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marlovve's reviews
171 reviews
The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.5
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than I expected after the first initial chapters! The book felt quite shallow at the beginning, and some of the writing I found to be awkward at times, but after a while it definitely grew on me and became more charming than grating. The chemistry between the two characters didn't really show at first, and I wasn't a big fan of Leo at first, but their relationship grew to be so genuine and heartwarming, especially from the midpoint onwards. Having protagonists who actually communicated and grew together whilst supporting and uplifting one another was lovely, and it was great to see each of them take initiative towards their own goals rather than solely depend on one another.
I think the writing style wasn't completely for me, but the narrator did a great job at telling the story in a way I found enjoyable, and it definitely added to the charm of the book. At times, if I had been reading this as a paperback, I would have enjoyed significntly less without the actor's voice narrating the story.
Overall, I had a good time with this one! Contemporary isn't always my jam, but the premise was unique and the characters really sold this to me.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit more than I expected after the first initial chapters! The book felt quite shallow at the beginning, and some of the writing I found to be awkward at times, but after a while it definitely grew on me and became more charming than grating. The chemistry between the two characters didn't really show at first, and I wasn't a big fan of Leo at first, but their relationship grew to be so genuine and heartwarming, especially from the midpoint onwards. Having protagonists who actually communicated and grew together whilst supporting and uplifting one another was lovely, and it was great to see each of them take initiative towards their own goals rather than solely depend on one another.
I think the writing style wasn't completely for me, but the narrator did a great job at telling the story in a way I found enjoyable, and it definitely added to the charm of the book. At times, if I had been reading this as a paperback, I would have enjoyed significntly less without the actor's voice narrating the story.
Overall, I had a good time with this one! Contemporary isn't always my jam, but the premise was unique and the characters really sold this to me.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
dark
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus books for providing me with an EARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!
I had such a good time with this book! Shesheshen was such an integrated g protagonist to follow, and the exploration of her humanity and Homily's family dynamics had me hooked the whole way through.
Homily in particular was such an interesting character. Her upbringing and family dynamic were incredibly toxic, but pulling yourself away from the cycle of abuse is hard, and this book handled her situation so respectfully. It wasn't a cure-all after she met Shesheshen, and it's something she still has to work on even beyond the last page on the novel.
I do feel like there could have been a little more development regarding the relationship between Homily and Shesheshen. I do think that, to some extent, the nature of the characters lent to the quickly-developed romance; one character who is a major people-pleaser vs someone who isn't quite human and likely hasn't experienced much, if any, human compassion in their lifetime, so this is something I'm being more lenient with. However, at times it did feel a little like they were saying a lot and barely anything to each other all at once.
The actual dynamic between Homily and Shesheshen was actually beautiful though; the unconditional acceptance the each of them gave each other, allowing them both to be entirely comfortable with one another and growing together was so refreshing, and the asexuality of the characters was just something they both experienced and loved about one another. It was such an unconventional and beautiful relationship.
One thing that absolutely didn't affect my rating but I wanted to point out; this was completely unreadable on a Kindle.
Netgalley does allow you to send books to your kindle, and this is my main method to reading digitally, but the numbers used in the formatting made it basically impossible unless you were willing to read a sentence per page. I'm sure this is a pre-publishing format and won't be in the final product, but it's something I wanted to point out.
Once again thank you for providing me with a free digital copy of this book!
I had such a good time with this book! Shesheshen was such an integrated g protagonist to follow, and the exploration of her humanity and Homily's family dynamics had me hooked the whole way through.
Homily in particular was such an interesting character. Her upbringing and family dynamic were incredibly toxic, but pulling yourself away from the cycle of abuse is hard, and this book handled her situation so respectfully. It wasn't a cure-all after she met Shesheshen, and it's something she still has to work on even beyond the last page on the novel.
I do feel like there could have been a little more development regarding the relationship between Homily and Shesheshen. I do think that, to some extent, the nature of the characters lent to the quickly-developed romance; one character who is a major people-pleaser vs someone who isn't quite human and likely hasn't experienced much, if any, human compassion in their lifetime, so this is something I'm being more lenient with. However, at times it did feel a little like they were saying a lot and barely anything to each other all at once.
The actual dynamic between Homily and Shesheshen was actually beautiful though; the unconditional acceptance the each of them gave each other, allowing them both to be entirely comfortable with one another and growing together was so refreshing, and the asexuality of the characters was just something they both experienced and loved about one another. It was such an unconventional and beautiful relationship.
One thing that absolutely didn't affect my rating but I wanted to point out; this was completely unreadable on a Kindle.
Netgalley does allow you to send books to your kindle, and this is my main method to reading digitally, but the numbers used in the formatting made it basically impossible unless you were willing to read a sentence per page. I'm sure this is a pre-publishing format and won't be in the final product, but it's something I wanted to point out.
Once again thank you for providing me with a free digital copy of this book!
I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl, Vol. 1 by Kashikaze
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha Comics for providing me with a free copy of this manga in exchange for an honest review!
Whilst this manga absolutely follows some typical tropes of yuri manga (main character who is majorly in denial despite obviously being attracted to the female love interest, pushy confident love interest, etc) I still had a great time reading this! We don't get a whole lot of character development for the main characters, but considering this is the very first volume, there is definitely potential. Some seeds have already been planted, particularly in the case of Honda, the love interest, and I'm interested in discovering her past and possible interest in Sakurai in the past.
I do wish the manga didn't put the main character into a position of, at least at first, having Honda kiss her without her consent. Whilst we as the audience know that Sakurai is developing feelings and isn't feeling completely uncomfortable, despite her denial, this wasn't shown to us before the kiss, and Honda definitely wouldn't have known this. I'm of course giving this leniency as, since I mentioned before, this is very much a common trope of yuri manga, and other than the initial kiss, you could make the excuse that, based on some cues the love interest is giving, Honda could maybe tell that her feelings are becoming more reciprocated. That's probably my main gripe with the volume at the moment, and there's a chance there could be a backstory going over this, but that's still something we're yet to see.
The story itself was quite fast-paced, but the relationship between Honda and Sakurai still felt authentic whilst still leaving a lot of room for development in future volumes. It's still early days, and I'm very much looking forward to where this manga goes!
Whilst this manga absolutely follows some typical tropes of yuri manga (main character who is majorly in denial despite obviously being attracted to the female love interest, pushy confident love interest, etc) I still had a great time reading this! We don't get a whole lot of character development for the main characters, but considering this is the very first volume, there is definitely potential. Some seeds have already been planted, particularly in the case of Honda, the love interest, and I'm interested in discovering her past and possible interest in Sakurai in the past.
I do wish the manga didn't put the main character into a position of, at least at first, having Honda kiss her without her consent. Whilst we as the audience know that Sakurai is developing feelings and isn't feeling completely uncomfortable, despite her denial, this wasn't shown to us before the kiss, and Honda definitely wouldn't have known this. I'm of course giving this leniency as, since I mentioned before, this is very much a common trope of yuri manga, and other than the initial kiss, you could make the excuse that, based on some cues the love interest is giving, Honda could maybe tell that her feelings are becoming more reciprocated. That's probably my main gripe with the volume at the moment, and there's a chance there could be a backstory going over this, but that's still something we're yet to see.
The story itself was quite fast-paced, but the relationship between Honda and Sakurai still felt authentic whilst still leaving a lot of room for development in future volumes. It's still early days, and I'm very much looking forward to where this manga goes!