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mstewa02's reviews
106 reviews
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar
3.0
This was fine. The writing style was fun and experimental, the story was beautiful, I just never latched onto it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
I believe this is my favorite ending to a YA trilogy that I’ve ever read. Pacing was a bit of an issue, but wow the last 100 pages left me speechless. I loved it.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
5.0
I just don’t know how Emily Henry does it. Every book she writes is better than the one before—I can’t even imagine how the next one will manage to top this one, but I’m eager to find out.
This was the slowest I’ve read any book, soaking in every work, reading sentences more than once—I was fully present for this whole story. The character development for Nora was absolutely captivating. The depth at which Henry wrote her gripped at my heart strings. We love a fully developed female lead!! They’re always the most special characters.
Henry created so much room for Nora to be the shark business woman she is, a big sister, a care taker, and a woman in love, and so much more. Her commentary about women—expectations of women, expectations women have for themselves, what we’re supposed to be/feel vs what we actually are/feel—always leave me paused on a page, soaking in the slap-in-your-face truth I’ve just read. It’s one of my favorite things about her writing.
I laughed a lot, I cried a bit, I gasped, and I sat extremely still soaking it all in when it was done. Emily Henry writes absolute magic.
This was the slowest I’ve read any book, soaking in every work, reading sentences more than once—I was fully present for this whole story. The character development for Nora was absolutely captivating. The depth at which Henry wrote her gripped at my heart strings. We love a fully developed female lead!! They’re always the most special characters.
Henry created so much room for Nora to be the shark business woman she is, a big sister, a care taker, and a woman in love, and so much more. Her commentary about women—expectations of women, expectations women have for themselves, what we’re supposed to be/feel vs what we actually are/feel—always leave me paused on a page, soaking in the slap-in-your-face truth I’ve just read. It’s one of my favorite things about her writing.
I laughed a lot, I cried a bit, I gasped, and I sat extremely still soaking it all in when it was done. Emily Henry writes absolute magic.
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
4.0
With most hero-based trilogies, there’s a book where the hero has an identity crisis—leave their old self behind and embrace new responsibilities? Or work hard as hell to preserve who they used to be? This was that book. There’s a lot of back and forth and messy relationships and lack of plot. BUT when the plot happens in this book it HAPPENS. WOW. I didn’t like it as much as the first one because of that constant inner conflict of our lead character, but I loved the progression of the magic and how much bigger the mystery just got. And wow, what an action-packed ending!!!
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
4.0
Many parts of this book made me feel like I was encroaching on too personal of a moment and I wasn't supposed to be there. This is a haunting and beautiful tribute to Zauner's mother and her culture.
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
4.5
Well, I absolutely devoured this. What a promising start to a whole new universe! I used to only read YA fantasy trilogies, and it’s been ages since I dove back into that genre. But because I took a long break, there are 5+ books in this universe just waiting for me to buy!
While the twists and turns of this novel were a bit predictable, I couldn't help but sit back and devour it because it was such a fun journey. I'm excited to see more character development for a couple of characters in the next book, because some of the dialogue in this one was a bit cringe...but the character I'm talking about really didn't get much page time and I think that can turn around with more character development. I’m interested to see how our female lead develops in the next book as well, she was a fun character to follow throughout this book. All in all, just a great start!
While the twists and turns of this novel were a bit predictable, I couldn't help but sit back and devour it because it was such a fun journey. I'm excited to see more character development for a couple of characters in the next book, because some of the dialogue in this one was a bit cringe...but the character I'm talking about really didn't get much page time and I think that can turn around with more character development. I’m interested to see how our female lead develops in the next book as well, she was a fun character to follow throughout this book. All in all, just a great start!
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
fast-paced
5.0
I have zero bad things to say about this book. It was a fun and easy read. This book touches on where we are in our current moment without making you hate your current moment. This was a thrill of reflection and possibility. Absolutely LOVED it.
I’ve gotten so spoiled with my books this month!!
I’ve gotten so spoiled with my books this month!!
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
5.0
What. A. Story.
I really don’t have anything negative to say—this was one of my most anticipated releases of the beginning of the year and it lived up to my hopes.
