lara_mac's Reviews (105)


Holy cow I hated this book. Would have DNF’ed if it wasn’t for book club. Everyone was so annoying and I’ve never wanted a MC to NOT get a happy ending so badly. Woof.
funny lighthearted

What’s not to love! Dog-loving kids will read this again and again, and everyone will love the stunning illustrations.
adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Easy read and totally enjoyable! A bit simplistic, like Mickey7, but I like that sometimes. I still wish we could have known more about the creeper species and the extent of what technologies they have. We only got a peek and it felt like a tease that was never fully explained.
adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated

An absolutely wild ride. The pacing was a bit off IMO, but still a fun and raunchy read overall.
dark tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Really interesting premise, I liked the Black Mirror vibes. I just thought it dragged on too much and there were too many different viewpoints to keep all of the characters straight. I could’ve done without the social media comments interspersed, too.
challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

A fairly suspenseful story following five different characters connected to the memory erasing procedure in some way. Not the most tidy ending, you don’t really see everything wrapped up, but it was an interesting concept that leans philosophical and makes you think about what you would do if this technology existed in real life.
emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Loveable characters: Yes

Cute story! Likable characters! Quick and easy read! What’s not to love?
adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

A classic King. He makes you love the characters you’re supposed to and hate the ones you’re not. The portrayal of kids dealing with terrible people and events far beyond their years but still being childlike in their approach was well done (and at times heartbreaking). Didn’t want to put it down!

Swift River

Essie Chambers

DID NOT FINISH: 60%

I had no attachment to the characters, there was less than no plot, and I got tired of reading about that poor little girl’s trauma. DNF
emotional reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Loveable characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don’t usually go for character driven novels, but I actually enjoyed this one. You got enough of a peek into each of the family members’ lives to stay interested and wonder where they were going to end up. It certainly isn’t the most exciting book I’ve read, but it was well written and I enjoyed it.