melissa_keen's reviews
81 reviews

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional hopeful sad 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

Read this book in a day. Really easy read, couldn't put it down. I found Monique quite annoying; some of her sentences were strange and unnatural. She also did not come across as a woman in her 30s; she kept saying things that to me showed a lack of emotional maturity, then backtracking like she's swallowed a therapist's self help book. Anyway, the story is great; the twist was pretty good, though it didn't make my heart leap the way I was anticipating it would. I think it has a satisfactory yet predictable ending. The moral is to definitely follow your heart - love is all that matters!

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Whewwww! Just finished this in one sitting and my mind is blown. Definitely a great book with an excellent twist; I'd love to read it again now I know the ending!

Geisha of Gion by Mineko Iwasaki

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informative fast-paced

3.0

I had a huge 6 month break in the middle of this book. The story is quite disjointed and dare I say it, boring in some parts, which is such a shame - I blame the way it is written as the subject matter is very interesting.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Started strong, it was an easy read and overall a good murder mystery. However I feel it lost momentum about 2/3 or the way through; almost as though the writer was in a rush to finish. I also disliked what I felt was an unnecessary breakdown of the romantic relationship the protagonist had; I felt the character of Molly started likeable but so quickly became selfish and unlovable. Overall a good read but I don't feel particularly satisfied

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A beautifully written book. Dark in it's subject matter; this is an easy read but by no means light-hearted.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

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adventurous dark mysterious sad 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

Amazing book. A bit slow in parts; it all takes place on a small island and the descriptions get a bit monotonous. If you haven't seen the film, I can't imagine how amazing the end of this book is.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

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dark informative mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

Excellent book, a rarity in that it is very accurately depicted in the films, with almost no details changed or left out. Easy to read; I read it in two days. Definitely worthwhile!

Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced