purplepenning's reviews
1691 reviews

Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry

Minor: Violence, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail

Say You'll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

challenging emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Blood

Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

mysterious medium-paced

3.75

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Abandonment

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism

One Step Forward by Marcie Flinchum Atkins

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Classism

Minor: Chronic illness

Any Trope but You by Victoria Lavine

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

Back After This by Linda Holmes

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.0

A charming and admirably kind book about personal and professional growth, about corporate structure and influencer culture, about intentionality and serendipity — and romance (with a great meet-cute and good banter). Fairly predictable but settled in a detailed landscape of D.C. and the podcasting world, it feels fair and interesting and held my attention once it was caught.

I like Linda Holmes and her voice, but the audiobook really wasn't working for me. When I switched over to the print edition, I had to play a couple rounds of "wait, who is that again?" because I hadn't been retaining names (who knows how many other details I missed) but the book was instantly more engaging from that point on. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Classism

Minor: Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail

job insecurity

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

Perfect for readers chasing that You've Got Mail high. It's a little too long, creating some lag in the middle, but has one of the best bookish grand gestures I've ever read near the end, making it well worth the extra effort. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Car accident, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

One Death at a Time by Abbi Waxman

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Hoping this is the first of a Mason & Mann series because I'm going to need more of this gang of Hollywood misfits solving crimes and getting justice! Great found-family vibes with an interesting sobriety-sponsor setup, quirky characters with plenty of backstory left to explore, and a dazzling Hollywood setting. The character list of suspects was a little overstuffed for this first one since we also had to sort out our main investigative partners and their fairly large support cast. But this should appeal to Finlay Donovan fans and cozy mystery readers who don't mind a slightly high body count (and on-page death). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Biphobia, Cancer, Car accident, Sexual harassment

Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave by Elle Cosimano

4.0