femaletrouble401's reviews
147 reviews

Come Closer by Sara Gran

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Fast paced, dark, and scary. The ending wasn’t quite predictable but also felt like the logical next step in the sequence of events leading up to the climax. I enjoyed the quick read. Could have finished this in one day if I didn’t have a baby. 

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely phenomenal. I couldn’t stop reading once I bang. This book beautifully characterizes the sisters that played a huge role in the Trojan war, but focuses on Clytemnestra. A deeply personal look at motherhood, womanhood, personhood, vengeance, murder, revenge, all the good stuff. 

A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Not very often does a book make me actually laugh out loud. I caught myself laughing several times while reading this. That is not to say that this was a fun, enjoyable or light-hearted read. The main characters are deplorable, but expertly written. While weird and unbearably embarrassing, both Alicia and Remy, were impossible to step away from. I think author perfectly captures the tortured millennial soul. It’s also…bat shit crazy. I think it warrants a second read in the future. 
Side note: I appreciate Morgan’s ability to deftly describe/charactersize the characters without being overly sexual or graphic. 

The Doloriad by Missouri Williams

challenging dark tense fast-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

3.5

Incredibly hard to follow, but I found that I could not stop reading it. Grotesque, graphic, triggering. Stream of consciousness style of writing. I was absolutely riveted the entire book, each character horrifying in their own right. Dolores of course was a particularly difficult character to reconcile. Her infantilization and subsequent abuse was a lot to read. To compare this to Geek Love would be accurate. Although in GL I feel like there is a general plot. This book barely got there. But I couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Incest, Physical abuse

Obsessed: A Memoir of My Life with OCD by Allison Britz
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

Just couldn't get into it. But I didn't hate it, I'll try again at a later date. 

The Ritual by Shantel Tessier
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

Ugh...just all sex no plot. I liked the idea behind the plot. But I don't think we were ever going to get there. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

Loved reading this. It was a quick read but kept me interested all the way through the end. I was rooting for Jennette the whole time, and made me think about the ways my expectations might impact my daughter. Great read! I hope she continues to write. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol

Any Sign of Life by Rae Carson

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I really enjoyed this book. Am I wrong for wanting more romance between Paige and Trey? Carson did a spectacular job of making our MCs very believable and likable. In regards to the character development nothing felt forced. In fact I wanted more! This is definitely a sci-fi thriller/romance…but the sci-fi part got a little boring to be quite honest. I would read a romance novel from Carson anytime. 

Galatea by Madeline Miller

challenging reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

Read this in a little under and hour. Miller, once again, knocks it out of the park for me. I love the way she portrays women. 

The Girl in the White Van by April Henry

adventurous challenging dark hopeful tense fast-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

2.0

I loved the concept. This was written for a teen audience so parts of the story that would be more tense or frightening are quite watered down. I love that the main character saves herself. I hated the shifting perspectives from chapter to chapter, I felt like it took away from getting to know our key character better. It also felt like the various POVs as a writing tool was a bit of laziness on the authors part. Instead of going into greater detail about the MCs we got a lot of fluff from characters that weren’t really important to the story.