maggers94's reviews
162 reviews

Please See Us by Caitlin Mullen

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I’m a little conflicted on this. I went into it expecting it to be a little more of your standard thriller, but that’s not at all what it is really. I liked the writing style and the use of multiple perspectives/first and third person narration, but I just found the overall plot somewhat slow. It just never really sucked me in how I expected. It’s writing throughout is very, very good, but I think I went into it in the mood for something completely different and wasn’t in the right mindset to really enjoy this as much as I thought would

Educated by Tara Westover

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

I’m just now getting into audiobooks, but this made a great first listen. Even going into it knowing some of what it was about, at times I was completely shocked at the things Tara experienced particularly when it came to her family’s distrust of modern medicine. My heart broke for Tara as she grappled with the life she was raised in and her life outside of her family. Portions were hard to stomach, but all of it felt like an important conversation on education and the long-lasting effects of a childhood like this.

The Secret Bridesmaid by Katy Birchall

funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.5

Listened to this as an audiobook and was expecting it to be a romance, but the platonic friendship romance was still cute. The minuscule amount of actual romance kind of seemed unnecessary. There were some parts that felt repetitive (the way too long canapé conversation as an example), but it was a fun read overall.

Daughter of Mine by Megan Miranda

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was a great read that had me questioning everyone until the very end. I love the way Megan Miranda sets a scene and builds these intricate webs of relationships with so many secrets to unravel. This was another one of her books that easily sucked me in and had me unable to put it down

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I liked the premise, but I felt the pacing was kind of weird, and I never really connected with Rose as a character. The fact that she’s supposed to be in her 20s but she reads like a high schooler was just really off-putting to me. She’s also very long-winded in her narration, so at times I’d get a little bored with whatever she was describing. Just okay overall for me

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

Abby Jimenez’s ability to create a book that feels equivalent to being shot up with pure joy is seriously such an art. This had a lot to live up to and didn’t disappoint. I love the connections to her other books, and the way every character feels important to the story. She somehow writes about complex emotions and relationships in a way that feels relatable. It manages to feel both magical and completely realistic at the same time. There is a moment where Justin notes that love isn’t the grand gestures, but all the moments that happen in the folds of everyday life, and I think that’s what I love about her stories most. She captures that so perfectly in every book, and I’ll eat it up every time.

Off Season by Jack Ketchum

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.5

This solidified I’m not much of a fan of horror that’s centered around physical violence and gore. It was hard for me to buy into the idea of a cannibalistic group of people going undetected in Maine for so long, so I didn’t find it scary per se, just gross mainly

Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

I enjoyed this overall, but it wasn’t quite as thriller-y as I was expecting. I figured out where the story was going pretty quickly, so that made the twists slightly underwhelming. It was still a good story overall that kept me interested enough to binge it in one sitting

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

This is cute, but at times felt a little too YA for me, despite having moments with very adult issues. Some aspects of the story also left me wanting more out of them and it overall felt a little rushed. I went into it expecting the magic of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Alice in Wonderland, but it just didn’t quite deliver that for me. 

Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The story was definitely gripping, but at times way more graphic and dark than I would have preferred. The first few chapters I wasn’t sure if I would want you to get through, but the case being very well done with lots twists and turns made up for it. I enjoyed Sara and Jeffery as characters, but Lena frustrated me at times and is probably the main reason it’s not 4 stars for me. She was full of contradictions. Complaining about the boys club for cops and how she’s treated, but then having pretty shitty beliefs about her uncle’s struggle with addiction, her sister’s sexuality, and what kind of women are chosen as victims made me feel very little empathy for her. I know it’s an older book, but the moments of casual homophobia and misogyny from her were really jarring. She’s clearly not supposed to be likable in those moments, but it swung a little too far for me to the point that I’m not sure how I feel about reading the rest of the series knowing she’s still a big part of it.