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gissellereads's reviews
250 reviews
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
I think Sally Hepworth has a unique style and I really like it! I haven’t read anything else like it that I can compare it to. The Mother in Law was great so I was excited to read her latest book. This book is full of tension and chapter by chapter you start pealing the layers of the twins relationship and their past. I think what makes Sally’s books different is that her characters have a lot of depth. Sometimes thrillers tend to have characters that are not fully developed or only unlikeable characters. Fern was such a great character and you couldn’t not root for her.
I would say there’s not a huge shocking twist (at least there wasn’t for me) but I still found this book to be entertaining and I couldn’t wait to find out how it ended. This isn’t a super dark book so if you’re looking for a darker thriller this is not it. It is a satisfying domestic drama and I recommend it!
I listened to the audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration. I think it made me like some of the characters even more than if I had read the physical book. There’s something about suspense and thrillers that I really enjoy in audio.
Too Good to Be True by Carola Lovering
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I could not put this book down! I listened to the audiobook and also had a copy of the physical book so I alternated between the two because I couldn’t put it down. The audiobook is excellent, it has 3 narrators for each point of view, I definitely recommend that format.
This is the perfect beach read thriller in my opinion. The alternating points of view (one of them is a diary entry format) and timeline make this a bingeable book. I suggest going into this one blind and not knowing much about it so that you can enjoy it. You’ll have to trust me on this one!
As with all good thrillers I didn’t see the twist coming and I think the book had a satisfying ending. I don’t know what else to say about it without spoiling it. Looking forward to more books from Carola Lovering!
How to Be Married: What I Learned from Real Women on Five Continents about Building a Happy Marriage by Jo Piazza
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
This book reads like Fiction! I loved it so much and can’t recommend it enough. So what is so special about this book you may ask? You’re probably thinking you don’t need to read a book to tell you how to be married. Well, let me tell you this is not a guide of how to be married but more of how people in different countries approach marriage and what the author learned travelling the world and as a newly married woman. I think of this book as a memoir and not a self help book. The only thing I would change about the book is the title because I think more people would read it.
While reading this book I was taking notes of places to travel to. Piazza didn’t only talk about what she learned while traveling but she also talked about where she went and what she did there. So many of these places are on my list of places I want to go to so I felt like I also got travel recommendations. It definitely gave me the travel bug and I can’t wait to travel places soon!
There are many things that I took away from this book and so many things that resonated with me. Also there were things people do or advice that she got that I questioned and definitely got me thinking. At the end of the day she’s not telling the reader how to be married or even saying she is the best person to provide advice. What I got from it was a raw and honest story with some perspectives of marriage from different point of views.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
This was a great summer book! It really made me want to travel and at the same time satisfied that travel craving I’ve had for the past year. The book features all the vacations that Poppy and Alex took together and it was so fun to see where they went. You know I have a love hate relationship with romances and I’ll say Emily Henry writes the kind of romances I like. This wasn’t super steamy and I really felt the connection between the characters. Her books are not just a typical rom-com they are so much more!
I really enjoyed Poppy and connected with her. She is going through a point in her life where she’s worked really hard to get to where she’s at but is she happy? I think a lot of women in their 30s can relate in some form to her. I can also see how she can be misunderstood and some people could see her as ungrateful (which I don’t!) so I’m impressed with Emily Henry for taking the risk and writing the character they way she wanted to do it.
While reading this I realized I love the friends to lovers romance trope because you can generally feel the deep connection between the characters. I don’t like when they just love each other just because. The more I read romance books the more I learn about what I like about the genre. Overall I think this book is delightful and perfect for the summer.
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder
funny
slow-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? It's complicated
2.5
This was my book club’s book for May. I probably wouldn’t have finished it if it wasn’t for the audiobook and for the fact that it was my book club’s book. Some people on book club really liked this book but most of us were meh or disliked it. My main issue with the book is that I didn’t understand the point of it. There are a lot of sexual scenes that I’m not sure contributed anything to the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Rock the Boat by Beck Dorey-Stein
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is a great summer book and all I wanted it to be. It is set in a small beach town in New Jersey and it made me want to go there. It is a coming of age story that follows three high school friends that reconnect when they are older.
I tend to like books that are more plot heavy, so I was surprised about how much I enjoyed this book that was more “quiet”. The book is about these characters lives during one summer. What makes this book special is the dynamic between Kate, Ziggy and Miles. Their friendships are rocky but its fun to follow and see them grow. These characters are struggling with adulting and haven’t we all been there? I think the way the author explored that theme was well done and it just makes you think about what makes you an adult. Aren’t we all just trying the best we can? We are never too old to keep growing up.
I’ve seen some reviews criticizing the book because they didn’t like Kate or people that didn’t relate to her. While Kate and I are different I found something in her that I emphasized with and I liked seeing her character develop throughout the story. I think many women in their 30s could see themselves in Kate in some way and that’s one of the things I liked about the book.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
mysterious
slow-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? No
4.0
This was a solid mystery! This book is not a thriller, I think that’s an important distinction to make because you’ll be disappointed if you go into it thinking its a thriller. I listened to the audiobook and I was hooked from the beginning. I think the narrator was great and I recommend it in that format.
I think this book makes for a good book club pick because it makes you think about what you would do. There’s some decisions that the main character, Hannah, has to make I hadn’t thought of what I would do in her position. Aaron and I talked about those things while we were listening to the audiobook and it was fun.
If I had to describe this book with one word it would be enjoyable.