readingismyonlytalent's reviews
86 reviews

Underneath the Sycamore Tree by B. Celeste

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

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

2.0

I was not really impressed with this book. I was ready to bawl my eyes out but I didn’t even shed a single tear. And don’t even get me started on the fact that they were step siblings😭 I really think they both have some sort of kink bc if I was in that situation I would try my hardest to never mention the fact that we were step siblings but they just do not care. They kept calling each other family and kept mentioning “our parents” literally why do you wanna acknowledge your parents are together😭 anyways I decided I could try to look past that but they wouldn’t stop mentioning it. With the story over all I didn’t have a problem with it. Kaiden pissed me off a lot even though he was cute sometimes he still said and did fucked up shit. And he was always talking about her weight. It also pissed me off how he went around mistreating ppl but it’s ok bc “he’s Kaiden”. Over all the book didn’t really do much for me.

All In by Emma Scott

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

As much as it hurts me to say it Theo and Kacey were very cute. They were there for each other in a time of need a time when they both felt like they were drowning in their pain alone. I love Jonah with all my heart and I tried my hardest to stand by him bc it felt like a betrayal liking these two, but I couldn’t. He treats her so well and he loves her so deeply.

I cried when His dad and her mom came around and I cried when he gave her the tattoo. I laughed when the Olsens bickered and my heart broke but was filled with joy at the same time when she was pregnant.

This book once again put me through a roller coaster of emotions but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Ofc I skipped all the smut scenes 😭 I hadn’t moved on that much but the love was still felt with out them. Tbh I don’t think I could read a book with this trend again but it was good to step out of my comfort zone.

Full Tilt by Emma Scott

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Omg where do I even start I am heartbroken!! I mean Jonah and Kaceys love was so pure and beautiful and temporary I just cannot express the love I have for them and I don’t know if I can read the next book bc how could she end up with someone else after a love like that😭 I just know I’m gonna be comparing Theo to Jonah in every way and I’m gonna feel icky like she’s cheating on him even though I know she’s not. In the beginning when Kacey decided that despite Jonah’s illness she wanted to stay with him even if it would all end terribly the only thing I could think was “she’s better than me” bc I could never imagine my self brave enough to sign up for heartbreak just for a short amount of memories. But then I realized that’s exactly what I did with this book. I knew this book would leave me heartbroken and in a pool of tears, but I read it anyways bc I wanted to enjoy the love I wanted to watch the two of them grow hell I wanted to see what was gonna happen with Jonah’s installation. Bottom line is this book put me through a rollercoaster of emotions and now, reluctantly, I’m gonna read the next book, however I might have to skip all the sex scenes it’ll hurt too much💀

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

 I really like the story. The love Archer and Bree share was so beautiful and I loved how they acknowledged that Archers dependency on Bree wasn’t healthy and did something to fix it. I didn’t really like the writing I felt like I was reading a book off of Wattpad at times. It was just really basic “he said, she said” kind of thing and I was expecting more. I also thought that it was weird how he kept mentioning how much he liked her white skin💀 like ok? He said this like 3-4 times and it was so like.. odd.

I also thought the whole him “cheating” plot line was pointless it didn’t really bring anything to to story other than unnecessary conflict and we already got that conflict later in the book multiple times so it was just pointless. I guess it was used as a way to show how malevolent Travis was but if that were the case you could’ve had Bree and Archer talk about it sooner so the blame was on Travis and not Archer, yk?

Other than that tho I loved the book and I especially loved watched Archer feel loved and wanted and grow comfortable in his skin.

The Year I Stopped Trying by Katie Heaney

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Pretty good; I originally got this book bc I thought I would relate to it and I was right. Many of the things that Mary went through I went through my sophomore year. After years of getting all As or Bs, I couldn’t find the motivation to keep pushing and second semester my grades tanked. I just didn’t see the point to any of it. In the end we will die and I doubt anyone will say oh she died but at least she passed high school with flying colors. And this is similar to what Mary was experiencing. The realization that there is not point to anything we are doing. It was refreshing to see all my thoughts put on paper and also to watch Mary find herself in more than one way.

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

This book was really good and I loved how strong Tierney was and how determined she was to dismantle the patriarchy (if that’s the right word) however I wasn’t really happy with the whole ryker being her savior plot. Her whole life she’s been learning survival tactics from her dad and you’re telling me she almost died bc she stepped off the path to pee?? It’s pretty clear that if it weren’t for ryker and her dads deal she would’ve been dead pretty early on and that really bothered me. However I did like the romance between them, tho it was a bit out of character for her to leave her whole family for him and risk her sisters lives, and was devastated when he died. My favorite part of the book though was when she came back to the county and started to notice all the women that were ready for a change and had been meeting on the side. I loved how she started to notice different small things in each of the women of the county that showed they were Allies and were in this together. Last but not least I hated the ending. You’re telling me we went through all of that and didn’t even get to see an inch of change??? She literally said in the end that her daughter would change everything like girl you’re really gonna wait for a whole other generation😭 it just seemed to out of character especially since she was so headstrong and ready to tear down the corrupt gov. I just wish we got to see her tell the county the truth about everything or maybe got to see more of what the women do at those meetings.

We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

The only reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars is because it was really slow and hard to get into in the beginning and Zafira and Nasir literally had no concept of a time and a place they were literally fighting the Lion of the Night and decided yep we should start heavily making out right now like what 😭 other than that I loved this book so much I love watching Nasir’s character development and I cant wait to see how Zafira learns to find herself outside of being the hunter I also can’t wait for Yasmines reaction to her being friends with Altair and being in love with the Prince 

Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Nikki Grimes

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.0

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

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

2.0

I didn’t really like this book. It took me so much longer to finish it than it usually takes me to finish books. I don’t think it’s a bad book tho. It’s just not something I’m into.

I did like how even tho she was kidnapped and “fell in love” the author didn’t just let that happen. She had the character learn about Stockholm Syndrome and understand that what she felt wasn’t really love.

It was incredibly informative  and I do think that if you’re into the whole adventurous, kidnapping (not like mafia kidnapping romance but an actual kidnapping) then you should give this book a try.