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kamrynkoble's reviews
436 reviews
Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Oh my word! Gah. Those are the two things that keep popping in my head.
I love this. This was a huge step up for me from AB and TOG and I still enjoyed both of them. I love these characters so much already and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I love this. This was a huge step up for me from AB and TOG and I still enjoyed both of them. I love these characters so much already and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Minor: Slavery and Sexual content
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Gah! I remember that when I read this in middle school, I was SO Team Alex and HATED Julien. Now I’m like eh, they’re both . . . teenaged boys. But it’s still so fun!
This one definitely kicks up the dystopian vibe and has a lot more survival elements than Delirium. I think the dual timeline was a wise choice, even though it departs from the first book.
Loved the ending. I wish I could remember how I felt when I read this the first time—I wasn’t surprised now because I actually managed to remember it over the nine years since I first read this.
I listened to this one on audio. Sarah Drew, I love you, but you are just not Lena to me. I might actually “read” Requiem to get away from this narration.
This one definitely kicks up the dystopian vibe and has a lot more survival elements than Delirium. I think the dual timeline was a wise choice, even though it departs from the first book.
Loved the ending. I wish I could remember how I felt when I read this the first time—I wasn’t surprised now because I actually managed to remember it over the nine years since I first read this.
I listened to this one on audio. Sarah Drew, I love you, but you are just not Lena to me. I might actually “read” Requiem to get away from this narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Confinement
Moderate: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Abandonment and Ableism
How to Care for a Human Girl: A Novel by Ashley Wurzbacher
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this one. I found myself highlighting a ton, lots of phrases and ideas truly resonating with me. While I’ve (thankfully) never had to face an unwanted/unplanned pregnancy, I loved this reflection on woman/mother/sisterhood and all the layers of choice within it.
The description and setting was vivid. Some other reviewers have complained about Jada, the one narrator, being too far in her own head. It didn’t bother me. Jada and Maddy both felt real to me and I was surprised by how “relatable” they felt even with stark differences between their situations and mine. Jada especially—but what can I say, I’m a big sister/eldest daughter.
Trigger warnings:cancer, death of a parent, abortion
The description and setting was vivid. Some other reviewers have complained about Jada, the one narrator, being too far in her own head. It didn’t bother me. Jada and Maddy both felt real to me and I was surprised by how “relatable” they felt even with stark differences between their situations and mine. Jada especially—but what can I say, I’m a big sister/eldest daughter.
Trigger warnings:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Cancer, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual content
Addicted to You by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie
dark
emotional
slow-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
2.0
This really didn’t work for me and I’m sad reading all of the great reviews . . . ugh. I just had to force myself to keep picking this up and could barely make myself read much of it in one go. I was really skimming by the end to just get it done.
I just didn’t connect with the characters. It didn’t even bother me that they were such a toxic mess, that’s fine. But I just didn’t find myself rooting for their relationship at all. It felt like a lot of random one-shot scenes about characters without much of an overarching plot. That’s fine when I really connect with the characters, but this one just fell short for me.
I also didn’t like all these random people conveniently swooping in to save the day for no reward in return. I called the one “twist” from a light year away because it just made absolutely no sense that it would be anything else.
I’m still open to giving these authors another go to see if I like a different title better. I don’t know. I really wanted to love this one and I wish I would’ve been hooked/emotionally invested like a lot of the other reviewers.
I just didn’t connect with the characters. It didn’t even bother me that they were such a toxic mess, that’s fine. But I just didn’t find myself rooting for their relationship at all. It felt like a lot of random one-shot scenes about characters without much of an overarching plot. That’s fine when I really connect with the characters, but this one just fell short for me.
I also didn’t like all these random people conveniently swooping in to save the day for no reward in return. I called the one “twist” from a light year away because it just made absolutely no sense that it would be anything else.
I’m still open to giving these authors another go to see if I like a different title better. I don’t know. I really wanted to love this one and I wish I would’ve been hooked/emotionally invested like a lot of the other reviewers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming and Infidelity
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Middle school Kam bad taste. This was one of my favorites and it was SO fun to revisit it. It’s definitely one of the better YA dystopians. I found the audiobook narrator very annoying, but that’s no fault of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Animal death
How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I’m so glad I finally read this. I’ve followed K.C. online for several years now and have enjoyed her other content.
Cleaning has never come easily to me, and I carry deep shame about how the amount of work I’m doing/what my space looks like/how that affects others. A lot of the more “psychology” based points (author is a therapist, interestingly) really did speak to me and I almost cried a few times listening to this.
The book speaks very widely—it’s obvious it’s trying to talk to as many people as possible, but at the cost of not being specific enough sometimes. I wish it was longer and perhaps had a narrower audience.
I gained some great tips from this and if you struggle with maintaining your house for whatever reason, this is a good starting point. But now I feel like I need a different book to learn how to actually execute the cleaning, now that I’m processing that said cleaning is morally neutral 😅
Seriously, if you catch yourself assigning your worth to what your house looks like or how much time you spend cleaning, give this a try. It’s short, sweet, and extremely validating.
Cleaning has never come easily to me, and I carry deep shame about how the amount of work I’m doing/what my space looks like/how that affects others. A lot of the more “psychology” based points (author is a therapist, interestingly) really did speak to me and I almost cried a few times listening to this.
