laurenrussell's reviews
60 reviews

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

a unique mystery book and i’m quite obsessed. i agree with the other reviews that say to go into
in blind. the first 50ish pages were boring to me, but once it picked it up i couldn’t put it down. i don’t think ive ever read a fantasy mystery (almost thriller??). i loved the creative setting and the imagery, i could feel how serene and peaceful the house was and pirenesi’s fondness for it. pirenesi was endearing but also maddening with how naive he could be but that made him more complex to me. there’s an unreliable narrator aspect to this book which i always enjoy. the premise of the book was intriguing to me and i think the author carried it out superbly. i liked the journal entries as a structure for the book too. only took off .25 because i kind of predicted what would happen near the end and i feel like there were a few small plot holes. i don’t think they were significant enough to take away from the book though. 

overall, an excellent and gripping read that kind of gives the secret history vibes but with more magical realism and thrill! i was left thinking about isolation/loneliness, appreciation for the natural world, and memory/identity. 

Biography of X by Catherine Lacey

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

an eccentric book but i loved every moment reading it. so immersive and i particularly liked including real people (such as connie converse, i learned a lot about her!) and the images. the kind of alternative universe of the US was interesting as well, and the writing was amazing. I learned lots of new words. X is so bizarre that at times I had to laugh at how ridiculous she was. It got a little sad/emotional in the end and i also feel there’s a bit of an unreliable narrator aspect which is fun to consider. love love this book it’s very unique and i will miss the feeling of being completely engrossed while reading it! 

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell

adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.0

Easy digestible thriller. I was decently surprised at some of the twists but nothing crazy. I don’t think I’m a fan of Lisa Jewel’s writing. The amount of the times she wrote “dramatic reenactment” drove me insane lol. Some things were unrealistic and didn’t make sense but I didn’t mind too much. only thing that bugs me is

how walter is 100% a pedo but like they seemed to just kind of brush that off??? doesn’t matter who’s telling the truth he married that girl at 43 years like….ig it’s to add to the uncertainty but it felt poorly done.

If you’re looking for a quick read to interest you and get you out of a slump, i’d recommend this. For a 10/10 gripping thriller, I would not

Severance by Ling Ma

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

blown away by the fact that this was written prior to covid. can’t wrap my head around that!! the writing is stunning and extremely immersive. alternating between past and present made this a page turner for me. loved the themes of late stage capitalism and human nature. kind of reminds me of a mix between parable of the sower and i who have never known men. 

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Just fine, I don’t think this is memorable. Definitely overhyped which I think contributes to my disappointment. I think the main issue was I just didn’t connect with Casey, and I felt neutral about everything happening to her. i really did not like any of her love interests, and i feel like (especially w luke) things were so quick it didn’t even make sense. i felt like so many things happened but there was no depth to each event. we have a brief paragraph about how casey feels, and then it’s onto the next challenging experience. 

 I didn’t think the exploration of grief was that profound or deep either. Most of this book seemed to be more surface level, i wish it dove into a few things more rather than having a bunch of bad things happen all at once. but that makes this book more of a lighter read imo (but not like beach read light) 

the writing describing stress (like working at Iris) was excellent and really conveyed those raw emotions. 

while it’s a feel good book and handles life changes well, it feels unrealistic that things are horrible one day and the next everything just magically falls into place—i wish there was more of a gradual introduction of her wins. i would recommend this for someone looking for a happy ending, semi-chill, summer-ish book. 

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

bleak bleak bleak…but i love it. examines death and dying, what it means to be human, complete isolation, and the passage of time. also who doesn’t love an all women and their relationships together kind of book! it should be noted that pretty much nothing really happens in the book. an excellent read and might be one of my favorites.

and i was initially disappointed that there’s no explanation for what happened. but, we’re on the same level of the characters and i find myself trying to make up an explanation the same way as they did. the writing is so detailed and immersive that the narrator’s journey is fascinating. the reflections on living on after death, time existing through other people, and how our experiences and relations shape our humanity were all though provoking. i absolutely loved the last few lines of the book, and the main character’s cause of death.

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

loved the exploration of women’s roles, identity and nationality, the history, the generations of the family. it was interesting to see how the family (especially w wealth and marriage) changed over time. the writing was beautiful and flowed so nicely, and the story itself was rich and kept my attention. such a wonderful book!

Circe by Madeline Miller

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was fun to read, things seem to happen in chunks rather than a flowing story but that doesn’t make it bad at all. circe was the perfect character—i was rooting for her and when she failed it was upsetting. I loved seeing her growth and the themes of motherhood in the book. 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

w o w ! utterly obsessed with this book. i knew it’d be good bc i loved sharp objects and gone girl, but i wasn’t expecting this. i devoured this book and would literally think about how it might end while i worked and was anxious to get home to read lol. like sharp objects, i felt like this was a slow burn mystery. lots of build up but i expected this and was able to absorb everything rather than dashing through the book. satanic panic was a very cool theme to incorporate, and i absolutely love the writing. it’s so enriched and detailed, and i always love the southern settings flynn uses and the way she describes them. libby is a very unlikeable character and i loved it. the twists were great, and i appreciated that there was more of a conclusion than sharp objects.

ben is truly a horrifying character. like he makes me physically ill. a true creep and the fact he covered the murder of his own damn sister for his crazy gf is literally psychotic and i can’t wrap my head around it. i know he hated michelle but like…not to mention all the other shit literally anything this man did was beyond fucked up and his character is so disgusting.

also i got so sad when patty’s death was revealed. girly was just trying her best with 0 support and decided to die :,( heart breaking. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

What a charming and sweet book. I thoroughly loved the concept of the library and living all your different possible lives. The writing was pretty basic (like the poems, song writing, def no deeper meaning bc it’s written out for you) but that wasn’t really an issue and i still enjoyed reading it. something about it drew me in so fast and i couldn’t put in down. some good messages/things to reflect on too, i liked the volcano analogy. overall, great read and makes you want to appreciate life more !