klpsencik's reviews
1018 reviews

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

challenging emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

How to Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder

emotional 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I have kind of a love-hate relationship with this book, and I'm going to try to talk about it without spoilers. I enjoyed Ava Wilder's writing and character-building, and I love a romance novel that addresses real issues. But I sort of think that this shouldn't have been a romance with a HAE -- I think it would have been stronger as a drama with them splitting at the end, because these two people should *not* be together romantically, woof.

Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

emotional relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

Comparing this book to Daisy Jones and the Six or Almost Famous is a biiiiiit of a stretch, However, this was a very sweet coming-of-age story. There's not a lot of plot. We follow a young girl through a meandering, exciting summer as she cares for a child whose parents are very different from her own, who are *also* hosting a very famous musician and his very famous actress wife as the musician undergoes therapy for various addiction. What ensues is a heartwarming, raw recounting of the summer that changed Mary Jane's life.

Hell of a Book by Jason Mott

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

Some of my stream-of-consciousness notes while reading that I feel will serve as an apt review, because I have no idea how to write a review of this incredibly weird, powerful book:
 

--The first 80% or so of this book felt like a fever dream. We have an unreliable narrator who gets himself into hilarious madcap adventures with his handlers on book tour but who is also deeply unwell, and he admits that to us. The story meanders in a way that confuses the reader and makes the book impossible to put down. What’s going on here? Who’s the author? What’s his book about? Who’s The Kid? And then it all comes together with a gut punch. 

 

--I’ve seen other reviewers call this book THE book on being Black in America. That’s not for me to say. But I will say that I think this is required reading. 

 

--The writing style almost reads like Lemony Snicket. +1 for demon horse at the Denver airport mention and also Nic Cage? 

 

--I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time. 

Three-Martini Afternoons at the Ritz: The Rebellion of Sylvia Plath & Anne Sexton by Gail Crowther

dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.5

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book!

I do like how the book is organized by topic. It’s clear the author has done deep research into these women, and while I’m less familiar with Anne Sexton’s work as I am with Sylvia Plath’s, this book would appeal to those who know their stories well and those who don’t. There’s very little actual interaction between Plath and Sexton, and where there is, it’s a lot of speculation, so readers should know that before jumping in. It’s more of a comparison of two creative, brilliant, troubled women who led very similar but at the same time very different lives, and I think the two play off each other effectively in this book. 

I did have a problem with the discussion of “cancel culture” in the motherhood chapter — right after the author brought up the topic of Sexton’s sexual abuse of her daughter, it was quickly written off by a straw man “both sides” argument about how cancel culture is a form of censorship. While this was presented through the lens of Sexton’s daughter’s feelings around this abuse, it felt a little gross to read what felt like a defense of an abuser, made worse by the fact that the author repeatedly refers to this abuse as “sexual behavior toward her daughter” and hesitates before eventually calling it what it is — abuse of a child. She refers to the “pressures [Sexton] was under” and says she “was not a total monster.” Sure, the world isn’t made up of good people and monsters, but excusing and justifying Sexton’s behavior was beyond gross. I was enjoying the book up until that point so it soured the rest of the book for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault

A Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

I dug into this Meghan Quinn series after seeing it advertised on my Kindle a bunch, but after reading these three books, I'm not sure this series or Quinn's writing is for me. I find her MMCs a little unlikeable, though Breaker (the MMC in this book) was my favorite of the bunch because he oozed the least toxic masculinity. But these stories, and this book specifically, lack the depth that I'm looking for in a romance.

What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety by Cole Kazdin

challenging informative medium-paced

3.25

This is an engaging memoir backed up by research, interviews and fact-based arguments. Any woman who reads this will see herself in it in some capacity, and it was especially poignant to read at the beginning of the year when everyone's making weight loss resolutions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

So Not Meant To Be by Meghan Quinn

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

1.0

The MMC in this book is terrifying and the FMC deserves better — this was NOT it. 

A Not So Meet Cute by Meghan Quinn

emotional funny lighthearted 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

2.5

This was fun, but nothing to write home about. I’m not very familiar with Meghan Quinn’s writing but I always see ads on Kindle Unlimited so I figured I’d finally dig in, and I learned she’s not really for me. However I did end up reading this whole series so joke’s on me I guess. 

Tomb Sweeping by Alexandra Chang

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book started off with a really strong story and then dropped off a bit for me. I loved the creepiness of the first piece. However, I am really glad I picked this one up. A short story collection is always a nice casual read while I’m also reading other things.