maggies's reviews
637 reviews

This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

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emotional 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? Yes

5.0

Second Sophie Cousens book this month, and I think I'm on a kick. Cried this time too.
The Push by Ashley Audrain

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Giving me Verity vibes. Not in a good headspace for this kind of book.

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Just Haven't Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens

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emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

I cried
The Wedding Menu by Letizia Lorini

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
Not capturing me. Next.
Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 59%.
I didn't love the first book in the series and this is more of the same - Annie's hangups are not justified enough for me to feel anything for her, Darcy's selfish, and Brendon's immature. I'll not try any more in this series.
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright

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challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

*Read as part of my challenge to (attempt to) read all 100 of NYT's best books of the 21st century*

I was a child on 9/11/01, so my memories are of a child, and this account is the most I've ever read on the events leading up to the attack. I appreciated Wright's attempt to humanize the major players, from Bin Laden and other members of Al-Qaeda to the American intelligence officers, but I did struggle to keep them all safe. The whole story reminded me of the idea that the intelligence team trying to prevent attacks like this have to get it right 100% of the time, but the attackers only have to get it right once. The intelligence failures were absurdly frustrating, considering how lucky the attackers had to be to carry out their plan. A difficult read, to say the least.

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My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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? No

4.0

A super fun, campy, and goofy fantasy romance! I didn't have very high expectations, but they were easily met and exceeded, and I'm looking forward to reading book 2.

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Wrapped Up in You by Talia Hibbert

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

Talia Hibbert is so great at writing perfect matches in romance books. This short novel is a perfect palate cleanser, where the slow-burn is obvious but all happens prior to the events of the story, and the story is not bogged down in unnecessary will-they-won't-they miscommunications. Just lovely.

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The Stand-In by Lily Chu

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.0

Passable, but not particularly engaging. The middle section dragged on far too long, and Gracie just had a lot going on—between her mom, her job and predatory boss, learning how to be Wei Fangli, building a task management platform, and dealing with Sam, I was overwhelmed. Predictable throughout.

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You Look Like a Thing and I Love You by Janelle Shane

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funny informative fast-paced

4.0

An easy to understand primer on AI, focusing on the weird things that AI gets up to. A great place to start for anyone looking to grasp the uses and limitations of AI.