sierablane's reviews
70 reviews

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

2.0

I really wanted to love this book but it just fell short in every way. The rivals to lovers strand is poorly developed.. The overall plot was painfully slow for the first half of the book. Things which should have been making me gasp seemed rushed and thrown together. It just felt like the author had way too many ideas for a plot twist and couldn’t pick one, so she went with all of them.. I feel disappointed in this book, and would be angry if I hadn’t been able to read it for free 

A Soul to Revive by Opal Reyne

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Favorite in the series so far. Cried a lot 

The Amish Wife Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy That Let a Killer Go Free by Gregg Olsen

informative slow-paced

2.0

I’ve read 5 of Olsen’s books; 2 fiction and 3 nonfiction. This is definitely my least favorite of his nonfiction. His writing is honestly very unorganized, and there sure are a lot of not-Ida-Stutzman-related tangents and asides for a book supposedly dedicated to justice for Ida Stutzman. I mean seriously? What need was there for a chapter about Dahmer? And woo hoo, here’s your medal for allegedly finding Stella Nickell’s burnt bottles of excedrin missed by the fbi… this book was, in relation to the Stutzman case, speculative in the most unhelpful way. Reads more like a memoir of someone chasing long gone glory, and definitely is capitalizing on the fact that most involved are dead

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Started out slower than I would’ve liked but I’m glad it really picked up. I’m not often surprised by plot twists but the ones in the story got me 

Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It was satisfying to see Clytemnestra get her ultimate justice for all the loss she endured throughout her life. I found myself saddened at her becoming more like those she has grown to hate by the time she murders her husband, but I believe her intentions are what truly sets her apart from those who kept taking from her. Overall, I really loved Casati’s writing. It was beautiful, emotional, and educational (in explaining Ancient Greek culture, customs) without feeling like there was unnecessary exposition. Will definitely be reading more of her books in the future

King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

262 pages for the actual overall conflict to be revealed is insane. I imagine the other conflict was meant to be the whole “enemies to lovers” thing, but it was so one-sided and Isolde was so back and forth about it that it was boring to read. The smut wasn’t bad, but I’m not feeling very compelled to read the next book

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It’s kind of refreshing to read a work of fiction and not have to suspend disbelief at any time.

Off the grid, weirdo health resorts *do* exist. It’s likely there are not-so-legal means of “treatment’ are employed. And yes, the person who devised the treatment will probably do a light prison sentence and then proceed to go on a book tour (and definitely *not* keep using those not so legal treatments)

The Secrets of Lost Stones by Melissa Payne

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Started out kind of slow, but I still couldn’t put the book down - I wanted to know how all these “loose ends” connected. Cried through the entirety of the last 3-4 chapters 

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell

informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

History repeats itself again and again. While not always to the same degree, it’s interesting that our need to feel like we’re part of something (that there’s got to be more to life) keeps leading us to “cultish” groups. The author ends the book stating she’s managed to stay off the path of cynicism because of that -  I have to admit, I’m less optimistic. The fact that these groups span spirituality, health and wellness, and even politics is disheartening. With the addition of social media algorithms, the phenomenon feels inescapable. 

I could have lived with less “(but we’ll talk about this more in part x)”

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I liked the first book more - found it a bit frustrating that Rin seems somehow unbelievably naive about the intentions of those around her