srm's reviews
1059 reviews

A Rulebook for Restless Rogues by Jess Everlee

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.25

This series continues to be a bunch of fun. Hope for there to be more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Homophobia, and Death of parent

When Race Trumps Merit by Heather Mac Donald

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.5

Absolutely delightful second book in this series. I love the boisterous Rufus, and Luke's journey from Book 1 to this book 13 years later is wonderful and fascinating. And as always, the sex scenes are on fire. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Bullying and Confinement

Minor: Grief, Murder, and Rape

Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World by Mary Beard

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

A wonderfully unique view of ancient Rome, Beard doesn't write about each emperor individually, but examines what the job entailed, whoever happened to be ruling. The insights and information offered is riveting, and the writing, as always with Beard, is supremely readable. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Death, War, Colonisation, Child death, and Animal cruelty

Love in a Time of Hate: Art and Passion in the Shadow of War, 1929-39 by Florian Illies

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I feel like interweaving vignettes of dozens of peoples lives shouldn't work so well, and yet, the style of this remarkable book is perfect. An examination of the lives, particularly the love lives, of some of the most notable denizens of Europe from 1929-1939, this book evokes passion, fascination, and dread. It's frankly incredibly difficult to describe, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm annoyed that I can't keep picking it up indefinitely to read more of these stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Antisemitism

Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Abortion, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Incest, Racism, Addiction, and Homophobia

Sailing the Graveyard Sea: The Deathly Voyage of the Somers, the U.S. Navy's Only Mutiny, and the Trial That Gripped the Nation by Richard Snow

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

A perfect read for naval history buffs. The mutiny on the Somers is not an incident I was familiar with before picking up this book, but it's utterly captivating, and Snow lays out what facts we know and what can be speculated in riveting fashion. Readable, informative, and fascinating. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Find Him Where You Left Him Dead by Kristen Simmons

adventurous dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Eclipse the Moon: A Novel by Jessie Mihalik

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Medical content, Torture, and Gun violence

Her Side of the Story by Alba de Céspedes

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

An interesting look at the life of women in 1930s and 40s Italy, I have to say I found the first part of the novel much more compelling than the second.  Alessandra's childhood and watching her mother's struggles and love for another man blossom, and Alessandra's relationships with the other women and girls of the neighborhood is a 5-star book. But this is followed by her unhappy marriage to a revolutionary and the story grows repetitive and tedious, and while I understand that was likely meant to reflect Alessandra's own emotions about her marriage, it gave me 3-star enjoyment. Hence it averages out to 4 stars for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Suicide

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Murder, and War

Calamity by Constance Fay

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

This sexy sci fi space romance is an absolute delight!  Very much looking forward to more from this world. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, and Bullying