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lucybbookstuff's Reviews (374)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
This was such a delight!!
This really scratched the Regency itch I got from watching Bridgerton season 3. But managed to be completely its own thing and do a lot more than your average Regency romance.
This had all the typical whimsy and fun of a Regency romance, while also providing some biting commentary on the frivolity and more sinister undertones of the era and of the English nobility. I really liked that.
Not to mention the faerie of it all. That's always so fun and strange. I'm glad it went the more folkloric, Cruel Prince-ish route with the faerie folk, rather than the popular but wholly inaccurate sexy fae.
I loved the main character so much, andI'm so glad she didn't have to get "fixed" in the end to be loved. The romance was so lovely and the witty banter was A+++. I'll be honest, I was expecting some spice (I thought I'd heard that it is spicy), so I was a little sad when there was NONE lol, but the book didn't need it and neither did I. :)
This really scratched the Regency itch I got from watching Bridgerton season 3. But managed to be completely its own thing and do a lot more than your average Regency romance.
This had all the typical whimsy and fun of a Regency romance, while also providing some biting commentary on the frivolity and more sinister undertones of the era and of the English nobility. I really liked that.
Not to mention the faerie of it all. That's always so fun and strange. I'm glad it went the more folkloric, Cruel Prince-ish route with the faerie folk, rather than the popular but wholly inaccurate sexy fae.
I loved the main character so much, and
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I participated in a book club on Fable for this, and the author was in it providing insights and active discussion. Which I thought was very cool and fun, but is also making me very confused on my feelings about the book.
I'm gonna take this point by point.
Characters: Very interesting journeys, but I wanted even more from them. I like multi-POV, but I wish it had been split more equally between all of them. The female characters often felt sidelined.There was also a romantic subplot that I HATED. Absolutely unnecessary and felt forced.
Pacing: Kind of off. This was hyped up to me as a nonstop thrill ride, and while the thriller plot was good, it never completely sucked me in. It got bogged down in a few places.
Writing: Fine, but a bit repetitive, and pretty surface level.
Themes: Very good. The author clearly did tons of research about the future of our world, in terms of both climate and tech, and it shone through. It was viscerally frightening to read about what our world could look like in just 25 years. I appreciate that Weaver focused this book so much on the climate crisis, because it is such an immediate threat that is far too overlooked. The thoughts about AI were also very interesting, and both scary and exciting.I can honestly say, at this point, that I'd much rather elect a robot as world dictator than a US president lol.
Twists: Were twistin'! It did feel pretty predictable in places, and I got very frustrated with feeling smarter than our detective/investigator protagonists for such a long time. Get it together, y'all. But he did still manage to surprise me multiple times, all the way up until the end. I also wasn't expecting such Clue vibes for a while there, and that was quite fun, if a little tonally odd.
So... overall, a pretty good book. A few elements didn't quite work for me, but I think a lot of that is just that I don't read many thrillers anymore, so I'm left dissatisfied with the plot-driven-ness. I need more character work. I can definitely see why it's hyped, though.
Part of me wishes I had read the whole book and THEN checked all the stuff in the book club. I do feel very jumbled having all that extra information, and I'm possibly feeling bad about my less-than-stellar review when I was communicating directly with the author. But I tried my best to wade through those weeds and sort through my feelings for the book itself. 🤷🏼♀️
Edit a few months later: Downgrading from 3.75 to 3.5 - I have to be so honest lol, I was definitely being a bit too nice, knowing that the author had eyes on my tiktok review. I do think this book was fine, even good, but there is way too much that fell short for me personally. I may even need to reexamine eventually if 3.5 is too high, but it feels about right for now.
I'm gonna take this point by point.
Characters: Very interesting journeys, but I wanted even more from them. I like multi-POV, but I wish it had been split more equally between all of them. The female characters often felt sidelined.
Pacing: Kind of off. This was hyped up to me as a nonstop thrill ride, and while the thriller plot was good, it never completely sucked me in. It got bogged down in a few places.
Writing: Fine, but a bit repetitive, and pretty surface level.
