laurmyfe's reviews
213 reviews

How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

Loved the section on climate fatalism. He’s right, we don’t have room to feel defeated.

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

5.0

Crying in the club right now. Incredibly beautiful. My hope for life is to touch someone’s life like this.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-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

It was a nice quick read and I enjoyed the premise but it was a bit pedantic, especially as a reader that is already very environmentally conscious. I don’t think it resonated with me as much as the Midnight Library.

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon

adventurous fast-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

3.0

Quick read. Enjoyed it a bit more than the first. Once you finally buy into the goofiness, it’s fun to read.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

adventurous funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

The audio book is 100% the way to go on this one. Loved listening to him describe his exploits and food. 

Hearing him talk about his appreciation for the life toward the end of the book was incredibly melancholy, given the end.

Anthony Bourdain is one of my Roman empires.

The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

Probably my least favorite of hers. She’s an excellent writer and reading any of her prose is enjoyable, but it just didn’t click for me on this one. The plot was fuzzy, and I didn’t love the resolution. It felt like certain characters needed more exploration: Sophie, Broden. The holy point of view feels like the early form of religious exploration that she dives into in Station Eleven. 

I think now that I’ve completed her entire catalogue, I find that I’m fascinated that she moved from these more mystery oriented novels into the blended sci-fi of her last three. Her last three are near masterpieces and it’s been fun to see her themes and concepts evolve over the course of her career.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

adventurous 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

3.0

It took me about ten pages to realize this was straight Reylo. The writing style is a bit over embellished. It was a fluffy, quick read though and more cleanly written than most other fantasy out there so I can’t be mad.

The Lola Quartet by Emily St. John Mandel

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Her writing is always incredible. I think this was executed very well, but the theme didn’t really resonate with me. Conceptually, a very interesting idea, but in practice, it comes out a bit dull. I’m not sure that I could see the connection between sameness and the characters. Also felt a bit like the author had never been to Florida. I think the other detractor is that all of the actual action occurs off the page. I can definitely see how this was an early work from her and it’s also difficult to follow Last Night in Montreal as a debut tbh.

One Day in December by Josie Silver

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-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

4.0

CUTE. I love when others go through a decade long situationship but it actually works out

Daydream by Hannah Grace

1.0

Quite frankly, this was a huge waste of my time. It felt incredibly clunky and awkward. I couldn't remember who any of the characters were and the plot was non-existent.

The fact that the climactic fight is one-sided and yet still sends a main character into the depths is crazy.

Editors need to start telling their authors the hard truth, man.