mlsweeten's reviews
236 reviews

Animal Farm by George Orwell

dark informative sad fast-paced

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

4.5

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

adventurous hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.5

This is the story of April, a girl in her late teens, who really doesn’t have a family. She lives in her car, learns to rely on herself, and gets by with her guitar. She makes friends along the way who sometimes help her, or let her down. It’s about the power of friendships, and the fact that people come and go, sometimes staying only for a while but still make a lasting impact. 

My Lady's Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel by Larissa Zageris, Kitty Curran

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.25

This book isn’t intended as serious literature, and I think if you go into it as a fun game, you won’t be disappointed. There’s a lot of jumping around and decisions to be made. It doesn’t allow us to be too connected to any character. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say I was satisfied with my adventures and my first ending. Out of curiosity I did go back and read an alternate ending and that was also an acceptable life for me.  I read this for a book club so I’ll be interested in hearing how their stories went and why they chose what they did. 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

adventurous challenging funny hopeful tense medium-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

4.0

Ryland Grace is a science teacher who finds himself all alone in space on a mission to save Earth from astrophage, a sort of alien algae that is using up the suns energy rapidly. There is another star that is not dying despite the astrophage and Ryland must find out why. He is alone until he meets another intelligent life form who he calls Rocky. While the chemistry and physics explained in the book is sometimes over my head, I found the interactions between Ryland and Rocky to be endearing as they help each other on a similar mission- to save their planets. There are moments of tension, but also interactions that made me laugh out loud. 

Misery Hates Company by Elizabeth Hobbs

adventurous mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a fun gothic historical mystery with a touch of romance and crazy characters. It had a Wuthering Heights feel to it while being not quite as serious. 

NIV, the Story, Hardcover: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People by

informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

The Surgeon by Leslie Wolfe

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

As far as thrillers go, this was a bit over the top and unbelievable. But it was a page turner and fast read. 

Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale

adventurous medium-paced

3.0

My main problem with this book is that I don’t like Frank. He seems proud of what he did even though it hurt other people. As for the writing, the overuse of clever similes and metaphors became tiresome.  I can’t help but wonder how much of his story is exaggerated. The last two chapters were pretty enthralling though. 

The Dollhouse by Fiona Davis

adventurous mysterious medium-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

3.75