linnea0221's reviews
569 reviews

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

This book was delightful! The characters were likeable or at least understandable and the story felt real. The romance was sweet and the ultimately hopeful message was cute. It was well-written overall and enjoyable.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Ok so I was really hoping to rate this book higher but I can't. This whole book felt like it had a lot of potential to be better than it was, but ultimately didn't improve. It was a struggle to get through. The characters, although somewhat interesting, weren't very dimensional or all that compelling, so when tragedies struck them I didn't really care. The plot was a mess and not really anything? It could have been edited down to be much shorter. The tone was all over the place, but at least it was consistently pretentious. The full circle moments were heavy-handed. I love stories about friendship generally, but these two were just not that interesting. It was also oddly woke for a book set in the nineties and noughties. Marx was by far the best character, but even he was quite flat, and I don't think the additional backstory added in as an afterthought helped. I liked Bong Cha and Dong Hyun and would have preferred more of their backstory. I hated the messy timeline that jumped back in time to give unnecessary background about characters that weren't so relevant. It was also confusing when the perspective is suddenly inside video games. All the POVs use the same voice which doesn't help. In conclusion, the ideas were good, but the writing style and therefore the execution really lost me.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

challenging slow-paced

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

2.0

This book was fine, not the best book, not the worst. I appreciated what it was trying to do and I'm sure it was groundbreaking at the time but the characters felt unrealistic. The protagonist was unsympathetic and there were nearly no likeable fleshed out characters. The setting was unconvincing and it all felt very pretentious.

Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Ok so this story is exactly what I expected. It is super cute overall and the grand gesture is perfect for the couple. It's very predictable in a comforting way and the characters are pretty fleshed-out. I preferred this one to the first, but that's probably because I found Astrid's story more compelling to begin with. I don't think we needed the sex scenes to be quite so frequent or explicit but to each their own. Also, the plot was very hallmark-film level of problem.

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.0

This was great overall! I enjoyed the character development of pretty much everyone. The amount of war detail got a bit tedious at times but it was well-written and an enjoyable.

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott, Alyson Derrick

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Delightful read. Perfectly predictable and wonderful characters.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Ok so I'm between 3 and 4 stars here. It was very well written overall though so I'll go with 4. There were so many extremely quotable or sentimental parts and it was really beautiful how it displayed the disconnect from a culture when you lose a language. It talked a lot about foods that I'm not super familiar with but that was kind of the point so I can't fault it for showing how food can connect us. I thought the depiction of grief was stellar, especially when the waves of grief hit. It being a memoir obviously makes it difficult to have like, more of a plot but I do think it could have been edited a bit differently. Although, the way it was edited did show how grief can be messy. It was a good read overall.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

adventurous reflective relaxing slow-paced

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

3.0

Ok so this book felt like exposition for about two thirds of the book. The final third was more exciting but even then it felt like some of the relationships and especially the plot could have been more delved into? Which is saying something given it was so character-driven. There were too many ideas which meant that although some were explored thoroughly, it was just a bit confusing. It took me most of the book to keep track of the various species and although it's exciting to have aliens who each communicate in various ways, it doesn't help with the sheer amount of information that gets dumped on us from the start. I liked Rosemary and Sissix's relationship but I think it could have been delved into further rather than just mentioned in one chapter and then only in passing. Ohan's arc felt incomplete. The ending overall felt out of place. As much as we're supposed to care for Jinx and Lovey's relationship, I didn't feel so invested.

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

I think I am not the target demographic for this story. I appreciated the fun combination of classic stories with mythology but a lot of it felt like the main character was being intentionally dense and could have been resolved if she'd just thought for a moment. Hate a Bury your gays trope.

Disobedience by Naomi Alderman

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

This book was surprising but I really enjoyed it. I especially liked how it ended even if it wasn't what I expected. I don't know much about orthodox Jewish brits but this was an interesting look into it. I also liked how the different characters were very easy to tell apart in writing style and voice, sometimes perspective changes can be jarring but it really wasn't. Some bits were a bit boring but overall I thought it was a good book. I especially appreciated the importance of words and the weight of silence.