okthislooksbad's reviews
742 reviews

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

Set in Paris shortly after WWII, Mastering the Art of French Murder is a neat little murder mystery (cosy? ish?) following a young half-French American gal, Tabitha, who relocated to Paris to stay with her grandfather and his partner after the war. When a murder happens immediately after a party she attends she’s obviously not going to put her childhood obsession with detective novels to good use. Of course she isn’t. Naturally. 

The story features a fictionalised Julia Child, possible spies, several murders, a theatre, and a very, very barky dog and its judgmental cat-friend, a whole lot of investigating (all while lamenting that she is obviously not going to investigate, naturally) all sprinkled with a bit of history, wrapped up in a nice bow of solving the crime. I didn’t guess who did it until very close to the actual reveal (in my defence I am also not known to even try, but sometimes it’s just so obvious - in this it wasn’t) and had fun throughout. The narrator was perfect fit with the story, I felt, and the voices fit the characters and their personas. Loved that. 

Didn’t realise while reading that it’s supposed to be the first book in a series but I’m very excited for the next one. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Rebel Girls Animal Allies: 25 Tales of Women Working with Wildlife by Rebel Girls

informative inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

4.5

You really know what you're getting with the Rebel Girls-books by now, and this one didn't disappoint. I would have loved reading this one when I was an animal-obsessed kid - just as I did now as an animal-obsessed adult, albeit the kind who has decided not to work with them. Maybe if I'd had this book as a kid and saw all the many different ways one can work with animals, I would've.

The biographies are, as usual, short, sweet and to the point, and the artworks accompanying each biography are all done by different artists! Loved it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.5

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

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? It's complicated

4.0

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.5

I’m just gonna say it as it is. I have a KJ Charles Problem™.

The problem isn’t so much a problem as it’s me actively choosing to read her books and be absolutely dazzled by them all the time. You know how you have a comfort author whose books you return to any time you’re not feeling any of your other option? Yeah. That.

If you’ve ever read a KJ Charles book before you know what you’re getting with this: loveable characters, squee-worthy romance and a good bit of regency dramatics, complete with absolute delightful filth. I loved the mains, but a special mention goes out to the absolute menagerie of side-characters, who were all (except for the villains, of course, off with their heads) actually useful and necessary to the story, and not just there to move the romance along. The absolute scream I scrome when I learned that the next book in the series features Luke?? Y’all.

The narrator brought a bit of extra life into characters with the various accents and the like, but I wasn’t fond of some of the voice acting (actively sighing before a bit of dialogue that was sighed, etc) that was peppered in. The pacing was sometimes off, and I was definitely not able to listen at x2 speed like I usually do - sometimes even x1.75 meant I’d miss bits of dialogue because it was suddenly actively shouted at breakneck speed. A bit unfortunate.

Rating is for the writing/story/book/whatever. Narration gets a 2.5.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

4.5