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nataliebootlah's reviews
339 reviews
The Last Love Note by Emma Grey
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
This book was beautiful and hard and heavy.
I can only imagine the debilitating loss that comes after your spouse dies. This book captured that grief—losing yourself, becoming a single parent, having to return to “normal”—so well. Despite being overwhelmingly sad at times, there was still joy, humor, and a bit of romance.
It’s a little over two years after Kate’s husband died and she’s holding it together for her young son. Being thrown suddenly into being a single parent has forced her to grieve inwardly and only when time allows for it—which isn’t often. But when a work trip goes haywire, she finally has the time away from her son to process the depth of her loss.
Expect to be a bit heartbroken with this one.
I can only imagine the debilitating loss that comes after your spouse dies. This book captured that grief—losing yourself, becoming a single parent, having to return to “normal”—so well. Despite being overwhelmingly sad at times, there was still joy, humor, and a bit of romance.
It’s a little over two years after Kate’s husband died and she’s holding it together for her young son. Being thrown suddenly into being a single parent has forced her to grieve inwardly and only when time allows for it—which isn’t often. But when a work trip goes haywire, she finally has the time away from her son to process the depth of her loss.
Expect to be a bit heartbroken with this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Dementia
Moderate: Infertility and Miscarriage
Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0
“I knew my life would be a fight, and I realized this: I had it in me.”
Oooooof, this was hard to read. Viola candidly shares the story of her life—through every trauma she’s faced—as well as the reality of how hard it is to actually, finally “make it” as an actor.
Viola’s story is one of resilience. Racism, shame, abuse, food insecurity, poverty, assault, domestic violence, infidelity, grief and trauma were all a part of the long, arduous journey to find herself. Today she is healed (though there’s always work to do), strong, and full of joy. One must read this book themselves to trulybeare witness to the struggles she faced and how she overcame them.
Finding Me humbled me. It reminded me that you never know what someone has gone through or is going through. While gut-wrenching to hear about the horrors she experienced, her grace shined through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Plus, the audiobook is narrated by Viola herself which was a treat. This is one hell of a memoir.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Bullying, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Misogyny
Minor: Child death and Abortion
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
4.5
Diplomatic marriage, forced proximity, sarcastic, witty behavior, plus werewolves and vampyres? Say less. I devoured this one day.
Misery will do anything to find her best friend, including marrying the vampyre’s arch nemesis, Lowe Moreland, the Alpha werewolf. Thus begins her year long stint—alone—in Were territory.
Bride felt like a light-hearted fantasy rom-com; it was fun! The world building was brisk and the politics were believable for the most part, which was refreshing. A great little read!
Misery will do anything to find her best friend, including marrying the vampyre’s arch nemesis, Lowe Moreland, the Alpha werewolf. Thus begins her year long stint—alone—in Were territory.
Bride felt like a light-hearted fantasy rom-com; it was fun! The world building was brisk and the politics were believable for the most part, which was refreshing. A great little read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Blood
Sky's End by Marc J Gregson
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
After watching the author's wholesome reaction to the reveal of his book cover in front of his class, I knew I had to read this book.
Although this is definitely geared towards teens, I still found it enjoyable. There’s action, resilience, familial drama, and the small matter of survival.
Conrad vows to avenge his father, save his sister, and get his beloved mother out of the lowest of lows…despite being under the rule of the notorious, new king, his very own uncle. To do so, he must join the Selection and Rise. And so begins his treacherous tale.
Note that this is more sci-fi than fantasy in my opinion, reminiscent of Dune or the Hunger Games. So what should you expect? Duels, sky-ships, floating islands, adventure, monsters, and some enemies x friends.
Although this is definitely geared towards teens, I still found it enjoyable. There’s action, resilience, familial drama, and the small matter of survival.
Conrad vows to avenge his father, save his sister, and get his beloved mother out of the lowest of lows…despite being under the rule of the notorious, new king, his very own uncle. To do so, he must join the Selection and Rise. And so begins his treacherous tale.
Note that this is more sci-fi than fantasy in my opinion, reminiscent of Dune or the Hunger Games. So what should you expect? Duels, sky-ships, floating islands, adventure, monsters, and some enemies x friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, War, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Child abuse, and Death of parent
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
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? No
3.5
This read like a children’s book for adults. It was both whimsical and wholesome, but certainly not realistic. And perhaps that’s the point.
I loved that the story revolved around children who fell in love with books and, within those books, found a place to belong. I did get Willy Wonka vibes in that I couldn’t quite tell if I should like the beloved author of the famous Clock Island book series or be slightly creeped out by his need to save children. Yet the story was endearing. A young woman hopes to adopt a precious, traumatized boy. An elderly author hopes to save the now-adult children who long ago ran away to beloved Clock Island.
Although The Wishing Game is marketed as adult fiction, it felt more YA to me. This one’s for you if you’re looking for a quick, imaginative read with familial trauma, riddles and rhymes, found family, and unique characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
Undiplomatic: How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Trouble by Deesha Dyer
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
We love a good trouble maker.
Deesha Dyer was an underdog. She was 31 without a degree or connections when she applied for the White House internship. With zero expectations for a callback, she couldn’t believe when she got an interview or when she landed the job. That internship changed her life.
Despite grit and a blossoming career, Deesha’s imposter syndrome haunted her in each new position. I think there’s something for everyone laced in these pages. Thanks to her candidness and vulnerability, I saw a bit of myself in her as she struggled to see her own successes and recognize her right to be in that space. It’s always inspiring to hear the stories of badass women!
What a great read! I love a good memoir and it’s not often that we get to hear about the inner-workings of the White House. Not me perusing the job postings to see what’s out there after finishing this—maybe in another life. 🤪
Deesha Dyer was an underdog. She was 31 without a degree or connections when she applied for the White House internship. With zero expectations for a callback, she couldn’t believe when she got an interview or when she landed the job. That internship changed her life.
Despite grit and a blossoming career, Deesha’s imposter syndrome haunted her in each new position. I think there’s something for everyone laced in these pages. Thanks to her candidness and vulnerability, I saw a bit of myself in her as she struggled to see her own successes and recognize her right to be in that space. It’s always inspiring to hear the stories of badass women!
What a great read! I love a good memoir and it’s not often that we get to hear about the inner-workings of the White House. Not me perusing the job postings to see what’s out there after finishing this—maybe in another life. 🤪
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Abortion, and Miscarriage
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
How does a child disappearing affect a family? How does it affect the child?
You have an inkling about what happens to Ruthie at the beginning of the novel, but you’re left wondering why, and how. The story portrays one mother’s love, another family’s loss, lies, and finding the truth. I expected to love it as so many others did and while the story itself was intriguing, it was slower than I prefer and I didn’t particularly connect with any of the characters. That said, it made me wonder about the similar stories indigenous families are known to have experienced.
The Berry Pickers is a complex, dual-POV, almost-mystery. I know it’ll be highly discussed in book clubs all over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Kidnapping, and Alcoholism
House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Oooookay, here we go.
I finished this a few days ago and still can’t decide how I feel!!! After such a mic-drop moment at the end of CC2, my expectations were obviously through the roof for CC3. So why didn’t this hit the mark for me like everything else SJM has ever written??? Am I alone here?!
Let me try to get through this spoiler-free. As always, SJM knows how to weave a fantastical, complex plot together and she’s a master at world-building. But this book felt like one big info dump. There was too much going on (while simultaneously not a lot going on) and too many POVs to feel close to any of the characters, except Ruhn and Lidia—loveeee them.
Sadly, I wasn’t in the SJM chokehold I usually am when a new book of her’s comes out. This just wasn’t it for me. But as always, eager to see what’s next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and War
One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake
- 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
3.5
Lovers to enemies. Enemies to lovers.
A modern day Romeo and Juliet retelling complete with family drama and forbidden relationships, plus quite a few twists thrown into the mix. The story revolves around two powerful witch clans who have been rivals for over a decade: the Antonovas and the Fedorovs.
The characters felt realistic, multi-faceted, and thankfully, developed without being entirely predictable. Which was great, especially since I’m not a huge play-lover so the characters are ultimately what kept me tuned in. But I did enjoy being surprised multiple times for a retelling!
This is my third book by Blake and each time I’m reminded that I love how she writes—always so poetic.
A modern day Romeo and Juliet retelling complete with family drama and forbidden relationships, plus quite a few twists thrown into the mix. The story revolves around two powerful witch clans who have been rivals for over a decade: the Antonovas and the Fedorovs.
The characters felt realistic, multi-faceted, and thankfully, developed without being entirely predictable. Which was great, especially since I’m not a huge play-lover so the characters are ultimately what kept me tuned in. But I did enjoy being surprised multiple times for a retelling!
This is my third book by Blake and each time I’m reminded that I love how she writes—always so poetic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Blood, Violence, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Emotional abuse
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Twenty years after the disappearance of her younger sister, Flora, the book of Whisperwood comes across Hazel’s desk at work. Considering the only person who knows about Whisperwood is her long-gone sister, Hazel immediately tries to track down its author, whom she hopes—somehow—is Flora.
Toggling between WWII and the 1960’s, the reader is front row to fourteen year-old Hazel and five-year old Flora as they evacuate war-torn London and adult Hazel as she reels at the possibility of Flora still being alive.
I picked up this book blind and wanted to love it. It’s historical fiction, whimsy, and centers around the magic of storytelling. Despite wanting to know how everything works out, I just wasn’t invested in the characters as much as I expected to be. Perhaps it was because the lead-up was way too slow, or how it felt just a tad too long. Either way, it was a great display of the love between two close-knit sisters, how storytelling can change the trajectory of your life, and reconciling with loss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping, Child death, Death of parent, and War