painausten's reviews
882 reviews

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

I liked it! An ode to Sleepless in Seattle feels like fanservice just for me but there’s a reason Sleepless in Seattle is Ephron’s weakest and this book does a good effort to course-correct.

Model Home by Rivers Solomon

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

I had to pull my car over because I sobbed so hard just thinking about this story. An incredible book I would be hesitant to recommend broadly to people. 

Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell

challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I loved this concept, loved a lot of the execution, but it really went off the rails around 75-80% in and didn’t really recover. Still really thought provoking and well written. 

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

Prose, beautiful prose. 

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

God, so good. Made me weep multiple times. Made me wish I had sisters so many times. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Death

Minor: Sexual assault

Throwback by Maurene Goo

emotional

3.75

I did not expect this YA time travel book to get me as good as it did. I was so charmed by Sam and Halmoni and (eventually) by Priscilla. Seeing the three generations interact with each other made me wish so badly I could’ve seen my mom and grandma’s dynamic when my mom was younger. Growing up and realizing your relationship with a family member is so different from others’ relationship with them is a really jarring experience and throwing first-gen kids’ issues into the mix made this veeeeery relatable to me. There were some parts I wasn’t crazy about but they are mostly chalked up to the fact that I’m not the intended audience. This is a book I wish I had had when I was in high school.

A New Lease on Death by Olivia Blacke

mysterious

3.0

This was a cute intro to a new cozy mystery series!! I like Ruby and Cordelia as a little odd pairing and I wish there were 20 of these to listen to while I do my chores.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen

2.75

This was fine

We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

How lucky are we to live in a world with Emily R. Austin’s writing?

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis

hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

I think, and I say this so sincerely and genuinely, KC Davis should be canonized for writing this book. I think she deserves a Nobel prize. I think she has changed my life forever with this.

Without trauma dumping too much, I have tried to read this many times and always gave up a chapter or two in because self-compassion was simply not in the cards for me just yet and it is (rightfully so!) the crux of so much of this book’s ethos. I’m so glad I gave it another shot.