Themes: Very good. The author clearly did tons of research about the future of our world, in terms of both climate and tech, and it shone through. It was viscerally frightening to read about what our world could look like in just 25 years. I appreciate that Weaver focused this book so much on the climate crisis, because it is such an immediate threat that is far too overlooked. The thoughts about AI were also very interesting, and both scary and exciting.
Twists: Were twistin'! It did feel pretty predictable in places, and I got very frustrated with feeling smarter than our detective/investigator protagonists for such a long time. Get it together, y'all. But he did still manage to surprise me multiple times, all the way up until the end. I also wasn't expecting such Clue vibes for a while there, and that was quite fun, if a little tonally odd.
So... overall, a pretty good book. A few elements didn't quite work for me, but I think a lot of that is just that I don't read many thrillers anymore, so I'm left dissatisfied with the plot-driven-ness. I need more character work. I can definitely see why it's hyped, though.
Part of me wishes I had read the whole book and THEN checked all the stuff in the book club. I do feel very jumbled having all that extra information, and I'm possibly feeling bad about my less-than-stellar review when I was communicating directly with the author. But I tried my best to wade through those weeds and sort through my feelings for the book itself. 🤷🏼♀️
Edit a few months later: Downgrading from 3.75 to 3.5 - I have to be so honest lol, I was definitely being a bit too nice, knowing that the author had eyes on my tiktok review. I do think this book was fine, even good, but there is way too much that fell short for me personally. I may even need to reexamine eventually if 3.5 is too high, but it feels about right for now.
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
The demisexual/a-spec rep in this was so good and so appreciated. 🥹 We are so underrepresented and I feel that quite deeply, so it's always a treat to get some real, well-done rep. Thank you, Alison.
I also really liked and appreciated the very realistic depiction of various mental health struggles, and the spectrum of places one can be in their mental health journey. I especially like that poor mental health wasn't glorified in any way and there was a very honest depiction of how toxic someone can be in their relationships if they don't do the work.
The relationship in this book was very sweet. Any negative feelings and reasons for the middling rating come from this just not really being my genre. And the fact that I fucking hate The Bachelor lol. The book did take some shots at the show, but it also did seem to glorify it in some ways. I hate literally everything about it, so I could not get on board with that. And I absolutely refuse to believe that anyone who works on a show like that truly believes that it exists for the sake of true love. 😆
Great, sweet book with some awesome representation. I definitely recommend it to contemporary romance readers across the board.
I also really liked and appreciated the very realistic depiction of various mental health struggles, and the spectrum of places one can be in their mental health journey. I especially like that poor mental health wasn't glorified in any way and there was a very honest depiction of how toxic someone can be in their relationships if they don't do the work.
The relationship in this book was very sweet. Any negative feelings and reasons for the middling rating come from this just not really being my genre. And the fact that I fucking hate The Bachelor lol. The book did take some shots at the show, but it also did seem to glorify it in some ways. I hate literally everything about it, so I could not get on board with that. And I absolutely refuse to believe that anyone who works on a show like that truly believes that it exists for the sake of true love. 😆
Great, sweet book with some awesome representation. I definitely recommend it to contemporary romance readers across the board.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
This definitely transcends rating.
Great introduction to Angela Davis. Can't believe it's taken me this long. Absolutely looking forward to engaging with more of her work.
Great introduction to Angela Davis. Can't believe it's taken me this long. Absolutely looking forward to engaging with more of her work.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I was hoping for a solid 4 stars, not really expecting better than that, and I'm glad to say that it delivered! It fluctuated a bit throughout, but I definitely landed on 4.
I think Leigh's prose is very beautiful. It was very atmospheric, which doesn't always make for a fun reading experience for me, but it definitely helped my imagination along.
I also really liked the themes in this. Particularly about women helping each other and saving themselves and not depending on men (who can't really be trusted), and the absolute hypocrisy of Catholicism/Christianity/religion, and those who use it for their own ends.
Aaaand I was definitely into the romance. The banter was fantastic and their personalities were so fun together.
The magic was also cool, if mysterious and maybe a bit underdeveloped.
