Scan barcode
megansmith's reviews
157 reviews
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have mixed feelings on this, but mostly positive! This was a really interesting premise, some of which I think the author executed nicely. The writing is incredibly descriptive and the ending really pulled me in, making me wonder how it was all gonna turn out. I also loved hearing about an era of time I knew very little about.
My cons: The beginning felt SLOW. I struggled til like over halfway through with the pace. But then the really interesting events went so quickly. The romance also felt super sudden and honestly really forced, I struggled to root for them as a couple. And I wish the magic was explained a bit more. Also, I struggled a bit on names, just because the book would flip between nicknames and formal names. Maybe if I read this in less sittings I wouldve gotten them down quicker?
I had higher hopes for this book and Im kind of disappointed, but parts of it still caught my attention. Idk! If the premise interests you im sure you’ll like it, but it didnt live up to the quality of Ninth House that I was hoping for.
My cons: The beginning felt SLOW. I struggled til like over halfway through with the pace. But then the really interesting events went so quickly.
I had higher hopes for this book and Im kind of disappointed, but parts of it still caught my attention. Idk! If the premise interests you im sure you’ll like it, but it didnt live up to the quality of Ninth House that I was hoping for.
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
2.25
I wanted to like this more, but man I’m really disappointed in some aspects of this!
The most glaring and obvious one was this book’s frankly weird and gross relationships with race and gender. It threw me off immediately when the author was describing background characters and would almost exclusively call out characters by their race (“a Black woman, an Asian man, etc”) and use that as the only descriptor, but then every other person that was white was not described that way. Fast forward to one of the story’s villians having a moment with the main character and using really hateful language, it just cemented this really weird dynamic the author was pushing. You can make villains scary without having them make a bunch of hateful comments about getting “slapped like his wife”, calling a different character a J*p, telling the main character to go back to the kitchen etc etc in a really short span of pages. Hell, the scariest villain of the book barely said anything and she was far scarier than this racist, mysoginistic buffoon. Woof. That gets a lot of stars off for me, I expect more elevated writing with all the resources available for education out there these days.
Beyond that, this book I think also suffers from an identity crisis. Gruesome, gory deaths that were repeated and recounted across multiple pages, were paired with very surface level, almost young-adult style writing. Some characters felt so flat. and very emotional sections were honestly just boring for the agony or depth of suffering we could’ve seen the characters go through, to fully understand the scope of what was happening. I think the author just needed to pick a route, young adult or adult and commit - this honestly works much better as a young adult book imo.
What I do think this book did well were aspects of time travel, and bringing back loose ends later in the story. I also was intrigued by the premise of these magical books, and the solutions presented didnt disappoint.
HOWEVER, the real ending was truly disappointing for how thought out the rest of the book was. The book casually insinuates Cassie was the one who made all the books but then doesnt dive into it other than one brief page? And then how the hell does the negative energy just linger and take form from Barbary to Rachel? I think this book was going for some sequel bait but frankly, if this was setting fishing bait, they put the worm on and it fell off the hook before it even hit the water. I expected better follow through and clarity when the rest of the book easily provided it.
Overall; Im disappointed and was hoping for more from this. I say, feel free to skip. There are plenty of other books in this genre that avoid many of this book’s problems.
The most glaring and obvious one was this book’s frankly weird and gross relationships with race and gender. It threw me off immediately when the author was describing background characters and would almost exclusively call out characters by their race (“a Black woman, an Asian man, etc”) and use that as the only descriptor, but then every other person that was white was not described that way. Fast forward to one of the story’s villians having a moment with the main character and using really hateful language, it just cemented this really weird dynamic the author was pushing. You can make villains scary without having them make a bunch of hateful comments about getting “slapped like his wife”, calling a different character a J*p, telling the main character to go back to the kitchen etc etc in a really short span of pages. Hell, the scariest villain of the book barely said anything and she was far scarier than this racist, mysoginistic buffoon. Woof. That gets a lot of stars off for me, I expect more elevated writing with all the resources available for education out there these days.
Beyond that, this book I think also suffers from an identity crisis. Gruesome, gory deaths that were repeated and recounted across multiple pages, were paired with very surface level, almost young-adult style writing. Some characters felt so flat. and very emotional sections were honestly just boring for the agony or depth of suffering we could’ve seen the characters go through, to fully understand the scope of what was happening. I think the author just needed to pick a route, young adult or adult and commit - this honestly works much better as a young adult book imo.
