lotts_library's reviews
32 reviews

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

hopeful inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This is the first classic book that I’ve read & I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Problematic language aside, this was an enjoyable read with some beautiful prose. I think this is a good place to start with classics, it’s slower paced but I really enjoy character driven books so it was perfect for me. 

Just Kids by Patti Smith

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

I’m not 100% comfortable giving a star rating to a non-fiction book. I have seen so many people talk about this book so I was scared that it might not enjoy it as much as I didn’t know a lot about Patti Smith or Robert Mapplethorpe going into this. I’m going to New York soon so I absolutely loved reading about the artist’s life that they lived & hearing about so many different locations in the city. I might not have understood all of the references or known a lot of the people mentioned, but I do know that I read a heartbreakingly beautiful story about true love, soulmates & the artists’ struggle. I think the fact this is non-fiction made it even more heart wrenching and endearing. 

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

adventurous hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! The only reason I happened to read it is because it’s set in San Francisco, so I went in completely blind & that made it so much better. I loved the story, it kept me intrigued from the very first page & I honestly had no idea what was going to unfold. It was equal parts cozy & mystery with a storyline that kept you on your toes. I really enjoyed the eccentric cast of characters (although I do think the female characters were written a little flatly). I haven’t seen anyone talk about this book & I honestly can’t recommend it enough. I recommended it to my husband & although we usually have quite different tastes he loved it too!

Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher

challenging emotional funny reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

I’m really sad that I didn’t like this more than I did. This book had some insightful quotes and I particularly enjoyed the chapter “Dreaming outside your head”. I was able to gain more of an understanding and awareness of a topic/experience that I don’t really know a lot about, but ultimately I found it hard to connect with the characters and the story. 

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is my husband’s favourite book, so I decided to finally give it a read! This is not my usual type of book at all, but I absolutely LOVED it. The story drew me in immediately and kept me on my toes the whole time. I love that this was written as a book within a book. I have no idea how Mike Bockoven managed to write 23 chapters of interviews where every single character was different to one another and not similar in the slightest - that really is a talent. I love the way that the story was told, I loved reading from all the different points of views and piecing the story together. The hotel/warthog chapter genuinely had me creeped out and scared which is not something I’ve ever experienced whilst reading a book before. Normally I’m left frustrated when stories don’t come to a conclusion, however this felt correct for FantasticLand. I’m looking forward to reading it again to see if I spot anything that I didn’t pick up on the first time around that might help with my theories! 

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I absolutely love how TJR writes her characters, there is something so raw and human about them that it’s hard to believe that they aren’t real people. I completely fell in love with the Riva siblings and their story. This book was a little slow at times compared to her others, but the story was beautiful. There was heartbreak and hope which is a combination that TJR does so well; my heart was breaking for their family but the strength they found in themselves and one another was so heartwarming and inspiring. As the oldest sibling in my family, I felt a connection to Nina and that I was truly understood as the eldest child. This felt like a love letter the Malibu and I can’t wait to see it for myself when I visit later this year. 

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

This is another book that’s being talked about everywhere at the moment, and I’m happy to say that it lived up to its praise. I’m not someone who usually reads books like this, but I was really drawn in by the concept of the book. I have to be honest, for the first 30% of the book I was worried that this was going to be really predictable, however it really turned itself around and ended up being so much more than I expected it to be.  What seemed like a very simple story at first became more complex and the sensitive topics within this book were dealt with in a beautiful way. I think this was a really well executed story I loved the message behind it.  

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful medium-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

5.0

This book is ABSOLUTELY worth all of the hype. As it’s the summer, I wanted to read a rom-com, but this book was so much more than that. This was a heartfelt, emotional and endearing story that went far deeper than I expected. Reading this had me laughing one minute and tearing up the next. The cast of characters were brilliant, and Justin might be my new favourite MMC! This is a must-read. I broke the rules (apparently) by reading this as my first Abby Jimenez book, but I am definitely now going to read everything else she’s written!

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

emotional funny hopeful 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

3.5

I loved the idea of this book and the initial storyline. I am a big fan of anything that centres around fame / the media industry. I absolutely loved the first section of the book with the “SNL” sketch show setting and reading about the behind the scenes process, but in the end I felt that this fell a little flat. I thought that the cast of characters in general were great, but something was just missing for me.

We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

I was drawn in by the blurb; It was an interesting premise but it didn’t go down the route that I expected. It did get me thinking about the impact that social media has on our lives and our ways of thinking without us even really realising. I keep trying “weird girl” books but I think they’re just not for me.