maggies's reviews
560 reviews

You Belong with Me by Mhairi McFarlane

emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

What a glorious, heart-wrenching follow-up to Who's That Girl? Mhairi McFarlane continually outdoes herself. Edie and Elliot are so witty, so loving, so emotionally intelligent. They are realistic and also aspirational. And their speeches *swoon*

Who's That Girl? by Mhairi McFarlane

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

I’m biased because she’s my favorite, but Mhairi McFarlane is inimitable. Holds up on re-read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.

Beautiful writing, but I'm so uninterested in reading a story that begins with child marriage. Nope.

Central Park West by James Comey

informative mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

Truthfully, I wanted to see what kind of novelist James Comey is, and my verdict is he's not bad. It's clear he was drawing from his own experiences/perspective, and there were some awkward moments where he perhaps over-explained the legal system or legal jargon, but overall the mystery was interesting and the characters were multi-dimensional.

Oak King Holly King by Sebastian Nothwell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.

Just wasn’t capturing me.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

adventurous funny mysterious slow-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've never read a book quite like this. It took a while to get into it, but I'm so glad I pushed through! The irreverent tone was hilarious and engaging, and while there are lots of questions left unanswered, I'm very much looking forward to reading the second book in the duology. I have high expectations!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

hopeful lighthearted 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? No

3.0

Pros:

• An easy, short read/listen
• Interesting/unique setup

Cons:

• The build up between Clara and Josh felt fast/forced
• Side plots were a bit much
• I think it's possible that women-writing-men can be as egregious as men-writing-women

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

A Marriage of Misconceptions by Alyssa Martin

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

2.0

This one's tough because I both identified with and kind of hated Teresa—what's the thing about disliking that which is a reflection of oneself? Anyway, Teresa's lack of knowledge/understanding and tendency to judge coupled up to make her a bit insufferable, and Thomas's pursuit of her bordered on stalking by modern-day standards. I honestly thought it was better written than the first in the series, but the content wasn't enjoyable to me personally.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Me, throughout: Just kiss already! Nick and Andy are adorable, and their story was heart-warming to see unfold. It definitely came across as well-researched for the time period, which is always a bonus to me.

Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Alexis Hall does mental health stuff really well, and I loved following Edwin and Adam as they navigated it together.