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rubybereading's Reviews (95)
Soft dnf. I’m just reading too many books this month. I’ll circle back in the Fall.
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
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! ❤️❤️❤️
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.
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.
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
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! 🤗
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Heartbreaking but beautiful! This is one of the best short stories I've ever read. Such a full, heartfelt, deep, emotional and heavy story told in so few words. She captured something so hauntingly relatable for so many women. This made me think and realize it's time to try to get to the point where I can confront some of my own deep-seated thoughts, fears and emotions surrounding my own experiences with motherhood-from both sides. I appreciate this piece more than I expected to. I could've finished this in one sitting and in under an hour, but I had to keep putting it down to reflect on some of the messages being conveyed. This was very dark but hopeful and extremely relatable in so many ways. It brought up memories from my own childhood that I had tucked away. This was a very therapeutic experience for me.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
***Damn near a 5⭐️ though!!!***
Wow.. just wow! I had to wait to write this because I was literally speechless afterwards. And my heart was ripped to shreds! Just...wow! This was an intriguing read that pulled me in from the beginning. Although it was kind of just okay after the first few chapters, about halfway through, I couldn't put it down and stayed up WAY too late to finish this! Even though it felt predictable and a little too obvious, it still had enough suspense to keep you engaged. And right when you think you've had it all figured out and you know what's about to happen, you're STILL at the edge of your seat, and then it blows you tf away! I saw a couple of people say that this one will sit with you for a while and, trust me, IT WILL! Omg! The tears wouldn't stop rolling after I hit the last few chapters. I felt like I got punched in the heart. And I was literally (!!!) speechless! Smh!
Wow.. just wow! I had to wait to write this because I was literally speechless afterwards. And my heart was ripped to shreds! Just...wow! This was an intriguing read that pulled me in from the beginning. Although it was kind of just okay after the first few chapters, about halfway through, I couldn't put it down and stayed up WAY too late to finish this! Even though it felt predictable and a little too obvious, it still had enough suspense to keep you engaged. And right when you think you've had it all figured out and you know what's about to happen, you're STILL at the edge of your seat, and then it blows you tf away! I saw a couple of people say that this one will sit with you for a while and, trust me, IT WILL! Omg! The tears wouldn't stop rolling after I hit the last few chapters. I felt like I got punched in the heart. And I was literally (!!!) speechless! Smh!
Side note: I usually kind of hate when a book is a solid 3 to 3.5 throughout like 90% but then the last bit is the part that hits you so hard that it suddenly, allIll out of the blue (!), becomes a 4-4.5 or even edging toward a "5". But this one?? This one did that so well that I can't even be mad at it. It's a good 4.5 for sure, but I had to give it a little extra bump for how well-written and well done that ending was. Just WOW!!
dark
funny
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:
Yes
4.9⭐️
1 did NOT expect a book about serial killers to have me smiling, laughing, blushing and going “awwwww!!!" from beginning to end. I didn't expect a serial killer to become one of my book boyfriends. I didn't expect to want a serial killer to put his **** all up in me. I didn't expect to want to hug another serial killer so tight and let her know how special she really is. I didn't expect to have dreams about this book and I didn't expect to be so sad that this is over. But all that happened. I have only a couple of small issues with this book, but not enough to care or even mention. The main one, though, is that I just wish it was at least twice as long because OMG I was obsessed! The banter. The obsession. The slow build. The angst. The genuine love. The lust! The everything. I loved all of it. The gore didn't even bother me. I'm legit sad that it's over. I almost went right back to the beginning to reread it as soon as it was done. Not even joking. I wish I could read this like it was my first time over and over again. 😍😍😍
1 did NOT expect a book about serial killers to have me smiling, laughing, blushing and going “awwwww!!!" from beginning to end. I didn't expect a serial killer to become one of my book boyfriends. I didn't expect to want a serial killer to put his **** all up in me. I didn't expect to want to hug another serial killer so tight and let her know how special she really is. I didn't expect to have dreams about this book and I didn't expect to be so sad that this is over. But all that happened. I have only a couple of small issues with this book, but not enough to care or even mention. The main one, though, is that I just wish it was at least twice as long because OMG I was obsessed! The banter. The obsession. The slow build. The angst. The genuine love. The lust! The everything. I loved all of it. The gore didn't even bother me. I'm legit sad that it's over. I almost went right back to the beginning to reread it as soon as it was done. Not even joking. I wish I could read this like it was my first time over and over again. 😍😍😍
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Don’t judge me, y’all!! Just hear me out…this is not getting 5 stars because I love pedophile stories. Ok? Please don’t do that. And, though I don’t necessarily agree with ppl who say this “glorifies pedophilia”, I completely understand why they feel that way. That part creeped me tf out and made my blood boil. I just don’t agree and I can’t say why without spoilers. But I can’t NOT give it 5 stars. It’s not even because it was so entertaining and well-written. It was as basic and middle of the road as any of her other writings. But, damnit man!!! This one hit me hard. First of all, the twists?? I can’t believe this was so unpredictable considering this is a Freida McFadden book. But the twists??? They were twisting!! And they threw my ass across the gotdamn room! I was SO pissed once this was done. PISSED!! I had a visceral reaction! I felt betrayed and taken advantage of. Bitch I felt like I was groomed my gotdamn self! I can’t explain without spoiling it. But, just for the reactions, I’m sorry!! This earned all 5 stars. I even made myself sleep on it before deciding how to rate this, & I’m STILL pissed. But she earned that 5! DON’T JUDGE ME! Smh!
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
*Exasperated sigh*… I really REALLY wanted to like this one. This is my 2nd Liselle Sambury read, the 1st being “Tender Beasts” which I did not enjoy, however I felt the author was a decent writer and wanted to give her a 2nd chance. I have, and she perplexes me. It’s not the worst book I’ve read, but it’s not that good either. It was so incredibly, exasperatingly, horribly, mind-blowingly boring. It was boring as all FAWK! Mostly because there was more tell than show, and the characters weren’t interesting. And it was twice as long as need be. I wanted to DNF so many times, but I wanted to give it a chance to redeem itself. Out of 50 (or so?) chapters, only the final 2 shed a small beacon of light. I even almost shed a random a** tear. But said tear was halted by the reminder that I was bored and confused out of my ever loving mind throughout the first 48 of 50 chapters. I felt like making the last -0.0001% of the book tug at your heartstrings was cheap and lazy and insulted my intelligence. I didn’t hate it, but I also kind of hated it. Kind of a lot. Still, it’s perplexing, because it still gets a 2.5 out of me. I’m so confused!
Btw, why is this listed as a “horror”?? This was creepy for sure, but horror? No. If I read a horror, I wanna be…ya know…horrified. No? Is that too much to ask? But I digress. Anyway, I think I’m good on Liselle. Bless her heart, but I’m good.