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kellylayne's reviews
470 reviews
Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish
dark
emotional
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is exactly what I was looking for when I picked it up (intense hurt-comfort). It really leans into the trauma of the characters so its not gonna be everyones cup of tea, but I appreciated the detailed and deeply flawed characters
Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a lovely balm of a book
Message Deleted by K.L. Slater
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.5
I found the book compelling until the final 10% or so after the mystery wraps up. The biggest issue for me was finding every single character wildly unlikeable - and not in interesting or charismatic ways where you root for them anyway. They were annoyingly selfish or gullible to me. To be fair to the author, I do think these flaws made sense for the characters and were all very human, but it made reading an unpleasant experience for me.
With Love, from Cold World by Alicia Thompson
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
I really enjoyed this book. For me, it struck just the right balance of giving the characters full emotional lives and pasts while keeping the book relatively lighthearted and fun. I particularly liked that the author thoroughly incorporated Asa's bisexuality into his character and lore (if you will, haha), especially given the context of an MF romance novel.
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Lovely story with an interesting structure.
Body of Lies by Sarah Bailey
Did not finish book. Stopped at 90%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 90%.
I dont mind flawed characters, but holy moly, the immaturity and lack of self awareness among the largely middle-aged cast of characters was irritating to read. I couldnt figure out whether the author was doing it intentionally or not.
One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall
Did not finish book. Stopped at 90%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 90%.
I thought the premise and first half of this book was interesting - exploring the mindset of "nice guys" who arent outright violent but still manipulative, but holy sht, the politics of the back half of this book sucked. The author was clearly trying to do a bothsides (or all sides) thing - reflecting how different groups might respond to borderline cases and the disappearance of girls. At first I thought this was interesting, but for some reason she neglected to include the voice of women and/or feminists who care about violence against women but are capable of distinguishing between assault, consensual roleplay and pornography. It was just such a condescending and gross depiction of women and feminists. We either hate all other women, only care about women in the context of true crime, or we think consensual role play and porn are equivalent to violence. The majority of women I know are capable of more nuance -yet the author neglects to represent this voice in her "all-sides" storytelling. At a certain point, it just felt like she was playing right into the stereotypes of women put forth by MRAs and incels and couldnt take it anymore.