leannj's reviews
2176 reviews

Himawari House by Harmony Becker

emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.25

Loved the characters, and the themes hit really hard as a child of immigrants. I thought the slice of life format worked really well, and made the ending pack even more of an emotional punch.

You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Another solid installment in this series of companion novels. Honestly this is basically the same as the first book but just in a different font, so if you enjoy one you will probably enjoy the other.

The Novel Art of Murder by V.M. Burns

hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective 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? No

4.25

At this point this series is guaranteed to be a solid good time.

Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner

medium-paced

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

2.75

This started off strong, but the characterization started feeling inconsistent for convenience of the plot. 

The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

It felt like there was more thought put into the aesthetic of the physical book over the actual content of the book.

Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston

adventurous emotional 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

4.5

While I am so excited to know that there is going to be at least two(!) more books in this series. I have no idea how I'm going to be able to wait until said books are published. I appreciate how this installment resolved the conflict that the previous books had been building up while also definitely leaving room for more. 

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

The art was beautiful.  The story itself left a lot to be desired. I think I would have found the story more compelling if we had more of a point of view from the other female characters, but this was mainly from one certain character that I just wasn't super attached to.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I personally found it really satisfying how the three storylines that started in seemingly drastically different places all intertwined in the end- which is fitting, considering that the major theme for each of the characters' arc was all about accepting one's own identity. 

Scenes from the Holidays by K.D. Edwards

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

This was less charming than the last set of vignettes, but I'm still invested enough in the characters.

Shadow Frost by Coco Ma

adventurous funny mysterious

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

2.5

My reading experience was a bit paradoxical- there was nothing particularly special about the story, but that also made it easier for my to almost passively read the book as I didn't have to focus too hard. None of the characters had much depth to me, but they grew on me as time went on. Certain aspects of the plot was pretty predictable, but there were surprisingly also a couple of twists that surprised me. For now I've tentatively decided on continuing the series, but given that we there is virtually no information of the third and final book(no cover, no title, no release date) only time will tell how long I will be able to sustain a level of commitment to the series as a whole.