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w_r's reviews
128 reviews
The Wedding People by Alison Espach
5.0
This book is candid and vulnerable and hilarious and charming and witty and sarcastic and sad and over the top and relatable - all of these things, all at once.
The heart and humor kept me gobbling up page after page, and several passages had me running for my tabs.
I really, really liked it and I think you would too. (general 'you', this is not a genre-specific book imo)
The heart and humor kept me gobbling up page after page, and several passages had me running for my tabs.
I really, really liked it and I think you would too. (general 'you', this is not a genre-specific book imo)
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
4.5
Dual POV shines light on the many varied threats under colonialism, the loss of culture and language, the destruction of families, the utter disregard for anyone that's not white enough.
Emphasis on the importance of family, the hope of belonging, the connections we make along the way, the trials we can overcome.
Spoiler: When the chapter title switched from 'Norma' to 'Ruthie' at the end, I was blown away by how touched I was by ink on paper.
Emphasis on the importance of family, the hope of belonging, the connections we make along the way, the trials we can overcome.
Spoiler: When the chapter title switched from 'Norma' to 'Ruthie' at the end, I was blown away by how touched I was by ink on paper.
Reckless by Lauren Roberts
3.5
Now THIS is the slow burn enemies to lovers stuff people like. TBH this just isn't really my genre and I do find the writing a bit adolescent, but this is a YA series, so that's to be expected.
I liked getting more time with Pae and Kai on their own, and I liked the journal entries that really set things off. The scene in the gentleman's club is reminiscent of Feyre and Rhysand on the throne, but take it down several notches.
I did guess the twist a little before it happened, but I'm still impressed Roberts had the nerve to do it. Hoping for Mak in the next one!
I liked getting more time with Pae and Kai on their own, and I liked the journal entries that really set things off. The scene in the gentleman's club is reminiscent of Feyre and Rhysand on the throne, but take it down several notches.
I did guess the twist a little before it happened, but I'm still impressed Roberts had the nerve to do it. Hoping for Mak in the next one!
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
1.0
Is... are the reviews of this book real? Are they Russian bots? This cannot really have an average review of 4.08 stars. 4.08 is how many seconds I got into the book before I grimaced for the first time. It's the number of pages I could go before having to take a cringe break. It's the number of hypnotherapy sessions I'll need to erase this from my memory if I ever want to eat orzo or a steak salad (note: everyone talks about this ice cream, but the salad was SO MUCH WORSE WHY DOES NOBODY TALK ABOUT THIS?!) or use a mandolin again.
I hated the characters and was never rooting for them. I have seen this compared to Dexter in several places - I liked Dexter (well, until it got horrible iykyk), but this is another level of f*ked up. I don't think I'm a particularly delicate person, I have read some pretty traumatic and graphic stuff - but the way they ~staged scenes~ after... like, truly reveled in it, I just couldn't. The kitchen scene towards the end had me physically gagging. Is this really an enjoyable experience for people?!
This book reads like it was written by two authors - a teenage edgelord who lives in a damp basement (even though they have an actual bedroom and parents who love them upstairs) and listens to Marilyn Manson and Five Finger Death punch, AND your weird thrice-divorced coworker who loves Fabio-covered romance novels because she's never been loved by an actual decent human man a day in her life, so the insta-love doesn't feel like a trope to her because she's been creating him in her mind for decades.
In conclusion: F*ck you, Booktok.
p.s. nobody likes snowballing, stop lying.
I hated the characters and was never rooting for them. I have seen this compared to Dexter in several places - I liked Dexter (well, until it got horrible iykyk), but this is another level of f*ked up. I don't think I'm a particularly delicate person, I have read some pretty traumatic and graphic stuff - but the way they ~staged scenes~ after... like, truly reveled in it, I just couldn't. The kitchen scene towards the end had me physically gagging. Is this really an enjoyable experience for people?!
This book reads like it was written by two authors - a teenage edgelord who lives in a damp basement (even though they have an actual bedroom and parents who love them upstairs) and listens to Marilyn Manson and Five Finger Death punch, AND your weird thrice-divorced coworker who loves Fabio-covered romance novels because she's never been loved by an actual decent human man a day in her life, so the insta-love doesn't feel like a trope to her because she's been creating him in her mind for decades.
