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kathleenandherbooks's reviews
201 reviews
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This book is excellent. The writing is fantastic & simultaneously makes it easy to sit and read while also making you think of all of the points he makes throughout the book. I am in no way a writer, and I truly feel like any review I write would not be sufficient for how good this book is. The quotes from this book alone speak for itself in how necessary, and good this book truly is.
I will definitely be reading his other works, especially American War which he references throughout this book.
Thank you AAKnopf for sending me the arc and finished copies of this book, I can’t wait to recommend & share this book with others.
I will definitely be reading his other works, especially American War which he references throughout this book.
Thank you AAKnopf for sending me the arc and finished copies of this book, I can’t wait to recommend & share this book with others.
The Bone Season: Tenth Anniversary Edition by Samantha Shannon
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this book. The magic system & world building was incredibly interesting and I have never read a book that has a world even remotely similar to this one. I’m so excited to continue reading about this world and getting to know the characters even more. I listened to the updated audiobook of this book and think the narrator did a fantastic job.
Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This is a perfect book. (more thoughts to come)
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.0
I really really liked this book, I honestly liked it much more than book 2 and really enjoyed how much was happening. I’m excited for the rest of this series and seeing how it unfolds.
Shoot Your Shot by Lexi LaFleur Brown
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
I was so excited when I realized this was available to read on netgalley, as I was following along Lexi’s journey writing a hockey romance on Tiktok. Being that she’s an NHL wag and an ex hockey player herself, I knew she was capable of doing the genre justice!
This book was absolutely adorable and had so many different facets that I loved. Jaylen is so adorable and is such a golden retriever, and I loved everything he would do to impress and win over Lucy. Lucy was a refreshing FMC who was alternative but never once felt “not like other girls”. She was relatable and imperfect and I truly loved that about her character.
I loved the mental health representation, LGBTQIA+ representation, and how it brings attention to the racism that is very present in hockey leagues and hockey spaces.
For this being Lexi’s first book, I think she did a really great job, and I’m really looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.
This book was absolutely adorable and had so many different facets that I loved. Jaylen is so adorable and is such a golden retriever, and I loved everything he would do to impress and win over Lucy. Lucy was a refreshing FMC who was alternative but never once felt “not like other girls”. She was relatable and imperfect and I truly loved that about her character.
I loved the mental health representation, LGBTQIA+ representation, and how it brings attention to the racism that is very present in hockey leagues and hockey spaces.
For this being Lexi’s first book, I think she did a really great job, and I’m really looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is so impactful, beautifully written, gripping, horrifying, and incredibly important.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chain gang all stars is about a new dystopian blood sport and form of “entertainment” that has been presented in the US where incarcerated individuals fight to the death in a program called the CAPE program (criminal action penal entertainment). The fighters can climb the ranks to eventually hit the top where they can become fully freed, but only once they kill enough to entertain and satisfy their owners and spectators. The fighters are heavily advertised upon by varying industries based on how successful they are during the death matches, and they are made to be a spectacle which is beloved by the majority of the viewership. They can earn blood points that they use to have better sleeping accommodations, food, medical supplies, weapons and armor, but these blood points are earned by winning and by killing other prisoners.
This book is multi-POV and even shows us what it’s like for the individuals who support and enjoy watching the fights unfold, and how they rationalize their own personal love of the blood sport and what they view as “justice”. They constantly make excuses about how those imprisoned will “volunteer” for the program and how they deserve it due to their crimes.
Although this book is fiction, it’s just an exaggerated example of the US prison system, mass incarceration, systemic racism and the exploitation of prisoners for profit. The story itself is fictional and dystopian, but the details and themes mirror the real life issues in america’s legal and prison system. There are even non fiction cases sprinkled in the margins of the book to add emphasis and clarification on what is fiction and what is not.
I have become increasingly interested in educating myself more on the prison-industrial complex, the impact that prisons have on our country and oppressed communities, and what it means to live in a country that glorifies prison and “vengeance” over basic human rights.
If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend you do because it not only had a profound impact on me, it was a difficult, important, enjoyable read. I also listened to the first half on audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Chain gang all stars is about a new dystopian blood sport and form of “entertainment” that has been presented in the US where incarcerated individuals fight to the death in a program called the CAPE program (criminal action penal entertainment). The fighters can climb the ranks to eventually hit the top where they can become fully freed, but only once they kill enough to entertain and satisfy their owners and spectators. The fighters are heavily advertised upon by varying industries based on how successful they are during the death matches, and they are made to be a spectacle which is beloved by the majority of the viewership. They can earn blood points that they use to have better sleeping accommodations, food, medical supplies, weapons and armor, but these blood points are earned by winning and by killing other prisoners.