The book speaks very widely—it’s obvious it’s trying to talk to as many people as possible, but at the cost of not being specific enough sometimes. I wish it was longer and perhaps had a narrower audience.
I gained some great tips from this and if you struggle with maintaining your house for whatever reason, this is a good starting point. But now I feel like I need a different book to learn how to actually execute the cleaning, now that I’m processing that said cleaning is morally neutral 😅
Seriously, if you catch yourself assigning your worth to what your house looks like or how much time you spend cleaning, give this a try. It’s short, sweet, and extremely validating.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Finally! I have read Throne of Glass. Read this one as a buddy read with Danielle (and coincidently at the same time as my cousin Tori)! That always makes it more fun.
I don’t have anything to say that has not already been said by my friends here, let alone every other reviewer. I think I’ve been “primed” for TOG so much that I knew exactly what to expect and wasn’t disappointed.
I’m excited to see where it goes from here. At this moment, I am glad that I read Assassin’s Blade first. I have literally no opinion on the love triangle men yet, but hey, I’ll always take a captain of the guard and a Crown Prince.
Royalty-based, medieval-feeling romantasy always does it for me.
I don’t have anything to say that has not already been said by my friends here, let alone every other reviewer. I think I’ve been “primed” for TOG so much that I knew exactly what to expect and wasn’t disappointed.
I’m excited to see where it goes from here. At this moment, I am glad that I read Assassin’s Blade first. I have literally no opinion on the love triangle men yet, but hey, I’ll always take a captain of the guard and a Crown Prince.
Royalty-based, medieval-feeling romantasy always does it for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Slavery, Death, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.5
I enjoyed this. It’s been a bit since I’ve read something more literary and character-driven. I liked the reflective point-of-view, and the atmosphere was great. If you like complicated English majors on the east coast in the 90s, this is a good pick.
It addressed multiple nuanced subject matters: professor/student affairs (it’s not adult x minor but the power dynamic…yikes), adultery, kidnapping, blurry consent, dead parents, divorce, feminism…
While I found it thought provoking, I didn’t have much of an emotional reaction to it. The plot/pacing was also not very even. It’s well written and I’d read more from this author, but it left me wanting a bit more.
It addressed multiple nuanced subject matters: professor/student affairs (it’s not adult x minor but the power dynamic…yikes), adultery, kidnapping, blurry consent, dead parents, divorce, feminism…
While I found it thought provoking, I didn’t have much of an emotional reaction to it. The plot/pacing was also not very even. It’s well written and I’d read more from this author, but it left me wanting a bit more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, and Infidelity
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Suicide, and Car accident
Minor: Pregnancy
Elvis and Me: The True Story of the Love Between Priscilla Presley and the King of Rock N' Roll by Priscilla Presley
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Wow. Even though it was obvious that Priscilla danced around a lot that would make Elvis look bad, he comes across as a basket case and I think Priscilla might have the patience of a saint. If I were her, I would have had several mental breakdowns dealing with all of this.
This was written in the 1980s and I would be very curious what she thought of it now. I’m a little horrified by all Priscilla was put through, and it seemed a bit like she hadn’t even acknowledged the magnitude of what grown adults did when she was a literal child.
This paints in pretty broad strokes. There’s some honesty, but everything is so big picture that it never dives too deeply into anything. I did love the glimpses at the end about her finally discovering more of herself beyond who Elvis wanted her to be, but this whole book is definitely more focused on him.
It’s honestly very sad how loving/concerned about each other they were during and after their divorce. It just did not have to be this way. I frequently wished I could’ve hugged Priscilla—someone should have. It seemed like she was terribly alone even in rooms full of other people.
I’m very excited for the upcoming A24 movie based on this. It was my final push to read this.
This was written in the 1980s and I would be very curious what she thought of it now. I’m a little horrified by all Priscilla was put through, and it seemed a bit like she hadn’t even acknowledged the magnitude of what grown adults did when she was a literal child.
This paints in pretty broad strokes. There’s some honesty, but everything is so big picture that it never dives too deeply into anything. I did love the glimpses at the end about her finally discovering more of herself beyond who Elvis wanted her to be, but this whole book is definitely more focused on him.
It’s honestly very sad how loving/concerned about each other they were during and after their divorce. It just did not have to be this way. I frequently wished I could’ve hugged Priscilla—someone should have. It seemed like she was terribly alone even in rooms full of other people.
I’m very excited for the upcoming A24 movie based on this. It was my final push to read this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse
The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I actually called who the killer was an eon before the reveal. Some secrets were a surprise, but not that one. Although, something I hate in thrillers is the info dump epilogue and that’s exactly what this was.
Another thing that made this fall flat for me is that I disliked all the characters and didn’t feel any emotion/sympathy toward any of them.
That being said, excluding the epilogue info dump, this was tightly plotted with lots of elements that were still easy to follow. It’s a very classic thriller and would potentially be a good intro to the genre.
Another thing that made this fall flat for me is that I disliked all the characters and didn’t feel any emotion/sympathy toward any of them.
That being said, excluding the epilogue info dump, this was tightly plotted with lots of elements that were still easy to follow. It’s a very classic thriller and would potentially be a good intro to the genre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Death of parent