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krista225's reviews
1150 reviews
Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is the second book in a series. I've read several of these books and tend to enjoy them quite a bit. This was no exception.
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
funny
lighthearted
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
4.0
Like most romances, I found this predictable. That didn't make it any less pleasurable, though. I thought it was very cute, and I even laughed out loud a couple of times. The shenanigans the contestants got up to during the Christmas Kringle Competition were great.
Also, if this matters to you, the narrator has sidebar conversations with the hero of our story and breaks the fourth wall by addressing the reader. This might come in handy for some reading challenges, so I thought I'd include that little note.
Also, if this matters to you, the narrator has sidebar conversations with the hero of our story and breaks the fourth wall by addressing the reader. This might come in handy for some reading challenges, so I thought I'd include that little note.
The Family Plot: A Novel by Megan Collins
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
This was a great book to start off 2025 with because it was fast-paced and engaging. I was intrigued. I managed to guess one major mystery but went back and forth on the other. For a while, I wasn't even sure I could trust the narrator.
I would definitely recommend this to my murder mystery-loving friends and family.
I would definitely recommend this to my murder mystery-loving friends and family.
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo
emotional
informative
sad
slow-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
3.75
This was a strange little novella. It was both a character study of Kim Jiyoung and a social commentary on life as a Korean woman during the late 20th century. It often pointed out how difficult life could be for girls and women during this period of history, interjecting facts alongside Kim Jiyoung's experiences.
As I read, I felt like I was reading a mental health intake overview with some creative license taken. Well, it turns out I was right. The last part of the book is the therapist reflecting on his time with Kim Jiyoung, his earlier misdiagnosis, and his current thinking on her situation. There really is no resolution.
In fact, even though the therapist is the one interjecting the factoids throughout his recounting of Jiyoung's life, the book ends with him embodying the problematic mindset found in so many other men as he bemoans the need to replace his pregnant secretary.
In fact, even though the therapist is the one interjecting the factoids throughout his recounting of Jiyoung's life, the book ends with him embodying the problematic mindset found in so many other men as he bemoans the need to replace his pregnant secretary.
The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
The title is very fitting.
Young Eliza believes herself to be on the righteous path when she marries the manor lord's son. It's only when she finds herself with child that she discovers her husband has never considered himself truly wed to her. He scoffs at their "marriage" and insists it was never legal. Her mother, who had overseen the wedding herself, goes off to have words with the boy's family. When she returns, she informs Eliza that the marriage was a scam and Eliza is being sent to live with a London apothecary who will oversee the termination of the pregnancy.
The story really starts when Eliza arrives at her destination. Installed as a housemaid, she works for the reclusive apothecary, his live-in apprentice, and his not-so-nice wife. The only other help in the household is a young woman with what I assume to be Down's Syndrome based on her physical description and personality.
Eliza and Mary, the other young woman, find themselves at the mercy of their employers. This extends beyond being expected to cook and clean. The apothecary has his own demons, most of which center around his perception of women and how he believes their bodies work. Determined to prove his thesis, he felt no compunction using Eliza and Mary in his studies.
Years ago, I read a very disturbing book called The Trotula. It was written during the Middle Ages by men who believed they also understood human anatomy and biology. As I read this novel, I wondered if the author had also stumbled across the Trotula because the depth and breadth of misunderstanding about how women's bodies work in this fictional world was reminiscent of the very real medical treatise I had read so long ago.
Back to the novel. Eliza is a difficult character to love. She's rather crass and often lacks compassion for others. However, she does grow throughout the book, and by the end, she is a much more mature and likable character.
Young Eliza believes herself to be on the righteous path when she marries the manor lord's son. It's only when she finds herself with child that she discovers her husband has never considered himself truly wed to her. He scoffs at their "marriage" and insists it was never legal. Her mother, who had overseen the wedding herself, goes off to have words with the boy's family. When she returns, she informs Eliza that the marriage was a scam and Eliza is being sent to live with a London apothecary who will oversee the termination of the pregnancy.
The story really starts when Eliza arrives at her destination. Installed as a housemaid, she works for the reclusive apothecary, his live-in apprentice, and his not-so-nice wife. The only other help in the household is a young woman with what I assume to be Down's Syndrome based on her physical description and personality.
Eliza and Mary, the other young woman, find themselves at the mercy of their employers. This extends beyond being expected to cook and clean. The apothecary has his own demons, most of which center around his perception of women and how he believes their bodies work. Determined to prove his thesis, he felt no compunction using Eliza and Mary in his studies.
Years ago, I read a very disturbing book called The Trotula. It was written during the Middle Ages by men who believed they also understood human anatomy and biology. As I read this novel, I wondered if the author had also stumbled across the Trotula because the depth and breadth of misunderstanding about how women's bodies work in this fictional world was reminiscent of the very real medical treatise I had read so long ago.
