dmackreads's reviews
110 reviews

The Seaside Sisters: A Novel by Pamela Kelley

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Did not finish book.
To slow paced for me.  May pick up at a later date
Layla by Colleen Hoover

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

I’m very conflicted on how to feel about this. 

Overall I get what the author was trying to say and do with this but it just didn’t go over well for me. The ending was great but what it took to get there is questionable at best. 

It kept me intrigued and wanting to make it to end so I could figure out what was going on but I genuinely almost did write it off as a dnf a few times because it was pissing me off. 
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Normal People by Sally Rooney

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The writing style was really hard to follow at first. It’s written in 3rd person and there aren’t quotations around any conversations. I got used to it after awhile but it’s still not ideal. I will say the plot is so basic, like genuinely one of the most basic, short, easy stories I’ve ever read but somehow I stayed interested. I think if it had been too much longer my opinion would be different. Although with that being said, the ending was so harsh and abrupt?? I expected more. Maybe even just an epilogue?? It felt very rushed, idk. I also despise the miscommunication trope but I feel like in this book it’s just overall lack of communication, not speaking on true feelings and thoughts. I just needed more. I rated it 3 stars because of my interest in it overall. It’s a good quick read when you need a palette cleanser. 
King of Sloth by Ana Huang

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emotional funny inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ugh this whole series is so good 😩 I was hoping for a more dramatic/exciting ending but I loved everything else. I loved the characters and the evolution of their relationship. I really love Sloane and her personality. The insight on both her and Xavier’s family dynamics added to the story line. I love the friendship between the girls. It’s such an easy, fast read. If I had the luxury of free time I could’ve easily curled up in a comfy spot and read through it in a day. 
Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

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dark emotional medium-paced

3.5

This book is the epitome of an adrenaline rush if there ever was one. So sickening and chaotic and unbelievable. I honestly hate it but I couldn’t rate it too low because I was completely engulfed with interest and I couldn’t put it down. I speed read the last like 100 pages because all the craziness had tamed down and I was completely burnt out. Truthfully I’m just mind fucked. 


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Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

3.5

I’m not really sure what I expected out of this book but I definitely expected it to be more wrapped around the main characters and their “relationship” and I expected it to evolve more at some point. I had a hard time with the blatant non consent between the two also and many times I caught myself thinking the characters were just idiotic. There was way too much r@pe, assault, child sacrifice involved. I get that it’s the plot around which one of the main characters “works” but this book was just crazy. It did keep me intrigued and wanting to know what happens next. That’s about all it has going for it for me. I already have book 2 and still want to know what happens next so I plan to read it but I’m very conflicted on this rating.
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A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

5.0

They could NEVER make me hate you, Nesta!! 

ACOMAF has been my favorite in the series until now, it’s either this one or they’re tied for 1st for me. 

I feel like this book has the perfect mixture of smut, romance, and adrenaline while following a well written, deep story line. I took a little break from reading when I started this book but once I started it again, 2 days ago, I flew through it so fast. 

I’m so sad to be done :( I’m excited for what comes next!! 
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

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fast-paced

3.5

Alright ya’ll this one is a little cliche but the movie is my all time favorite movie to ever exist so I decided it’s time to finally read the novel and see how they compare. 

I’m not going to lie I had a very hard time separating the book from the movie. Usually, the movie ruins a book for me and it was the other way around in this case. There were A LOT of differences between the book and the movie, as there usually is when basing a movie off of a book. But I’m talking, huge key differences that make the whole story (in my opinion). The movie is so much more passionate and had a way larger impact on me than this novel did. 

Now, that’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the book because I definitely did. But I was definitely critiquing things that I may not have if I never watched the movie. On the flip side, I may not have even liked the book as much did had I not been picturing the movie the whole time I was reading. Needless to say, this is a hard one for me to review. 

Pretty much everyone knows what “The Notebook” is about and if you don’t, it’s essentially a second chance romance between two adults who once had a teenage relationship for a summer. They grow old and face the consequences of time, life, and death as we all do eventually. It’s truly a beautiful story and worth the read.
A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

“To the readers who look up at the stars and wish” 

This novella is a good break up from the rollercoaster of chaos in the series so far. It’s about rebuilding after war and loss.

Everyone in this series has been through so much, sacrificed a lot, and been catapulted into large changes that they are trying to learn how to navigate. We learn that there may be more on the horizon but even with all that’s happened it’s a good reminder to slow down and appreciate one another every chance you get. 

A “feel good” novella if you will.
Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

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challenging dark emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In summary I feel like this book is about a man getting hurt once, choosing to hurt everybody else afterwards and getting off on it even though the reason he got “hurt” the first time was his own fault, and then getting a little taste of his own medicine too. I had a lot of “wtf” moments and a few laughs due to dark humor. Being only 151 pages it’s a super quick read that kept me interested until the end because I wanted to understand the point and know what would happen. 

Personally I get drawn into stuff like this because I’m always curious to understand the minds of fucked up people. On the flip side I feel like the more I try to understand troubled characters the more conflicted I feel. 

The #1 complaint I see in other reviews is how “horrible the narrator is” I mean yeah… He’s an addict who is also giving sadistic psychopathic narcissist who needs to seek serious help. Why we are giving a book a shitty rating because the MC is shitty is crazy to me because sometimes that’s the literal point of the book. You don’t have to like him and maybe it’s not your thing but the book itself is good. It’s a “diary” of a mad man essentially. 
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