whatever. it’s fine. reading this made me nostalgic for a middle school book series i haven’t touched in a decade AND i was laughing aloud because zoe really is so funny sometimes. yeah. vibes
there are two wolves in me: one is that i love spies and the other is my inherent hatred of government intelligence agencies. i was reading and enjoying the fun, punchy tropes and the main characters’ (albeit very fast but it gets a pass) romance and then i’m reading a chapter and it hits me. whatever. it’s fine. reading this made me nostalgic for a middle school book series i haven’t touched in a decade AND i was laughing aloud because zoe really is so funny sometimes. yeah. vibes
The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“Power did nothing to soften a grave. It also did nothing to keep a promise.” —Sef Hassan, page 409
so i’ll be so real: i was struck by such intense despair of the Not Knowing What Will Happen that, on the morning of release day, i opened up the audiobook to find out exactly where everyone ends up. i listened to the last pages before even glimpsing at the first word, and it did ruin things for me. even without context i knew it was bad.
outside of you know who kicking the bucket, no writing can be good enough to justify the way this book is structured. there’s an art to leaving the reader in suspense about something by cutting from a tense scene and then there’s just . . . ripping the tension away to something unnecessary and honestly boring. i excuse blake’s tendency to overwrite and i can do it again, but it’s just so odd to me to insert these povs at the times they’re there. anyway. yeah. like do i understand how blake got to this point and why she wrote this book and the series the way she did? yes. it’s unfathomable to me, but i get it. do i like it though? now that’s a different story.
anyway. blake stuffers from stiefvaterisms in the way that her characters / character dynamics / prose are so insane, but the plots leave much to be desired. and i stand by this. wholeheartedly.
so i’ll be so real: i was struck by such intense despair of the Not Knowing What Will Happen that, on the morning of release day, i opened up the audiobook to find out exactly where everyone ends up. i listened to the last pages before even glimpsing at the first word, and it did ruin things for me. even without context i knew it was bad.
outside of you know who kicking the bucket, no writing can be good enough to justify the way this book is structured. there’s an art to leaving the reader in suspense about something by cutting from a tense scene and then there’s just . . . ripping the tension away to something unnecessary and honestly boring. i excuse blake’s tendency to overwrite and i can do it again, but it’s just so odd to me to insert these povs at the times they’re there. anyway. yeah. like do i understand how blake got to this point and why she wrote this book and the series the way she did? yes. it’s unfathomable to me, but i get it. do i like it though? now that’s a different story.
anyway. blake stuffers from stiefvaterisms in the way that her characters / character dynamics / prose are so insane, but the plots leave much to be desired. and i stand by this. wholeheartedly.
Better Hate than Never by Chloe Liese
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
“As if anyone could not want you.” —Christopher Petruchio, page 130
the highest this book could’ve gone for me would’ve been about 2.5 stars mostly because i generally don’t even like THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. i’ve read the first book in this series, and that one was more enjoyable than this by a lot. regardless of the cringey feeling i got about the humor, the thing that really got me was the age gap. they’re only six years apart and they’re in the late 20s/early 30s, but they both keep mentioning the fact that he kind of babysat her, held her as a baby, was annoyed about her as a child and tween but when he left for college and came back and she was eighteen, suddenly he was attracted to her? it had me scowling. anyway. whatever.
the highest this book could’ve gone for me would’ve been about 2.5 stars mostly because i generally don’t even like THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. i’ve read the first book in this series, and that one was more enjoyable than this by a lot. regardless of the cringey feeling i got about the humor, the thing that really got me was the age gap. they’re only six years apart and they’re in the late 20s/early 30s, but they both keep mentioning the fact that he kind of babysat her, held her as a baby, was annoyed about her as a child and tween but when he left for college and came back and she was eighteen, suddenly he was attracted to her? it had me scowling. anyway. whatever.
Mistaking Each Other for Ghosts by Lawrence Raab
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
“Death is easier / than love. And true feeling, as someone said, / leaves no memory.” —“The Major Subjects,” page 35
raab uses such simple language to say something incredibly insightful. i must say though, THE HISTORY OF FORGETTING is his best work to me but this one is still really good (also did so much for my characters fr)
raab uses such simple language to say something incredibly insightful. i must say though, THE HISTORY OF FORGETTING is his best work to me but this one is still really good (also did so much for my characters fr)
The History of Forgetting by Lawrence Raab
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
“[…] people would yearn / for whatever they’d lost, and so to survive / they’d need to forget.” —“The History of Forgetting,” page 18
what an honor to read the poet that made emma’s brain scrambled eggs truly. anyway, raab has such a clear and sparse command of his writing that it just hits you in the face with its emotional heart. you just have to sit there afterwards you know?
what an honor to read the poet that made emma’s brain scrambled eggs truly. anyway, raab has such a clear and sparse command of his writing that it just hits you in the face with its emotional heart. you just have to sit there afterwards you know?
Masters of Death by Olivie Blake
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
“This is not my story. This is a story, and a worthy one, but it doesn’t belong to me.” —Death, page 4
i did cry several times don’t ask me why. anyway, this was so so so fun actually. loved the narration, loved the non-linear timelines, loved the characters . . . UGH the characters. fox d'mora chewiest man alive. also vi and tom did something to my brain. sorry, i’m just predisposed to love ghosts x nonghosts couples what can i say!
i did cry several times don’t ask me why. anyway, this was so so so fun actually. loved the narration, loved the non-linear timelines, loved the characters . . . UGH the characters. fox d'mora chewiest man alive. also vi and tom did something to my brain. sorry, i’m just predisposed to love ghosts x nonghosts couples what can i say!
In the Act by Rachel Ingalls
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Men can never create; they only copy. That’s why they’re always so jealous.” —Helen, page 28
picked this up randomly and i cackled aloud while reading. it’s like if if contemporary bluebeard met frankenstein you know? quick, easy, and made me want to kill a man! i should pick up more of ingalls’ work for sure!
picked this up randomly and i cackled aloud while reading. it’s like if if contemporary bluebeard met frankenstein you know? quick, easy, and made me want to kill a man! i should pick up more of ingalls’ work for sure!
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“My own relationship with my body is so complicated.” —Charlie Vega
sometimes i really do forget that ya is ya and i just sit there and think, “wow this really is for teenagers” and have to rewire my brain so that i can enjoy this.
sometimes i really do forget that ya is ya and i just sit there and think, “wow this really is for teenagers” and have to rewire my brain so that i can enjoy this.
If You Could See the Sun by Ann Liang
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
“I understand what it's like to want things that do not belong to you.” —Alice Sun
guys . . . GUYS. I was not expecting this to make me kick and scream but i was kicking and screaming. it’s just . . . the stakes were higher than i would’ve expected and it was such a good surprise to me because i wanted things to go right (though i knew from the moment alice decided to use her invisibility to sneak around that they would never go right). my only wish is to have had more alice and henry 😭 logically, narratively, it wouldn’t have made sense for them to get together before but god did i want them to desperately. anyway. this was rly fun guys fr
guys . . . GUYS. I was not expecting this to make me kick and scream but i was kicking and screaming. it’s just . . . the stakes were higher than i would’ve expected and it was such a good surprise to me because i wanted things to go right (though i knew from the moment alice decided to use her invisibility to sneak around that they would never go right). my only wish is to have had more alice and henry 😭 logically, narratively, it wouldn’t have made sense for them to get together before but god did i want them to desperately. anyway. this was rly fun guys fr