juliewr423's reviews
97 reviews

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

4.0

Cute quick read it has a satisfying ending even though it's part 1 of a series. i like the magical realism and the characters are pretty well cleaned out even though it's short. Definitely recommend 

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore

2.5

I will say right off the bat my review is skewed by my personal feelings so take it with a grain of salt.
The only trope missing for me that I hate is the miscommunication/no communication. But it's on me for going in blind. I almost dnf cuz I hate the single parent trope and I'm not a kid person period.

I totally knew she was gonna end up pregnant. Heavily skimmed after that reveal and was deeply disappointed it was a boy because of course the only way they could feel happy and complete was to have a boy.

not for me.

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

3.75

Almost a 4. But the first half was dreadfully boring. I find more and more duologies fall into the same trap where both books kind of drag with extraneous details to make the story span 2 books. That being said the last half of this book was good. I was surprised several times.

was the storyline with her cousin totally necessary idk

I appreciated the cliffhanger ending and the overall theme that the Egyptian people have a right to their history and what to do with it. Looking forward to reading book 2

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Did not finish book. Stopped at 46%.

Not for me at all I've spent the past 47% wondering what the point is and so fricken BORED. I tried 3 different formats and I just can't do it

Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

4.0

I've been really enjoying haynes's take on Greek mythology. I think she does a really good job narrating it I enjoyed it more than trying to read it. My familiarity with the sorce material is minimal so I don't have much to compare her version to.

Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes

4.0

Had a false start a while ago - I didn't realize initially it was nonfiction. But I decided to revisit and I'm glad I did. If you liked Greek mythology and have enjoyed recent retellings with the women at the center (a thousand ships, circle, clytemnestra, stone blind) I think you'll appreciate this discussion of prominent women in myths and how their stories have been twisted or glossed over

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

3.0

I mean it's a rom com? Kind of predictable. I like that it takes place in Palo Alto although

if his mom has stage 4 lung cancer I'm confused why the author chose to have her receive care at pamf instead of Stanford

totally reminds me of Renee Oliphant but with sex haha

His Mortal Demise by Vanessa Le

2.75

I'm starting to realize that perhaps duologies are not for me.... this sequel was mid at best in my opinion. I skipped through quite a bit especially the war/battle scenes and I felt like when characters got filled in on what had been going on in the other time lines we got the full story instead of a gloss over or like a "then I told her/him/them all they missed" type deal. I feel like this one felt more YA than the first especially with Kochin I felt like his character didn't really develop he just kind of went around in circles with his internal conflict and I felt best over the head with what he felt were his inadequacies. And I hate the old "I can't tell anyone my problems" cliche that he felt with in regards to his family and his time in the city and with Nhika especially the first time he goes home. I feel like maybe the series would have landed better for me if it had been a standalone instead.

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez

4.0

An eloquent story of 4 daughters' immigrant experience/how different their life was in the Dominican Republic before having to flea. I wasn't paying enough attention at the beginning and got a little confused at the timeline. The story reminded me "of women and salt" but instead of the different generations of the family it was the different sisters.

Babel by R.F. Kuang

2.5

The way the story was built is not for me. I like little fluff and a clear conflict and a clear resolution. I thought this would be a blend of the Atlas Six and Blood Over Bright Haven and it didn't land for me the way those stories did. I also appreciate a little more nuance vs telling you exactly what to think.