k8lynn's reviews
211 reviews

Virgins by Diana Gabaldon

adventurous hopeful lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

i might need to revisit this after reading a few Outlander books. this was confusing to start off with, but i would definitely reread after getting more context. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

this is the most difficult book i have ever read. i cried so hard. but it really opens up questions in your mind you never thought you'd ask.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.

only one narrator is throwing me off since we're following multiple characters. especially since he's so monotoned. i think i would benefit from reading this in paperback or ebook so i can follow along better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? Yes

3.5

i received this book as an ARC from a storygraph Beta giveaway. i was very excited as it was my first print win. this book was a bit slow to start, but once i got into the meatier bits it was hard to put down. i will say it's one of the first books i've ever predicted, not sure if that's good or bad, but part of me felt a great deal of joy that i was right. the ending felt a bit rushed and abrupt, but i enjoyed my overall reading experience with this one. i would read it again in the published form to see if anything is different.

some little things took me out, such as the grammar and typos (too many to count) and the word choice was a bit redundant. for example, the author would say something was "squalling" or "teetering" then only a few paragraphs later were those words used again. or there'd be a series of three or four sentences that all began with "she" or "there" that just felt a little monotonous. some of the dialogue was very realistic, but other aspects of it i couldn't imagine anyone saying. & some of the letters were more descriptive than actual narration.

not totally sure the point of Raymond or Tom as characters or how they add to the story at all?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

The Stranded by Sarah Daniels

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

this book was awesome. so hard to stop reading! i definitely would like to read more buy this author!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

You Are Here by David Nicholls

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing 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

3.0

The Love Bet by G.L. Tomas

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

i gave this book a lot of grace since it's from an indie author, however this book does have pros and cons. overall i enjoyed the premise and thought it read like a Wattpad story, but the grammar errors were so overpowering it was hard to read sometimes. The grammar was so horrible I couldn't always determine who was speaking when and information was always delivered through dialogue. There were so many run-on sentences but the narrators were so personable. I appreciated the bilingual aspects and the black narrator and the inclusion of ASL. There was little to no conflict, very low stakes, and it tried a bit hard to be "woke" with terms like "code switch" despite her love interest being "conservative leaning"? This book definitely needed more rounds of revision but not a bad read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Mirror Image by Sandra Brown

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol