paigedrob's reviews
92 reviews

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This book was just as amazing as everyone said. I 100% recommend listening to the audiobook!

Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Like Madeleine Miller, Jennifer Saint presents a Greek retelling for the female gaze in a way that is accessible to readers regardless of their knowledge of Greek myth. The story of Ariadine was captivating from start to finish, but could have been better in the beauty and emotion department.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

adventurous challenging emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

I found the book a bit hard to get through due to the chapters being super long. There weren't really any good starting and stopping points. I was having a hard time getting into it in the beginning, but the second half is pretty good. This is one of the first ever queer American novels, if that sounds interesting to you I definitely recommend reading just for the sake of it.

Teen Titans: Robin by Gabriel Picolo, Kami Garcia

adventurous funny hopeful fast-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? It's complicated

4.5

Garcia and Piccolo knock it out of the park again! I will say I feel like I learned less about Robin(s) than I did about the other characters in their respective debut books.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

It has been so long since I've been captivated by a book enough to finish in a few days. Like the tabloids in the book, I could not get enough of Evelyn Hugo. It feels hard to write a review about this book because mentioning anything I like about it feels like spoiling it. This book is best read knowing nothing but the title going into it. 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

4.75

I'm a little late to the game on reading this book, but I'm glad I did. It is just as awesome as everyone says. Kya was such an engaging character which made this book very hard to put down.

 I would recommend this book to pretty much anyone, especially as a summer read. 

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I don't really know what to say about this book. It is truly just beautifully written. This meloncoly roman-à-clef classic is a fantastic read, especially for someone in their early 20s. If you decide to read this book I highly advise you to check trigger warnings beforehand as it covers very serious topics.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Suicide, and Sexual violence

It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.0

It was a pretty unique romance novel. I at least have never read about a romance between an Instagram influencer and a crab fisherman before. The smut wasn't really my thing but the story was definitely cute. As with most romance novels there were some parts that seemed unrealistic but nothing insane. If you are looking for a laid back summer romance, I would definitely recommend.

A 3.0 is a pretty standard rating for romance books for me as they are not my favorite genre, but I do like to read one every once and awhile. If romance is your favorite I would definitely recommend this one to you though as it is one of the more fun ones I've read!

Bunny by Mona Awad

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I was between 3.75 and 4 but I settled on 4 because the writing is simply beautiful. This dark academia, social satire, bizzaro horror novel was definitely worth the read, although is not the easiest to follow at some points. If you are in the mood to read something a little weird this one's for you 

Persuasion by Jane Austen

reflective slow-paced

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

2.5

My least favorite Austen book so far. Nothing really kept me super engaged and I struggled finishing it. I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey much more.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail