roaming_reader's reviews
36 reviews

I'm Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

I am so happy I was finally able to read this book. I listened to it on audio, as it's read by the author, and I highly recommend that experience, if possible. It is very real - no holds barred. It can be tough to listen to/read at times, but the overall narrative is brilliantly written.

Content Warnings

Come Fly the World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am, by Julia Cooke

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adventurous informative medium-paced

5.0

I picked up this book on a whim in the airport and I am so glad that I did. I didn't know much about the history of airline travel, and even less about the history of stewardesses. This book focused on airline stewardesses for Pan Am between 1968 and 1974. It follows several stewardesses from their initial decision to apply all the way through to the end or shift in their careers. It's a great combination of glamor and an uglier reality.

One thing I wished is that there was more focus on stewardesses of color, however there is a lot of information about this included and the author did a good job at examining the airline and stewardesses through a diverse lens.

Midnight in Everwood, by M.A. Kuzniar

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adventurous dark medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is a retelling of the Nutcracker - but the original story, not the ballet. There are elements of ballet widely incorporated as the MC, Marietta, is a ballet dancer.

Marietta is a wealthy society girl who wants nothing more than to dance with the national ballet company, and not be forced into a marriage by her image-conscious parents. She catches the eye of mysterious Dr. Drosselmeir and ends up getting transported to (and subsequently trapped in) the magical world of Everwood. It is up to her to find her way out.

Overall, I did enjoy the story. Once Marietta was transported to Everwood, the story picked up the pace and almost flew by. I tagged it as medium-paced because the beginning is slow, and then it goes by fast. I enjoyed all of the references to ballet and dancing, but that's also because I was a dancer for 18 years and danced in several of the ballets mentioned.

My major disappointment with the story is the one-dimensional characters. And some of the characters were truly interesting! But we were given hardly any time with them, and in the case of Marietta's two companions (fellow prisoners), I wanted more time with them! They had such great backstories and we were only given a slight case.

Spoiler

I also think that the romance subplot would have been much more engaging if we were given more time to learn about Captain Legat. We were told "he follows the rules but he is a leader of the rebellion so now you have to like him" but the author had several chances to show us this!

Another slight pet peeve of mine (but not as much as other reviewers) is the use of food as descriptors. There are many other words besides "butterscotch" to describe light brown/gold/amber eyes. But it did make sense to me because the world of Everwood is based on the Kingdom of Sweets in the Nutcracker story. So using food references fits.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book for what it was - a fun, dark and twisty story. Don't come here for character development.

Spoiler

Other than developing some empathy and falling in love, Marietta did not change. She was always going to leave her home, she was always going to try and dance for the company. She was never going to bend to her parents' wishes. And that never changed.

But come here for a good time in a beautiful world.

Content Warnings

Legendborn, by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was incredible, start to finish. Somehow I had managed to avoid almost any description of the book since I first got it and did not realize that it was set in Chapel Hill, a place that is very close to where I grew up and one that I am very familiar with.

I enjoyed following Bree's journey in this story. Some of the themes are complicated, but are faced head-on, which I appreciate. There is diversity within the cast of characters, and there is also a fair bit of LGBTQIA+ representation!

If you are interested in historical myths and legends, magic and a bit of mystery, I thoroughly recommend this book.

Content Warnings

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie

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mysterious fast-paced

4.5

Death by Dumpling, by Vivien Chien

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medium-paced