juliannewarren12's reviews
69 reviews

The Do-Over by Lynn Painter

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lighthearted fast-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

2.25

13 year old me would’ve ate this up. This book is so cringy as an adult but is perfect as a teen/YA book. Plot is super predictable and cliché- the endless Taylor Swift references don’t help either. It was an easy read that only took a couple of hours, perfect for reading in between tense books. 
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis

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adventurous emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

This story was very cute and fun to read in the moment but it was missing something. It didn’t feel so much like a thriller, more so a mystery with an emotional side plot. I did not guess most of the twists but the reveals all felt underwhelming. I think this book would’ve benefitted from 1st person or more multi POVs than just Annie and Charlotte.
I think it would have been really cook to include Henry’s POV and have them both show their sides of looking for each other after decades apart. Even Fatima’s POV could’ve been super interesting since she had interacted with both of her parents without them knowing. 


I also think this story wrapped up too nicely… it would have benefited from leaving something unfulfilled. Also I get that
Annie purposely solved everything but it felt too convenient. I think more suspense/thriller elements would have shown better is Annie didn’t put all of the clues together… there needed more to go wrong.


I enjoyed reading this in the moment and finished it in a day but it left me unsatisfied with the structure/flow. If I didn’t enjoy the storyline so much it would probably be 2 stars. 
The Guest List by Lucy Foley

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dark tense 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

TW if you don’t like reading about revenge porn and sexual harassment SKIP THIS BOOK 

I wanted to DNF this book for the first third. It took until the last 100 pages for me to actually be interested but even then most of the twists were predictable.
The only twist that shocked me was Will being “Steven”. I even guessed the killer pretty easily.
 

It was interesting in the end but it took way too long to get there. The whole frat and rape culture was a little too much in my opinion. I hatttteeeddd the men (which is the point) to where I genuinely didn’t want to read this. Having to read the way the men talked and acted made me want to crawl out of my own skin. The main women were enjoyable but I didn’t even want to read their chapters since the men ruined this story for me. 

This book is only above 2 stars since the last 100 pages were so interesting.

I get that this story is supposed to be dark and that Will is an awful guy, but hearing about to sexual instances that ruined Alice and Olivias lives just made this unenjoyable as a young woman myself. I’m glad Jules and Olivia made up in the end.
 

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Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

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emotional medium-paced

4.0

This memoir was a beautiful story honoring the author’s mother. It was a very raw take on caring for a sick family members and all of the struggles that come with. It is intertwined with personal recounts of traveling and growing up half Korean in America that were equally as interesting. 

I think this quote was so impactful:
I thought of how cyclical it was to be sandwiched between my new husband and my deceased mother. I imagined our four bodies in aerial view. On the right side, two newlyweds beginning their first chapter, on the left, a widower and a corpse, closing the book on over thirty years of marriage. 

This memoir makes me want to go home and hug my mom and never take that for granted again. 
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The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

God of the Woods was amazing. I was so interested, it pained me to put the book down while reading. The twists were interesting and I didn’t predict until right before the reveal. 

Liz Moore does a great job at balancing the flashbacks and alternating character POVs where it is not confusing to keep up with. I enjoyed which characters she chose to give a POV from and how everyone from “all sides” were represented. This genuinely made me interested in both the characters and the plot. 

Everyone online seems to hate the ending but personally I adore it.
Judy respecting Barbara’s wish to disappear was powerful in my opinion. I especially enjoyed the simplicity of the last scene: “Do you want me to leave you alone?” “Yes.”  I felt like leaving the conversation at that was very telling and was an interesting balance of closure and non-closure. I can see why people would find it a let down if they were looking for a dramatic end OR no end reveal, but the ending that was written almost feels more life-like.


This was easily one of the best books i’ve read in the past year. 
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Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era by Laurence Leamer

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Too hard to keep track of everyone. I couldn’t get past the first few chapters because it was too hard to remember all of these names with their stories switching back and forth. 
Loathe to Love You by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional funny fast-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? Yes

3.5

If you are reading this in 2025 and on… Trigger warning El*n M*sk is mentioned in the bonus chapter lol

All three novellas were very cute and I enjoyed how they are were connected. I think the bonus chapter really tied it all together beautifully. 

I wish Below Zero was longer because it felt too rushed. I think it would’ve been better as a novel so we could feel more of the tension between Ian and Hannah. The whole plot felt rushed but was still enjoyable. 

I think Ali Hazelwood does best with longer novels but reading them straight through (like in Love to Loathe You) helped make the characters seem more developed. 

Under One Roof has the most character development so naturally it was the best but I would lovveeee to read Below Zero in a longer form. 
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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emotional 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

This was my first intro to Ali Hazelwood and safe to say I am hooked. I genuinely couldn’t put this book down and read it in one day. I enjoyed the balance of romantic and (especially female) platonic friendships throughout the story. 

This book would be rated higher for me if every twist wasn’t so predictable.
The only part that actually made me gasp was when Tom assaulted Olive. The pain of experiencing that and then hiding it from Adam was beautifully written in my opinion. I think Ali perfectly captured Olive’s struggle of deciding if she should tell Adam and risk him losing his relationship with Tom or not.


The only thing that irked me about this story was just the amount of staff willing to date students. Maybe it’s more realistic at the PhD level but I was kind of grossed out about how no one (esp other staff) seemed to care about the power imbalance of that. 

The Love Hypothesis was a fun story to read and as a biologist, this holds a special place in my heart. 
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Sleeping with the Frenemy by Natalie Caña

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emotional relaxing 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

2.25

I really enjoy reading this author’s work and hope she branches out of this specific trope in the future. Just like the other two books, all you need to know is that this follows the same structure in each book (except this time there’s a dog) Personally Sofi and Leo’s relationship was the least interesting to me but that may just be because the flow of the story is getting repetitive. 

A Dish Best Served Hot by Natalie Caña

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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

3.0

Cute story but all you need to know is that this series follows the same structure in each book: 
boy and girl already know each other from their youth -> get close and start dating with their grandpas meddling  -> big dramatic event leads to a third-act breakup -> grandpas intervene  -> couple gets back together and professes their love each other

I hope the author branches out more because her writing style is so enjoyable to read. 
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