My main complaint is a big one, and it's just that the storytelling was flawed. The pacing was off a lot of the time. Things often weren't explained in a way that I understood. The whole plot of the tournament, while not being as annoying and copy-pasted as other tournament plots, felt pretty flimsy and unnecessary. A lot of the time, the history wrapped up in the story didn't add any substance, at least not for me. This story didn't quite work as a standalone, but I also can't see it being expanded into a series either.
So... yeah. A good book, not a great one. Still love Leigh!
I think Leigh's prose is very beautiful. It was very atmospheric, which doesn't always make for a fun reading experience for me, but it definitely helped my imagination along.
I also really liked the themes in this. Particularly about women helping each other and saving themselves and not depending on men (who can't really be trusted), and the absolute hypocrisy of Catholicism/Christianity/religion, and those who use it for their own ends.
Aaaand I was definitely into the romance. The banter was fantastic and their personalities were so fun together.
The magic was also cool, if mysterious and maybe a bit underdeveloped.
My main complaint is a big one, and it's just that the storytelling was flawed. The pacing was off a lot of the time. Things often weren't explained in a way that I understood. The whole plot of the tournament, while not being as annoying and copy-pasted as other tournament plots, felt pretty flimsy and unnecessary. A lot of the time, the history wrapped up in the story didn't add any substance, at least not for me. This story didn't quite work as a standalone, but I also can't see it being expanded into a series either.
So... yeah. A good book, not a great one. Still love Leigh!
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
I wasn't going to rate this, seeing as I'm neither a preteen nor a parent, but I loved it so much by the end that I wanted to give it a 5.
Excellent book for kids, and still impactful for adults. Written in such a fun way; I can only imagine how engaging it would be for the target audience! And just so, so frickin sweet. 🥲
I want all middle grade readers to read this book!!
Excellent book for kids, and still impactful for adults. Written in such a fun way; I can only imagine how engaging it would be for the target audience! And just so, so frickin sweet. 🥲
I want all middle grade readers to read this book!!
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
I didn't feel like her writing was anything special, in fact, it was a bit cheesy/cliche at points. But not bad. And, as someone who has followed her on IG for years, it was very interesting to learn more about her and hear her story from her lips. I'll definitely listen to her 2nd book sometime.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
I don't disagree with the folks who say Beartown doesn't need to be a series. Book 1 is quite perfect on its own.
This book also could have been edited down a fair amount.
But I still loved the absolute shit out of it. I would read a hundred books about this town and the humans within it.
Backman's writing is equal parts infuriating and delightful. His characters are so terribly and wonderfully human. Except for Richard Theo. Fuck that guy. I didn't even like reading about him and honestly could have done without him entirely. (Also, except for the character of Hockey. I hate that bitch. No matter how much Fred wants me to love it.)
I could have lived with like a dozen fewer instances of misdirection, making me believe practically everyone was going to tragically perish. But in the end, I forgive him, because I do love an emotional reading experience. He certainly delivered that.
My biggest specific complaint is that I wish he had introduced Vidar AND his relationship with Ana much earlier, because his death didn't hit quite as hard as I expected or wanted.
This book also could have been edited down a fair amount.
But I still loved the absolute shit out of it. I would read a hundred books about this town and the humans within it.
Backman's writing is equal parts infuriating and delightful. His characters are so terribly and wonderfully human. Except for Richard Theo. Fuck that guy. I didn't even like reading about him and honestly could have done without him entirely. (Also, except for the character of Hockey. I hate that bitch. No matter how much Fred wants me to love it.)
I could have lived with like a dozen fewer instances of misdirection, making me believe practically everyone was going to tragically perish. But in the end, I forgive him, because I do love an emotional reading experience. He certainly delivered that.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book isn't bad. I give it so much credit for being so easy to read. Sometimes you just need a page-turner, and that it is.
It also took some very complicated scientific concepts and made them very digestible. Which is especially saying a lot when it's me reading them haha.
But...
The reason it was so easy to read is because much of the writing was so incredibly dumbed down. The mechanics of it were clearly a choice (lots of clipped sentences, tons of line breaks), and one I appreciated since it helped me fly through it. But I also got the distinct impression that the author could never write better than this if he tried his absolute damnedest.
