marekcornett's reviews
759 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

What an incredible story written by the queen of historical fiction. I knew far too little about this war, and definitely hadn’t been exposed to more information about the women who served in Vietnam. Following Frankie throughout time served and the fallout, this book is masterful.

Content Warnings

Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAlister

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Bachelor/Bachelorette fans will love this behind-the-scenes look. I loved the way the book weaved together two main character narratives, alternating between one from the perspective of the past portion of the relationship and another from the current status of that same relationship.

However, there are some things that held this back for me. As is true with the Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, there are SO MANY characters to keep track of. Having a glossary of names would have been helpful to track everyone's storylines. Also, there were so many plots and subplots, it was really easy to get lost in the writing. I found myself having to reread sections to figure out what information I needed to take away from the scene in the book.

Overall, it's a light read that's good for someone who enjoys reality TV.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings

What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was written in a really unique way. Less of a whodunnit and more of a “are they going to get caught?” The book was tense, not much of a mystery but definitely worth reading!

Content Warnings

The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham

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Did not finish book.

Just not in the headspace for it. Will pick up again!

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Despite some major content warnings, this book was absolutely wonderful. Based on a true story of a midwife, Lawhon spun the story around 18th century laws, courts, challenges, misogyny, even modes of transportation. I learned a ton about the time period, and felt myself cheering for Martha the whole way through. Great read!

Content Warnings