melissa_keen's reviews
81 reviews

A Married Man by Catherine Alliott

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Read this book within 2 days, couldn't put it down! Beautifully written, and a beautiful story. Really enjoyed it.

Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A very unusual but lovely book that takes a look at the question 'how to make love stay'. A bit like an adult, vulgar fairy tale. There's some beautiful literary magic in there, but this does occasionally make the eyes glaze over as it doesn't always hit the mark. But overall it is a wonderful book.

The Next Cmo: A Guide to Operational Marketing Excellence by Scott Todaro, Peter Mahoney, Dan Faulkner

informative fast-paced

4.0

A really solid book. Easy to read and digest, and contained some excellent advice. I think it was slightly lacking the more detailed, granular information/ recommendations (such as software recommendations, or more detail about tracking specific metrics, rather than just a general overview of what you can track). But overall a good book for those in marketing looking to be organised.

The Personal Branding Playbook: Turn Your Personality Into Your Competitive Advantage by Amelia Sordell

informative inspiring fast-paced

4.0

A very inspiring read. Pretty obvious information, but Amelia doesn't pretend to know everything - instead, she makes the (true) point that all this information is freely available, but most people can't be bothered to put it all together, let alone do what needs to be done in order to improve your personal branding. I'll definitely be using this to shape my own strategy! 

The Postcard Killers by Liza Marklund, James Patterson

adventurous fast-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

3.5

An enjoyable quick read. Took a while to get into but found it really engaging in the middle. Found the ending a bit rushed, unfortunately; there were a few loose threads and it wasn't as satisfying as it could have been. 

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Very similar to the film, which I love! Though I must admit there were some parts that dragged and I felt my eyes skimming over.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

I found this book very different to what I expected. It's a very tame, typical, old fashioned scary story with no real ending or resolution. Quite disappointing!

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

adventurous informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A fantastic story. Not my usual genre, but it was a beautifully written book and easy to read despite the historic setting. The writer is wonderful at creating colourful, vivid descriptions - it is easy to become immersed in this book.

Hide and Seek by James Patterson

dark mysterious fast-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

A bit slow to start, but a satisfying and fast-faced murder mystery with an interesting (but fairly predictable) ending.

Sweet Temptation by Lucy Diamond

inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A lovely, light, quick read with a satisfying ending.