What I do think this book did well were aspects of time travel, and bringing back loose ends later in the story. I also was intrigued by the premise of these magical books, and the solutions presented didnt disappoint.
HOWEVER, the real ending was truly disappointing for how thought out the rest of the book was.
Overall; Im disappointed and was hoping for more from this. I say, feel free to skip. There are plenty of other books in this genre that avoid many of this book’s problems.
Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was interesting! I was pulled in by the premise and the follow through definitely didn't disappoint - this fit well in the genre of workplace trauma, just packaged in an entirely new premise. I appreciated the new concept and I was really intrigued to know where McGee was taking this novel. The writing was also great - I found myself skipping sentences, tied up in the dialogue, and then having to backtrack so I could catch the descriptive writing around the dialogue.
My only two gripes with this would be - 1) I feel like i missed parts of this book because Jonathan in this case is introduced as someone that's pretty dim-witted and is clearly an unreliable narrator. That's fine, however I feel like there were a lot of key moments where I was supposed to be picking something really terrifying up and just totally missed the point of it. Which leads me to, 2) for how much it's hammered in that Jonathan does not make it to the end of the book (NOT A SPOILER, it's literally on the first page), I wish the third person narrator came in more than they did! I think it could've helped with gripe #1 that I have.
Otherwise, I did enjoy this. It's maybe not my TOP top favorite just because it's so bleak - I read a lot of bleak books but this was a new low for me, I won't lie. But it's also so good and worth the read.
My only two gripes with this would be - 1) I feel like i missed parts of this book because Jonathan in this case is introduced as someone that's pretty dim-witted and is clearly an unreliable narrator. That's fine, however I feel like there were a lot of key moments where I was supposed to be picking something really terrifying up and just totally missed the point of it. Which leads me to, 2) for how much it's hammered in that Jonathan does not make it to the end of the book (NOT A SPOILER, it's literally on the first page), I wish the third person narrator came in more than they did! I think it could've helped with gripe #1 that I have.
Otherwise, I did enjoy this. It's maybe not my TOP top favorite just because it's so bleak - I read a lot of bleak books but this was a new low for me, I won't lie. But it's also so good and worth the read.
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
I think overall I liked this, this wasn't a huge standout for me but I will definitely be thinking about themes from this book for a while! If you liked the Giver, or Klara and the Sun / Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, I think you'd enjoy this.
The plot is really fascinating, I loved the concept and it felt like a unique take on time travel. After reading the author bio, I was completely unsurprised something so thought provoking came from a philosophy scholar!
What I think got me were the periods of slow builds. I actually struggled getting through some of the first chapters, but once I got through the first build, this book picked me up a bit. I also didn't want to have to re-rent it from the library, so that was half my motivation. I think the end and middle paid off, but I could have used a bit snappier of writing in parts. This book is a slower, moody read, and it may just not be my vibe. And that's fine!
I think also just a few elements were unexplained in the book and I would've loved more explanations as to why those things happened. The main one: I was expecting Odiele to run into Lucy in the future and have her pave the way for the jailbreak, so I'm confused why that didn't come up again. Did seeing her future self and putting two and two together alter her present that much, but not enough to be detectable? I just feel like it wasn't explained very well but, ah well.
I think if you're in the mood for a slow burn, or love a good thought experiment, you'll like this book!
The plot is really fascinating, I loved the concept and it felt like a unique take on time travel. After reading the author bio, I was completely unsurprised something so thought provoking came from a philosophy scholar!
What I think got me were the periods of slow builds. I actually struggled getting through some of the first chapters, but once I got through the first build, this book picked me up a bit. I also didn't want to have to re-rent it from the library, so that was half my motivation. I think the end and middle paid off, but I could have used a bit snappier of writing in parts. This book is a slower, moody read, and it may just not be my vibe. And that's fine!
I think also just a few elements were unexplained in the book and I would've loved more explanations as to why those things happened. The main one:
I think if you're in the mood for a slow burn, or love a good thought experiment, you'll like this book!
Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
This book had a bit of a slow burn, but in the best way. If you make it through the trials of a terrible relationship and the repeated crimes of a terrible old man, then Anita won't be the only one laughing last at the end of this book. I did struggle a bit at times during this book, finding it hard to believe Raquel would come back to Nick after some of his worst offenses, but boy was it worth it.
This book was very well written - I loved the similarities, but also the differences the author struck between Anita and Raquel, and I'm glad I never felt like I was in Jack's true point of view. I was always an outsider, similar to Anita, seeing these two important threads coming together and not giving too much space to the man who was trying to pull them apart. I was surprised by the end at the pace and how much was fit in at the very end, but the slow build was worth it!
