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thebooksatchel's reviews
526 reviews
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
emotional
tense
4.0
this one's not cozy at all. it tackles a big social theme and is set in the pandemic. emotions run high. the atmosphere is feverish and riotus. the mystery took too long to solve but it was gripping. i loved how armande gamache and jean guy had to sever themselves into fathers and officers to look at the mystery objectively. the hundred monkey effect was very interesting (it is said to be dubious and without proper experimental results but it also made me think 'what if'). there's a certain madness in this book, a bit of hysteria, a clash of thoughts and a mystery along with ethical reasoning to be solved.
All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
4.0
i loved this!! it was great on audio, and the plot (mystery?) was very big which i appreciated. definitely a favorite in the inspector gamache series
Still Life by Louise Penny
3.0
I enjoyed listening to Still Life. It is the perfect cozy mystery to listen to when you are catching up on household chores. I loved that while the mood is 'cozy murder', we get a good look at deeper issues like relationships between people, and a young woman in the police force. Something that didn't work for me was when we are really invested in a character and suddenly another character is mentioned and I would be thinking 'Who was this and what was the backstory', for a minute or so, I was able to recollect the characters but it always felt like a jerk over a wrong turn.
The Fury by Alex Michaelides
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For the love of plays, dramatization, unreliable narrators, cozy crime, slow reveals. This is a story about murder or maybe love or maybe obsession. Seven people are trapped in an island and a murder happens. The murder or what led to it is slowly revealed by our narrator, a dramatist, in the same manner as a Greek play. But he himself says he is an unreliable one. I enjoyed the reveals. It was sad and satisfying at the same time. Maybe not the ‘fury’ I had in mind, this seemed more of a slow buildup of a storm. A good thriller nevertheless. The Silent Patient remains my favorite from Alex Michaelides. This one was very enjoyable too.
Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
I enjoyed this breezy small-town romance but I also have mixed feelings about it.
🎄Set in a small town where our heroine runs a Christmas tree farm that’s not doing well
🎄 she will do anything to save her Christmas tree farm. And the way out is to win a big contest hosted by a well known influencer. But to win it she has to fake date her best friend !!!! What’s not to love?
🎄 The cutest couple!! Luka is the softest, green flag who is willing to do anything for his friend/love interest. Another amazing fictional man that we are gonna stan.
🎄I LOVED the epilogue where Luka recalls a message from his father. It’s something to incorporate in our own lives
🎄 One of my favourite scenes is when Stella asks shall we fake date and Luka says Sure. PERFECT!!!
🌲So by Chapter 6/7 I felt like I’ve got all that I wanted from a best friends to lovers romance. Like what more? (Family, town members, conflicts etc follow. Also love scenes which were nice )
🌲The steamy scenes were nice!! The chemistry is awesome and the buildup is great
🌲But I was reaaaally annoyed by the end scene where things are pretty obvious but the couple go on and on bickering. Oh my god stop!! Stop this forced fight for word count
🌲 Sometimes they didn’t seem like best friends. Like whatever happened to communication? It’s OBVIOUS you have feelings for one another. And the things that you are doing as lovers make it even more obvious.. and thinks this is just a fake relationship.. Girl!! What?
🌲 The pacing dragged towards the middle. I would’ve loved to have a more high stakes conflict or more between the couple. We already know they are best friends and we get that they have feelings for one another. But give us more!
🌲 The Christmas tree farm conflicts solved themselves too conveniently. I don’t find this a problem. I dont think romance books need to be very complicated. But some readers might feel this way. As for me, I didn’t mind. I didn’t care about the farm. I was all heart eyes for the best friends to FALL IN LOVE
Overall, I enjoyed it. Some parts were annoying (esp when behaves like she can’t understand what’s right in front of her eyes). It’s a very cute love story but it can also seem underwhelming if you are expecting a full fledged love story . And I AM 100% here for best friends to fall in love with one another. Cutest! So yes, this one could be a light read for a weekend.
🎄Set in a small town where our heroine runs a Christmas tree farm that’s not doing well
🎄 she will do anything to save her Christmas tree farm. And the way out is to win a big contest hosted by a well known influencer. But to win it she has to fake date her best friend !!!! What’s not to love?
🎄 The cutest couple!! Luka is the softest, green flag who is willing to do anything for his friend/love interest. Another amazing fictional man that we are gonna stan.
🎄I LOVED the epilogue where Luka recalls a message from his father. It’s something to incorporate in our own lives
🎄 One of my favourite scenes is when Stella asks shall we fake date and Luka says Sure. PERFECT!!!
🌲So by Chapter 6/7 I felt like I’ve got all that I wanted from a best friends to lovers romance. Like what more? (Family, town members, conflicts etc follow. Also love scenes which were nice )
🌲The steamy scenes were nice!! The chemistry is awesome and the buildup is great
🌲But I was reaaaally annoyed by the end scene where things are pretty obvious but the couple go on and on bickering. Oh my god stop!! Stop this forced fight for word count
🌲 Sometimes they didn’t seem like best friends. Like whatever happened to communication? It’s OBVIOUS you have feelings for one another. And the things that you are doing as lovers make it even more obvious.. and thinks this is just a fake relationship.. Girl!! What?
🌲 The pacing dragged towards the middle. I would’ve loved to have a more high stakes conflict or more between the couple. We already know they are best friends and we get that they have feelings for one another. But give us more!
🌲 The Christmas tree farm conflicts solved themselves too conveniently. I don’t find this a problem. I dont think romance books need to be very complicated. But some readers might feel this way. As for me, I didn’t mind. I didn’t care about the farm. I was all heart eyes for the best friends to FALL IN LOVE
Overall, I enjoyed it. Some parts were annoying (esp when behaves like she can’t understand what’s right in front of her eyes). It’s a very cute love story but it can also seem underwhelming if you are expecting a full fledged love story . And I AM 100% here for best friends to fall in love with one another. Cutest! So yes, this one could be a light read for a weekend.
Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Oooh this was a nice, escapist read. What to expect?
🍰 Two rival matchmakers, Liv who is going to take over her family business of traditional matchmaking using Chinese zodiac signs and Bennett who is LA’s most eligible bachelor and entrepreneur all set to is launch an app for digital dating, meet at a bakery and negotiate for a cocktail bun. Too cute!
🍰 How often do you get a meet-cute with buns, pork rolls, and Swiss rolls. Hungry already
🍰 Next they strike up a wager that they’ll matchmake for one another with a high stakes prize for the winner. How cute! But naturally they develop feelings for one another.
🍰 Rivals to lovers. I really would’ve liked more conflicts and a steeper fall-in-love.
🍰 Lots of food and baked goods. Oh dear! I loved this part
🍰 Family, grand-mom legacy, revival of broken friendships, grief, Bi-racial MCs
🍰 If you love You’ve got mail movie's business rivals to lovers, then this book’s for you.
Read with The Satchel Book Club on Instagram
🍰 Two rival matchmakers, Liv who is going to take over her family business of traditional matchmaking using Chinese zodiac signs and Bennett who is LA’s most eligible bachelor and entrepreneur all set to is launch an app for digital dating, meet at a bakery and negotiate for a cocktail bun. Too cute!
🍰 How often do you get a meet-cute with buns, pork rolls, and Swiss rolls. Hungry already
🍰 Next they strike up a wager that they’ll matchmake for one another with a high stakes prize for the winner. How cute! But naturally they develop feelings for one another.
🍰 Rivals to lovers. I really would’ve liked more conflicts and a steeper fall-in-love.
🍰 Lots of food and baked goods. Oh dear! I loved this part
🍰 Family, grand-mom legacy, revival of broken friendships, grief, Bi-racial MCs
🍰 If you love You’ve got mail movie's business rivals to lovers, then this book’s for you.
Read with The Satchel Book Club on Instagram
The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest
cute, breezy read about bookish neighbors falling in love. Lily, a twenty something wannabe children's books editor and bookworm; and Nick, a fantasy author who values his privacy.
What to expect?
- <b>You've got mail vibes</b>. The beginning of the book reminded me so much about You've got mail. Lily emails her favorite fantasy indie book author through a contact form (we know nothing more about the author because he values privacy. and the fantasy series is incomplete) on his website and they exchange emails that slowly become flirty. Then after a year they accidentally become neighbors and feel a connection towards each other.
- <b>BOOKISH</b> all along! Email chats about books, bookstores, working in publishing, fantasy books, readings, book deals.
- <b> Best bookish boyfriend</b>. Think long discussions on books, bookstore dates
- The <b>conflicts felt too small</b>. How do I put this? I don't think the decisions Nick took to stay away from Lily were justified. Or the way he plays along because he just can't help it.
- Nick had things to hide and he lies. He lied too long for me to be okay with their relationship. How do you just move on from that? Then again, this is a book.
- Personally I love sisters in books. So I really wanted more chemistry or scenes b/w sisters.
- The chemistry between Nick and Lily was good. Also, this is a romance book. So it doesn't really make sense that they suddenly start kissing. But do we mind? Nah
- There's a cat! (PS: Loved learning that an Xray for a cat costs $500 out of the pocket in the US. I am forever shocked)
Overall, happy romance perfect for bookish hearts.
What to expect?
- <b>You've got mail vibes</b>. The beginning of the book reminded me so much about You've got mail. Lily emails her favorite fantasy indie book author through a contact form (we know nothing more about the author because he values privacy. and the fantasy series is incomplete) on his website and they exchange emails that slowly become flirty. Then after a year they accidentally become neighbors and feel a connection towards each other.
- <b>BOOKISH</b> all along! Email chats about books, bookstores, working in publishing, fantasy books, readings, book deals.
- <b> Best bookish boyfriend</b>. Think long discussions on books, bookstore dates
- The <b>conflicts felt too small</b>. How do I put this? I don't think the decisions Nick took to stay away from Lily were justified. Or the way he plays along because he just can't help it.
- Nick had things to hide and he lies. He lied too long for me to be okay with their relationship. How do you just move on from that? Then again, this is a book.
- Personally I love sisters in books. So I really wanted more chemistry or scenes b/w sisters.
- The chemistry between Nick and Lily was good. Also, this is a romance book. So it doesn't really make sense that they suddenly start kissing. But do we mind? Nah
- There's a cat! (PS: Loved learning that an Xray for a cat costs $500 out of the pocket in the US. I am forever shocked)
Overall, happy romance perfect for bookish hearts.