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ourxstorybegins's reviews
582 reviews
The Snowball Effect by Haley Cass
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Heat and Run by Adriana Herrera
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Christmas at Fox Ridge by Bailey Hannah
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A Jingle Bell Mingle by Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Merry Inkmas by Talia Hibbert
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 55%.
You know I was okay-ish with this audiobook narrator up until the first spicy scene
A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Here’s the thing -- the premise, the way the author did the gender flip here, and the mystery were all very fun! HOWEVER:
Charlotte is not a small woman. She loves to eat sweet treats and I love that for her. But at one point in the book, she explains that she’s calculated the exact number of chins that she can have before her face shape is no longer attractive. And we’ll just occasionally get a comment like “she’s at 1.4 chins so she can’t have a second slice of cake” or something like that, and WHYYYYYY????
I looked into it and apparently it persists throughout the series and I’m so sad about it because it ruined the whole experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
Broken Beyond Repair by Emily Banting
emotional
inspiring
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
3.5
Girls Can Kiss Now by Jill Gutowitz
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Look, I started following Jill Gutowitz on The Website Formerly Known As Twitter for her very funny Kaylor content, and this book felt like a whole book’s worth of her tweets. It’s a very funny (and a few times, very sad) discussion about the progression of lesbian/sapphic representation in media (and in Hollywood!).
Also there was a full chapter??? talking about how awful Perez Hilton was and Jill was SO right for that.
Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Spent a lot of this book going “oh no you poor thing” at the main character. Emily Austin is so good at writing mental illness? You can FEEEEEEL the anxiety coming at you -- which is part of why it took me a little longer than usual for me to read this because I could only take on so much of that in one day.
But if you’re down to read about a undiagnosed neurodivergent lesbian who is REALLY into true crime and space and also has a phobia of bald men, you should ABSOLUTELY read this I loved it so much.