sarahkorn's reviews
144 reviews

Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr

adventurous challenging dark informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This book would have been perfect for a long flight or beach read, it's very twisty and there's a lot to sink your teeth into. I ended up reading it in pieces over the better part of a week and found myself a bit lost at times because so much happens in this book, but I truly think it was my own headspace and reading pace.

I loved the combination of art heist and historical fiction, and particularly loved Margaux, that villainous, vengeful, sadistic woman! I found Jules to be a bit of a snoozer (the romance was also incredibly dull), but Margaux was layered and interesting, if cruel. I just don't really love the queer coded villain trope, as it was presented like a devious kink, and felt cheap, not sexy, on the page. 

Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

3.75

I love a "band of quirky neighbors save the local establishment from evil capitalists" trope so I had high expectations for this book. It was a cute read with a great premise yet some rough edges. The characters weren't equally developed and some plot points seemed a bit too convenient, while others were introduced and then never fully wrapped up. It is definitely meant to be an immigrant story and while I don't think every immigrant story absolutely must be sad and introspective, it vaguely touched on many elements of the immigrant experience without actually providing them any meaningful consideration -- ex as someone not intimiately familiar with the practice of marrying somebody for a green card, but knowing the stigma that carries, that part just seemed haphazard and a missed opportunity for empathy. It was a really lovely book with a sweet ending, it just needed some fine tuning in order to really be a winner. I would still read future books to see how Mai Nguyen develops as an author.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Much sadder than I had anticipated, but so beautiful. Michelle Zauner is an incredibly talented person in many ways.

The Bookbinder of Jericho by Pip Williams

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Another winner from Pip Williams. I don't usually like sad books, but this is an exception as it is also somehow clever, cozy, and gorgeously written. Makes me want to drink ginger beer with a good book in a graveyard covered in autumn leaves.

Reading this in 2023 as we all grapple with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, paralelled with the 1918 Spanish flu and the ending of WW1, gives this book a special resonance. The themes of grief and healing were all too timely, and the ending was more uplifting than Dictionary of Lost Words.

Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan

inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Cute, lighthearted beach read, but I've heard this described as the "romance novel of the summer" and I just don't think it is, especially coming up against Carly Fortune's "Meet Me at the Lake."

Sam is a flat protagonist in a hell of her own making. Her relationship with Wyatt was sweet but had very little build up or tension to get me invested, and then she returns to Long Island 13 years later helplessly miserable in her job and her relationship with a man whose only real flaw or personality trait is that he plays tennis (read: rich and uninteresting, though Sam is also rich and uninteresting, so I fail to see where he went wrong). 

She runs into Wyatt again and instead of being a healed, grown woman she hyperfixates on their past, though it doesn't help that her family keeps bringing it up, in front of her fiance (there is a brief therapy storyline, but I think that family as a whole needs a lot more of it). She also pities him for being a mechanic in LA, because he had sooo much potential (see how she isn't much different than Jack?).

  Eventually Wyatt tells Sam that she's making herself miserable, in part due to this totally outlandish flash mob situation at work, and it's like a lightbulb moment she couldn't put together on her own. She realizes Wyatt is actually more successful than he let on, and no longer pities him because surprise! He's rich too. They get back together and her world becomes technicolor, the exact thing she avoided for the last 13 years.

Banyan Moon by Thao Thai

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

4.5

Pretty solid contemporary romance. Lots of spice, lovable characters (that actually had some depth), and the supernatural teen drama TV show element was so fun, and will appeal to those of us who loved those shows 10 years ago (and now!)

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

3.5

This book came highly recommended from similar sources who recommended ACOTAR, which I did really enjoy, despite not being a big fantasy reader, so I had high hopes for Fourth Wing. I must have just not been in the mood for a sprawling fantasy novel but I found it to drag and there to be too many plot holes and incongruencies. The spice was nice, but I don't think it was a winner for me.

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

I loved this book. It was so funny and the characters were really well developed. I loved getting a peek into the process behind what is clearly basically SNL, and didn't mind that it took some time for the romance to really get going. Once it did I found it very heartwarming.

There is a large portion of the book that takes place during COVID which I didn't mind for most of it because it was just kind of a background thing rather than rehashing trauma (can you really write a book that takes place in 2020 without acknowledging COVID?) but towards the end it got kind of sad and upsetting. I see how it functioned as a plot device but I'm not sure I'm ready to relive that part yet.

As a whole I really enjoyed this book and even shed a few tears at the end. Definitely a favorite of 2023 so far!

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.

Great premise and wanted to love it, but having the entire thing told from Nan's perspective was weird and forced, and I didn't feel like pushing through. Would probably be stronger with rotating POVs.