the_pink_pharmacist's reviews
174 reviews

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the storyline and thought the character development was great! I was fully invested and I liked our characters.

I had an idea of where this was all headed pretty on which is odd for me. I’m usually WAY OFF.

Four stars. Was good!

A Rip in Heaven by Jeanine Cummins

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

4.5

This story was so well written and full of emotion. I walked away with the feeling that the author wants us to remember Julie and Robin as people, not victims. And I think that is a powerful statement in our curious and crime-obsessed society.

I also thought it was a special insight (that we as readers are SO VERY FORTUNATE to even be allowed to see) into a the mindset of a family member who has experienced this sort of trauma. Their insight into the death penalty and how it offers the bad guy a victim role that they do not deserve, which is heartbreaking. How capital punishment hasn’t allowed her or her family to heal. Maybe we still haven’t gotten it right.

My heart goes out to this entire family.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

slow-paced

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

3.0

Don’t hate me: I didn’t love it. I finished it because I just really wanted to love this book. And I didn’t. ☹️

Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.5

I hate to say it but I didn’t like it. I seriously feel so bad ,  because this book came so highly recommended.

I honestly think I’m in a dark spot in my life due to current administration (presidents trump and musk) messing everything up from my personal (because none of us are free if we aren’t all free) and my professional life- he needs to stop with the disgusting EOs.

So I’m probably broken and just pissed from that. 

How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

I liked the storyline and everything about the story, it just didn’t grab me like I had hoped it would. 

I do, however appreciate the strong female lead and how she didn’t doubt herself or give in to gas lighting! All the stars for a strong female lead!

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep

informative slow-paced

3.0

It was a nice and informational book. More autobiographical than anything else. Of course we all wish we knew about Harper Lee and that’s going to be a difficult thing to accomplish for someone so cloaked in privacy.

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I loved the first half of the book, the second half wasn’t true love and I fell away a little, so we ended with 4.5 stars.

This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune

hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.5

****SPOILERS! *****


didn’t love the book and maybe I’m a big old sad potato, but someone moving away isn’t as big of a deal as it was lead up to.

I legit thought that there would be a cancer diagnosis or another death. Something that alters life more rapidly and is appropriate for such feels. It ended up being just a simple love and I was lost at that point.

Anyhow, cute little read.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad fast-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

5.0

This is such a beautiful group of love stories woven into historical fiction. The young and naive love between two fresh-faced young adults, the war-torn love between a broken parent and a child, the love of many mothers, the love when broken hearts and bodies reunite.

What a special fictional story that will sit with me for a long time.

As an aside, I adore how Kristin Hannah creates such strong heroines. She makes them approachable, real, broken, inspiring, and STRONG!

This one was definitely worth the wait at my local library and I’ll be over here sad and crying that my story with my fictional friends is now over. I so fell in love with her characters. 

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

Cute little complicated love story with a little bit of vampire and teacher-student relationship thrown in.

I struggled a bit that the school didn’t see the relationships and it felt a bit unreal.

I did enjoy the live stories though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship