katewutz's reviews
1204 reviews

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Glow by Jessie Gaynor

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters

funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.5

Super fun, loved the various tricks they played on one another and I’m looking forward to the other books. It could have been a little tighter and I wouldn’t have been mad, or the schemes could have escalated even further—by about halfway through, it felt like everyone was ready to apologize and be done. It’s also a little difficult to believe that these people managed to fight for FOUR YEARS STRAIGHT when they can barely resist jumping on each other every time they’re close—the time that they’ve been estranged probably could have been shortened. Overall, though? Enjoyable. 

(OH. Except I’m almost positive Violet’s married title would have been Lady AUDLEY. It should have been Lord James and Lady Audley, not Lord and Lady James. Of note, that did make me wonder about a bigamy plot because of the more famous Lady Audley, but sadly that was not the case here.) 

The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

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

5.0

This. Was. WONDERFUL. Everything I’m looking for in a historical. EVERYTHING. Cat Sebastian is a genius. 

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Did not finish book. Stopped at 20%.

I honestly didn’t care why the girl went missing, where she went, who took her…her life, her brother…just zero interest in any of it. 

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.

Just couldn’t get into it, sadly. 

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I think the blurb copy misled me into thinking this would be more sci-fi.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter in a poetic sense what Lena is, but i had expected a different book where all those threads tied together.

American Mermaid by Julia Langbein

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

dark emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I actually really enjoyed reading this, but like with most of Sarah J Maas’ work, I felt like it was 100-200 pages too long.

And it’s no wonder people keep asking if the characters in Crescent City are REALLY dead—now both of our main characters have died and been resurrected?!?! HOW DOES ANY OF THIS EVEN WORK.

But! It was a nice return to the world, even if it felt sometimes like she was playing diversity (or maybe just LGBTQIA) bingo with the new characters.

 

The SURPRISE MOR IS A LESBIAN was not my favorite handling of a coming out—and what, she hasn’t bothered to tell Azriel, HER FRIEND, over the past 500 YEARS?! Or Cassian, who is obviously fine and chill and would die for her but not in an “I want to fuck you” way? COME ON. Also you cannot convince me Rhysand isn’t bisexual, how much Rhy/Az/Cass fanfic is out there? Like he and Helios never got it on, give me a break.

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

I really loved this one! Bonkers premise, flawless execution. Started recommending it to friends only 1/3 of the way through—always risky, but it turned out fine in this case.