wanderonwards's reviews
1125 reviews

Odessa by Jonathan Hill

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adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.5

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

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funny 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

4.0

Fresh Brewed Murder by Emmeline Duncan

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lighthearted mysterious 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? Yes

3.5

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

Tress de la mer Emeraude by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous funny fast-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

4.0

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

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adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

5.0

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

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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

4.0

Where the Dark Stands Still by A.B. Poranek

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves

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emotional medium-paced

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

2.5

Thank you to Macmillan/St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this title. I received this copy for free and this review contains my honest opinions.

From the synopsis on the copy I received I definitely thought this story was going to focus more on geocaching, and I was really looking forward to a story about exploration, hiking, and geocaching in a state with hikes I’m very familiar with. I did really enjoy the first part of this novel, which was exactly what the synopsis had set my expectations up for, but geocaching was really only included as a way for the two main characters to meet and not as a backbone of the plot.

The story focuses on healing from trauma and moving forward with your life, which could have blended beautifully with the geocaching part I was so excited for, but instead the story quickly moves away and the second half of this novel contains several of my least favorite tropes in fiction. I would encourage other readers take note of content warnings: I would have never picked this up if I knew some of the plot points (and character decisions) in the second half of the book.

Even though this turned out to not be my favorite title, thank you again to the publisher for sending me a free ARC.

Content Warnings