mdlyn_reads's reviews
190 reviews

The Havana Run by Ace Atkins

adventurous fast-paced

1.0

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.

I stopped reading at ~40%. I really loved the premise of this book and was interested by the Title, Cover, and Description. However, from the beginning I couldn’t stand the main character, Chloe Sampson. I found her character really grating and annoying, I hated the name Noodle, and I just was not invested in her storyline. I was initially interested in Catherine and Jasper’s story but not enough to withstand the chapters with Chloe or keep interested in the book. I’ve otherwise enjoyed books with unlikeable main characters, however that was not really the case for this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What I Should've Texted by Pierre Alex Jeanty

reflective fast-paced

4.0

Wow! I was really pleasantly surprised by this collection of poems. I was drawn in by the title and stayed for the vulnerable, thought-provoking inner monologue of the writer. I really enjoyed the layout of the poems and how it was grounded by an ongoing narrative. The only little nitpick I had was when it said “*silence*”, I felt it would have been more powerful to leave those spaces empty instead, and it took me out of it a little bit. 

Very quick read, I also loved reading the strength and self-compassion in the poet. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Andrew McMeel Publishing for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. 

Girl Bred From The 90s by Olivia Delgado

reflective

1.0

‘Girl Bred From the 90s’ by Olivia Delgado. The title of this work interested me as someone born in the 90s, I was curious to see how it might reflect my own childhood experiences. It was a very short read (maybe half an hour or so), I found some poems interesting, and some, I didn’t really understand. I was a little disappointed as I didn’t find many of them relatable, although maybe I just didn’t understand it. There were also formatting issues with the ebook, so multiple poems were on one page, sometimes interrupted onto the next page which ruined the flow. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early edition of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I just wrote a review and Goodreads lost it, ah! I really enjoyed Babel. I read Yellowface in 2023 and really enjoyed RF Kuang’s writing, how she created complex characters and her storytelling. 

Babel was a really enjoyable read! I find etymology fascinating, so I genuinely enjoyed reading about language translation and the history of words. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters of this novel, and also found the plot pretty interesting. I was a bit worried about how she would finish the novel but was pleasantly surprised with how things wrapped up. 

It was a little slow in the middle and difficult for me to sit down and make time because the chapters were lengthy. 

I can see how some readers might dislike this because it spends a lot of time on language, is slower in the middle, and has themes around sexism and racism. 

4AM by Zara McDonald, Michelle Andrews

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.0

The House Sitter by Elizabeth Drummond
Did not finish book. Stopped at 22%.

DNF @ 22%. 

I believe that you have a sense of whether or not you’ll like a novel quite early on. From the prologue, I knew that I strongly disliked the main character, Pippa, based on how she never stood up for herself, defended her awful boyfriend, and got mad at her friend and cousin for pointing this out to her. 

As I continued, I hoped that my opinion would change in Chapter 1 when there is a time jump. Alas it didn’t. She became even more unlikeable. The difficulty for me was that I was not rooting for her, I was not interested in continuing to read the story, I actually had to convince myself to keep reading every chapter. 

I then also couldn’t take the name Wolfie seriously. Maybe because that is the nickname of my pet cat, but honestly I thought it was a funny name. 

Feedback I would give is to tweak Pippa’s character to make her more likeable, add some other redeeming qualities that make the reader want to root for her. 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing early access to this book in exchange for an honest review

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

Chapters were too long and struggled to follow audio, kept rewinding and then stopped. 

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad 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? No

5.0

Green Dot by Madeleine Gray
Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.

DNF @ 16%. Main character was just so cynical, I wasn’t looking forward to reading it and realised I was making myself continue. Not my vibe.