The main character, for being such a smarty pants, was kind of an idiot. The way he spoke about his wife did not inspire a single spark of emotion in me. Jason had very little depth but Daniela had even less. She was just his object of desire and his driving force. Which made the plot of "get back to her at all costs" pretty flimsy, since she was just his empty vessel. What am I rooting for here?
I did find the science and thriller plot mostly interesting. The multiverse thing was cool and the way it all happened was a unique idea. But I never cared that much about what was happening,and by the time we got to the many Jasons converging on the original universe, it all felt quite tiresome and I was, at that point, turning pages just to get to the end.
Lastly, as a Chicagoan, I found it massively distracting that Crouch clearly did the bare minimum of research about the city he placed this story in. 💀 These are things most people wouldn't notice or care about, but unfortunately I do lol. One could argue that a ~universe~ exists out there where Logan Square has raised train tracks, Village Tap is in a different neighborhood, and Pulaski Road runs right next to the lake... but fuck off lol. No. Also he spoke very irreverently and disrespectfully about the South Side. Which, to be fair, is probably how the average white North-sider would speak about it, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.
Aaaaanyway. I'm excited to watch the show. I think it will be better. I honestly don't know why he didn't take this story straight to the screen. It seems much better-suited for that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But oh welllll.
Again, it wasn't bad, and I get the hype. I'm just picky. 😆
ETA a week later: downgrading to 3.25. It only gets to stay above 3 because it was so fast-paced and did have interesting science.
It also took some very complicated scientific concepts and made them very digestible. Which is especially saying a lot when it's me reading them haha.
But...
The reason it was so easy to read is because much of the writing was so incredibly dumbed down. The mechanics of it were clearly a choice (lots of clipped sentences, tons of line breaks), and one I appreciated since it helped me fly through it. But I also got the distinct impression that the author could never write better than this if he tried his absolute damnedest.
The main character, for being such a smarty pants, was kind of an idiot. The way he spoke about his wife did not inspire a single spark of emotion in me. Jason had very little depth but Daniela had even less. She was just his object of desire and his driving force. Which made the plot of "get back to her at all costs" pretty flimsy, since she was just his empty vessel. What am I rooting for here?
I did find the science and thriller plot mostly interesting. The multiverse thing was cool and the way it all happened was a unique idea. But I never cared that much about what was happening,
Lastly, as a Chicagoan, I found it massively distracting that Crouch clearly did the bare minimum of research about the city he placed this story in. 💀 These are things most people wouldn't notice or care about, but unfortunately I do lol. One could argue that a ~universe~ exists out there where Logan Square has raised train tracks, Village Tap is in a different neighborhood, and Pulaski Road runs right next to the lake... but fuck off lol. No. Also he spoke very irreverently and disrespectfully about the South Side. Which, to be fair, is probably how the average white North-sider would speak about it, but it still rubbed me the wrong way.
Aaaaanyway. I'm excited to watch the show. I think it will be better. I honestly don't know why he didn't take this story straight to the screen. It seems much better-suited for that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But oh welllll.
Again, it wasn't bad, and I get the hype. I'm just picky. 😆
ETA a week later: downgrading to 3.25. It only gets to stay above 3 because it was so fast-paced and did have interesting science.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I honestly wasn't feeling 5 stars until the last stretch of the book. But those last few hundred pagea deserve 5 stars all on their own. And I concede that the VERY slow, drawn-out buildup leading to it was all necessary. It could have been done differently, perhaps in even more books. But ultimately I don't think that was necessary.
I have so many thoughts on this incredible series as a whole. She thought of everything, and tied everything up perfectly. I may come back and record more thoughts here later.
I'm just so blown away.
I will say for now, it did not go at all how I expected.I was legitimately expecting a Godfather-esque downfall and absolute tragedy for our main characters. Lee surprised me in so many ways, and it may have taken a while, but I'm fully on board the No Peak train. 🙌🏻
I have so many thoughts on this incredible series as a whole. She thought of everything, and tied everything up perfectly. I may come back and record more thoughts here later.
I'm just so blown away.
I will say for now, it did not go at all how I expected.