kylethewild's reviews
86 reviews

Things I Know to Be True by Andrew Bovell

emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

This was perfect, literally the exact kind of stuff I love. About a regular family dealing with regular life stuff. The parents had certain hopes and dreams for the kids lives, the kids had other plans. Everyone means well, but emotions run high and things sometimes come out in not the best way, and everyone’s hurting. 

I’d love to see this performed as a play or turned into a movie. If just reading the script was this good, I’m sure acted out it would be even better. 

The Rise by Ian Rankin

mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

I liked the concept of the story but there were way too many characters and way too much going on for such a short story. It felt like we would jump from topic to topic every couple lines or so, just so all these characters and things could be squeezed in. 

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.25

This did a really good job of showing and not telling. There were a few things that would get casually mentioned that would leave me like "wait, what??" and needing more information (

like when "lifted" kids were first referred to, or Rick's mom seeing Sal

), but rather than interrupting the flow of the story to give a blatant explanation, things were allowed to progress and reveal the information in what felt like a more natural way. 

Maybe I'm being greedy, but I wish we got more info on

what happened when AI started taking jobs from people. Josie's dad's living situation sounded extreme, so I feel like that would have been interesting to get more background on. I also would have liked more on everyone turning on the AFs and no longer wanting/liking them.

Diary of a Void by Emi Yagi

funny reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

Can I fake a pregnancy and go on maternity leave too

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Beginning with a stalker decomposing baby was a bold start.
Very much weird, witchy/cursed horror.

My only problem with this was I wanted more at the end of each story
(maybe I should learn what SHORT stories means)

Ordinary Human Failings by Megan Nolan

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

I thought this would mostly be Tom the reporter trying to solve the murder, but it turned out to be more focused on the Green family and who they are - and as the title of the book would suggest, they're just regular people with faults.

Even though it wound up not being what I expected, it made me enjoy it even more. Stories about things going wrong for normal people just trying to make it through life are my favourite, and we got a glimpse of that for each member of the Green family with this book.

Never Come Back by Joe Hart

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

I really enjoyed the first Nora McTavish book, and when I saw there was a second one, I wanted to read it right after finishing the first. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first though. I did like most of it, but somewhere along the line it lost me and didn't have the same grip on me that the first did. I think maybe there were just a few too many things that felt pretty unrealistic for me.

Overall it was good, I just preferred the first!

Where They Lie by Joe Hart

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a nice twist on a usual thriller/mystery where a cop is trying to solve the crime. The main character works for child protective services, and although she's overstepping the bounds of her job and acting like a cop for much of the book, it's still a nice little change.

What Mother Won't Tell Me by Ivar Leon Menger

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

I really liked the concept of this and as the plot progressed I was definitely interested in what was going on, but I felt like no one in this acted like a real person, they just felt like cheesy characters. I don’t know if that’s just because of the translation or what, but I didn’t particularly like or enjoy reading about any of them. If they felt more like real people I’d probably have really liked this book.  

The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose

lighthearted mysterious 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

3.0

I really liked the flashbacks to Molly’s childhood, they gave some insight into how she grew up and how her mind works.
Overall this felt like a good quick, mindless read, but not much more than that.