rubybereading's reviews
70 reviews

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Toni Morrison is a literary genius. There is no other writer I respect more. Just know that she’ll never get less than a 5⭐️ from me. They could discover an unpublished book and all it says inside is “pee pee poo poo”. It’s getting a 5 damnit! Anything less would feel blasphemous!! That’s MUVA!! All due praise and honor to HER! 💞💞💞

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.5

It’s the fact that it took me 25 days to finish an 11.5 hr audiobook. It was just so GYATdamn boring! I only kept going because I used this month’s Audible credit on it & didn’t want it going to waste. So I drudged through it. It started to redeem itself in the 2nd half, but I already barely cared by then. The concept, plot, world was all cool in theory, but it didn’t really deliver. Then at one point it was stupid. Based on their knowledge & powers, there should’ve been simple resolutions to their problems. And I hate cliffhangers. You should tie up the story enough where each book could be a standalone (in my opinion). Forcing us to have to read further installments to get any kind of closure feels like cheating. I might, just to see what happens & in hopes that it’s better since all the build up is out of the way. But if I do, I’m reading it with my eyeballs. Those narrators’ voices and speaking patterns didn’t fit the story for me. They sounded very corporate. Elara’s pov narrator reminded me of a news anchor. It was a very odd choice for this type of book. It may have ruined it for me, but I also think I would’ve been extremely bored either way.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I have no words. I only feel right now. A whole lot. 🥹

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

I didn’t get far into it. I’m just reading too many other books right now. I definitely plan to finish it eventually

Powerless by Lauren Roberts
Did not finish book.

My book clubs moved on to other books before I even made it to chapter 4. I’ll definitely be circling back to this. Likely within the next few weeks.

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Did not finish book.

Soft dnf. I’m just reading too many books this month. I’ll circle back in the Fall.

Keeping 13: Part One by Chloe Walsh

dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Well, I'm a little sad that it's over. I purposely prolonged finishing it because I love their love story so much. 😍😍😍! I gotta say, though, nobody-ESPECIALLY a teenage boy-is that perfect. Idc who raised him. But I'll accept it. Because I LOVE Johnny! & I love him for Shannon. And I was so happy & proud of Shannon's growth throughout. & I love Gibs and Claire. I love their whole support system. My only issue is the repetitiveness. It's like the author or editor or whoever just copied & pasted a whole bunch of conversations about their feelings & scenarios where they almost boinked, but changed a couple of words here & there. If you have a word count quota to fill or whatever, at least switch it up and add to. Don't just copy and paste. 

Damn! 🙄! Other than that, it was almost perfect. I look forward to seeing them as side characters in the rest of the series. Hopefully theirs is as prominent as their friends' were in the 13s or I'll be annoyed. I really do wish theirs would just keep going. 😩! Netflix needs to do a series. Anyway, it's SO good. Tragic, but beautiful. Had me on a whirlwind of emotions, and enjoyed every minute of it! Side note: Johnny's mom deserves her own book! I wanna read her story from the beginning from her pov. We love her! ❤️❤️❤️

Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.

I’m a mood reader, so I read 2-6 books at a time and just pick up wherever I left off on any given book I’m in the mood for at the time. I found myself rarely choosing this one and, sometimes, even forgetting it was one of my “current reads”. I never thought about this book and didn’t have the desire to finish it. The only reason I even made  it to page 21 is because I forced myself to try to get through it since a book club I’m in was reading it. Then I found out none of them were making any progress either and were thinking about dnf’ing. So, here we are. Honestly, it wasn’t horrible. Just boring and not intriguing enough. I may come back around to it later but probably not. I just didn’t care enough about it and was more interested in finishing the other books I’m reading. This one felt like it was in the way.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.

I plan to finish eventually. But, I’ve decided I’d rather read Octavia E. Butler’s books in order of publication. Since this isn’t her first book, I’ve decided to stop this one for now and then pick it back up when it’s its turn on the list.

Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

Actually a 3.5 with extra credit for the kid in me! 

It was fine. I'm not completely satisfied, but I loved it more than not. 11-14 year old me would've ate this ALL THE WAY UP. Definitely would've loved this as a movie. Current me at my big age? She enjoyed it enough. It had me more in the 1st half than the 2nd. The foundation was solid, but there wasn't enough meat on the bones. I did appreciate the imagery of the dragons and some of the characters, but I wish the descriptions of the lands setting were a little more vivid. I loved the tattoo magic and animal companion elements, but hate what happened with one of them. LOVED what we learned about another one though. Also, I love that it was a matriarchal society. & The love story was cute, but I wish it was more developed and better showcased. I do like that it was soft, gentle and "pure" though (for lack of a better word, but you know what I mean?). The conflicts weren't conflicting enough for me. It probably should've been a little longer. I like a little more action and a little more effort for resolutions. But, again, I'm not the target demographic (at least not age wise). Overall, it was a nice and cozy read. Honestly, I could take it or leave it, but I don't feel like I wasted my time. It was a nice palate cleanser and filler for when I wasn't in the mood for the other books I'm reading which have way heavier topics and themes. I just wish I could've read this when I was like 12. Lol! But, it’s fine.. She gets an extra bump to 4 stars for little Ruby though! 🤗