katherinek's reviews
29 reviews

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.25

This is the only book that has ever made me laugh out loud...other than Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I was invested so quickly! The book club scene was hilarious, and the banter between January and Gus was great, too. I also loved the subplots, and wished we could dive into those even further. I really appreciated the exploration of learning from/about the people you love. It could be predictable/cheesy at times, but the author sort of embraced it. Overall, it was a great read, and now I know what labradorite is!

Content Warnings

Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous challenging emotional 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

4.5

So brilliant! The world building of this series is just detailed enough so it’s elaborate but not confusing. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book after the first 70 pages or so. I kept finding myself covering pages with my hand so I wouldn’t accidentally spoil it for myself! Every now and then things get a tad repetitive or dialogue is a little cringey, but I was still entertained throughout the whole book. I loved the dynamic between Bree and Sel, especially the firefly scene! Along with the diverse cast of characters, Volition was very refreshing to read about. Some of Bree’s choices confused me at the end, but maybe we’ll get answers in the next book!

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The Hunting Wives, by May Cobb

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

Very fast-paced and entertaining. It’s like a horrible car accident that you can’t look away from, mainly because of all the awful decisions Sophie makes; She‘s extremely reckless and basically destroys her family. I really appreciated the backstory about her mom being the same way, which offered some explanation for Sophie’s behavior, but I would’ve loved an even deeper look into why she is the way she is. The involvement of barely legal boys was very unnecessary — the author easily could’ve made them in their 20s, and the story would’ve been exactly the same. Instead we get no explanation as to why, or even if, this is wrong.
The amount of alcohol in this book is wildly concerning. The whole book, I was thinking, girl, you’re 40!! If you need to be home by midnight, put the shots down!
The social media aspect was really interesting; Sophie’s obsession with Margot through social media was very intriguing. The hashtags made me cringe, though.
I predicted several parts, but the ending was a surprise, although it didn’t shock me. Several loose ends were left untied;

Spoiler

We never got answers about the roofie situation, Erin’s past with the group, or the creepy neighbor.

Content Warnings

Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

So good! The characters all felt so real, the interview style was really cool, and the backstage view of the 70s music industry was so interesting. This is the kind of book you could reread and notice so many things you didn't think about the first time. Warren was my favorite, but this is one of those stories where everyone has a different character. This book made me laugh out loud and tear up at some moments, too. I can't recommend it enough.

Spoiler

Graham and Karen broke my heart...and that scene where Daisy jumped into the pool in that beautiful dress was so stunning and so painful!

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One Italian Summer, by Rebecca Serle

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

This was some of the most beautiful writing I have ever seen. I've never felt so immersed in the setting of a book. The setting and food visuals were extremely detailed and well-thought out. I would've liked similar visuals of the characters themselves. Pretty much the only physical details included were their hair colors, which made it difficult for me to visualize the characters.
It was such a beautiful story and I loved the little bit of magic, although I still want to know HOW everything happened! I really liked the message about Carol being more than just a mother. It can be easy for us to see our moms as just moms, and not think about who they are outside of being a mother. Especially as a kid, I didn't think much about what my mom's life was like before she had kids. We often look up to our moms so much that it becomes difficult to see them as anything but perfect, when in reality they're human beings who have their own lives outside of us and make mistakes just like everyone else. This book really captured that.
Justice for Eric!! Katy's feelings about him and her marriage were valid, but he didn't deserve to be treated the way that he was.

Spoiler

It was confusing how she seemed to find the love she had always wanted with Adam, but that ended so abruptly and then literally the next day she loved Eric again and acted like she and Adam never happened. Poor Eric has no idea about him!

I had pretty mixed feelings about Adam. What even were his intentions with her? I would've liked a little bit more focus on that and some closure with them.
Overall, it was a great book with beautiful writing that made me tear up in several parts. I loved that everything was based on real places and real people, and I hope to visit Italy someday!

Content Warnings

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, by Holly Jackson

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

This was really giving me Pretty Little Liars vibes! The plot was well done and there was so much depth to it, but I wish the author would've devoted just as much energy to shaping the main characters. Most of them lacked depth for me, including Pip who just seemed like another "I'm not like other girls" type of character--that is, until the last 50 pages or so, where she became a lot more dynamic for me. The college application part of the plot fell pretty flat for me personally, as well as the "threats" she was getting, which never really seemed that important until

Spoiler

Barney died...which, in my opinion, wasn't necessary.

