jcaceres88's reviews
372 reviews

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed this a lot! It would have been a five star read if I had gotten more answers. I don't love when authors leave so much up to inference and letting the reader fill in the gaps. I like my stories to have definitive paths and endings lol. But otherwise I thought this was really well written and such a different story to well from what you usually see out of thrillers.

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-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

I wasn't super invested when this first started and didn't feel that same intrigue from before to want an answer to the mystery. It wasn't until 1/3rd of the way through that i became more invested. Thanks to the back half of the back I actually feel like I like this one more than the 1st (which is rare for a 2nd book in a trilogy). I feel like the mystery was a little more complex this time around and the path to get to the end more layered. Character development also stepped up with this one and I have a better understanding of what makes these people tick. Looking forward to reading the next one and hoping it keeps this upward trajectory!

Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover

dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I was waffling about giving this one a four. I think the emotional high made me think it was better than it actually was. This is definitely one of those books where the more time that passes, the more I'll pick it apart and the lower my rating will get. Hence why I just landed at 3.5 lol.

The Pros: the characters, the emotion, the connection I felt to them, how invested I was in the story

The Cons: so much wasn't logical and I spent a good chunk of the book not knowing if I wanted to like the main character. The ending felt rushed after we spent so long building towards it. 

All in: not as bad as some other CoHo books I've read and I enjoyed the read. 

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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

I really enjoyed this and probably would have given it a 4.5 if the story had just progressed a teeny bit further. The world building was super interesting here but I feel like it's also trying to do too much. There are a lot of interesting concepts that I feel like could be fleshed out further but don't go all the way because there isn't room to with everything going on. And it feels like we keep building towards a specific path just for it to get torn down before given the chance. But otherwise I enjoyed all the character and everything we learned and can't wait for the next one after that crazy ending!

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

2.5

There was so much unhealthy behavior in this book if was truly mind boggling. I literally want no woman to ever read this and believe in this crock LOL. Between Tate constantly pushing down her own thoughts and needs for this man who was treating her like crap... to Miles's ridiculous notions about why he was in the right to treat her like crap and then magically overhaul his entire way of thinking and becoming this completely different person overnight based on one conversation I'm just in awe that this was really all living in one book. I'm a sucker for a good romance and really don't care about the overuse of tropes but this was not it guys.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-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? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed this read, there were just a few things that kept me from LOVING it. One of which is that it's really hard to connect with some of these characters with how quickly we hop around sometimes. The author also had a habit of dropping some momentous devastating developments and then abruptly moving on. I wish we had spent some more time in the direct aftermath of these developments to learn more about how the family dealt with it. But otherwise I enjoyed learning so much about the Korean and Japanese communities during these time periods. There was so much I didn't know about that history and learning it through the lens of multiple generations of this family was a unique experience that I actually very much enjoyed.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I finished this hook fairly quickly, I liked the short chapter format. The puzzles/game sucked me in but I feel like it didn't really deliver. I was expecting a little more, even from just a character development angle. It was a fun read but it fell a little flat for me. I'll continue reading the series as it was still entertaining but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get a bit more in the next installments.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

adventurous mysterious reflective 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

Loved the magic system and the world building. Some of it was predictable but there were also some fun moments of surprised littered through out the way too. Just so great to see a POC be the lead in a YA fantasy novel.

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

emotional reflective sad 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

2.5

I'm usually a sucker for a good love story but this one was tough to get through. After a certain point I just started skimming just to get to the end. There were so many problematic moments for me here... between Ben being super forceful at times to Fallon only gaining confidence because of external validation... it just was super cringe. I wanted to love it going in but just cannot.

Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

I do not understand why people rave about this book. First of all, it should come with several trigger warnings. Second of all, the main character is so hard to empathize with and these tough topics were not dealt with well. The writing was very choppy for me and I got to the point where I was just skimming through parts in order to just be done with it.