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exteenawreads's reviews
347 reviews
The Name Drop by Susan Lee
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Seoulmates by Susan Lee
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Phantom by Greer Rivers
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Geekerella by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
3.75
A cute and quirky YA romance that is, you guessed it, a Cinderella retelling. At first, I was thinking this would likely be nothing special. It's not like you can really be surprised by a fairy tale retelling, and it's YA, which isn't my favorite. BUT I'm a sucker for geeks and geeky themes and geeky characters, so this turned out to be a lot of fun.
Our FMC is the classic Cinderella archetype - stepdaughter to a terrible stepmother who has two twin daughters that are also terrible. The fun take is that she is the geeky daughter of geeky parents - who cosplayed, started a fan convention, and were obsessed with an old Star Trek-esque show. Where Elle takes after her geeky late parents, her stepmom and stepsisters are country club debutante brats. Elle has her Cinderella moment at a convention cosplay contest/masquerade, with a boy she's been texting and she *thinks* is another cosplayer but is actually the heartthrob actor playing the Captain Kirk-esque character in the reboot of her favorite show.
Our MMC, said heartthrob actor, is very Henry Cavill coded - he's just a nerd at heart who is excited to play characters from his favorite nerdy show. He's got the classic shitty manager/dad who cares more about his kid's image than his happiness, which makes our guy friendless and miserable despite his fame. Texting his fellow nerdy friend, who he conveniently wrong-numbered, is his only source of joy. And then he finds out who she is while he judges the cosplay contest.... And thus our Cinderella moment.
I was meh on this book at the beginning, finding Elle to be kind of annoying in a gatekeeping nerdy asshole way - but honestly who could blame her considering her terrible family and lack of IRL friends. The author does a great job making real believable villains out of the stepmom and stepsister - there were moments I felt actually angry and had the thought "well she should simply kill them", and had to remember this was a contemporary romance not a fantasy novel. Oh well. The moment near the end, which I won't spoil, but it's basically the equivalent to the "mice and other creatures help make Cinderella a dress", made me *almost* tear up. It was a fun little twist on the Cinderella story, especially for people who grew up weird nerd kids, loving weird nerdy scifi, and doing weird nerdy things like cosplay - desperately wanting to find a community where they belong.
One last quip - what were they THINKING with these audiobook narrators? The female voice is okay - but the male voice sounds like a 40 year old which is so weird considering the character is 18. The audiobook is also a bit of a mess in general. There were repeated lines and a few other weird edits. Probably more enjoyable as a physical read.
Our FMC is the classic Cinderella archetype - stepdaughter to a terrible stepmother who has two twin daughters that are also terrible. The fun take is that she is the geeky daughter of geeky parents - who cosplayed, started a fan convention, and were obsessed with an old Star Trek-esque show. Where Elle takes after her geeky late parents, her stepmom and stepsisters are country club debutante brats. Elle has her Cinderella moment at a convention cosplay contest/masquerade, with a boy she's been texting and she *thinks* is another cosplayer but is actually the heartthrob actor playing the Captain Kirk-esque character in the reboot of her favorite show.
Our MMC, said heartthrob actor, is very Henry Cavill coded - he's just a nerd at heart who is excited to play characters from his favorite nerdy show. He's got the classic shitty manager/dad who cares more about his kid's image than his happiness, which makes our guy friendless and miserable despite his fame. Texting his fellow nerdy friend, who he conveniently wrong-numbered, is his only source of joy. And then he finds out who she is while he judges the cosplay contest.... And thus our Cinderella moment.
I was meh on this book at the beginning, finding Elle to be kind of annoying in a gatekeeping nerdy asshole way - but honestly who could blame her considering her terrible family and lack of IRL friends. The author does a great job making real believable villains out of the stepmom and stepsister - there were moments I felt actually angry and had the thought "well she should simply kill them", and had to remember this was a contemporary romance not a fantasy novel. Oh well. The moment near the end, which I won't spoil, but it's basically the equivalent to the "mice and other creatures help make Cinderella a dress", made me *almost* tear up. It was a fun little twist on the Cinderella story, especially for people who grew up weird nerd kids, loving weird nerdy scifi, and doing weird nerdy things like cosplay - desperately wanting to find a community where they belong.
One last quip - what were they THINKING with these audiobook narrators? The female voice is okay - but the male voice sounds like a 40 year old which is so weird considering the character is 18. The audiobook is also a bit of a mess in general. There were repeated lines and a few other weird edits. Probably more enjoyable as a physical read.
Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
(4.5⭐) UHHG I LOVVVVVED THIS!!! A little paranormal/weird time bendy-wendy abstract bits in a contemporary romance?? Yes please! It just added such a fun element of something different to an otherwise relatively standard Second Chance Romance. Both MCs are smart, kind, funny, interesting, complicated, flawed people who grow and learn together to BE better as they fall in love throughout time.
!!!!! TW for suicide, and mourning/grief of a loved one!!!! - it is a minor part and handled respectfully and with a lot of heart, but still, be careful.
✨ Second Chance Romance...sort of? There's some weird time travel so it's like one of their first chances while also their third chance while it's the others second chance by also first...or something. It's good don't worry.
✨ She's a city gal with a Big Girl job that isn't fulfilling her wanderlust, he's a chef from a smaller town and trying to make a name for himself in the big city
✨ Both MCs have very sweet familial bonds - she grew up traveling with her eccentric Aunt, he is trying to make his grandpa proud 🫠🥹
✨ Themes of love throughout time - how to love someone who has grown into a different person, and how to grow into the person you want to be
🎧 Audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Brittany Pressley (she's done many other of my favorites con-roms, and never fails!)
🌶️.5/5, one pretty mild spicy scene, definitely not on the smutty side, it's more romantic and flowery
!!!!! TW for suicide, and mourning/grief of a loved one!!!! - it is a minor part and handled respectfully and with a lot of heart, but still, be careful.
✨ Second Chance Romance...sort of? There's some weird time travel so it's like one of their first chances while also their third chance while it's the others second chance by also first...or something. It's good don't worry.
✨ She's a city gal with a Big Girl job that isn't fulfilling her wanderlust, he's a chef from a smaller town and trying to make a name for himself in the big city
✨ Both MCs have very sweet familial bonds - she grew up traveling with her eccentric Aunt, he is trying to make his grandpa proud 🫠🥹
✨ Themes of love throughout time - how to love someone who has grown into a different person, and how to grow into the person you want to be
🎧 Audiobook is wonderfully narrated by Brittany Pressley (she's done many other of my favorites con-roms, and never fails!)
🌶️.5/5, one pretty mild spicy scene, definitely not on the smutty side, it's more romantic and flowery
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, and Grief
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Whoops, listened to this in one day 💁🏻♀️
An expertly crafted story, though I feel like I've heard this exact plot of the "hot mess addict rock stars" several times before. The style of writing where it's organized like an interview, jumping between quotes from different band members, was definitely cool. It made the audiobook feel more like a podcast than a book. A while back I read the biography of Nikki Six, The Heroin Diaries, and it is basically just like this, but ya know, real. I'm definitely interested in watching the show now!
An expertly crafted story, though I feel like I've heard this exact plot of the "hot mess addict rock stars" several times before. The style of writing where it's organized like an interview, jumping between quotes from different band members, was definitely cool. It made the audiobook feel more like a podcast than a book. A while back I read the biography of Nikki Six, The Heroin Diaries, and it is basically just like this, but ya know, real. I'm definitely interested in watching the show now!
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75