maddness22's reviews
715 reviews

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-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

5.0

Gosh I loved this book. It was so soft, so sweet, and packs a punch with the little life lessons scattered throughout the five stories. I loved the serialized nature of the narrative and how they're all connected through the same library. This is truly a great tale of finding where you're supposed to be when you feel lost in the overall grand scheme of the universe. I loved it. I definitely resonated the most with the first story but the last story is also so incredible. All of them truly do very well though. 

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious 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

5.0

This was so incredibly fun! I loved the cast of characters, especially Vera Wong, and the plot twist at the end actually had me screaming out loud. This is such a feel good, laugh out loud mystery with such an incredible and unique voice that I fully enjoyed. I was also crying at the end because I loved these characters so dang much. Jesse Q. Sutanto is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors because she knows how to have fun with her stories while still keeping heart to them. 

Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Carrie's voice remains incredible to read, but gosh this was so disorganized. Which was a bit of the point and, again, I enjoyed the book but it wasn't the heavy hitter I was expecting it to be due to the lack of organization. I still loved the honesty and frank insight into her life and mental issues. Excellent messy female representation is always appreciated as well 

Gamora and Nebula: Sisters in Arms by Mackenzi Lee

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Actually pretty dang good. I loved the action and emotional complexities of the relationships between Gamora, Nebula, and Thanos. The ending is delightfully cruel and a perfect lead-up to what Marvel fans understand about the characters within the MCU lore. I loved the plot twists as well and the in-depth world building for a planet that should normally be a blink and you miss it piece of the Marvel lore. I enjoyed myself!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

emotional hopeful tense 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

4.5

Mostly read this so my mom doesn't exclaim "you haven't read the book yet?!" every time we try to watch the movie, but I was very impressed with the storytelling. It was such an expansive and fully fleshed out character experience. Every conversation felt so realistic and like you were experiencing it as a silent witness in the room. Some storylines were stronger than others but overall it's not a bad read and still holds up as a solid book. 

Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

3.0

I'm not fully convinced that Blue Rebel Ranch isn't a cult, especially with that Rider Day thing. But the world and characters are still enjoyable. I was a bit disappointed by the auto-love story as their main attraction to each other seemed to be overly reliant on "I've never felt this way before" and I wanted to hear more from Wes/Teddy Hamilton, but overall it wasn't a bad time. Nothing really much happens in the first 50% of the book, but sometimes a light hearted easy book is just what the yeehaw doctor ordered. 

Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks

challenging emotional reflective relaxing slow-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? Yes

3.25

This is the kind of book you read in a coffee shop on a slow, rainy day. Tom Hanks is a delight and he writes with an interesting surrealist and nostalgic tone to all of his short stories. However, the pacing is incredibly slow and was incredibly effective at putting me to sleep before my nap and bedtimes. It's not bad - just slow and almost demands lingering within each story to fully immerse in the atmosphere. Great if you're a fan of typewriters and/or Tom Hanks though! 

How to Be the Love You Seek: Break Cycles, Find Peace, and Heal Your Relationships by Nicole LePera

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

This was either the best time of my life to read this book or the worst time. Either way, I read it and I thought a majority of the insights were quite impactful. However, the journal prompts were either too little or too much and didn't offer a whole lot of guidance for my own understanding of the material. I also found the talk about energies to be a bit woo-woo for my tastes. 

I did appreciate the emotionally unavailable female representation and conversations around being emotionally unavailable as a female, including the somatic nervous system responses when we're emotionally unavailable and how to grow in ability to become more emotionally available by utilizing your physical responses to actions. The recognition to pause and process a response before acting on it was also very helpful. 

The Honeymoon Crashers by Christina Lauren

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

4.25

Yet another example of why weddings are just the worst lol. But this audiobook was cute! I loved the leads, especially Harry Shum Jr., and the crash course in planning a wedding in a week was a very fun concept. There's a lot of fun chemistry between the leads and the banter was super well done. This was just good lighthearted fun and I appreciated it. 

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.75

I had to read this for a book club. I thought the story was incredibly unique, but the character development was so odd and seemed to make incredible jumps in logic. For being so dialogue heavy as well, some lines of dialogue are so incredibly not-human (at one point a 26 year old says "scheming woman" in reference to another character) that the adults seem more alien than the child. Especially since they're so direct about "I'm this way because of this thing" without ever letting the reader discover the characters on their own. But, still, it was interesting but I probably never would've read it on my own without book club.