Back to the novel. Eliza is a difficult character to love. She's rather crass and often lacks compassion for others. However, she does grow throughout the book, and by the end, she is a much more mature and likable character.
My Secret Garden: Women's Sexual Fantasies by Nancy Friday
informative
medium-paced
3.0
I listened to this one on Audible, which made for some interesting car rides.
In this collection, Nancy Friday asked women to share their sexual fantasies. It is amazing how many women responded and, even more astounding, how many admitted to some pretty graphic fantasies, not all of which involved men. The breadth of fantasies was so wide that Nancy broke them down into "rooms" within an imaginary house. This enabled her to organize the fantasies into chapters with a specific focus.
No matter how strange a woman's fantasy might be, it is hard to believe it wasn't covered in this book. Seriously. I try not to judge, but there were some bizarre things shared with her that made me slightly uncomfortable. And I'm not one to get squimish usually.
It was an interesting social experiment that challenged the idea that women were less sexually minded then men. I think it was especially so when it was published in 1973.
In this collection, Nancy Friday asked women to share their sexual fantasies. It is amazing how many women responded and, even more astounding, how many admitted to some pretty graphic fantasies, not all of which involved men. The breadth of fantasies was so wide that Nancy broke them down into "rooms" within an imaginary house. This enabled her to organize the fantasies into chapters with a specific focus.
No matter how strange a woman's fantasy might be, it is hard to believe it wasn't covered in this book. Seriously. I try not to judge, but there were some bizarre things shared with her that made me slightly uncomfortable. And I'm not one to get squimish usually.
It was an interesting social experiment that challenged the idea that women were less sexually minded then men. I think it was especially so when it was published in 1973.
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Smells transport us. The smell of a man's cologne can evoke memories of a first love. Basement musk reminds us of our grandparents' house. A freshly bathed baby flashes us back to the first time we held our own newborn. Smell is powerful and this book explores and experiments with this very real phenomenon by introducing some magical realism to expand upon the concept and give it multidimensional layers.
The main character narrated the tale for us, taking her back to her earliest memories. She and her beloved father were the sole tenets on their island. They fished and framed. They raised chickens. More importantly, they spent their idle hours in stories and, occasionally, smelling the magical scent jars. Years pass. Tragedy occurs. The fairytales get set aside until reality begins to illuminate their true origins.
I really enjoyed this book. Would recommend.
The main character narrated the tale for us, taking her back to her earliest memories. She and her beloved father were the sole tenets on their island. They fished and framed. They raised chickens. More importantly, they spent their idle hours in stories and, occasionally, smelling the magical scent jars. Years pass. Tragedy occurs. The fairytales get set aside until reality begins to illuminate their true origins.
I really enjoyed this book. Would recommend.
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I bounced between the ebook and the audiobook for this one. I'd mostly listen in the car, which means there were a lot of interesting tidbits that I didn't have a chance to highlight. Reading the book allowed me to use the highlighter and note-taking tools.
I'll share a couple of things that caught my attention late in the book because they gave me pause and made me think. They challenged my conceptions of racism and/or activism.
The quote:
Moral and educational suasion breathes the assumption that racist minds must be changed before racist policy, ignoring history that says otherwise. Look at the soaring White support for desegregated schools and neighborhoods decades after the policies changed in the 1950s and 1960s. Look at the soaring White support for interracial marriage decades after the policy changed in 1967. Look at the soaring support for Obamacare after its passage in 2010. Racist policymakers drum up fear of antiracist policies through racist ideas, knowing if the policies are implemented, the fears they circulate will not come to pass. Once the fears do not come to pass, people will let down their guards as they enjoy the benefits. Once they clearly benefit, most Americans will support and become the defenders of the antiracist policies they once feared.
My note on this section:
This challenged my initial thoughts on the matter. I thought hearts had to be changed before policy, but he's right. More hearts were changed after policies were implemented than before. Hmmm.
That hmmm is me battling with myself and trying to let go of a fairly strongly held belief. To my mind, no one changes a policy unless they recognize the harm being perpetrated. Mind you, I still believe this might be true at an individual level for those people in a position that actually allows them to propose and pass policy changes. Yet, for the average person outside that power structure, it was the policy that made the changes more common and more acceptable, even if it took a generation or two for acceptance to become widespread.