When it comes to the writing, there were definitely some cheesy parts but also some really pretty lines

Spoiler

For instance, Pip getting drugged was written so well, I felt like I was really experiencing it!

. There is a LOT of information given to you in this book, and the author helps you keep track of it with the reports and suspect list that Pip has at the end of all of them. I really appreciated the map at the beginning and I wish we could've had more visual aids like that one

Spoiler

I really wanted to see the murder board that Pip and Ravi made in part three, for example

. All of this information really started to pile up for me and got so messy to the point where I kept forgetting things and getting confused, and because of that, the ending was pretty underwhelming because I was learning so much at one time and I just couldn't keep up with everything at that point.

Spoiler

Also, why did Pip magically realize that it was Elliot and that he was keeping Andie in the house? In my opinion she didn't have nearly enough evidence for this and jumped to that conclusion VERY fast

Despite being kind of unrealistic, the ending was written pretty well. I liked how Pip called out the press for making Andie seem like a good person, when she was actually pretty awful.

Spoiler

Also, am I the only one who was convinced that Andie was still alive and behind all of this for like 90% of the book?

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We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This absolutely tore me into pieces. It was so beautifully written and I didn’t expect the ending at all. The characters felt so real. Some of the metaphors confused me, though, which took away some of the shock factor for the first plot twist for me because I found myself going back trying to figure out if it was real or not. The middle also slows down just a bit, but after the ending I realized why so many of the seemingly unimportant details in the middle were actually so important. This is one I would totally go back and reread to try and find all the clues I missed—

Spoiler

How they never went to dinner, they didn’t want Cady to jump off the rocks, the kids seeing ghosts, none of them receiving her gifts or responding to Cady’s emails, Aunt Carrie walking around at night, the lie about the donut shop, why Grandad kept calling her Mirren, etc etc.

I don’t think a book has ever made me cry as hard as this one did.

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Funny You Should Ask, by Elissa Sussman

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.75

I had trouble getting into this at first. I didn't really like the main characters and it fell pretty flat for the first 75 pages or so, but after that it picked up and I was able to get into it more. I loved the dog!! The timeline jumping confused me a couple times, but it was a good choice for how the story unraveled. There was a lot of fluff that could've been left out, especially a lot of the articles that were sprinkled in.
When it comes to the characters, I wanted to know more about Jacinda and Ollie. I think that was the intention with Jacinda because she was supposed to feel like a perfect, untouchable celebrity, but I wish the author had gone a different direction with her. Ollie was pretty interesting at first but he quickly turned into just a stereotypical gay man which disappointed me.
I felt the same way about Gabe, too; nothing about him really excited me at all. Chani, however, was very well developed, but I just couldn't see why she really liked Gabe, other than the fact that he was her celebrity crush. The chemistry between them was barely there for me.
The plot was still pretty interesting for the most part, though. I loved the theatre and movie references sprinkled in, and the inside jokes that resurfaced throughout the story were a nice touch. I especially loved how Chani's article about her "perfect day" foreshadowed her trip to the bookstore with Gabe.

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My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

This was such a quick read for me, the chapters are really short and the writing is to the point. The characters are all very dynamic and feel so real. That being said, for me it was missing a shock factor, which is surprising for a book about a serial killer. For example,

Spoiler

Muhtar waking up from a coma after Korede basically gave him a full confession was brushed away very quickly and didn't really affect the plot at all.

. The ending was also pretty underwhelming. Throughout the book I was waiting for Korede to finally go off on her sister, and for Ayoola to get caught,

Spoiler

but we never got either of those.

I think the point was for the ending to feel just as hopeless as the beginning, but it felt sort of unfinished, and not in the best way. But overall I really did get invested in the story and enjoyed it a lot.

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Four Dead Queens, by Astrid Scholte

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

I was so pleasantly surprised by this! I loved the back and forth between characters and I only predicted one of the plot twists/reveals. It's the kind of book where every time you think you know what's going on it turns out to be completely wrong.

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katherinek's reviews 29 reviews

katherinek's reviews
29 reviews