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ashmagoffin's reviews
641 reviews
Breakdown by Cathy Sweeney
4.0
Breakdown is a book that you can read in one sitting. It is about the physical and emotional journey of a middle-class wife and mother who gets up on an ordinary morning and leaves her life behind. A flawed main character that has been stopped being seen as an individual (the author hasn't even given her a name) but the roles she has attached to her family. A build-up of societal pressures have led her to this breakdown, the bystanders of her life puzzled why this has happened but as the reader you question why not earlier. A protagonist who recognises that she is doomed to repeat the cycle, even to her own daughter. This book does discuss taboo subjects that I believe a lot of women must consider if they feel trapped in their own lives. I found this book easy to fly through but I did feel like it almost ended too soon, like it was underbaked. Raw and unsettling, this book left me with much to think about. 4/5
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
2.0
I want to preface this by saying that I've never had an office job, so some of the humour and relatability in this book went over my head. What caught me immediately offside with this novel is that Sue seems to want us to dislike all the characters from the get-go which made it difficult for me to be invested in the story. Although this perception was flipped later, I never felt like I truly recovered into liking this book. I did find the chapter titles quite funny, they were a highlight. The grocery shop of shame is hilariously relatable.
I wish I enjoyed this book but it was not for me.
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
4.0
The ultimate cosy fantasy read, this book reminded me nostalgically of fairytale pc games where you had to renovate a magic shop to sell your wares. Kiela escapes the mainland during fires, looting and a revolution, taking as many spell books as she can. She seeks refuge in her old family cottage on a remote island where she begins to sell jam to support herself with the help of some illegal magic.
A slow-paced and heartwarming read, there isn't a lot of complication in the first half of this novel. The primary themes are about starting fresh and letting down your walls which isn't exactly a new concept. As the plot continues, problems arise which are episodically resolved, the majority in the last hundred pages which almost felt too numerous. However, this book was wholesome and enjoyable. It features an assortment of magical creatures, a talking spider-plant companion and a walking cactus that only says the word 'meep'. A fluffy romance was thrown in too, this book seemed to be designed to be heartwarming.
This book rides primarily on the vibe it sets, but the vibes are immaculate. This book felt like sunbaking.
A slow-paced and heartwarming read, there isn't a lot of complication in the first half of this novel. The primary themes are about starting fresh and letting down your walls which isn't exactly a new concept. As the plot continues, problems arise which are episodically resolved, the majority in the last hundred pages which almost felt too numerous. However, this book was wholesome and enjoyable. It features an assortment of magical creatures, a talking spider-plant companion and a walking cactus that only says the word 'meep'. A fluffy romance was thrown in too, this book seemed to be designed to be heartwarming.
This book rides primarily on the vibe it sets, but the vibes are immaculate. This book felt like sunbaking.
The Crimson Moth by Kristen Ciccarelli
4.0
ENEMIES TO LOVERS IS ELITE. There is a reason why young adult romance is heavy on tropes because they work. This book was a pure enjoyment read, it was so nice to race through the pages and just simply have a good time. Rune and Gideon are fun enough characters to follow, their opposition makes sense in terms of the world and the tension is palpable. The magic system and world were easy enough to become orientated to, the politics of the world were intriguing as well. This book cracked along at a fast pace, I found myself rushing through this book and finished it before August even began (I was reading this as Coastal Chapters book for August!) There were moments of sparsity which I wish were filled out more but that comes with the territory for young adult fantasy. I loved the angst, I felt empathy for both Rune and Gideon and I wished this book was longer.
Dead End by Emily Rodda
The final book in a favourite childhood book series of mine, I'm glad I found this one on openlibrary.org because I've been looking for it for years.
A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle
3.0
This book passed me by. Although I felt this book was easy to read, I found it difficult to connect to. There were some impactful passages and the writing style is undeniably excellent. I was left unsatisfied by the ending and I wanted a few more chapters. I was not the target audience for this book and that is okay. I read this book at a busy time of life and I felt like this is probably the cause for my lack of intrigue. I was so happy to read this as a part of Coastal Chapters book club pick for July to hear everyone’s opinions and the impact that this book left on them.
A Feminine Ending by Sarah Treem
3.25
This book had an odd structure for the points it was trying to make. I feel like it could have been a one act set at her parents' house and no action take place in NYC at all. The humour was easy to pick out of the dialogue which was refreshing.
Steaming by Nell Dunn
3.0
A bit dated and I don't think the narrative ended when it should have. A difficult play to stage in a modern context.