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gracenevitt's reviews
156 reviews
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
5.0
this has gotta be my favorite of the series. it's just so amazing in so many ways. will not be accepting criticism at this time. thank you.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
5.0
this is my third re-read it it truly holds up even 10+ years later. I love this series so much.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware
4.0
love the imagery of Ruth's writing!!! the twists were great in this for the most part even if the motivation might have felt slightly glossed over. in general, a really fun suspenseful mystery!!! it gave agatha christie vibes almost.
Worth Fighting For by Jesse Q. Sutanto
2.75
This book is essentially a modernized version of the classic tale of Mulan as told and portrayed in Disney's cartoon version of the story. I came in quite excited and not know exactly what to expect, and unfortunately was a bit disappointed in how the storytelling shook out. In this version of the story, Mulan works for her father's private equity firm and starts out the novel frustrated by the fact that she is constantly being talked down to, as a woman in finance. Her father suffers a heart attack and essentially she has the task of acquiring the whiskey distillery business that her father had been corresponding with via email for the past little while. Unfortunately, it's owned by extremely traditional Chinese men, and don't take kindly to women in roles of power. With all that set up, she takes her father's place and pretends they've been emailing with her the entire time. Due to some claims her father had made in the emails, she is put in a bit of a sticky situation, and is asked to spends time with Shang and his family on their family ranch so she can prove herself to them.
In general, the premise of this was interesting enough, but it did feel a bit stretched to fit in with the Disney adaptation. In its own right, the story is quite silly, and definitely needs a heavy suspension of disbelief to get through. Other than that, the writing was a bit clunky for me, and the romance came on Extremely fast. It was definitely very much insta-love (although Mulan at one point has a moment literally acknowledging and being shocked by said "insta-love"). In general, it lacked the heart I was hoping for, as it was stretching to do maybe just one or two too many things in the story. For some reason it just didn't quite click for me. It was fine for a fun little silly "turn your brain off" kind of romance novel, but I found myself rolling my eyes at the choices being made and the style of writing.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
In general, the premise of this was interesting enough, but it did feel a bit stretched to fit in with the Disney adaptation. In its own right, the story is quite silly, and definitely needs a heavy suspension of disbelief to get through. Other than that, the writing was a bit clunky for me, and the romance came on Extremely fast. It was definitely very much insta-love (although Mulan at one point has a moment literally acknowledging and being shocked by said "insta-love"). In general, it lacked the heart I was hoping for, as it was stretching to do maybe just one or two too many things in the story. For some reason it just didn't quite click for me. It was fine for a fun little silly "turn your brain off" kind of romance novel, but I found myself rolling my eyes at the choices being made and the style of writing.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
Seven Days in Tokyo by José Daniel Alvior
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
In this book we follow a Filipino man wading through the confusion and heartache of a temporary connection. As the narrative shifts back and forth from NYC a little while ago to today in Tokyo, where he has a 7 day stopover, we recount his experience of meeting someone and sorting through his feelings for him. As he waits out the limbo of his pending work visa in order to return to NYC, our main character spends time in Tokyo where he meets up with a man he has developed strong feelings for over the short time he's known him. He grapples with his impermanence and impertinence in the other man's life while the cherry blossoms in Tokyo are fading away as his weeklong journey passes.
It's a beautifully written book that meditates on the ideas of home, relationships, and one's relationship to the space they are in, whether that be as a resident or traveler. The prose and observations of this novel were absolutely stunning, and had me highlighting passages constantly. It truly cut to the quick. It relays that our relationship to where we are and who we're with is often messy and muddled with a lot of feeling. Relationships to where we live and who we love are not always straight forward, but there is always joy and beauty to be found out there in the world in the least expected places and moments. It was a slow-paced literary fiction book that is definitely more "no plot, just vibes", but done in such a way that it kept my attention rapt. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and eagerly await to see what else this author writes in the future! A fantastic debut in my opinion.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for supplying me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.
It's a beautifully written book that meditates on the ideas of home, relationships, and one's relationship to the space they are in, whether that be as a resident or traveler. The prose and observations of this novel were absolutely stunning, and had me highlighting passages constantly. It truly cut to the quick. It relays that our relationship to where we are and who we're with is often messy and muddled with a lot of feeling. Relationships to where we live and who we love are not always straight forward, but there is always joy and beauty to be found out there in the world in the least expected places and moments. It was a slow-paced literary fiction book that is definitely more "no plot, just vibes", but done in such a way that it kept my attention rapt. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and eagerly await to see what else this author writes in the future! A fantastic debut in my opinion.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for supplying me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
4.5
I truly don't know what kind of crack this woman laces up in her books..... but it gets me every time !!!!!!!
all you need to know about this book before going in is that it's a romance, but it borders on erotica!! just be aware !! either way I ADORED the MMC, and sympathized to the FMC even when she was doing things that were frustrating. just love the relationships and worlds Ali Hazelwood cultivates. they feel so safe. love that woman and this book.
all you need to know about this book before going in is that it's a romance, but it borders on erotica!! just be aware !! either way I ADORED the MMC, and sympathized to the FMC even when she was doing things that were frustrating. just love the relationships and worlds Ali Hazelwood cultivates. they feel so safe. love that woman and this book.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
2.5
honestly, I just feel that the story is progressing in a very frustrating way. this is the book that I hoped iron flame could have been, and I feel as though we are just getting ginormous filler books. the way that this ended left me feeling very annoyed and kind of like we were back at square one in a way. I think I'm going to stop reading the series here because I'm just finding myself very frustrated with the way that Yarros is carrying on with the characters, and at this point if it’s gonna be the same formula for every book, I simply don't care enough about them to continue unfortunately.