emilyrosebooks's reviews
595 reviews

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

5.0

This was such a fun and quirky enemies to lovers romance and I’m absolutely obsessed!! Hart is a broody tough shell exterior with a mushy heart and Mercy is a compassionate literal sunshine and I think this story was so sweet and well written.

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

4.0

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

medium-paced

3.0

This is book 4.5 of the Dark Tower Series, and if you are someone who needs momentum to stick with a story, skip this one and come back to it. It is a story within a story within a story. Roland and the ka-tet are moving on and they get stuck in a big storm. While they wait out the storm, Roland tells a story of his youth, and within that story he tells a young boy another story. It is interesting, it does lend depth to Roland and his backstory, but absolutely NOT necessary to move on with the series and see what happens. 

If you like Stephen King stories with easter eggs of Randall Flagg/The Man in Black, this is one of them. In that sense, it is good, but I think it kills the momentum of Roland's quest for the dark tower. 

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

funny mysterious medium-paced

4.0

This is technically true crime, but really it feels like a profile on the very interesting and unique society of Savannah, Georgia. The author spent almost a decade living part time in Savannah and writing this book, and we get glimpses of an ecclectic group of people.  You are getting this portrait of Savannah, with a true crime story in there as well. One of the "characters" (real people) is Jim Williams, a new-money upper class socialite in Savannah and he is accused of the murder of his part time employee (and more).  The legal struggle is both disheartening about the legal system but also hilarous to follow, and I still don't know for sure if he did it. 

Quite a read, but not a true crime in the sense of a heinous murder or crazy actual crime, it is more wild in the aftermath. 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

I loved this! Sci-fi story, which I don't typically read a lot of, but it was so fun and ultimately emotional that I didn't really expect. I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook, the voice actor and the sound effects really bring a lot of life to it. The whole book is from the point of view of Ryland Grace, a man who wakes up from a coma with significant amnesia on a space ship, and you follow him in real time as he realizes where he is and why he is there, as well as his journey to self-discovery and saving the planet. There are also flashbacks to the time leading up to him getting on the spaceship that the reader sees at the same time that Ryland is remembering them, so you kind of feel like you are on the emotional journey with him. 

You might also find yourself emotionally attached the most unlikely of characters, and I don't want to spoil it, but you will laugh for sure, and I know I cried at this book. Definitely a great read.

One Day by David Nicholls

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Let me tell you right now, this is NOT ROMANTIC. In my opinion, if this was sold to me as a contemporary fiction, following the lives of two people over the course of 20 years and just watching their lives unfold and how their paths cross and the good and tragic things that happen, then it is phenomenal. I think if I had picked this up without reading the cover or hearing anything about it, I would love it, the writing is excellent, the insight into the characters is beautiful and the concept is captivating. However I stand by this not being romantic at all and that is how it was sold to me. 

Emma is an excellent character, and I love her start to finish. But she is much better than Dexter ever is, and I think if they had gotten together right after college, then it would have been a romance. But I think Emma's biggest flaw is Dexter in the end. 

Anyway, I won't spoil it, but if you are hoping for romance and a happily ever after, skip this one. If you love an extraordinary look at "ordinary people" then definitely give it a read. 

The Long March Home by Tosca Lee, Marcus Brotherton

adventurous dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

This was fantastic, very emotional read. It is a historical fiction following 3 boys from Mobile, Alabama as they ultimately enlist during WWII. It primarily follows James "Prop" Propfield and the narrative flips back in time to his life prior to enlisting to his current situation, as a POW suffering through the Bataan Death March. I love historical fiction because I can get invested in a story and the characters, but (if well done) I also learn things about history. This was very well written and I highly highly recommend if you like WWII historical fiction. You will definitely cry though.

Confessions of a Bookaholic by Joslyn Westbrook

fast-paced

3.5

I am giving this 3.5 stars *for what it is!!** It is a spicy, easy read, romance. I'll give it 3 spices, because I wouldn't want to read it with my mother, but I wasn't gasping at the raunchiness. It was a cute story, a football star and his bookish best friend turned lover. A little bit of the miscommunication trope which I don't enjoy, but overall a good little read. 

My "icks" - vanilla scented perfume, words that didn't seem like words until I looked them up (not in a good way), putting a 5-carat engagement ring in a plate of eggs 

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.

Well, the library loan was ending, and frankly I just couldn't get into it. I think the writing was good, but I wasn't falling for Adelaide as a character. And a love story of unrequited love just isn't where I want to be right now.

XOXO, Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual's Guide to Self-Love, Relationships, and Tactful Pettiness by Cody Rigsby

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

I think Cody Rigsby will become a household name soon, not just in the Peloton households! Cody is funny and energetic and this book gives a wonderful insight into him as a person. I highly recommend the audiobook because he narrates it himself and that makes it even better.