_serena_'s reviews
241 reviews

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

The vibe of this is “ A heart’s a heavy burden.”

I don’t want to say too much. I feel like it’s best to go into this not knowing anything. I loved every single second of it. 

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

All the hype this book gets is worth it!

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

I’m not sure how I felt about this one. I really enjoyed the premise. The dark academia setting and magic was cool. I liked the idea of the gates and time travel. If you want some really amazing vibes, this definitely has that. 

However, I thought a lot ended up falling flat. I did not like the romance. I felt no build. I don’t see why they fell for each other. There was no emotion attached. 

A lot of the characters felt surface level, including our main character. I felt myself wanting more from everyone. More depth, more backstory, more understanding. 

I felt like there were some plot holes. I realize this has been set up for future books, but I feel like I have more questions than answers. At the moment, the hanging details aren’t there to add anything to the story. 

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

I can’t believe it took me so long to read this. I knew I’d love it. What’s not to love about this?

Not only was the art work absolutely STUNNING, but this story is just sucked me in and held me until the very end. Even though the beginning is rather slow, I just had to get to the next chapter, had to know what was going to happen next. 

I’ll be checking out more by Brom for sure in the future. 

If you e been on the fence about picking this one up, I highly recommend. 

How to Resist Amazon and Why : The Fight for Local Economics, Data Privacy, Fair Labor, Independent Bookstores, and a People-Powered Future! (2nd Edition) by Danny Caine

informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Like we needed anymore reasons to be weary of the Amazon conglomerate, but this was very eye opening. I knew Amazon as a cooperation was awful to its workers and for small business owners. It was just worse than I imagined.

I have been making a conscious effort to shop small and local more often, anything to support Amazon less and less (using this site instead of Goodreads.) I agree with the author that governmental change needs to happen to have an actual impact on Amazon's practices. I know the individual impact is minor in the grand scheme of things, but it's no minor to the indie shops you support, the mom-and-pop stores you give your business to instead of a billion dollar company that pays little to no taxes. It matters to the community you help foster.

I also have Caine's other book, How to Protect Bookstores and Why. I'm excited to dive into it!

Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

This was an amazing memoir. The narration was so well done. Tendler is so raw and real with us and I applaud her for her openness. 

I found this extremely eye opening. On top of being informative and raw, it was also funny and entertaining.

I actually mentioned the book to my therapist, because there are therapy methods mentioned in this book that I want to explore, and she said she's reading it too! Books like this, books that are open and real about mental health struggles and treatments, give all of us the ability to have better conversations with each other and our own medical professionals. The more open we are about mental health and more we share our stories, the smaller the stigma becomes. 

Of course, check the content warnings before diving into this. While there are some very triggering topics, I think they're all handled well and with care.

What Was Lost by Melissa Connelly

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

Martha, “Marti”,  was preyed upon by one of her teachers when she was 14. 
She returns to where all of this trauma unfolded in hopes of making amends with people she hurt along the way. She goes on a journey of healing and self discovery. 

This is a heavy book. I would take a peak at the content warnings before diving into this one. 

There are multiple timelines occurring throughout and at times I found it a little hard to follow.  I enjoyed the slow unravel of the whole story. I was trying to piece things together with the little bits we got along the way. 

I thought the way Marti’s abuse and trauma played out was strong and real. It can be quite graphic at times. Again, I’d check the content warnings to make sure you’re in the right headspace to read this. I wasn’t always rooting for Marti, but I could see how her upbringing led to her adulthood. 

I enjoyed the overall story, however I felt like there was a lack of character depth. Even at the end of the story, I didn’t feel very connected to any one character. I didn’t feel like I knew them well enough. Sure we get trauma dumps from our main characters, but it still felt like I was missing something. 

Thank you Melissa Connelly and Books Forward for this ARC. 

Staged by Elle Cosimano

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

This was a very fast who done it mystery. 
I wouldn’t say the murder is that exciting or complicated. It is only ~40 pages. 
It took almost 20pages for the murder to happen and I think that was a lot of wasted time. It felt very rushed. The murder could’ve happened in half the time and it would have left more time for the mystery bit. 

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

I could have read more and more and more of this. Clarke once again writes a story told through beautiful prose. 
The afterward mentions that this book takes place in a world from her other works, but I haven’t read that one. I’ve only read Piranesi (which I absolutely adored)

OKE, HE WAS CALLED by Josh Stewart

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

In a mere 18 pages, Josh brought me to tears. 

The nature imagery and descriptions were really brought to life with this lyrical writing. 

The bond between a child and their pet is like no other. A childhood pet is more than an animal, they are a sibling, a family member, a guardian. 

I’m very much looking forward to seeing what else Josh has planned for us.