This book is multi-POV and even shows us what it’s like for the individuals who support and enjoy watching the fights unfold, and how they rationalize their own personal love of the blood sport and what they view as “justice”. They constantly make excuses about how those imprisoned will “volunteer” for the program and how they deserve it due to their crimes.
Although this book is fiction, it’s just an exaggerated example of the US prison system, mass incarceration, systemic racism and the exploitation of prisoners for profit. The story itself is fictional and dystopian, but the details and themes mirror the real life issues in america’s legal and prison system. There are even non fiction cases sprinkled in the margins of the book to add emphasis and clarification on what is fiction and what is not.
I have become increasingly interested in educating myself more on the prison-industrial complex, the impact that prisons have on our country and oppressed communities, and what it means to live in a country that glorifies prison and “vengeance” over basic human rights.
If you haven’t read this book yet, I highly recommend you do because it not only had a profound impact on me, it was a difficult, important, enjoyable read. I also listened to the first half on audiobook and I really enjoyed the narration.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
“I reminded myself she was taken. The good ones always were. What i had sitting next to me was that rare woman who was cool without being nuts. The girl in highschool who hung out with all the guys but never dated them because they weren’t mature enough for her. That girl who had a boyfriend in college and picked her up in his car after school. She could beat you at beer pong and had a football team who could beat your ass for saying one wrong word to her but she never let them because she can handle herself”
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.
Mantras & Minotaurs by Ashley Bennett
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
This book is absolutely adorable - completely obsessed with Alistair & Pam got exactly what she needed ❤️
ALSO I JUST CANT STOP READING MINOTAUR BOOKS I LOVE THEM THIS IS MY 3rd in 6 months !!!!!???
ALSO I JUST CANT STOP READING MINOTAUR BOOKS I LOVE THEM THIS IS MY 3rd in 6 months !!!!!???
The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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 first half of this book was really hard for me to get into and read if im totally honest, but i genuinely think it was only due to the lack of information about our characters bc Kai literally doesn’t know who tf she is so neither do we… but by 50%-80% I WAS LOCKED INNNNNNNNNN.
This is about a woman named Kai who wakes up while being robbed by another woman and Kai has literally no idea what is going on, who she is, where she is, what is happening, etc. so essentially neither do we, and we learn everything along with her.
This book has magic and gods and epic animals & monsters. It has Jadon 👀 who is the sexy blacksmith who helps Kai when she gets arrested while stranded in his town and they become very fast friends…
I was honestly very close to dnfing this one bc i genuinely was super confused and just wanted to understand the world & what was happening but I am SO GLAD i didn’t dnf. I loved the last 20% of this book, and based on the ending & epilogue im assuming (hoping/praying) there will be more books in this series… and i already know I will eat them up.
I genuinely loved Kai & everything she did in this book, i totally would have done as well so I was rooting for her so fervently throughout the entire thing and she genuinely COULD NOT CATCH A BREAK!!!
The fighting scenes are also really epic and I really enjoyed reading them.
I think this is a book that looking back on I can say I really enjoyed it, but in the first 40% I was struggling really bad with it keeping and holding my attention span.
Overall, I would recommend to check this one out especially if there is more to come with this as a series, but if you have a hard time with slow plot & lots of world building you might want to sit this one out.
This is about a woman named Kai who wakes up while being robbed by another woman and Kai has literally no idea what is going on, who she is, where she is, what is happening, etc. so essentially neither do we, and we learn everything along with her.
This book has magic and gods and epic animals & monsters. It has Jadon 👀 who is the sexy blacksmith who helps Kai when she gets arrested while stranded in his town and they become very fast friends…
I was honestly very close to dnfing this one bc i genuinely was super confused and just wanted to understand the world & what was happening but I am SO GLAD i didn’t dnf. I loved the last 20% of this book, and based on the ending & epilogue im assuming (hoping/praying) there will be more books in this series… and i already know I will eat them up.
I genuinely loved Kai & everything she did in this book, i totally would have done as well so I was rooting for her so fervently throughout the entire thing and she genuinely COULD NOT CATCH A BREAK!!!
The fighting scenes are also really epic and I really enjoyed reading them.
I think this is a book that looking back on I can say I really enjoyed it, but in the first 40% I was struggling really bad with it keeping and holding my attention span.
Overall, I would recommend to check this one out especially if there is more to come with this as a series, but if you have a hard time with slow plot & lots of world building you might want to sit this one out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War