tacoshark's reviews
889 reviews

When in Rome by Sarah Adams

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

Cute, predictable, but solid. A little therapy-talk-y, especially towards the end, but overall this was a decent if not spectacular read. 

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman

adventurous dark funny lighthearted tense 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? No

3.75

This was a lot of fun and kept me totally engaged, though it had a very minimally edited, self-published vibe (I’m pretty sure it was). Very entertaining and continually surprising, though. Check content warnings! It’s dark!!

Between Friends & Lovers by Shirlene Obuobi

challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

3.75

This was pretty solid - a very modern, non-trope-y romance. It’s sort of billed as a love triangle, but it’s not really, which I appreciated. I really liked the two main characters and the setting and plotting was good. I found the writing a little slow and overdone at times, and there were a few too many tangents that stronger editing would have helped. I’d check out this author again, though. 

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-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? No

4.0

This was an entertaining and interesting book, though in the end I’m not entirely sure it was quite as profound as maybe it thought it was. I really enjoyed the “world building” and the portrait of this slice of a community - it got a little more disjointed and less compelling after she moved to New York (also the amount of time passing kept hanging me up - it seemed really inconsistent and confusing - I kept trying to do the math and it didn’t line up). Overall an interesting read and an author I’d check out again. 

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.25

Top tier banter! This didn’t surpass Funny Story as my favorite EH book, mainly because the plot points were very predictable, to the point that the third act “breakup” was just annoying bc the resolution was so obvious, but I still really enjoyed this. The banter was truly excellent and the sibling relationship was both convincing and moving. I also liked all the playing with the small town tropes. A very very enjoyable book, if a few notches shy of what I know EH can do at her best. 

On Vicious Worlds by Bethany Jacobs

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

Oh Masar, my sweet, sad Masar. Poor guy just can’t catch a break for a second! 

This was great - not quite as great as the first one, mostly because although I didn’t know exactly what the twists would be, it was impossible not to know they would be, but still, this was a really fun, satisfying and interesting progression of the story, and I can’t wait for the third one! 

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

I’m not giving this a star rating for the moment because it feels a bit impossible. The first third of this (very brief) book is very difficult to read and very brutal - and then you get to the second part. I’m glad I read it but it was not easy or enjoyable. That said, it’s incredibly impactful and the structure and writing are astonishing. 

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

5.0

What a gift Becky Chambers is. This was a perfectly lovely, hopeful, heartening story and I adored it. 

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

I really liked this, though the very end required a suspension of disbelief that was kind of ridiculous - Emma, whose primary trait is overthinking doesn’t overthink THAT?? But generally this was funny and charming and a delight to read. 

(Petty grievance: this book was physically STUPIDLY heavy it weighed half a pound more than the 500 page book I just finished - yes I weighed them both to prove it!! WHY?!)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

There were aspects of this that I really liked, but it was much longer than it needed to be and ultimately, I’m not even sure whether it wanted me to sympathize with Snow or not - but I didn’t. The “romance” never really worked and wtf was that ending?! That said, it was mostly well crafted and I liked getting the early history of this universe - and as ever, Collins is a master of making you have to read the next chapter! I’ll read the next bc I like this universe and I understand it’s Haymitch’s story, which should be more sympathetic.