pialilyk's reviews
18 reviews

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Wowoowowowowow this is by far the most well written book I’ve read. Delia owens is able to draw such incredible imagery and draw out such rich emotions in her characters is hard to believe this was her debut novel. I say with absolute certainty I will be rereading this, and I never reread. This book is such an amazing portrayal of Kya and her life in a beautiful way even if the story may not be that way at some points. I loved the interwoven poetry and it’s symbolism as it all connected at the end so well I was left speechless. The subtle shifting of perspectives was done in such an elegant way you never left the novel as the literary world turned around you. It took me a long time to stop crying and compose my thoughts so this may not even be a good review but all I can say is read it.

People Like Us by Dana Mele

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Holy shit that was dark. I’ve seen people reviewing this book and saying it’s perfect for 12 year olds and omg it is not! I found it hard to read, it wasn’t the writing but I was a slow read for me. I found the antics between the characters unrealistic and the way the social order of the school was hard to see happening in real life, maybe because I have a different understanding in my head. 
I liked the way many layers of secrets were unvailed even until the last line, not my favourite style of mystery book but still good. Ty way relationships are spoken about are confusing as we don’t know any of the characters and I kept trying to mentally string together who hooked up with who in order to remember possible motives.
I wish there were more clues as the the main reveal of the plot. I thought it was kinda far fetched in the sense that it wasn’t something you would think of and not in a good way. If there was a subtle hint I think it would have clicked so nicely. 
I HATED the main character so much. She was annoying and always thought she was a better person and in the right even though she was debatably one of the most evil characters. 
I found the ending to be fitting but also incredibly unfulfilling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Death

The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

SUCH AN AMAZING BOOK. Never experienced such a bad book hangover as I did this one. Lynette Noni has my heart and I will now be sad forever as I have to wait for the third book to come out. The romance is impeccable and I am yet to find such a good slowburn that I don’t get bored of. Since there was adventure going on as the love was boiling I savoured the little glances and time the characters spent together. INCREDIBLE PLOT TWISTS. I cannot recommend more

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I think I liked it. It was a really interesting look into the thoughts and life of a woman with a really
complicated outlook on life. I loved the writing, it was compelling, interesting and fast to read. Moshfegh created such real characters with emotional depth.
Almost entirely character driven as not much happens in her rest and relaxation. Even though the protagonist was unrelatable I still felt
inclined to want the best for her. But I definitely understand the people who say this book is almost insufferable, I think I walked the line between like and hate.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

An interesting look on privilege from an informative perspective. I found the book slow and hard to get through, maybe because I tend to read more adventurous books but the plot was thin and a rather invited the reader to introspect on their own personal experience and privilege. I did not like some of the characters and found the blurb slightly misleading. I was expecting a story of Emira teaching and exploring the world of Alix’s privilege. Personally a book I would have rather read. There were parts that I did like, the way story’s can get miss told skewed, in particular Alix’s childhood. 

The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Possibly one of the best books I’ve read ever, everything about Lynette Noni’s writing is compelling and keeps you turning pages for hours. I finished this book in record time and was absolutely pleased with the twist and turns of the plot. I couldn’t find many flaws if I tried. The characters are some of the most loveable and I love the way she reveal secrets in the plot by slowly unwrapping it in layers. A must read fantasy book!

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Look, it was a good first mystery book. I’m doing this review after reading the rest and I thought the second book was slightly better than the first. 
When I was reading I could so clearly see exactly what the author was trying to do but it just missed the mark so slightly. We are introduced to this senator character who Stevie’s parents work for and he’s supposedly this horrible person who does terrible things. But this is all that is said. 
I loved the diverse cast of characters, I just wish there was more racial representation, if the character was a poc it was hinted at once and never brought up again. I think 4/5 of the main character where white and the other “extras” were so diverse.
The mystery itself was so intriguing and kept me turning pages. I anticipated the parts of the story where the mystery was taking place. 
At the end of this book I was strongly questioning if I should read the rest of the trilogy and I felt no immense pull to story as I have with a lot of other book. I ended up reading them as they were fast reads and I wanted to find out what happened not for the pull of writing or characters as I have in other series

The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25