mec8337's reviews
165 reviews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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emotional funny medium-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? Yes

5.0

5 stars just for how enjoyable Marcellus the octopus was.

Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well by Douglas Stone

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informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I usually find development books like this difficult to read and get into, but Thanks for the Feedback was full of concrete ideas and strategies that seemed doable (not without practice, but doable nonetheless) to change the way I receive feedback.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

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adventurous sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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hopeful tense slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

The sole narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job navigating the voices of all the different characters and there were A LOT. I enjoyed the story, although at times found myself a little confused when the author would jump around between the present story and the background to the present story that was being explained.I’m

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

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mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

I had much higher hopes for this one, but there was too much going on for me. I think focusing on solving the 2001 plot line would have been enough, but adding in a “dark past” for the 2021 main character was too much. I didn’t love the romance subplot (and I’m usually all for characters getting together!); it felt contrived. Maybe I’ve read too many thrillers but the twists weren’t super twisty for me, and it took me about 45% of the way through the book to actually find myself wanting to read about it.

As an annoyed side note, WE GET IT - Walt drinks rum. He likes rum. He always orders rum. He is picky about his rum. Every single time Walt was mentioned, the word “rum” was hiding right around the corner.

Sex, Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne

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funny lighthearted fast-paced