t1dmama's reviews
26 reviews

adventurous dark emotional 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

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a psychological thriller full of suspense, secrets, lies, and twists that you won't see coming and you will not regret reading it!

At times, it was a bit hard to follow what was going on because the book flashed back and forth between the present and past (20 years ago), but they didn't get you much detail about the past. The book built upon that as you read. That annoyed me at first, but I think, in the end, that is what gave it such an enjoyable experience! I definitely was not able to predict the ending, that'

There was definitely a diverse set of characters in this book, two of which remained in the past and present. Some of the characters were absolutely maddening, and I wish it would have dived into Brett's story a little more (without giving away spoilers), but it wasn't enough to detract from the story!

The Spires was narrated by Siiri Scott, who I think knocked it out of the park with this title, especially with so many characters! There were a few areas of pronunciation that kind of drove me crazy, but it wasn't enough to distract me from the book (that much). I look forward to listening to more titles by Siiri in the near future!

Overall, I've been super impressed with the Kate Moretti books that I've read thus far, so I am super excited to read more by her! I think she's got it going on when it comes to this writing thing!!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I've never really gravitated towards classic books much in my reading, but found myself reading them to complete a reading challenge. I can't say that I've been disappointed in reading them, and honestly, I think I'll keep up with reading them regularly, however, this one was not one of my favorites. I've not watched the movie yet either so that was able to affect my opinion, but I do still want to catch the flick!

I felt like the story was slow and decently repetitive and that it just took forever to get to the point. I do seem to be the anomaly, but I have found other classics that I rather enjoyed so I look forward to finding others!

I listened to the audio version of The Great Gatsby that was narrated by Anthony Heald. I typically listen on 1.75 speed and had to slow him down to 1.25!!

I look forward to finding many great classics on my further ventures/reading challenges!

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive: 101 Inspirational Stories about Counting Your Blessings and Having a Positive Attitude by Amy Newmark, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

I don't think there's a possibility of finding a Chicken Soup book that I don't like...or better yet, that I don't love! It certainly isn't going to start with this one!

I love the collection of different stories...the quotes on each story...I honestly love everything about these books! And this one was so incredibly uplifting!

They also make EXCELLENT bathroom readers! HA! On to the next one!

Strangers We Know by Elle Marr

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

It is very rare for me to find a book that I just do not like or could care less if I finished, but for some reason, this book was it for me! I was pretty dead set on a 2 star rating, however, the ending did have some redeeming qualities that made me take it up a notch!

I've never previously read anything by Elle Marr but I have several of her books on my TBR list, so I am hoping that it was just this book, but I'm definitely still willing and exciting to read the other books to gauge my interest in her as an author. I certainly appreciate the uniqueness of the story and that it's not just your typical run-of-the-mill mystery book!

The ending of this book had a certain gusto, that if the rest of the book had contained, then this book would have knocked it out of the park for me! The story was full of lots of heavy topics, which the focus of that was high, and in some ways I think that may have taken away from the mystery aspect of the story! But the ending...that wasn't particularly something I saw coming!

Strangers We Know is read by a trio of narrators...Janet Song, Alexander Cendese, and Lauren Ezzo. I have to say that the narration fell a little flat for me and felt a bit robotic at times.

Overall, I was a bit disappointed in this book, but have incredibly high hopes for greatness from Elle Marr in her other books!

Never Look Back by Alison Gaylin

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced