tdubs57's reviews
217 reviews

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional slow-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

4.5

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Was just kinda meh? I didn’t hate it, wasn’t excited by it either? Somehow wasn’t what I was expecting it to be either.  The action scenes moved so quickly it felt like whiplash and the rest of the book felt slow to me. I went like a week without picking it up. Like there was a lot to unpack with this story and it’s many characters and yet I still feel like something was missing. These characters are messy as hell. I think the lesson here is don’t travel with someone you just met, ya know, stranger danger.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, and Drug use

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

Got me out of my reading slump! The perfect short but detailed mystery. And while I can expect a good twist from Agatha, I didn’t guess the ending.

The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

slow-paced

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

2.0

The spice was great but there’s just too much going on in the plot. I’m either incredibly stupid or this is way too convoluted. I truly think this book could have been 300 pages shorter and it would not have lost any plot or details. But that’s an editor issue not a writer’s issue. Look I love the characters and Armentrout is a great writer. I just feel like this book was trying too hard. There was a lot of telling not showing, a lot of repetition, and I’ve got more questions than when I started. What is the real difference between a Vampry, Ascended, Atlantian, where did they actually come from? Wtf is a God vs a Diety?  Who is MaLEC Vs MaLIK? Where did the rest of these damn magical beings come from and wtf is going on? Honestly it feels like they’re figuring out the plot as it goes along instead of having the whole series plotted out before starting 🤷🏼‍♀️. 

Also Poppy really just needs to stop listening to these fools and go on Maury Povich because this whole “who’s the daddy?” Game is a lot.

Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings
Did not finish book. Stopped at 70%.

I was tired of the toxic relationship and the will they won’t they of it all. I ended up googling the ending and got pissed off.  Just not for me. As someone who was in an on/off again toxic relationship in the past I just couldn’t get through this one. 

Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture by Sara Petersen

informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Highly recommend if you’re like me and a social media (mainly IG) addict and follow a lot of influencers. It is geared more towards the experience of motherhood specifically but still lots of nuggets of information!

Beach Read by Emily Henry

funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

So far these two are my favorite Emily Henry couple. 

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This was great! I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the TikTok hype but I totally get it now! I got a lot of Divergent meets Hogwarts vibes from the war college.

 I kinda saw where Xander’s (aka Bae’s) plot line was going and Dain is a huge douche canoe but I did not see that major plot twist at the end! Like holy crap!

The pacing was refreshing after finishing the ToG glass series last week. I love all the characters and Violet is such a badass !

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This was a beast to finish! But I’m so glad I stuck it out and finished the series. I love all of these characters so much! The Easter Egg towards the end made me GASP. I need this as a TV series honestly because I just can’t be done with these characters.