maggies's reviews
584 reviews

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Go to review page

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
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Marriage of Misconceptions by Alyssa Martin

Go to review page

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.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

Go to review page

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

Go to review page

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.
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux

Go to review page

funny informative medium-paced

5.0

As a crypto-skeptic, reading this book was schadenfreude, so I was almost guaranteed to like it. But Faux's humor, willingness to go the extra mile for his research, and keen attention to the human costs of crypto made it a favorite. The cast of characters is bizarre, from the obvious (Sam Bankman-Fried) to the less obvious (Razzlekhan—seriously, look her up), and Faux somehow managed to simultaneously humanize them and highlight how their eccentricities play into the crypto economy writ large. Highly recommend.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

Go to review page

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

3.0

Unfortunately, this book was not for me, but I'm rating it slightly higher than I would otherwise because the references to all my favorite rom-coms was such catnip for me. That and the authentic portrayal of grief were the real bright spots of this book. On the other hand, I felt the characterizations were flat, with no real evidence for traits that were claimed but never shown.
For example, nearing the end of the book, Liz tells Joss that she didn't tell her the truth because Joss is "judgmental," despite no examples of this in the prior 80% of the book. Bothersome.
The plot and particular plot points were also eerily similar to The Duff. I've only seen the movie adaptation, not read the book, but I was distracted the whole way through by similarities that I didn't feel comfortable just ascribing to the genre as a whole ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

4.0

What a lovely romance. It's refreshing to read a book with a mature FMC and MMC. It really changes the whole dynamic—these are people with experiences and lives beyond each other and their own little worlds. Nora, raising her children as a newly single parent after her ex leaves them; Leo, grieving his mother and learning about being a "real person." You couldn't help but root for them as they tend to their wounds and tenderly open up to each other. And even the
miscommunication
trope was handled in a way that didn't feel infantile to me, as it so often does, so points for that!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdar

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I found this book surprisingly slow-paced, which is rare for YA. Ishu and Hani were charming, but there was something about all the side plots that really slowed it all down, and I sometimes got distracted and couldn't follow. I loved the intersection of Bengali and Irish cultures in this book, as well as the really impactful and unflinching display of microaggressions, both with regard to culture and sexuality.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Whisper Man by Alex North

Go to review page

dark emotional tense 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? Yes

3.0

The Whisper Man is a tough read; the topics and plot points are hard to digest, and everyone suffered quite a lot. That's not typically what I enjoy in my books. There was some hope, but these glimmers were far outweighed by the horrors the characters endured. The plot was easy to follow with a good trail of breadcrumbs to the final resolution. The audiobook narration was unconvincing but inoffensive.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Quiet Girls Can Run the World: Owning Your Power When You're Not the Alpha in the Room by Rebecca Holman

Go to review page

Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
I didn't get far into this book before feeling icky about the Alpha/Beta terminology, and the writing style also didn't do anything for me. Gotta cut my losses.