Here's another quote:
We use the terms “protest” and “demonstration” interchangeably, at our own peril, like we interchangeably use the terms “mobilizing” and “organizing.” A protest is organizing people for a prolonged campaign that forces racist power to change a policy. A demonstration is mobilizing people momentarily to publicize a problem. Speakers and placards and posts at marches, rallies, petitions, and viral hashtags demonstrate the problem. Demonstrations are, not surprisingly, a favorite of suasionists. Demonstrations annoy power in the way children crying about something they will never get annoy parents. Unless power cannot economically or politically or professionally afford bad press—as power could not during the Cold War, as power cannot during election season, as power cannot close to bankruptcy—power typically ignores demonstrations.
My reaction:
Ouch. It makes all the effort and outrage that I have been witnessing in my social media threads seem pointless and ineffective. That's insulting, not to me, but to the passionate and motivated people putting themselves in harm's way just to bring attention to a problem.
And when does a demonstration of protest become a catalyst for change? I'm thinking back to some of the student protests on campuses across the country concerning the Isreal/Palestine conflict. Some effectively changed their college's or university's financial engagement with Israel. I remember the headlines. So, surely those student demonstrations became problematic enough that the powerful universities had no choice but to capitulate.
This is still rather nuanced and I'm still parsing. So forgive me if I've misrepresented or misinterpreted something. I'm learning. And unlearning.
I'll share a couple of things that caught my attention late in the book because they gave me pause and made me think. They challenged my conceptions of racism and/or activism.
The quote:
Moral and educational suasion breathes the assumption that racist minds must be changed before racist policy, ignoring history that says otherwise. Look at the soaring White support for desegregated schools and neighborhoods decades after the policies changed in the 1950s and 1960s. Look at the soaring White support for interracial marriage decades after the policy changed in 1967. Look at the soaring support for Obamacare after its passage in 2010. Racist policymakers drum up fear of antiracist policies through racist ideas, knowing if the policies are implemented, the fears they circulate will not come to pass. Once the fears do not come to pass, people will let down their guards as they enjoy the benefits. Once they clearly benefit, most Americans will support and become the defenders of the antiracist policies they once feared.
My note on this section:
This challenged my initial thoughts on the matter. I thought hearts had to be changed before policy, but he's right. More hearts were changed after policies were implemented than before. Hmmm.
That hmmm is me battling with myself and trying to let go of a fairly strongly held belief. To my mind, no one changes a policy unless they recognize the harm being perpetrated. Mind you, I still believe this might be true at an individual level for those people in a position that actually allows them to propose and pass policy changes. Yet, for the average person outside that power structure, it was the policy that made the changes more common and more acceptable, even if it took a generation or two for acceptance to become widespread.
Here's another quote:
We use the terms “protest” and “demonstration” interchangeably, at our own peril, like we interchangeably use the terms “mobilizing” and “organizing.” A protest is organizing people for a prolonged campaign that forces racist power to change a policy. A demonstration is mobilizing people momentarily to publicize a problem. Speakers and placards and posts at marches, rallies, petitions, and viral hashtags demonstrate the problem. Demonstrations are, not surprisingly, a favorite of suasionists. Demonstrations annoy power in the way children crying about something they will never get annoy parents. Unless power cannot economically or politically or professionally afford bad press—as power could not during the Cold War, as power cannot during election season, as power cannot close to bankruptcy—power typically ignores demonstrations.
My reaction:
Ouch. It makes all the effort and outrage that I have been witnessing in my social media threads seem pointless and ineffective. That's insulting, not to me, but to the passionate and motivated people putting themselves in harm's way just to bring attention to a problem.
And when does a demonstration of protest become a catalyst for change? I'm thinking back to some of the student protests on campuses across the country concerning the Isreal/Palestine conflict. Some effectively changed their college's or university's financial engagement with Israel. I remember the headlines. So, surely those student demonstrations became problematic enough that the powerful universities had no choice but to capitulate.
This is still rather nuanced and I'm still parsing. So forgive me if I've misrepresented or misinterpreted something. I'm learning. And unlearning.
Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand
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
2.0
I really liked the first book in this series, so I was excited to keep going. I am so disappointed. It felt like this was a partial book. Nothing was truly resolved in several of the plotlines. If I keep reading, I fear more of the same as the author draws out the love stories and the family drama.
1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
The concept was great, but the execution put me to sleep—literally. Every night for three months, I fell asleep reading this because nothing kept my attention for very long. It just made me sleepy. Thus, the two-star rating.
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I was so excited to read this. I had heard about it for years and my expectations were high. Too high.
I was soooooo bored. The plot did not move quickly. There was just too much description and pointless dwelling on the mundane aspects of the characters' lives. Paragraph upon paragraph was dedicated to unnecessary minutiae.
The concept was great, but the execution put me to sleep—literally. Every night for three months, I fell asleep reading this because nothing kept my attention for very long. It just made me sleepy. Thus, the two-star rating.