sarahrahrah's reviews
98 reviews

Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Obviously I enjoyed it enough to finish reading to the end, but then I was annoyed by the abrupt "The end. Well... For now." 

It was not written well and the plot just jumped from place to place with no real development or logical conclusion to the various scenes. This made it hard to know which scenes were ramping up to be important action sequences vs. just another "day in the life of the assistant to the villian", and so nothing felt important or that consequentional to me.

I have no idea what the tiktok aspect of this is; maybe the development of the characters on that platform was more intriguing? But just reading the book without any of that context (?) meant the characters felt really flat and boring

Office Hours by Ling Ma

mysterious reflective fast-paced

I am not smart enough to understand this short story, but I enjoyed being in the moment while reading it 

Something he had said once in a lecture: "It is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality."

Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

It was fine. I definitely needed and appreciated this story when I was younger and because I shared many of the same insecurities of the fmc, but it was a bit cringier rereading it again now

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Wow  wow wow, this was an incredibly gripping and satisfying read! The gasps I gusped as she reached the end of telling Monique her life story, and then again at the final reveal of their connection. I loved the complicated, stunning character that is Evelyn Hugo, and really enjoyed seeing the old Hollywood glamour through her eyes and her life as chronicled over her seven

(+ one)

marriages

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a reread, and I had a hard time getting into it at first, and was worried that it wasn't holding up to how much I adored it the first read. In the end, it was still a very sweet and enjoyable story. I love the concept of a dating show based on romance tropes and wish that there actually was something like that out there. I also love that as they write in their acknowledgements, this really was a "love letter to romance and fandom and fan girls everywhere." This was obviouly very personal and near and dear to the authors' own experiences, and I like how they depicted the general patriarchal disdain for romance through Fizzy's perspective. I think some of the trendy references were a bit too eye roll for me (and will perhaps date the book very quickly), but still overall enjoyed rereading this!

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

funny hopeful fast-paced

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

3.0

I liked the similarities and nods to Pride and Prejudice at the beginning up until Jess literally describes River to her grandparents as  "think Mr.Darcy, but without the lovely proclamations" which maybe is stupid, but it just felt like they didn't think their readers would get the homage unless it was literally spelled out for them.

Overall I enjoyed it. It dragged a bit at the end (especially the epilogue). This was a reread because I loved Fizzy's story in The True Love Experiment, and wanted to reread that one again. I hadn't remembered much from this one when I first read the second one, so I'm curious to see if Fizzy's characterization stays true to how she was introduced here

Twice in a Blue Moon by Christina Lauren

emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

Whenever I read other reviews on romance books (and also just reading romance in general.... some patriarchal bs I'm still unpacking haha), I feel stupid and embarrassed for my tastes WHICH IS STUPID!! So I'm giving it the full 5 stars that I want to give it dammit!

This is my 3rd or 4th reread of this and I absolutely love it. I think this solidified my love for Christina Lauren - made me devour all their other works and now I am always eagerly awaiting their next

Kitty Language: An Illustrated Guide to Understanding Your Cat by Lili Chin

informative lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Cute and informative! I am definitely guilty of the "first-time cat parent commenting that my cat acts more like a dog" thing, but now firmly understand that "no, he's acting like a CAT!" 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

4.0

A reread that broke my month-long reading slump. I enjoyed the story and complexity of the characters, and am glad to have picked it up again!

Lots of funny moments and great writing, but for some reason this line stood out and really made me chuckle:

Tala regales us with a tale that is either the nonsense ramblings of a toddler or a faithful retelling of a Kafka novel.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

From the acknowledgements:

Yellowface is, in large part, a horror story about loneliness in a fiercely competitive industry.

The loneliness and behind-the-curtain look at the world of publishing are certainly evident. I was fully writing a negative review in my head while reading the first 3/4 of the book. The narrator is SO unlikable (which is the point), and her whiney self righteousness was a SLOG to get through, to the point that I was considering DNFing. But then at around the 70% mark, it picks up in a major way and was interesting, tense, and evoked a visceral emotional response in me!

I think the most brilliant turning point is this line:

I've written myself into a corner. The first two-thirds of the book were a breeze to compose, but what do I do with the ending?

Woof. I feel like this line alone exactly reflected my reading experience up to that point, as well as was exactly how I felt in that precise moment of reading the line. The first two-thirds were the whiney annoying slog, but now how will it end?? Where does Juniper Song end and R. F. Kuang begin? Whose story is this? 

So this is a complex review for me. The majority of it was 2 stars, but then the ending was so tense and thought-provoking and wrapped the whole thing up in such a way that this will stay with me for a while. So idk, I guess 3 stars but maybe more?