maiaew's reviews
19 reviews

We Had to Remove This Post by Hanna Bervoets

dark reflective medium-paced

2.0

Interesting premise but the premise got a bit lost and replaced with analysing a toxic relationship. Also really abrupt ending. Not a bad read as less than 150 pages, but not really the book I expected from its blurb

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, and Antisemitism

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

3.0

I was very late to the party on this one 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

adventurous dark medium-paced

3.5

Solid book, good writing and interesting plot

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I didn't see the twist coming, but other than that I thought it took a while to get to the point and left a lot of unanswered questions 

Born A Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

funny hopeful informative fast-paced

5.0

This was so good, absolutely fascinating, well written, funny and filled my head with so much new information? Trevor slayed this tbh

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

4.0

I don't know why I didn't read this sooner. It made me uncomfortable in a way I didn't expect and even though I went in knowing it was a heavy topic, it still managed to be an emotional read. Sometimes was a teensy bit relatable?  Also knocked down to 4 stars because I literally did not care about the solicitor's ex gf storyline, the rest of the plot was 5000x more interesting sorry 

Haven't They Grown by Sophie Hannah

mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

This book tried too hard to have surprise twists to the point I lost interest. Initially had me hooked then trailed off unfortunately.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

dark funny tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

Interesting look into the publishing industry and diversity, and does a great job at being from the POV of someone who is essentially evil.

The first 3/4 of the book kept my attention but the ending was a little disappointing compared to how explosive the beginning felt.

Sometimes the prejudices of the characters were almost cartoonish, which took me out of the plot a little and  the contemporary references to social media were a bit *too* contemporary at times. 

Otherwise, an excellent read that interrogates the diversity vs social justice warrior argument in a way that is thought provoking. Enjoyed the writing style and will be checking out more of Kuang's work. 

Lily's Promise: How I Survived Auschwitz and Found the Strength to Live by Dov Forman, Lily Ebert

emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

So interesting, whilst of course the depictions of the holocaust itself and concentration camps were harrowing, I learnt a lot about Hungary, what happened to survivors of the death march after liberation and even the conception of Israel and how new conflicts affected survivors too.  

The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0