thatonelibrarygirl's reviews
332 reviews

The Dragon's Bride by Katee Robert

funny fast-paced

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

2.0

Not sure how to review this. Wouldn’t have picked this up if not for a new book club in Appleton. Some sexy scenes, not super well written but it still kept me listening. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

adventurous medium-paced

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

3.0

The author used the R word two times at the beginning of the book. I was ready to quit then and there because that’s completely unacceptable. At that point, the author may have already gotten paid for the play on Spotify, so I decided to keep going. No more uses happened. Unsure what the next book will entail, but stupidly I want to know what happens.

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Content Warnings

Use of the R word twice in the beginning of the book. No more instances after that.

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

3.0

Interesting. Slow, but somehow still fast-paced. A lot happens in few pages, but the writing style feels slow-paced. I enjoyed this enough to start the second book. Never would I have picked this for myself, so I suppose I should thank book club for this pick. I still have a bit of a mental block toward it, but here I am. Finished. 

The characters are intriguing, and of course I love the hints of romance. 

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

adventurous slow-paced

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

3.0

Hard to get into the less mature writing style, but I still wanted to know what happened. I've read or mostly read this first book in the series once before. Now it's time to finish what I started- onto the second audiobook! 

The Guest by B.A. Paris

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

I think this is the lowest I’ve ever scored a B.A. Paris novel. To me, the plot moved slowly and the last quarter of the book was predictable. The epilogue is long (much longer than any of the chapters) and a good amount of it had me rolling my eyes thinking about how unrealistic parts were. I love B.A. Paris books, and this won’t stop me from reading her catalog, but I’m disappointed that this didn’t grab me like the rest of them. (Maybe I’m just not in the right mindset for a psychological thriller, who knows.)

Dragonfall by L.R. Lam

adventurous slow-paced

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

2.0

Meh. The premise and plot summary intrigued me, but I had a hard time getting into this- much less finishing it. There’ll certainly be some stuff to talk about during book club. Will I read the second book? Probably, because I’m a glutton for punishment but I want to know what happens next.

I really, really appreciated the gender fluidity throughout the book. The honorific pronouns didn’t throw me off, and it was cool to read a strong character who identifies as “any.”

Open Season by C.J. Box

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This is the first CJ Box book I’ve listened to or read. I really enjoyed the storyline, but it was a bit predictable. I knew what the big “mystery” was and the whodunnit before I got many details. I can appreciate having a book that isn’t complicated- it’s a nice break sometimes. But I would have enjoyed more of a twist. Will I read/listen to more of the series? Maybe if I need a filler between books. The audio version was well read and the narrator had the perfect about of gruffness for the characters. 

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Took me a LONG time to get into this. Admittedly, I was digging my heels in because I had it in my head that this is of the horror of gothic genre. And I “can’t bring myself to read that genre.” This certainly has a gothic feel, and if it’s considered horror, I’m surprised. This felt more like fantasy realism and I actually liked it. 

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

Boring. No hold in my attention at all. The plot summary is more enticing than the book itself. 

One of Us is Dead by Jeneva Rose

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This audiobook has a full cast for the narration, but I did not notice the difference in the readers. Is this a good thing? I'm not sure- I was hoping for more diversity in the reading styles/tones. Overall, I really liked this and was kept engaged until the end. The identity of the murder victim is not revealed until the end of the book, but I had a guess within the first half. Very reminiscent of Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, The Maid, etc.