tysbooks's reviews
338 reviews

You, Again by Kate Goldbeck

emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.0

This was fine. Unfortunately this won't be a romance that will stay on my mind. I did like how the characters were drastically different from each other. We have Ari who is impulsive and a little erratic while Josh is more quiet and reserved. It was fun to see these two characters run into each other every few years eventually building a friendship. I appreciated that we got to see these characters as friends before watching them develop romantic feelings. However, I wish there was a better balance between the time we got with them as friends to when their feelings turned romantic. It felt like the relationship was rushed by the end. This is inspired by When Harry Met Sally, so if you enjoyed that I believe this would work for you. 

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer

dark funny mysterious tense 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

3.0

I don't read many demonic possession stories but this was a fun take on one. It delivered on just the right amount of horror and disturbing scenes while also providing a bit a humor to keep the story entertaining. I enjoyed that this was set in a suburban neighborhood with mothers that are only focused on their kids who now have to deal with this demonic presence. Not only did we get horror, but it also brought up the importance of friendship, motherhood and how it takes a village to raise children. While I enjoyed most of this story, I wish the ending scenes were a little longer and not so rushed. If you are looking for a more lighthearted horror story that doesn't seem to take itself too seriously then this would be the one for you!

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

I can actually believe the hype for this book and I had a fun time reading it. I do think some of the plot points within the story were very predictable and these characters did read a bit younger than they were supposed to, but I enjoyed this despite those things. The academy setting was interesting and I liked how the dragons were depicted in this story. I was intrigued with the magic and how it worked for the riders. I was invested in the love triangle and the tension between Violet, Xaden and Dain. I did not go into this expecting to enjoy it but I can’t wait for the next book!

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.0

This story had a lot going on. We have a missing girl from the 1950's, another unsolved case, one case that was solved but more information was being found out then a haunting at a all girl boarding school but this book did a good job with putting all the pieces together. I was never left feeling confused and the pacing was nice because something was always happening. There was a past and present timeline that doesn't always work for me, but in this I was engaged in each timeline. I enjoyed the reveals at the end and how all of this came together. I overall enjoyed the story, but I don't think this will be one that will stick with me.

Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

3.0

This is a slow burn mystery that touches on motherhood and the different relationships mothers have with their daughters. The beginning of the story was extremely slow to me, but the second half really picked up and became the page turner I wished the entire book would have been. We follow four main characters and I enjoyed the twists at the end that revealed how all these characters were actually connected. I love a book with short chapters, which this book delivers on, but I do think with this story the short chapters prevented you from being able to really know the characters and care about their backstory. I’m not sure if everyone would enjoy this as much as Alice Feeney’s other books, but I think if you could stick with it the ending will be very satisfying.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

I figured out very quickly that this was not going to be the book for me. DNF'd this at 11% because I couldn't take the long tangents the main character Mia kept going on which was made even more annoying by the audiobook. There are also footnotes which I didn't understand the purpose of because the ones that I came across during the first 11% didn't add anything to the story and it kept distracting me from the story. I thought the premise of this sounded interesting but unfortunately not enough for me continue.

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Going into this one I knew I needed to manage my expectations but it still left me feeling disappointed. I understood this would focus more on the romance, which I was fine with in the beginning, but after some time I found myself still asking 'where are the vampires'. Any time we did get vampires I enjoyed seeing them and learning about them in this setting. The romance started off fine and I liked both of the main characters, but I don't think I enjoyed them enough to only focus on them for the entirety of the book. I think there could have been a better balance between the romance and the vampires.  What we ultimately got was a western romance with a little bit of vampires when I wish it was more of a western vampire story with romance mixed in. Overall this was okay, I just wanted more horror throughout the story.

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror by Jordan Peele, John Joseph Adams

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

 Anthologies are hard to rate because not all stories will usually work for me and that was especially the case with this one. Some stories that really stood out include:

Reckless Eyeball (N.K. Jemisin)
Eye & Tooth (Rebecca Roanhorse)
The Other One (Violet Allen)
The Norwood Trouble (Maurice Broaddus)
A Grief of the Dead (Rion Amilcar Scott)
An American Fable (Cheysa Burke)
Your Happy Place (Terence Taylor)
Hide & Seek (P.Djeli Clark)

These stories had the perfect amount of horror, most of them were the right length and I understood the messaging the authors were trying to convey. The rest of the stories in this anthology didn't work for me because they were either confusing, the stories were to long or they didn't have enough horror. I did like how all these stories touched on different topics and included social commentary on things such as racism, segregation, grief, suicide and prison reform. Overall, I'm happy I was able to check this one out and was introduced to authors I might not have read from otherwise. 

The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

3.0

I will have to say that this is my least favorite story I've read from these authors so far. I loved that this revolved around a reality dating show and we got to see some of the same main characters from The Soulmate Equation. I did like how one of the main characters, Connor, was shown to have a loving relationship with his daughter and a great co-parenting situation with the ex-wife. However, I wasn't a fan of how quickly Fizzy and Connor fell in love. It didn't feel like they spent enough time together to have the kind of feelings they claimed they had for each other. I also was not a fan of Fizzy. She seemed really immature and at times it seemed like she was only interested in having sex with Connor because all she talked about was how big his 'stuff' was (eyeroll). The ending of this book really saved it for me and made me bump up my rating because it was just so cute!

The Jester by Tim Gerard Reynolds, Michael J. Sullivan

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0