ellieschaben's reviews
621 reviews

Second Rite by Geneva Lee

dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.25

Meh, I felt like nothing happened in this one? Like some big things DID actually happen, but the pacing made it feel like nothing did. 

Once again, will be continuing because it is my wonderful trashy TV show at the moment and I love trashy TV

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective tense 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? Yes

4.5

I’m a huge Ali fan. She can do every subgenre and never fails. While some books are better for me, this one is right up there with some of my favorites! It’s long, over 400 pages, but I ate it up. Took me longer than normal to finish, but that’s because it was a physical book. I was into the storyline, the characters, everything. I rooted so hard for Scarlett and Lukas. Their adventures and slow burn of falling for each other was *chef’s kiss*. While some people felt like this was too spicy, I felt like this was so appropriate for kink exploration! A different side than what we usually see but felt great for age and experience.

Now we await her next two books that are coming out this year!!!

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

Julia Whelan writes and reads so wonderfully. She is definitely one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and she makes the books zoom by! 

I loved this concept, and her personal ties (which she explains in the end) only made it better. While Nick’s twist was predictable, it made me so happy - the perfect coincidence. I loved hearing about Sewanee and her grandmother’s relationship. My heart broke with hers, and it hit home for some friends going through similar difficulties. 

A major trigger warning - there is dementia and loss of a family member. 

Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous lighthearted 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

3.0

If you enjoyed The Inheritance Games, these were some fun novellas! 

1. That Night in Prague - meh, liked the game around the city but was just moderately enjoyable
2. The Same Backwards as Forward - this could have been its own prequel book! Really enjoyed the insight into Hannah and Harry
3. The Cowboy and the Goth - we NEED more Libby/Nash content and I’m sad that this is all we get cause this story was the best
4. Five Times Xander Tackled Someone
5. $3CR3T $@NT@ - cute Xmas novella 
6. One Hawthorne Night 
7. What Happens in the Treehouse
8. Pain at the Right Gun - these last 3 blended together and were just okay

I did like that each of these had a brother or two that it focused on so there were different POVs!

Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Thank you to Atheneum Books and Jamie Sumner for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story is told through the eyes of Bea, a kid with cerebral palsy and a wheelchair, who experiences a school shooting and has PTSD afterwards. Bea already hasn’t had the easiest start in life with a severe disorder that affects many aspects of her life. She has a wheelchair and braces on her legs. Her experience of the school shooter and finding her guardian afterwards brought tears to my eyes. I’m not a parent yet, but I never hope to experience the scene that Jamie Sumner wrote. The PTSD Bea has after the shooting is so raw and sad. Her guardian is so empathetic and understanding and helps Bea process so many big feelings in ways that she can. The ending letter can be applied to this tragedy but also a lot of the potential bills that are currently going through our political system. This book was so good, and, while it’s written for children/middle grade, adults should find this one worthy of their time. 

You Can Say Hi with Only a Smile by Merriam Sarcia Saunders

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Merriam Sarcia Saunders for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

I have a sister that owns her own speech language pathology clinic, and WOW, this book just makes me want to cry. Inclusiveness in language is so important! I loved the highlighting of language can be interpreted through so many different mannerisms. The illustrations showed this through a multitude of genders, races, and abilities. Teaching our kids to have this attitude when greeting anyone is so important, and I can think of some adults that could benefit from this one too! 

Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.0

I did not live in the Connie era, but I wish I did. The way Connie describes her life makes me feel left out. The many new breaking things that she has experienced, the struggle for parenthood, her breaking a glass ceiling by being a woman in a man-filled career, the subtle (and not-so-subtle) racism that she encountered throughout her journey - I knew nothing about Connie starting this, but I wish I could have been there to see her rise up the ranks and be an inspiration to women everywhere.

Bar Down by Stef C.R.

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

Thank you to Stef C.R. and My Universe PR for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This one took me too long to finish, but that does not speak anything about the story! I loved Eli and Ash’s story. I was obsessed with Ash’s character in the first book, and I knew he would always be my favorite character. 

Miscommunication is not my favorite trope, and this is a lot of miscommunication. I LOVED the pining, the slow burns of parts of this. I didn’t love the dual timeline in this. I was a little confused at certain parts and couldn’t figure out which part was ahead of the other. I do think this is part of user error though! 

Overall, a solid book in the series. We also really previewed Jordan and Alice in this one, and I think I may be Alice in another life?!

Spectacular by Stephanie Garber

adventurous mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

3.75

This was cute! I enjoyed the magical mystery that Tella got to take. I read the trilogy a while ago, and this was a really nice throwback to the world. 

Technically Yours by Denise Williams

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I’ve enjoyed Denise’s other books, but this one just fell so short for me. 

Pearl needs THERAPY. She will not trust anyone outside of her family, and it bothered me. She was deserving of having someone to love and having someone love her. You should want someone that will love and cherish and spoil you, and she condemned Cord for that behavior. 

I agree that Cord wasn’t great at listening, but wow, he puts in a LOT of work for Pearl.

I hate an accidental pregnancy trope and this almost became that and I was so nervous. 

I do enjoy second chance, but this just made me stressed out the whole time. Talking about the ethical ramifications and leaving Cord AFTER they had sexy time on a board retreat while camping??? Double standard for sure and I could not deal