a_picara's reviews
123 reviews

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.25

There are beautifully crafted sentences throughout, but by hour 6 of this novel into was already over the whining of the characters and nothing changed or developed after that point. The men are afflicted by patriarchal expectations of society and need women to soothe their emotions that they are unable to deal with. The women are devoted because...sex?? There is no reason the women should like, let alone love, these men. And yes, that is mostly the point of the book-- that people don't choose who to love but have to choose how to show up for the people they love. But it really beats you over the head with these rumination.
The two brothers are supposedly vastly different, but there is nothing to distinguish them in their interiority. And most of the book is inside their heads. This was deeply frustrating to read, felt like a waste of time, and whenever I checked my progress I couldn't understand how so much was left. But the sentence-level construction is impeccable and shows excellent skills as a writer. I just wish the narrative was interesting and the characters worth spending time with.

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

2.25

Such a fun premise that was poorly executed. Books about writers are often either phenomenal or a let down. This novel falls into the latter category. The main character is far too introspective and her thoughts are too repetitive. The references to real-world writers feel like the author is trying to prove she's well read and is a lazy attempt to put this novel into the same conversation as those successful and established authors. The internal dialogue is trying to be hyper-realistic and lacks any technical writing skills in its execution. Instead, it relies heavily on the self-reflection touted by social media self-care quasi-psychology which results in it reading like an Instagram caption.
I really wanted to enjoy this book, and I was holding out for the end.

The fun twist that allowed the two characters to be together for real was good, but unnecessarily drawn out by them not communicating for months after he woke up. A lack of communication should not be relied upon for narrative tension, especially when the biggest burden had already been overcome.

The mechanics of the ghosts didn't make sense, but it's supernatural so it can be forgiven. The idea of a publishing turnaround of the publisher receiving a novel in July for a fall release is completely unrealistic, as is a full time, professional writer taking 3 months to finis  a manuscript when she has said many times that she just has to write the coming back together and denoument. 

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

Obviously this was a world wide phenomenon, and im not marking anything here as a spoiler because its basically common knowledge. But also I think this nove  is widely acknowledged as the low point of the series. However, it does expand the world building by introducing werewolves and the volturi. But that's about it. There is basically no plot. Just Bella is depressed, Bella injures herself, repeat. The most annoying aspect is that all the tension at the end is entirely manufactured because the timing of Edward's phone call and when Bella and Alice left Forks for the airport..... how the fuck did Edward arrive in Italy a full day before them? Rio is further away than Forks by plane, and the narrative confirms he left his phone in a random garbage can in Rio. So... I guess I'm saying I can suspend my disbelief for vampires and werewolves, but I draw the line at geographical errors

Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

Is this book basically a copy of the first, but with ~amnesia~? Yes. But, it's well written, the characters are compelling, the magic is fun but doesn't solve every problem, and the tropes of the genre are well executed. This novel follows expected patterns, but in a way that feels satisfying rather than boring or frustrating. Questions the reader has are addressed by characters in ways that feel natural to the narrative and not as if they are trying to address reader concerns. The world building is fun and most of the characters genuinely like each other, which is just nice to read.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.25

This book has an okay premise and opens with fun world building. But the world building starts to crumble as the book develops. The main plot falls apart as soon as you actually think about it.

the main character gets roped into pretending she is silver blooded and just never knew, but like.... menstruation? A papercut? Regular blushing?

The political intrigue cares more about social commentary (discrimination is bad) rather than actually being integral to the narrative and world. Some characters have over powered abilities that make the main character's efforts pointless. The multiple betrayals are obvious from miles away. Overall, it's perfectly fine for reading at an airport when you need something to pick up and put down easily.

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

2.0

The tagline did not match the contents of this book. The beginning sets up as if there is a murder spree, or something a la And Then There Were None. Unfortunately it ties itself with a neat bow that undermines some of the themes the narrative tries to explore. The plot twists and reveals were very obvious, and when given the choice of two different reveals for the same character, the author chose both every time.

the end reveals that the same guy was the only evil man in all of the UK, and completely undermines any exploration of how sexism perpetuates cultures of toxic masculinity.

overall, this book was underwhelming. It followed all the standard tropes of the genre without offering anything new and was about 30% longer than it needed to be

The Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki
Did not finish book. Stopped at 39%.

This book started out great! A cute cat on a balcony, a bit of the uncanny and a down-on-her-luck protagonist. She meets a stranger who sets her on the path of finding the full moon coffee shop, and then there are cat-people-deities who are at first wonderfully silly and delightful. Then the book turns into men explaining to women their actions and feelings. And there's a really long dive into astrology. The book devolves and starts to feel like you're reading some conspiracy from reddit about how the stars determine all human life. It removes all human agency and the protagonist is just instantly convinced. The book also wants to comment on writing, but all the opinions disregard actual technical skill at writing and just blames audience taste and THE STARS for the success or failure of written works.

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

This book is elegantly written and creepy. I went in without knowing the premise or even the genre, which worked as a reading experience because it allowed me to go along with the characters. The prose is lyric and feels like poetry. The characters are introspective. The sci-fi elements are described but not explained or justified, and that is a smart narrative decision. At its heart, this is a book about love and grief, and there is a beauty to that.
[Spoiler] the end was a bit more prolonged than necessary. When Miri packs Leah and drives to her mom's old house near the ocean, I assumed the purpose was to take Leah to the ocean, not simply go to a different bathtub. When we got to the ocean at the end, it was inevitable, but could have happened directly from leaving the city [/spoiler]. 

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Interesting to revisit this book so long after it was first released. The climactic moment was abrupt-- how was the baseball scene the intro to James and the whole end plot immediately followed that? Why was Edward's whole family all in on supporting Bella? Rosalie is the only sane character. 
But... this book allows for the "weak" female character to exert agency at almost every turn and decide many plans and enact plot points. And the male love interest is the one with unreasonable emotions and wild mood swings. So there is a reason it was so appealing.
The dialogue & internal monologues are just garbage, though, and that is most of the book.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective

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

5.0

This is so delightful. A sequel I didn't expect, and that the story world didn't need, but one that I needed. It was so nice to return to these characters and the quirky world. The writing is fun and refreshing. The characters fully realized. The magic in the world translates to a magic of imagination throughout-- why limit yourself with something so trivial as logic or physics when magic exists?