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juliannewarren12's reviews
71 reviews
Sleeping with the Frenemy by Natalie Caña
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
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping
Minor: War
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
This book got me out of a reading slump and is perfect for what it is- a cute romcom slow burn. It is very light to read, even the heavier topics including alcoholism and parent death. Could the characters and heavy topics been more developed? Yeah. Could the plot include more depth and twists? Also yeah. But this was still very cute and fun to read. Unlike many other reviews, I enjoyed Gabe and Chani together. I thought their interactions were pretty realistic in the “Then” chapters in terms of affection/flirting for only each other for one weekend. I also enjoyed the way the book was structured. Splitting between “Then” and “Now”, along with having each chapter end with a relevant article, withheld the right amount of information that was slowly revealed. I liked the we slowly got bits and pieces of their history. I’d be interested in a second book about this couple.
Liars by Sarah Manguso
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Not the book for me but the message is powerful. As a woman, it’s hard not to relate to parts of this story. As much as I enjoyed the overall theme, I just couldn’t get into it. The lack of chapters added stress while reading. I understand the decision to not include chapters but that style is just not for me personally. All of the characters just felt so bland. I wish we could’ve gotten more about Jane’s mental health besides “I’m crazy” and “I want to kill myself.” The child was so bland as well too. I hate hate hate John so much. I know way too many men like him…
By the end I was just speed reading to get it over with. I wouldn’t recommend this book as there are others that portray female rage/being stuck in marriage and motherhood better.
By the end I was just speed reading to get it over with. I wouldn’t recommend this book as there are others that portray female rage/being stuck in marriage and motherhood better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
This is a memoir everyone should be reading during times like this in America (2025). This story beautifully shows the suffering, and joy, of immigrating “illegally” to America through the lens of a child in the 1990s. Watching the childlike ease harden into constant fear and anxiety way too young is very eye opening to those who’ve never experienced this. It unfortunate that many people still experience the same feats of racism and poverty while immigrating to America but I hope that this story opens up people to become empathetic.
Lies He Told Me by David Ellis, James Patterson
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It took about 1/3 into the book to become interesting. The initial plot twist is very easy to predict but then the plot twist, twists about 10 more times. While it was an entertaining story, the character development/world building was lacking. The only character that had a personality to the writers was Marcie. Silas and the mob boss were supposed to be so scary, yet the lack of depth in every character made the stakes feel so small and no one was threatening at all. I hated how they kept trying to build tension between Marcie and Kyle and then make them friends in the epilogue. They should’ve built up more tension or just completely left Kyle out of the epilogue. I’ll be honest, I still don’t fully understand what “side” Camille was on and who’s the father of her baby. It was a quick and interesting read, but nothing mind blowing or newsworthy. The last quarter of the book is the only reason it’s not a 2 star read.
The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
4.0
It feels so wrong to rate a memoir, especially this one. I feel so bad for all of them and hope they are all doing okay. Shari is a great writer and did such a good job navigating how much to share without losing privacy for her family. I didn’t know much at all about this family/8 Passengers before this book and would recommend everyone to read this no matter their level of knowledge about these tragic events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Physical abuse
Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford
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? Yes
5.0
OMG… this book truly took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I kept having to remind myself that this is fiction and not too stress so much about Jenny’s secret, but I think it’s also so important to recognize the realness to this book. The fact that this is a fiction story but can be true for many women is just utterly devastating but I appreciate the author acknowledging that in the acknowledgments. It such an important discussion to having around current AND past views on adoption, abortion, and the flaws of the prolife movements.
I just need to say that Bernard Quinn is an angel on earth.The way he was so able to forgive and embrace Jenny’s secret was beautiful. He didn’t have to be okay with going 60 years without knowing about James, but he was so kind and forgiving to Jenny. The forgiveness will truly stick with me and remind me to forgive more in my life as well. I think we can all learn so much from his character and even on just how to forgive.
I enjoyed the plot and all of the characters but final chapters were just so powerful that it is all I can take away from this book.
I think everyone needs to read this story asap.
I just need to say that Bernard Quinn is an angel on earth.
I enjoyed the plot and all of the characters but final chapters were just so powerful that it is all I can take away from this book.
I think everyone needs to read this story asap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent
A Proposal They Can't Refuse by Natalie Caña
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? Yes
3.5
This book had so much potential to be a 4+ star for me but it fell short in some key areas.
The author does a good job at making the dialogue flow and sound natural, especially when switching from Spanish to English. The plot is easy for the reader to understand without much world building, but complex enough to make it through the whole book.
I enjoyed the characters, especially the two grandfathers. I felt that we learned just enough about the side characters to enjoy their presence and were in the story an appropriate amount of time.
