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t0ast_and_t3a's Reviews (493)
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Yes
Shaffer got me with this heartfelt Willy Wonka-esque book where one of the major themes is time and not having enough of it—not having enough of anything, really. The found family, the relationships, the love—it was all just so good. I teared up and laughed and I just loved this book. It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but boy, did I love the ride.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m a sucker for a second-chance romance. The “you still like this” and the “I want to memorize all the new things too.” I eat it up EVERY TIME. Though, I’m convinced Sage personally targeted me with the tall, tattooed MMC with a nose piercing—even though she made him blonde.
I loved disassociating with every book in this series, with its small town, cowboys (save a horse and all 😏), all the best tropes—just *chef’s kiss*.
I loved disassociating with every book in this series, with its small town, cowboys (save a horse and all 😏), all the best tropes—just *chef’s kiss*.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“For what do you hunger”, indeed! Feminine rage and sublimely gothic. I read Carmilla in a gothic literature class and DEVOURED it, much like I devoured this. This is a story about appetites and how, as women, we’re expected to curb our hunger for all things in life. Sure, this is told in the historical setting, but what Lenore experiences is relatable to modern women. As is her character’s overall arc. You will submit with her, and you will unravel with her, and it is pure delight.
Favorite line: “What is a monster but a creature with agency?”
Favorite line: “What is a monster but a creature with agency?”
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first Steinbeck. Emotional and difficult to read. People talk of the way he sets a scene and builds characters, and it’s completely true. This may be short but it packs a punch. Rating is mostly for the content, not the writing—I understand the overall message, but if you’re anything like me and went into this completely unspoiled about this story, you may want to check TWs.
adventurous
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:
Yes
This story was the right amount of absurd and entertaining that I needed right now. Is it perfectly executed—no. But did it keep me wildly riveted and take me out of reality—yes. Am I ready for the second book—also yes.
informative
fast-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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:
Yes
This was odd and funny and entertaining. I don’t know what I expected going in—honestly I saw the cover and was like, gimme—but what I got was surprisingly heartwarming and relatable. Wiswell is clever and can tell a hell of a story.
Favorite line: “Time was the sort of thing you had to care about when you belonged to more than yourself.” (Page 299)
^^like, oof. Right in the soul.^^
Favorite line: “Time was the sort of thing you had to care about when you belonged to more than yourself.” (Page 299)
^^like, oof. Right in the soul.^^
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really hate saying this, but this was lazy writing. Every time I thought the plot was going to be redeemed, it just wasn’t. It was predictable and unsatisfying and frustrating. Best way to sum up without spoilers: This was every Lifetime Movie Channel thriller you ever watched with your mother or grandmother during the summer break—you know you can find a better way to spend your time, but you can’t look away from the trainwreck.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A riveting tale of family through generations, about what it means to “be” a person in the world, about race and inheritance and fortune. Though I was expecting something different, I was invested in the characters and how they were connected over and through and because of time. What would have made it that much MORE for me would have been a braided structure of the parts, instead of splitting them so definitively.
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This, for me, more accurately teeters back and forth from 3.5 to 4🌟. Mostly because I believe it’s a LITTLE too long. I believe if we just began in Arroyo with a recall of what Mary’s life was like in the city would have been just fine. The pacing, to was a bit weird for me—which, the more of the horror genre I read, the more I understand that to be a thing. It makes sense—build suspense and whatnot. But the suspense doesn’t hit for me until about halfway through.
What I DID love about this book was the protagonist (antagonist?🤔). I loved that she was an older woman. I loved that she had a fulfilling character arc. I love that she wasn’t one thing. And fuck if her inner monologue didn’t keep me picking up this book. Cassidy’s strength is characters, for me, and just how real they seemed.
Overall, this was a multilayered story with real themes under a veil of “what the fuck if”.
What I DID love about this book was the protagonist (antagonist?🤔). I loved that she was an older woman. I loved that she had a fulfilling character arc. I love that she wasn’t one thing. And fuck if her inner monologue didn’t keep me picking up this book. Cassidy’s strength is characters, for me, and just how real they seemed.
Overall, this was a multilayered story with real themes under a veil of “what the fuck if”.