Overall, I highly recommend, and will definitely be looking to read Olga Dies Dreaming in the near future.
This book was very well written - I loved the similarities, but also the differences the author struck between Anita and Raquel, and I'm glad I never felt like I was in Jack's true point of view. I was always an outsider, similar to Anita, seeing these two important threads coming together and not giving too much space to the man who was trying to pull them apart. I was surprised by the end at the pace and how much was fit in at the very end, but the slow build was worth it!
Overall, I highly recommend, and will definitely be looking to read Olga Dies Dreaming in the near future.
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Sally Rooney, the woman you are 💖
I really loved this! I teared up at the end, it got me - like usual, Rooney does a great job adding poignancy to every day life, and making the mundane interesting. I really appreciate her ability to capture an era in time, especially in this book. Many people walk around this world wondering, what big “thing” is next, but we’re all still fated to keep going on with our lives and valuing “trivial” things like romantic relationships over the “big meaning of life”. Because maybe those smaller moments, those mundane things, the people we come to know and love, are really what live on this beautiful world is about.
I think my only complaints would be, 1) I found myself getting lost at times in the Eileen / Alice writing - I liked it as a way to break up the content and get this more “clean” view of their relationship, but some of the ramblings were lost on me. More of a me issue probably. 2) Eileen and Simon’s relationship could be SO FRUSTRATING, again though more of a me thing that characters who dont listen to themselves and just do self destructive things can get on my nerves.
Overall though, really liked this and highly reccommend!!
I really loved this! I teared up at the end, it got me - like usual, Rooney does a great job adding poignancy to every day life, and making the mundane interesting. I really appreciate her ability to capture an era in time, especially in this book. Many people walk around this world wondering, what big “thing” is next, but we’re all still fated to keep going on with our lives and valuing “trivial” things like romantic relationships over the “big meaning of life”. Because maybe those smaller moments, those mundane things, the people we come to know and love, are really what live on this beautiful world is about.
I think my only complaints would be, 1) I found myself getting lost at times in the Eileen / Alice writing - I liked it as a way to break up the content and get this more “clean” view of their relationship, but some of the ramblings were lost on me. More of a me issue probably. 2) Eileen and Simon’s relationship could be SO FRUSTRATING, again though more of a me thing that characters who dont listen to themselves and just do self destructive things can get on my nerves.
Overall though, really liked this and highly reccommend!!
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I admittedly didn't expect to pick this up when I did (library hold my mom put in, not even me, was suddenly ready and I was very brave about it) and to be honest, I probably could have lived without reading this sequel. I feel like the first book was a pretty solid ending. You have this open-ended resurrection, the characters are free to do what they wish and you don't need to keep things going.
I just think this second story felt tacked on and frankly, a little underwhelming - I read Marcella's introduction in the first book's "extras" section and wasn't feeling it, but I have a problem with wanting to finish every series I start, so I felt compelled to keep reading. for all this buildup of how powerful she and her associates were, her death was so incredibly anticlimactic. She could have had more interactions with the main characters, more stakes or intertwining with the original story to make her feel more relevant, or more than just the vague notion of "power" as her end goal. Even a small insight into what she was going for with the final act would've been nice other than setting up this huge ball for some of the most influential people in the city of Merit . You honestly could have removed her from this story, made 1-2 final tweaks and had a much better book in the long run. I think also Marcella bugged me since I noticed a recurring error in the writing that threw me off - the book made this whole mention of her cutting her hair to a short black bob early on, and then just a few weeks later she has a ponytail, and tons of references to flowing hair going down her back. If you're gonna commit to someone with short black hair on the freaking cover, then follow through!
Pair the underwhelming character add with the literal ending, the culmination of this two-book-long fight, and Eli dies in just about two pages? It was pretty underwhelming, even if Sydney got her poetic justice, that still could have gotten more of the build up it deserved. .
Generally this book has a pacing problem - pages amble on but critical moments are cut too short and feel anticlimactic, or don't really explain enough of a character to get a close enough connection (I had a hard time feeling much for June throughout this whole book - and Sydney, girl, just because you text a girl every other day or so for a month doesn't suddenly mean she's "like a sister"). I could justify the page count if pacing was addressed and the new female characters felt more fleshed out.
Overall I just don't know if this lived up to the first book, and I could've lived without this to be honest. This hasn't tainted Schwab's work in comparison to Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, however I'm a little more hesitant to push for her more magic-focused series anytime soon over some of my other TBR reads. You could read the first book and pretend this one doesn't exist and be totally fine imo.
