gracescanlon's reviews
745 reviews

The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wildfire by Hannah Grace

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

So I read this series entirely out of order — Daydream, then Icebreaker, and now Wildfire. I’ve enjoyed them all, and though I think this is my least favorite, it was still fun.

Hannah Grace definitely has her issues as an author — she leans too much on telling, rather than showing — but her authorial talents make her flaws easy to forgive. The friend group is one of the best I’ve ever read in any book or seen in any media. I know people find the group chats cringe, but I like them! They read like actual friend group chats, and this crew is so cute and funny.

I wish the author had provided more description of Russ outside of his body. Reading this, I could only see Russ as a tall, muscular person with a blur for a head. Juxtaposed against Rory, whose appearance was much more fleshed out, the lack of description of Russ’ face, hair, or the particulars of his facial expressions really stood out.

Like the others in the series, Wildfire was cute and fun. I love the author’s continued stress on the importance of communication. “Communication is key” is trite, but no less true.

Content Warnings

Weyward by Emilia Hart

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

4.25

Paris By Starlight by Robert Dinsdale

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adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian

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hopeful tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

Take Two, Birdie Maxwell by Allison Winn Scotch

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I had conflicting feelings about Birdie. On the one hand, I thought her self-absorption, which manifested as thoughtlessness and a victim mentality despite her status as America’s cinema sweetheart was entirely believable. Her flaws were realistic, but Birdie fell into the opposite of the “Mary Sue” — I struggled to find positive or likable qualities in her.

Elliot I found similar, though more polarizing. He’s shockingly emotionally stunted, especially for a man in his mid-thirties. At least Birdie’s immaturity can be somewhat explained by her A-list status and perpetual underdog mentality, but Elliot just read immature because…because he was, I guess? He had a few more positive/likable qualities than Birdie, which meant any regard for her past a lifelong unrequited crush confounded me.

Elliot’s backstory

of squishy journalistic ethics was the more compelling of the two by a long shot. I’d have loved to delve into that more.

I understand that it’s a romance, but felt that many substantial issues were brought up (harassment, elitism, etc.) only as plot devices. There’s a difference between these issues being a part of the conflict that’s explored to an appropriate degree and just using them to heighten tension without actually addressing or really commenting on them.

I did think it was realistic that Birdie would face some backlash after standing against the director, but the extent of the PR nightmare that followed — how fully the entire country turned on her and how long it went on — was wholly unbelievable.

Kai was the most interesting character. Believable, insufferable. Carter was a sweetie, and Simon was solid.

Notorious by Minerva Spencer

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funny tense medium-paced