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roemsy's reviews
415 reviews
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
5.0
If I could give this book 10 stars I would. It’s so well-written, it’s meta, it’s truly perfect satire. All of the commentary on race, publishing, “cancel culture”, booktok/twitter/bookstagram/goodreads, was extremely poignant. I am purposely keeping this vague because I think it’s better if you discover the mysteries of this book on your own. If you read ONE book this year, make it Yellowface by R.F. Kuang.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, War, Rape, and Panic attacks/disorders
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
- 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
Every once in awhile we get lucky and we hear a story that affects us in a long lasting and profound way. This was The Collected Regrets of Clover for me. A uniquely told story about a death doula, it’s a beautiful, unique, and moving book about what it means to live. I loved this book and it’s characters, I loved the musings on grief and death. I found myself highlighting so many passages I think I have at least 20 new favorite quotes. I will be thinking about this book for quite awhile and I highly suggest you pick it up too. I’m going to end this review with a few of the quotes that really struck me:
-“Maybe we have different business with the same souls in each lifetime. And it doesn’t always work out how we want it to in every one of them.”
-“Grief is just love looking for a place to settle”
-“Maybe we have different business with the same souls in each lifetime. And it doesn’t always work out how we want it to in every one of them.”
-“Grief is just love looking for a place to settle”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
The Stand-In by Lily Chu
4.25
Such a cute listen on audible narrated by the inimitable Phillipa Soo. I loved the friendship between the two main characters and the love interest as well. I will say I don’t feel like this was really a romance until over 50% through so if you don’t like slow burns this may not be for you.
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune
4.5
Meet Me at the Lake is sure to be one of the hot beach reads of the summer!! I was waffling between a 4 and a 5 here but I’m gonna go with 5 because I was truly swooning for most of this book. Carley Fortune just knows how to write. I loved Fern and Will, I adored the Toronto and Brooksbanks summer resort setting which was reminiscent of Dirty Dancing as was mentioned. I just really enjoyed this story. The only gripes I have were one of the conflicts at the end I thought was unnecessary and same with the epilogue. I would’ve been fine if she just left it with the last chapter. All in all this is the perfect summer read, pick it up!!
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.5
If there’s one thing TJ Klune’s gonna do, it’s leave you with a tear in your eye. What a beautifully told story of hope, resilience, legacy, and what it means to be human. While this is billed as a Pinocchio retelling, I would say it’s only that on the surface, but it’s not screaming Pinocchio at every turn and is definitely so much more. I absolutely ADORED the characters. Particularly the cynical, sadistic Nurse Ratched, and the adorable, wholesome Rambo. I promise you will fall in love with them too.
ITLOP didn’t leave me a gooey blob like The House in the Cerulean Sea or a blubbering mess like Under the Whispering Door which is why I’m not giving a full 5 stars, but it struck a chord with me nonetheless. Keep writing, TJ, I’ll keep reading!
ITLOP didn’t leave me a gooey blob like The House in the Cerulean Sea or a blubbering mess like Under the Whispering Door which is why I’m not giving a full 5 stars, but it struck a chord with me nonetheless. Keep writing, TJ, I’ll keep reading!
Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All by Candace Fleming, Stephanie Hemphill, M.T. Anderson
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.25
I enjoyed this with the different narrators on audio although I found it semi inaccurate to what I know of the history. I think it does a good enough job for someone wanting to know the very basis of the story but I would say take it all with a grain of salt. Also men ain’t sh*t!
How I'll Kill You by Ren DeStefano
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.25
This immediately gave me My Lovely Wife vibes in the way that you’re inside the messed up killers mind from the beginning. This isn’t a thriller where you spend the whole time guessing whodunnit, you’re told from the start and get to watch the messiness and creepiness unfold. I really liked the beginning and middle portion of the book. However, the last part of it lost me. I kept waiting for some big plot twist or something WOW to happen and it just never did. If this has ended in a less boring way, I may have given it 4 stars but alas here we are.
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
5.0
Absolutely ten thousand percent understand why everyone loves this one so much💖. And why so many of my friends gave it a 5-star rating. Definitely could’ve read it in a day if I didn’t have a trip/other life obligations. It’s so sweet and I know I’ll come back to it again someday.