lamanda_quiring's reviews
459 reviews

Every Breath After: Part 1 by Jessie Walker

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

“His throat bobs with a swallow, and I wonder if he can see it on my face—our past playing out like a movie. Can he feel the gravity of it all, pulling us down?”

Where do I even start with this review? 😭 I guess I’ll start by saying that the reason this isn’t a 5⭐️ read for me is because it wasn’t at all what I expected. The above quote perfectly sums up this story, because it really is their past playing out like a movie.. for 600 pages lol. 

Instead of a Mason/Jeremy love story it was more of an origin story for the whole friend group. It was their stories from ages 6-22. It was slow going at times, and I kind of wished it had been written more like Will & Way’s story. But I get that with Izzy in the picture writing it this way made us understand Mason & Jeremy on a deeper level. It was just a struggle to get through sometimes. 

I seriously love these characters though, so I did give it 4⭐️. I love Jessie and the Lost Boys and this little world she’s created. I love Will & Way, and seeing how the whole friend group got stuck together was cool. I’m hoping the 2nd book will be more centered around Mason & Jeremy’s romance. 🖤 and after reading this I kind of want to reread Will & Way’s story again lol. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Self harm

Save the Game by J.J. Mulder

emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Shots on Net by J.J. Mulder

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.0

Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich

fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

This book was recommended to me by a coworker back in 2020 around the time the movie came out. It sounded very interesting but it took me until now to pick it up 😅
This whole book was stressing me out. The MC writes a letter for a therapy assignment and it gets taken from him by a classmate, who then commits suicide. Since the letter is in his pocket, they think it’s a suicide note address to the MC. 
The MC doesn’t come out with the truth straight away so the lie gets way out of control until he’s lying left and right. 
It was all so stressful. I don’t typically enjoy books where the MC is lying to everyone unless it’s fantasy or something. 
But unfortunately while it’s a cool concept for a story, I didn’t care much for the other characters, and wasn’t too connected to the MC so honestly it wasn’t an amazing read for me. 

Normal People by Sally Rooney

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

2.5

Normal People was one of my highly anticipated reads, I really thought it would be a 5⭐️ read for me. I’d seen clips of the movie on TikTok and was so excited for it. Unfortunately this was a bit of a let down for me. I ended up rating it 2.5⭐️. 

I didn’t care for Sally Rooney’s writing style. Lack of quotation marks aside, the time jumps were confusing to me. One chapter the MCs were together, the next it was 5 months later and they broke up and it takes a min to explain why. Also in the middle of a chapter and the middle of a conversation, Sally Rooney would break and have one character remember something from a long time ago and would talk about that for several pages and then go back to the other conversation and by that point I was just taken out of the story. It was a mess and all over the place. 
The back and forth between the two MCs had my head spinning. Also it was miscommunication but also just no communication at all. It was so frustrating. By the end of the story I was wondering what was the point of the book. 
I may watch the movie bc I like the actors in it and it seemed more emotional but the book was disappointing for me. 

Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

2.0

I usually love Greek mythology and learning about new characters but for some reason this one wasn’t my favorite. I just felt kind of bored with the storytelling on this one and couldn’t fully get into it.  This was my second read from this author and I have a few more on my tbr. Hopefully I enjoy those a little more. 

More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera

reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

This book had such an interesting plot. The beginning started out slow and I was wondering where the story would go or when certain things would come into play. At the halfway point the story really picked up and got more interesting. I got a version with the extended ending and I liked how everything tied up. (the OG version published in 2012 kind of had a sad ending but Adam Silvera wrote an additional chapter to tie things up with a happier ending later)

I will say I didn’t feel totally connected to the characters so that’s why I only rated it 3⭐️ but this was a really unique story. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Suicide

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

As someone who struggles with anxiety & depression, this book is very healing. I’d give it 1 million ⭐️ if I could. 

I loved every single thing about this book! 🥹 Every character, the quotes, the writing style.. it was all perfect. As someone who struggles with anxiety & depression, this book was so healing. ❤️‍🩹 The way the characters developed and interacted was everything. Ugh, I just can’t even explain adequately how much I adored this book. 
I can’t believe I waited so long to read a book from Backman but I’m definitely going to read more from him.

Lie with Me by Philippe Besson

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

Y’all this book was everything I needed. I was feeling a slump coming on and had no idea what to read, so I thought I’d finally read this since I’ve had it for a while and it’s a short book. I was not prepared for the beautiful writing and the emotions that came with it. 🥹
I was underlining so many beautiful quotes and I really loved the writing. This book felt like Call Me By Your Name but without the gross parts. It was so good I can’t even tell you. Philippe wrote it in a way where the MC was telling you the story of his first love and so he’d say things like “I wouldn’t know it then but…” and it was just lovely and so emotional. I loved the characters and I felt so sad for Thomas never getting to live his truth. His letter to Philippe in the end was so bittersweet. 
I need everyone to read this. 🖤