maddness22's reviews
715 reviews

The Perfect Marriage by Jeneva Rose

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.0

There's not a single likeable character in this and the unlikeable characters aren't enjoyable to experience. Adam Morgan is the most incompetent idiot to find himself somehow married and Sarah Morgan is a "not like other girls" generic lawyer who literally uses slut shaming in her defense during trial. The plot is messy with a mystery mostly dependent on lies or incompetence as opposed to actual conflict. The representation of the law and law enforcement is laughable with too many plot holes and conveniences to count. I was rolling my eyes for the majority of the second half of the book. The one saving grace is that I truly enjoyed the ending. It's better than I could've imagined for this book and I wish the build-up to it could've been structured better so it would pay off just a tad better. 

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Wow this book helped me discover that I really don't like mysteries all that much. It's absolutely a love letter for the mystery genre and the fourth wall breaks are a fun deviance from the normal tropes found in mysteries, but the fourth wall breaks also makes the narrative tough to follow and mostly inspired me to roll my eyes more often than not. The voice is a clever way to hide the red herrings but I still get annoyed by mysteries that hide everything until the end with information that there's no way the reader could infer on their own. Fun if you're a mystery fan, but kinda blah and also gross if you're not. 

The Young Elites by Marie Lu

adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.75

Dang this was a fun, dark romp! I very much enjoyed myself. I think the story would've been improved if the characters were aged to their early 20's but I understand the trends of publishing at the time demanded sixteen year olds to endure trauma. Such a cool world and concept with superheroes/supervillains in fantasy/dark ages era! I'll definitely try to read the sequel because I loved the character of Adelina and the complex morality she is forced to navigate. The introduction of the additional characters and world-building in the epilogue also have me excited for the sequel.

Inciting Joy: Essays by Ross Gay
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

I enjoyed what I listened to so far, but I was really only capturing the book in nuggets. I don't think the audiobook format is the best way to capture the spirit of these essays so I might give it another go through a physical read if I can. 

How to Live a Good Life: A Guide to Choosing Your Personal Philosophy by Massimo Pigliucci, Skye Cleary, Daniel Kaufman

informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

A decent collection of abstracts about various philosophies. I think this is a great introduction read for folks exploring philosophy for the first time and it offers some great little nuggets of wisdom on how to live a good life. It gets a bit dull at times and some essays are stronger than others, but I particularly loved Skye Cleary's essay about existentialism. 

The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson

adventurous funny sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Honestly if I wasn't forced to binge this book for book club, I probably would've never finished it but it was still an incredibly solid read. The cast was a bit large and the pacing a bit slow for my personal tastes, but I very much enjoyed how expansive the whole world felt in this post-war 1919 British seaside village. The conversations about grief and post-war trauma were very well done and I also enjoyed the talks about women's rights and their place in the world during this time. Klaus and Harris were probably my favorite parts, but Poppy was a proper menace to society that I loved and appreciated (until the end). 

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

The plot is a bit hit or miss, but Colin and Penelope are literally just so cute and wholesome together that it all comes together and creates a very enjoyable experience. I loved that we even saw how much they truly loved each other and continued to care for each other even after marriage. It's also always fun seeing the larger Bridgerton family interacting with each other but it's low-key hilarious that we keep dropping off the married ones one by one as the series progresses. 

Book fans should be outraged by Colin and Penelope's portrayal on the Netflix show, honestly. 

Love Rules: How to Find a Real Relationship in a Digital World by Joanna Coles

funny lighthearted fast-paced

1.75

Not great. In fact, highly problematic with how it keeps comparing dating to dieting to an almost obsessive point and how it assumes the only way to live a life is in love without reassurance that life can be fulfilling without love too. I'm pretty sure it even directly quotes "Love is the most fulfilling journey a person (woman) can take" which is.....an opinion, for sure. 

I did find the chapter about vetting your friends' opinions about new relationships mildly interesting because it seems like the default advice is usually "always trust your friends no matter what" when this book takes the stance of "actually your friends' opinions might suck sometimes" which was refreshing. The last chapter was also good, but it negates the majority of the book so I'm conflicted about how much I want to enjoy it. 

At least it reads like one long Cosmo article so it's an easy enough read to breeze through if you need a shallow perspective on love and dating with basic relationship advice that can be found for free on any given "Top 8 reasons why you can't find love" blog post/Instagram reel. 

The Church of Mary Magdalene: The Sacred Feminine and the Treasure of Rennes-Le-Chateau by Jean Markale
Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.

I really can't stand how much the author is inserting himself and his opinions into the history. I also can't believe it's been 30 pages and we've barely had any mention of Mary Magdalene despite it being the focus of the cover and book description. The few book reviews for this one remain pessimistic that this isn't going to change for the rest of the book so I'm just going to quit while I'm ahead, which is a shame because I love a good Mary Magdalene read.

Cowboys Are My Weakness: Stories by Pam Houston

adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

Honestly not that bad. The clear appreciation and adoration for the outdoors and a lifestyle centered on nature across all stories was probably the highlight of the book for me, but I also enjoyed the complex relationships and feelings associated with love across all of the stories. I didn't have a specific favorite story, but I think the one about sheep hunting will stick with me for a bit. I also very much enjoyed the prose and writing style.