maddness22's reviews
715 reviews

Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang

emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

Both physically and emotionally gorgeous. I loved the storyline and emotional depth the characters explore, even though my cold dead heart is skeptical that two teenagers can be in "true love" but it was very heartwarming. I also loved the various cultures in the story and how naturally they interacted. Very gorgeous art style as well too! St. V was horrifying when it called for it and represented the emotional arc well. 

Single at Heart: The Power, Freedom, and Heart-Filling Joy of Single Life by Bella DePaulo

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

I feel like the definition of "Single at Heart" is still too ill defined for me to truly grasp the concept. The idea seems to be both too inclusive by stating that anyone can identify as single as heart, even those in active romantic relationships, but yet it's too exclusionary by regularly stating specific characteristics that define someone that is single at heart and not matching those characteristics indicate that the subject is simply just unafraid of being single or actually aspires for a romantic relationship. It also very barely touches on asexuality and aromantic, keeping the concepts contained to only chapter 7, which is surprising given how these sexualities can likely be incredibly intertwined with this concept of "single at heart" if the author chose to do deeper research on them. 

The true benefit to this book is that it serves as a direct challenge to compulsory coupling and the idea that being in a relationship gives you an automatic advantage in life. It's a great exploration of the advantages of remaining single and prioritizing solitude over the expected partnership demanded in our society to prove that you're a "real" adult. I especially enjoyed the chapter studying the difference in happiness levels between single adults and married adults and how single adults are regularly happier than married folks, but society perceives them as less so due to their lack of relationship status. 

Also the writing style is a bit woo-woo and quote heavy for my tastes, but at least it made it a quicker than expected read. 

More: A Memoir of Open Marriage by Molly Roden Winter

reflective tense medium-paced

2.75

This was fine. There was nothing super exemplary about this perspective from a privileged white woman regarding her open marriage but also nothing super offensive (aside from the author being incredibly infuriating about a couple of things). We got close to higher insight with a couple thoughts about how opening her marriage was a way to promote her capacity for self-love and reduce her scarcity mindset but they seem to fall flat before reaching a definitive conclusion. 

Again it's super privileged though as the couple can regularly afford childcare for the time to actually participate in dates with other people and can also afford two separate therapists to navigate the tricky emotions of polyamory so there's not exactly a lot of nuance to opening this relationship from my perspective. 

Ramón and Julieta by Alana Quintana Albertson

funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

1.5

Yeah this was just terrible. I don't even want to sugarcoat it. I enjoyed the taco aspects because I love tacos and the setting had potential. But Ramon is an absolute tool and Julieta is a wishy washy sellout. The spicy scenes read like basic 9th grade level creative writing/fanfiction without a hint of zest to them. I even hesitate to give this book a NSFW tag but I guess technically what they engaged in was sex (even though Julieta, very problematically, doesn't define their moments of intimacy as such until penetration occurs). 

The writing literally made me laugh out loud at moments when I was not supposed to laugh out loud. I physically screamed out loud at the nonsense plot and character developments. One character was prepared to throw his hands over his job and then literally on the very next page he was like "I don't care about my job" and that's kinda how the whole book goes for every single character.  

My biggest enjoyment of this book (and the only reason why I finished it) was sending sections of it to my friends so they could suffer with me. It was very fun teasing how much the two characters sniff each other or encounter "ectasy" when they're being intimate. 

Also I don't know anything about San Diego so I was regularly lost as they jumped from the various neighborhoods? Towns? It doesn't really matter. Just be aware that if you read this book for the memes and want to know where things are, Google a map of San Diego I guess. 

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella

emotional funny lighthearted tense 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

3.75

The first half of the book is delightfully charming and had me laughing out loud more than once. I especially loved how the couple matches each other's "idiot energy" with how much they love each other and remain committed to each other. Then we have about 100 pages of unnecessary and boring nonsense, then a third act rife with tense mystery for almost no reason except to give something to rope the reader back into the action. But it was still a pretty good read (hard to go wrong with Kinsella) and I really enjoyed both Dan and Sylvie as leads. This was a fresh perspective on marriage in a rom-com, especially since the couple never fully loses sight of each other even as they are separated. 

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

4.5

I snagged this book from the library after watching a John Oliver clip about how it's a commonly banned book in libraries and enjoyed it immensely! It's an adorable and easy to digest graphic novel about gender dysphoria. I think it does a great job outlining the confusion that accompanies gender dysphoria and all of the various microaggressions that can worsen this confusion. I think it's an important book to remain available for folks of all ages with questions about their gender so they can see a relatable account and perspective about what it means to be gender queer and the journey that is taken to identify as gender queer. While not necessary, I liked that it even includes science for those folks who require a bit of biological evidence for their gender. I also loved how much the artist/author clearly loves eir family with the amount of care taken into how eir family is drawn! 

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

emotional funny 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

4.75

An incredibly fitting read for my day today. I never laughed out loud so much at a book in my life! The various plot lines are a bit of a messy tangle, but I adored Patrick's voice and humor and how he interacted with the kids. This has a lovely voice and offers a legitimately hilarious perspective on grief and reconnection after loss. 

An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

adventurous funny lighthearted 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? Yes

2.75

Man we had such a SOLID start but then the weird power dynamics came in and were so unnecessary and Sophie was just the absolute WORST with her miscommunication (I'm not going to be a liar, but let me lie literally every time I open my mouth OKAY SOPHIE). This was absolutely Violet Bridgerton's best book tho. She knocked it out of the park at the end. It's not the worst pill to swallow when one is attempting to binge an entire romance series, but there are better romances out there.

Funny Story by Emily Henry

funny hopeful 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

3.5

This book is literally just a copy and paste of "Beach Read". It also taught me what a "trapezius" is, which might be beneficial one day. 

I honestly had an incredibly tough time connecting to the story for the first 50%. Both Miles and Daphne were unappealing in their own ways and I couldn't get over the fact it's literally the same concept as "Beach Read" with the little tourist adventures to help motivate a woman and man both down on their luck in their separate life endeavors and, gasp, they fall in love over these little non-date dates. The fake dating trope falls apart very easily as well, as predicted. 

But I enjoyed Daphne's reformation as a "we" girl into an "I" girl with her own interests and personality separate from her love interest. I also loved the conversations about their avoidant attachment styles and their own aversions to creating meaningful connections due to past traumas. 

Still a very cute read and it's hard to go wrong with an Emily Henry, but the story was disappointing. I'm excited for my mom to read it though. It's her first rom-com and she's excited for "the Hallmark movie, but in July!" 😂

Financial Feminist: Overcome the Patriarchy's Bullsh*t to Master Your Money and Build a Life You Love by Tori Dunlap

funny informative inspiring slow-paced

5.0

To say this revolutionized my understanding of finances would be an understatement. I have so much more confidence in my financial understanding after reading this book, it's literally night and day. I loved the casual writing style making the complicated material more digestible and the connections made between financial concepts and the social implications on why the financial concepts are not widely understood or taught. I also loved the connections made between finances and the emotions connected to them. The chapter about debt and investments were probably the most beneficial for me, but I also adored the exercise for the monthly money diary to connect purchases with the feelings associated with them. 

Highly recommended for others who, like me, were mostly blind about finances and just opted to keep their head in the sand about them rather than open an understanding about them!