I just think this second story felt tacked on and frankly, a little underwhelming - I read Marcella's introduction in the first book's "extras" section and wasn't feeling it, but I have a problem with wanting to finish every series I start, so I felt compelled to keep reading.
Pair the underwhelming character add with the literal ending, the culmination of this two-book-long fight, and
Generally this book has a pacing problem - pages amble on but critical moments are cut too short and feel anticlimactic, or don't really explain enough of a character to get a close enough connection (I had a hard time feeling much for June throughout this whole book - and Sydney, girl, just because you text a girl every other day or so for a month doesn't suddenly mean she's "like a sister"). I could justify the page count if pacing was addressed and the new female characters felt more fleshed out.
Overall I just don't know if this lived up to the first book, and I could've lived without this to be honest. This hasn't tainted Schwab's work in comparison to Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, however I'm a little more hesitant to push for her more magic-focused series anytime soon over some of my other TBR reads. You could read the first book and pretend this one doesn't exist and be totally fine imo.
Exit Interview: The Life and Death of My Ambitious Career by Kristi Coulter
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
I quite liked this! Its so rare to read about someone who had a long tenure in tech and survived, and I appreciate the candor Kristi wrote with in this novel. Every book written by a woman who survived Big Tech makes me feel a little less alone. I appreciate her ways of demistifying the bullshit that is tech culture in an approachable way. Highly reccommend!
Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
3.0
I....i'm kind of speechless. I have so many thoughts but this book was also a mindf*ck of a last 50 or so pages, and I don't know if it's in a good way or a bad way?
Pro for this book: I've read a lot of fiction and nonfiction in the "terrible workplace" category, and this definitely turns that concept on it's head. It's unique and surprising as you work your way towards the end, which I think these books tend to lack in this category - shock-filled descriptions of workplace abuse with flat, predictable endings plague this genre. This is not that...but also, what even is this? It almost catapults into an entirely opposite direction, flipping from weird moments of surprise and intrigue to complete shock and disgust. I want to find the meaning in why the author chose to go this route, but the direction feels SO stark and graphic that it feels done more as a means to shock over saying something meaningful or going to those violent extremes for a purpose.
The ending also, for all the violence it built up to, fittered out in the most important moment. Even just a few more pages of struggle, or not a random cut when Victor finally catches up to the narrator and has his hands around her throat, to suddenly her safe in a hospital? I don't think there was even a mention of her passing out, no struggle or anything, just sudden touch and the next chapter. .
The writing building up to this moment was well done, and thoughtful in building out the character's back story before bringing her to the main conflicts. But the ending just frankly ruined any hard work done by the beginning of the book, all in the name of shock value. I wanted to like this more but I'm not really sure how to feel other than kind of disappointed by the ending.
Pro for this book: I've read a lot of fiction and nonfiction in the "terrible workplace" category, and this definitely turns that concept on it's head. It's unique and surprising as you work your way towards the end, which I think these books tend to lack in this category - shock-filled descriptions of workplace abuse with flat, predictable endings plague this genre. This is not that...but also, what even is this? It almost catapults into an entirely opposite direction, flipping from weird moments of surprise and intrigue to complete shock and disgust. I want to find the meaning in why the author chose to go this route, but the direction feels SO stark and graphic that it feels done more as a means to shock over saying something meaningful or going to those violent extremes for a purpose.
The ending also, for all the violence it built up to, fittered out in the most important moment. Even just a few more pages of struggle, or not a random cut
The writing building up to this moment was well done, and thoughtful in building out the character's back story before bringing her to the main conflicts. But the ending just frankly ruined any hard work done by the beginning of the book, all in the name of shock value. I wanted to like this more but I'm not really sure how to feel other than kind of disappointed by the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Torture, Pregnancy, and Rape
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book is a totally different turn from the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, but I do enjoy how Schwab’s strengths as a writer (great story building, good twists, an interesting plot) carry over in this different style. This read a the golden era MCU movie - fast-paced, enticing - with the gore and rawness of the Boys, or Birds of Prey. I really enjoyed it overall, and Ill definitely be reading the next. My only main complaint might be some of the goriest bits early on with Victor and Eli. I had a hard time reading it, which maybe just means it was particularly well done, but even if I stuck to the page to read what was happening, I had a few moments it was hard to follow the physics of the exact sequence. That extreme of horror is maybe just not for me? But either way will still be reading #2 lol