I liked Liam and Kamilah but their relationship fell flat to me. There was so much build up and tension during the beginning of the “fake” relationship but the release was not satisfying. When they finally fell for each other, the relationship seemed to stop building up and fell flat overall. I would’ve loved to see more flashbacks from their childhood and more of them not getting a long at first. K moving into L’s apartment would’ve made a good chapter where they were still disagreeing/being mean towards each other.
I did not except the plot twist at the engagement party whatsoever. I thought that was very well done and my jaw genuinely dropped when Leo revealed the mic was on for their whole conversation. That whole scene was captivating with Liam leaving out the back dramatically and Kamilah having to go face her family.
K’s family is pretty toxic but they redeemed themselves in my opinion. I m thought the apology to her parents was written beautifully. It was very sweet but not too sappy or corny.
Saint still being nice to K was nice to see as well. I liked the she had one family member support her.
I was very happy that K’s friend didn’t take her back after finding out about the whole Paris lie. I felt like that was realistic and raw.
I think there should’ve been more information about K and L reconciling but the whisky reveal at the end was sweet. What kind of ruined it for me though was the fact they were still doing the distillery tour and the judges had to watch all of that go down. It made me laugh thinking about how the judges watched this random lady (K) sob and the couple make out when they just expected to be judging whisky. I get that it was meant to be done in from of the cameras but it just took me out of the moment.
I truly hated the one sex scene in this book. It wasn’t overly sexual but it was just flat out cringy. I thought the dirty talk was weird and the description of the whole scene was not enjoyable. There isn’t much “spice” in this book besides one scene and then briefly mentioned later on.
I did tear up at some points in this book at the sweet moments but the main plot didn’t make me emotional at all.
I will probably read the rest of this series as this was a good starting book.
The author does a good job at making the dialogue flow and sound natural, especially when switching from Spanish to English. The plot is easy for the reader to understand without much world building, but complex enough to make it through the whole book.
I enjoyed the characters, especially the two grandfathers. I felt that we learned just enough about the side characters to enjoy their presence and were in the story an appropriate amount of time.
I liked Liam and Kamilah but their relationship fell flat to me. There was so much build up and tension during the beginning of the “fake” relationship but the release was not satisfying. When they finally fell for each other, the relationship seemed to stop building up and fell flat overall. I would’ve loved to see more flashbacks from their childhood and more of them not getting a long at first. K moving into L’s apartment would’ve made a good chapter where they were still disagreeing/being mean towards each other.
K’s family is pretty toxic but they redeemed themselves in my opinion. I m thought the apology to her parents was written beautifully. It was very sweet but not too sappy or corny.
Saint still being nice to K was nice to see as well. I liked the she had one family member support her.
I was very happy that K’s friend didn’t take her back after finding out about the whole Paris lie. I felt like that was realistic and raw.
I think there should’ve been more information about K and L reconciling but the whisky reveal at the end was sweet. What kind of ruined it for me though was the fact they were still doing the distillery tour and the judges had to watch all of that go down. It made me laugh thinking about how the judges watched this random lady (K) sob and the couple make out when they just expected to be judging whisky. I get that it was meant to be done in from of the cameras but it just took me out of the moment.
I truly hated the one sex scene in this book. It wasn’t overly sexual but it was just flat out cringy. I thought the dirty talk was weird and the description of the whole scene was not enjoyable. There isn’t much “spice” in this book besides one scene and then briefly mentioned later on.
I did tear up at some points in this book at the sweet moments but the main plot didn’t make me emotional at all.
I will probably read the rest of this series as this was a good starting book.
In Too Deep by Lee Child, Andrew Child
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
It was okay… just not my cup of tea. This is the only Reacher novel I have read and it was good as a standalone. I was able to understand the story and didn’t feel like there were missing pieces. I would’ve liked more character building for most of the characters (including Reacher but i’m sure reading the other novels would’ve helped me like his character more.) Every single character felt very very surface level that I didn’t really root for OR against anyone.
I did like the unreliable narrator aspect with Reacher having amnesia.I think it was smart that the full story of the crash was never revealed outside of Vidics perspective which was proven to be not the full truth.
I did not catch on to the twist of Vidic being the Fed before it happened and thought that was cool.
Overall, the plot was interesting and there was not that many twists. It was dialogue heavy and focused on the plot versus character and world building.
I enjoyed reading this book once but wont read it again since didn’t make me excited to read at all.
I did like the unreliable narrator aspect with Reacher having amnesia.
I did not catch on to the twist of Vidic being the Fed before it happened and thought that was cool.
Overall, the plot was interesting and there was not that many twists. It was dialogue heavy and focused on the plot versus character and world building.
I enjoyed reading this book once but wont read it again since didn’t make me excited to read at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident