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stateofgrace's reviews
267 reviews
Educated by Tara Westover
4.5
I couldn't put this book down! Tara Westover's story of her struggle to obtain an education within a survivalist family is so powerful. The writing is raw and emotional, and the story is heartwrenching and powerful.
Westover writes about her family in a very nuanced way. Her father is a survivalist, who ironically cared very little about the survival of his children and placed their safety up to God, yet Westover is still able to understand that his actions stem from an undiagnosed mental illness and strong paranoid delusions. Her mother is complicit in the actions of her father and brother, yet Westover writes about her mother urging her in her quest for a college education. Her siblings too, fall into this grey area, as each occupies a different level of obedience to their father and loyalty to their sister.
My only criticism is that I don't think Westover wrote enough about the religious aspect of the trauma of her upbringing. Although Westover is able to criticize her family's extreme version of Mormonism, I wish she had delved deeper into the religion as a whole, and the ways in which some people utilize religion enables abuse.
Westover writes about her family in a very nuanced way. Her father is a survivalist, who ironically cared very little about the survival of his children and placed their safety up to God, yet Westover is still able to understand that his actions stem from an undiagnosed mental illness and strong paranoid delusions. Her mother is complicit in the actions of her father and brother, yet Westover writes about her mother urging her in her quest for a college education. Her siblings too, fall into this grey area, as each occupies a different level of obedience to their father and loyalty to their sister.
My only criticism is that I don't think Westover wrote enough about the religious aspect of the trauma of her upbringing. Although Westover is able to criticize her family's extreme version of Mormonism, I wish she had delved deeper into the religion as a whole, and the ways in which some people utilize religion enables abuse.
Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews
4.25
Delightfully fun summer read! There was a really good balance of romance, drama, and mystery. There were a lot of really fun moments but also a lot of serious, emotional moments. I liked all of the characters, especially Traci, Livvy, and Felice.
The mystery wasn't particularly complex of clever (I guessed all of the major reveals ahead of time), but the writing was strong enough to keep me interested. The summery atmosphere makes this book a really good beach read!
The mystery wasn't particularly complex of clever (I guessed all of the major reveals ahead of time), but the writing was strong enough to keep me interested. The summery atmosphere makes this book a really good beach read!
When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
4.5
My favorite book in the Bridgerton series by far! I love an MMC who pines and Michael's pining is some of the best I've ever read. The set-up for this book was so perfectly devastating. Michael was jealous of John because he was in love with Francesca, but when John died Michael took possession of everything John had except for Francesca. I flew through this book because the set-up made me so excited to read about Michael and Francesca's story.
I loved the chemistry between Michael and Francesca! The fact that their relationship was built on a foundation of friendship made it so much deeper.
I loved the chemistry between Michael and Francesca! The fact that their relationship was built on a foundation of friendship made it so much deeper.
To Sir Phillip, With Love: Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
3.75
I had really high expectations for this book because I liked Eloise so much. Eloise's personality was really able to shine in this book. It's very clear that she's stubborn, independent, scrappy, sarcastic, and outspoken. I liked how much agency Eloise had at the beginning of the novel. I liked that it was established that Eloise chose to be a spinster rather than marry a man she didn't love. Thus, it felt very in character that Eloise would take matters into her own hands and disappear in the middle of the night to live with Phillip. However, I did not like that her agency was taken away from her and she would all but forced by her brothers to marry Phillip. As a love interest, Phillip felt very middle-of-the-road to me. I liked that he was able to go toe-to-toe with Eloise, but I wish they had more chemistry together.
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
3.5
Definitely not what I expected, and not in a good way. I loved Penelope — I loved her cleverness and her character growth to learn to be more outspoken. I hated Colin — his misogynistic attitude towards Penelope really turned me off of their romance. For most of the book Penelope was afraid of Colin and his reaction towards her being Lady Whistledown which really infuriated me. I wanted Colin to be proud of Penelope and her accomplishments. Overall, because the romance plotline fell so flat, I found it difficult to enjoy this book.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
4.0
Decent thriller with an atmospheric setting and a lot of unexpected twists and turns. While I haven't been a fan of Alex Michaelides' narrators in his past two books (I'm just not a fan of the whole psychologically damaged narrator trope), in this book, I found Elliot to be an interesting narrator.
The setting — a secluded Greek island in the middle of a howling windstorm — was my favorite part of this book. The descriptions were very well written.
The setting — a secluded Greek island in the middle of a howling windstorm — was my favorite part of this book. The descriptions were very well written.
The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick
3.25
The set-up was interesting but the mystery elements weren't enough to save the boring plot. The characters were difficult to relate to. I could tell that the author wanted Liv and Essie (and Georgia) to come across as charming and quirky, but I just wasn't charmed by any of the characters. Liv's relationship troubles is one of the strongest plot threads throughout the novel, but I hated the way that it was wrapped up. I never got the sense that Liv's husband or sons ever actually learned to respect her.
The writing itself wasn't great. There were a lot of grammatical errors and at least two occasions where the wrong character's name was used. There was also a lot of telling rather than showing, which makes me wonder how this book made it through the editing process.
The writing itself wasn't great. There were a lot of grammatical errors and at least two occasions where the wrong character's name was used. There was also a lot of telling rather than showing, which makes me wonder how this book made it through the editing process.
The Women by Kristin Hannah
5.0
One of my new favorites in the historical fiction genre! I'm not particularly educated about the Vietnam War and the author did a really good job at introducing me to the historical reality of the war. The characters were well developed and the plot was well crafted. I really liked that it focused on the experiences of women, both during the war and after the war.
There were so many devastating moments throughout the book that really made me grapple with the reality of the Vietnam War. I felt so connected to the characters that I really empathized with everything that Frankie went through.
There were so many devastating moments throughout the book that really made me grapple with the reality of the Vietnam War. I felt so connected to the characters that I really empathized with everything that Frankie went through.
The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
4.75
Despite an incredibly silly (and intriguing!) premise, I found the message to be very inspiring!
I liked Lauren’s character. I liked seeing how her perspective changed as she came to terms with the husbands. I found the plot to be a little slow at first (hence why this book took me three weeks to read) but once I got into it I was invested! I really liked Lauren's friendship with Bohai.
I really enjoyed the ending. I thought that it made a lot of sense to Lauren’s character arc that she didn’t get to know Sam.
I liked Lauren’s character. I liked seeing how her perspective changed as she came to terms with the husbands. I found the plot to be a little slow at first (hence why this book took me three weeks to read) but once I got into it I was invested! I really liked Lauren's friendship with Bohai.
I really enjoyed the ending. I thought that it made a lot of sense to Lauren’s character arc that she didn’t get to know Sam.
XX by Angela Chadwick
This book really grapples with homophobia, so be warned that the amount of homophobia in this book is staggering. It isn't really resolved either — it's clear to the reader that this is something that Rosie and Jules will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.
4.0
The plot leaned more towards speculative fiction and literary fiction than science fiction and thriller. I was really interested in how the technology and science of the Ovum-to-Ovum innovation converged with the societal and political response to the new technology. Even though it was science fiction, it felt very realistic.
My favorite part of this book is Jules's character arc of coming to terms with her feelings about being a parent. The final twist —the fact that the eggs were mislabelled, meaning that the baby might not actually be the biological child of Rosie and Jules — did a really good job of resolving Jules's character arc. In particular, I loved this quote from the end of the book:
My favorite part of this book is Jules's character arc of coming to terms with her feelings about being a parent. The final twist —
“I see now that the merging of blood that once held the promise of an idyllic future was nothing but a happy fantasy. We will make this child ours through love. And sheer hard work.”
This book really grapples with homophobia, so be warned that the amount of homophobia in this book is staggering. It isn't really resolved either — it's clear to the reader that this is something that Rosie and Jules will have to deal with for the rest of their lives.