mlsweeten's reviews
229 reviews

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

adventurous hopeful inspiring fast-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

3.75

I’m not a typical sci fi reader but this was short and had some good messages. I also enjoyed most of the characters. 

Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz

dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.0

What this book is about: “A lonely woman and a lonely dead girl together in New York. Ruby Jones and Alice Lee. Stuck in our tug-of-war between the living and the dead.” What makes the book unique is that Alice is telling the story after she’s been brutally murdered. This is not a typical mystery, although we do eventually find out who the murderer is. The first half of the book moves right along. The second half is a bit slow as it focuses on how Ruby was affected by finding Alice’s dead body. 

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

Beautifully written. This is a sequel to The Henna Artist and I think it helps to read that first. There are a lot of characters and it’s good to fully understand their history. This one had a bit of mystery to it.  I enjoyed learning more about the customs of India.  This one focuses a lot on Malik who is a very lovable character. 

The Housemaid by Freida McFadden

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

This is my kind of suspense. There are some twists, and really only 4 main characters who are all important in their own way. I would say I’d rather live in my car than endure what Millie did. I’m definitely interested in reading the next book in the series. 

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

reflective 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? Yes

3.0

The doctor questioned his role in saving people who weren’t going to die soon anyway. And that was my problem with the book. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that our behavior wouldn’t affect how long we live, that our fate was already sealed so that it couldn’t be changed. And also that people would be discriminated against when there was no DNA linking a string to a specific person. I would think so many people would lie and borrow someone else’s string anytime they needed to. The strings seemed like a flimsy way to execute such a life changing phenomenon. What I liked is that it does make you question how you would react in this same situation and if it would change how you treat people. I would hope there would be more compassion, but I liked the parts where the groups rallied behind the short-stringers. 

Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict

adventurous informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Lady Clementine wasn’t like most women. She had a head for politics and leadership at a time when women didn’t have much of a voice.  She didn’t feel comfortable in the role of being a mother. While at times, she questioned her path in life as we all sometimes do, she concluded she was exactly where she was meant to be.  While it was fiction, I always find that well written historical fiction makes me more curious about actual events and people. 

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

This was a sweet and sexy romance that takes place more in the fall than winter, but that’s okay. Iris must work her way through some fabrications that could shatter her romance but she is also dealing with her own problems and self preservation. I was more convinced by the relationship between Iris and Gio than her mother and Santo. 

The book is a reminder that it’s a small world, honestly is the best policy, and family is important. It made me wish that I knew more about my own Italian background and that I knew how to make incredible vanilla gelato. Also, Iris’s secret that her mother and Santo had a thing for each other doesn’t seem like a big deal if you live in a town where everyone knows each other going back generations.  It was kind of blown out of proportion but I still enjoyed the book. 

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is a beautifully written memoir on a very sad subject that, thankfully, I have not experienced. I thought the book would be more about her solo road trip but that didn’t start until much later. The first 2/3 are about this young woman’s own experience with cancer and how it affected her and those closest to her. I genuinely felt bad for her boyfriend but she acknowledges she relied on him entirely too much.  I found her writing to be very open and honest. 

The Eve of Love: A Hearts Through History New Year Anthology by Eliza Carter, Kathy Crouch, Heather Hallman

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

This is a collection of short historical romance stories by different authors. Overall, it was a lighthearted, enjoyable read.  What the stories all have in common, besides love, is an annual New Year’s Eve masked ball. This is the perfect book to read in January.  A few of the stories are very amateurish but most are well written. 

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

“Yes, Celie, she say. Everything want to be loved.”  She came from a harsh beginning but learned she was also worthy of love. Beautiful, meaningful story.