That being said, this story is SAD. Sweet, sweet young Mungo goes through so much in this story, and none of it is easy. The way Stuart writes Mungo discovering, and then exploring, his sexuality in such an innocent, child-like way will leave you hugging this book as you carry it around to read. There are just so many layers to this book, I could write whole essays on it. It’s one I will think of for years to come.
I saw the timelines mentioned in a couple of reviews so I will weigh in on that. At first, I was confused by the split timelines—it’s told in two time periods pretty close to one another, that eventually meet—but as I got about 75% of the way through, the split became so beautifully purposeful and allowed certain parts to have a harder impact than they would have otherwise.
I haven’t read Stuart’s first book yet, and I’m looking forward to starting that soon.
Highly highly recommend, as long as you don’t mind reading something sad, but oh so beautiful.
I really don’t have anything negative to say—this was one of my most anticipated releases of the beginning of the year and it lived up to my hopes.
That being said, this story is SAD. Sweet, sweet young Mungo goes through so much in this story, and none of it is easy. The way Stuart writes Mungo discovering, and then exploring, his sexuality in such an innocent, child-like way will leave you hugging this book as you carry it around to read. There are just so many layers to this book, I could write whole essays on it. It’s one I will think of for years to come.
I saw the timelines mentioned in a couple of reviews so I will weigh in on that. At first, I was confused by the split timelines—it’s told in two time periods pretty close to one another, that eventually meet—but as I got about 75% of the way through, the split became so beautifully purposeful and allowed certain parts to have a harder impact than they would have otherwise.
I haven’t read Stuart’s first book yet, and I’m looking forward to starting that soon.
Highly highly recommend, as long as you don’t mind reading something sad, but oh so beautiful.
The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food by Dan Barber
5.0
Since this was my first book diving into the food processes of America, I won’t review this from a content stand-point. I took everything at face-value and used this as a teaching tool rather than a work to critique.
That being said, I absolutely loved this!! It was about 100 pages too long for me, but fully enjoyable. I learned so much about farming and the journey of food. I switched back and forth between my hard copy and the audiobook.
I found the bit about culture’s impact on food so impactful. Our farms are set to have an output that the culture asks for—you change the culture’s mindset about the food they eat, and that gives the farmer the ability to make adjustments that are better for the animals and plants, and eventually the consumers. It’s an incredibly basic concept, but having not thought much about the journey of my food until recently, this stuck out to me.
I really learned so much and this book gave me insight as a consumer, future gardener, and food lover. When I get ready to start my garden/small farm one day, this will definitely be a lovely reference tool.
That being said, I absolutely loved this!! It was about 100 pages too long for me, but fully enjoyable. I learned so much about farming and the journey of food. I switched back and forth between my hard copy and the audiobook.
I found the bit about culture’s impact on food so impactful. Our farms are set to have an output that the culture asks for—you change the culture’s mindset about the food they eat, and that gives the farmer the ability to make adjustments that are better for the animals and plants, and eventually the consumers. It’s an incredibly basic concept, but having not thought much about the journey of my food until recently, this stuck out to me.
I really learned so much and this book gave me insight as a consumer, future gardener, and food lover. When I get ready to start my garden/small farm one day, this will definitely be a lovely reference tool.
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
4.5
I adored this book. The experimental writing style aligns poetically with the experimental technology discussed in the book. The only negative I have for it is that there are probably 20-30 characters, and each one has a connection to at least one other. When I read this again, I’ll probably keep a character list in order to better connect the story lines because it was hard to remember all of the connections. I really liked having each chapter from a different perspective and time period though. I don’t know the proper writing style term (please comment if you do) but it’s as if the plot was told passively, and the character development was told actively. If that makes sense? Kind of reminded me of how “Her Body and Other Parties” delivered the plot of each short story. I dunno, I just really enjoyed this.
P.S. should you choose to read this (you should) I really recommend reading it when you have time to knock out at least one, if not a couple, chapters at a time. Because the connection of each character is so loose, but the concepts are so intricate, it’s not one to easily read a few pages here and there and still be able to keep up with. At least it wasn’t for me!)
P.S. should you choose to read this (you should) I really recommend reading it when you have time to knock out at least one, if not a couple, chapters at a time. Because the connection of each character is so loose, but the concepts are so intricate, it’s not one to easily read a few pages here and there and still be able to keep up with. At least it wasn’t for me!)