cclift1114's reviews
1213 reviews

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book may not have been the most fun to read, but I found it to be so good and so important that I would liken it to taking your vitamins—something that we should all do because it is important. The writing, the plot, the characterization, the hints of what was to come, everything was so well done. Seeing the epic scope of covering the lives of the various family members being the principal focus, but then also including the Chilean politics in the background that eventually builds to taking over the characters’ lives was the work of a master storyteller. I will admit to it being very troublesome to read about all the decisions that led to the coup and then to read about what happened afterwards, because given the current political climate, it all felt scarily relevant now. 

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

adventurous challenging funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I was really surprised at how much really enjoyed this book. I’ve been a fan of Hank Green’s work with science sometime now, but I wasn’t sure how things would translate to a fictional novel for him. I immediately was dissuaded from any worries upon beginning the book because it was very good. I liked the characters, especially the way in which we see just how flawed April is. I liked the concept of the book and the plot was interesting and kept me wanting to know what was going on with the Carls. Green does a great job with creating anticipation with his non-linear narrative. He also does a nice job of a addressing the reader as if this is an autobiography of someone addressing the general public, referencing things that most people would know about because they would have “lived” through the same historical events as April within the book. I read another book recently in which an offer address the the reader directly in such a way, but neglected to actually touch upon those historical events, which left the reader in the dark because we are not living in the same world as the characters. Green manages to fill the reader in while also respecting the idea that they would already know some of these things. Finally I appreciate the handling of so many different themes in this book. Green really addresses how humans work in a lot of different situations, from gaining fame, especially due to social media, to dealing with very new, unexpected, and even frightening events. 

Also, of course, this is a work of fiction, but I could appreciate that a lot of the science within the book would have been based in reality because we are reading a book from a scientist. 

Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor

challenging funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

OK, I have to start off saying that I don’t think this book was really for me. I should have DNF’ed it when I realized this, but I was already far enough in that. I just decided to power through it. I also have to say that I have never listened to the accompanying podcast, but had heard from others that it was good and so decided to jump right into the book. There were aspects of it that I enjoyed, especially the little tidbits that were social commentaries or in their strange ways related to real life. However, on the whole, this book was just too weird for me. I got to a point where I just didn’t see what the point was and that was when I should have stopped. I’m sure this is exactly what some people want and I’m glad that they enjoy it, but it really wasn’t for me. 

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I had watched the movie that is based upon this book several years ago and have always held to the idea that the book is typically better than its movie counterpart. Now, it has been a while, so I don’t have the best recollection of the film, however, I do believe that they did a good job with some of the changes they made. Both the book and the film do well with portraying the difficulties of moving on after the loss of a loved one. If I remember correctly, though, the movie did include more scenes of Holly and Jerry’s relationship before his death, which made everything a bit more poignant. The book clearly focuses more on Holly’s relationships with her friends and family after his death, which is still a very interesting way to explore this topic. 

A Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Similar to the last book in the series, this was a cute and satisfying monster romance with a lot of the fun tropes associated with it. The ending did feel a bit rushed, but otherwise it was a fun and funny romance.

All the Names They Used for God by Anjali Sachdeva

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Sachdeva is clearly a highly-skilled storyteller. Each one of these was just what you want out of a short story—a little unnerving in some way, a little bit left incomplete in the end to keep you wondering about possibilities. The plots and characters in this collection are so diverse and distinct, some taking place in the past, some in a possible present, some in different states or even countries, some in an almost futuristic sci-fi universe. All in the all, the writing is amazing and beautifully descriptive. 

We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord by Garth Nix

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

A solid middle grade book from Garth Nix. I love his writing, and the plot was spooky yet fun for younger readers.

A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley

adventurous emotional 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

This is exactly what you want from a cute, fun monster romance. Mariel and Oz were a great pairing, and it was cute. See how their relationship progressed. I enjoyed the contrasts between their personalities, with some nice grumpy/sunshine going on, as well as how Oz was so baffled at how disorganized Mariel was immediately cleaning her place. I like how it was set in the real world with little touches of magic, and the references to well-known things that were just slightly changed for the magical world, such as PoltergeistGo instead of PokemonGo. The ending did feel a bit rushed, and I was hoping that we could avoid a third act breakup altogether, but I did overall enjoy the plot,  too. 

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

adventurous challenging emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

5.0

I loved Red, White and Royal Blue and was so excited for McQuiston’s next two novels. However, neither of them really struck me in the same way as their first one did. So I went into this book with some trepidation, especially after reading the summary. Luckily, for me, any fears I had about this book ended up being completely unfounded. I freaking loved it. The writing was so evocative, descriptive, beautiful, it reined me in right away. I couldn’t help but feel so much for both Theo and Kit, and so all the aspects of their relationship were felt so keenly. Each time McQuiston peeled back the layers of time to show how one slight miscommunication led to where they were, it felt like a punched of the gut. And speaking of, McQuiston’s use of a nonlinear timeline was incredibly well done. Everything was simply chef’s kiss.

Now, as for the things that just tickled me because of personal preferences, I was going to be a sucker for this book just for the premise of travel. As the characters go from places in France, Spain, and Italy, it brought back fond memories of my own experiences, traveling to these countries, as McQuiston captures these places in their writing so well. Additionally, the focus on food in each of these places was so delightful for someone like me who is such a foodie and who travels in large part for the chance to try new foods. Finally this book had quite a few tropes that I am a sucker for. We’ve got the characters going through all different types of relationships, from friends to lovers to enemies to friends and lovers again. We’ve got them navigating awkward experiences, such as the one bed trope. And as much as I do not like a miscommunication trope, I did find it endearingly maddening to watch as they both struggled with finding their way to each other because of their fear of their feelings not being matched. 

Also, this book dialed the spice way up and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

No spoilers, but the ending made me cry. Twice. It’s gonna take me awhile to get over this one. 

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala

challenging emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad 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

4.0

I thought the same about this book as I have about the others in the series for the most part. I still need someone to make me all these delicious sounding Filipino dishes. The plot did feel like it was taken up a notch with the mystery being a bit more personal in this one.