heathero621's reviews
584 reviews

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

challenging dark emotional informative 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? No

4.75

This book is based on a real woman, Martha Ballard, that was a midwife in the late 1700s.  There is a man that is found dead in the frozen river and Martha is called to come give her opinion on the cause of the man's death and she determines that he was killed before he was put in the river.  This leads her to look further into his death and along the way she learns secrets about the women and the men in the town.  

I listened to this book on audio and it was really good.  Usually I'm not a huge fan of listening to these kinds of books on audio because I find that my mind tends to wander a bit more than usual, but not for this book.  I was captivated from the start and throughout the book.  It is really interesting how the book is based on a true person.  I loved the midwifery portions of the book.  I've read Lawhon before and this is my favorite book of hers so far.  

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

challenging dark emotional informative sad 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

This is a WWII novel that takes place in Poland.  A group of Jewish people are held captive in a ghetto by the Nazis.  Adam Paskow is a man that is in the group and he is the English teacher for some of the children there.  He was approached and asked if he could be an archivist and record the stories of the different people living in the ghetto, which he agrees too.  WWII historical fiction novels tend to be my least favorite.  I think that is because there are so many stories written during this time period and I'm not a huge fan of war novels.  I went into this with low expectations and came out of it liking the book more than I thought I would.  It isn't a story that I've heard before and it was based on some real events.  It's sad, but there is some hope.  

Penelope in Retrograde by Brooke Abrams

emotional funny 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

3.5

Penny is coming back home to her parents' house to have Thanksgiving with them and her twin sister.  Every time the family is together, there always seems to be some drama and this Thanksgiving is no different.  On the way from the airport, Penny ends up in a ride share with her ex-husband, who is also going home (across the street from her parent's house) and things get dramatic from there.

I enjoyed the book and I wanted to see where everything was going to go and the author kept my interest.  It wasn't the best romcom that I've ever read, but there were some funny scenes in the novel.  Nana Rosie was my favorite character.  There actually isn't that much romance in the book (there are no open door scenes) and it felt more like a family drama, but not so literary.

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

funny lighthearted sad 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

3.5

This book is about Jane who lives in a small town where everyone knows each other and the man that she is interested in, Duncan, has dated practically all of the women in the town, which makes her life interesting.  This is a slow burn novel.  It is definitely character driven and not a lot of plot to it.  I think that it should've been edited down some.  I did like the characters.  I listened to the book and when they did the time jumps I didn't catch them and I would get all confused because stuff would now be a year ahead and it felt disjointed listening to it that way (I think reading it would have been better).  

From From: Poems by Monica Youn

challenging emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This is a book of poems that discusses mostly what it is like being Asian American and how she and others have dealt with that identity.  I thought that this was a good book of poems.  There were definitely some that I found more interesting than others.  It didn't have my total attention at times.  It was a very quick read and my first poetry book of 2024 (last year I read a poetry book every month and I'm continuing on with that tradition this year).

The Secret Life Of Sunflowers: A gripping, inspiring novel based on the true story of Johanna Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law by Marta Molnar

emotional informative sad medium-paced

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

3.0

This is a historical fiction novel about Van Gogh's SIL Johanna and how she is trying to get Van Gogh's work recognized to a wider audience.  There is another storyline set in current times about an auctioneer, whose grandmother had Johanna's diary in her possession.  I only thought that the book was so-so.  I didn't really get the connection between the two women until the end.  I thought that it would've been stronger if it was just Johanna's story.  Emsley's story didn't seem to fit.  I wanted to know more about Johanna and I would've loved more about Vincent Van Gogh, but there really wasn't that much.  

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

emotional informative reflective sad 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

4.0

This is a YA novel told in verse about a young woman that lives in NY that wants to become a poet, but she is also dealing with what it means to be a teen girl.  This book has been on my TBR list for quite some time, but I just never got around to it and then it was recommended as a good audiobook and I have to agree!  The author did a great job and you could feel the cadence and emotion more in the book since it was being read.  I really liked it a lot.  It's also a very fast read because it is told in verse.

We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna Asgarian

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.75

This is the story about some kids that were in foster care that were adopted to two women, who abused them and ended up killing them.  Their story made huge headlines, but the the focus was on the women/mothers.  This book focuses on the foster care system that failed these kids and focuses on the kids and their birth families.  It's a real tragic story and infuriating about the Texas court and foster system.  The book seemed well researched and I liked that the focus was on the kids and not the mothers, although there is enough about them.  It is a super sad story and I think this author did them justice. 

Woke Up Like This by Amy Lea

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? No

4.0

This was a YA romance novel about Char and JT, two enemies at school that are working on decorating at the prom when Char falls off the ladder and lands on JT.  The next thing they know they are both 30 and are dating.  They have to figure out 1) How they ended up together 2) Are they really 30 or is this some crazy dream one of them is having?.  This was a cute romcom book.  It was very reminiscent of To All the Boys I Loved, which I love.  I liked the main characters and it was fun seeing them in their future selves and I liked that both of them were experiencing being in their 30s and not just one of them.  I think it would make a cute movie and from the acknowledgments it sounds like it will be made.  

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

There was a children's show called Mister Magic that ran for decades, but the last showing of it was in in the 90s and now in current times you can't find any information about the show as all of the episodes and any information of it has been scrubbed from the internet, yet people know it happened.  A woman named Val is approached by a couple of men and they tell her that they were all in the last season of Mister Magic and there is a podcast that is going to talk about it and they want all of the cast members from that last season to get together again.  Val doesn't remember these people or the show, but agrees to go to the dessert in Utah where it was filmed to figure out about her past.  I listened to this book and I was so glad that I did.  I think that it was a really good listen.  I was captivated through all of the book to see how it was going to play out.  I know that it had some mysterious/supernatural elements to it that I'm not a huge fan of in books, but I think it worked here. The book could've taken a turn in a horror direction, but it didn't (might've worked with this book).  Definitely some anti-religious overtones to this book.