In conclusion: F*ck you, Booktok.
p.s. nobody likes snowballing, stop lying.
Powerful by Lauren Roberts
3.5
I knew the end was coming, and it still filled me with unbridled rage. Seeing it from Adena's POV after getting to know her better made me want to throw something at the fucking wall.
Cannot WAIT to see Mak unleash holy hellfire in the next one.
Cannot WAIT to see Mak unleash holy hellfire in the next one.
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
3.0
Listen, I have to be honest - I might have given this 1 or 2 stars if it weren't for the ending. Not because it wasn't a decent and intriguing story, but because it was shockingly, distractingly similar to The Hunger Games in countless ways. I kept being taken out of the story because the similarities were happening with alarming frequency - like really specific similarities, not just the overall theme.
I actually like Paedyn and Kai (among other characters) and think they were pretty well fleshed out, and the ending was a real slap in the face (wake up and listen to THIS!!), so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, and if the next part of the story is a little more original.
I actually like Paedyn and Kai (among other characters) and think they were pretty well fleshed out, and the ending was a real slap in the face (wake up and listen to THIS!!), so I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next, and if the next part of the story is a little more original.
The Days I Loved You Most by Amy Neff
5.0
Yeah hi, this book wrecked me. My husband walked in on me reading it with tears streaming down my face and, bewildered, asked me if I was crying, "like really crying", and if I was okay. Friends, let me tell you - I was not okay.
This book is honest and devastating and poignant and lovely and sad and joyful - and, most importantly, this is legitimately one of the best and most genuine portrayals of marriage (and a long life together) that I have ever read, while simultaneously being a meditation on grief, and a love story spanning an entire lifetime.
Run to read this. I'll send you the tissues.
This book is honest and devastating and poignant and lovely and sad and joyful - and, most importantly, this is legitimately one of the best and most genuine portrayals of marriage (and a long life together) that I have ever read, while simultaneously being a meditation on grief, and a love story spanning an entire lifetime.
Run to read this. I'll send you the tissues.
Educated by Tara Westover
4.0
Damn dude, this book is a horror story.
I don't want to take away from Westover's accomplishments in life, but I do just want to see that it seems like there was a WILD amount of luck for these very unlucky people - like somehow all her schooling seemed to just work out, none of them died from these horrible injuries that were treated with like, rosemary oil or whatever - if this was fiction, it wouldn't be believable.
The book definitely had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and the thing I find most fascinating is that she never completely writes off her family and seems to think reconciliation is possible - what must it feel like to be that optimistic of a person?
I don't want to take away from Westover's accomplishments in life, but I do just want to see that it seems like there was a WILD amount of luck for these very unlucky people - like somehow all her schooling seemed to just work out, none of them died from these horrible injuries that were treated with like, rosemary oil or whatever - if this was fiction, it wouldn't be believable.
The book definitely had me on the edge of my seat the whole time, and the thing I find most fascinating is that she never completely writes off her family and seems to think reconciliation is possible - what must it feel like to be that optimistic of a person?
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
5.0
A profound and inspiring exploration of the relationship between humans and the living world on land that never belonged to us.
Robin Wall Kimmerer's voice as a member of the Potawatomi Nation is authoritative but not intimidating. This book is blueprint. It is a plea to steward the land, to go forth with our best version of an honorable harvest, to speak and act with gratitude to the natural world.
I will be looking for a copy of this for myself so that I can read it again, slowly, whenever I feel called to it.
Robin Wall Kimmerer's voice as a member of the Potawatomi Nation is authoritative but not intimidating. This book is blueprint. It is a plea to steward the land, to go forth with our best version of an honorable harvest, to speak and act with gratitude to the natural world.
I will be looking for a copy of this for myself so that I can read it again, slowly, whenever I feel called to it.
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
3.0
Interesting and sinister, there's an insidious undertone through the entire story - you know there's more mystery than the "main" mystery.
1st person and 3rd person views switch and there's a lot of characters that are hard to keep straight at times, it was just a little convoluted.
Overall, I found this story entertaining but not exceptional.
1st person and 3rd person views switch and there's a lot of characters that are hard to keep straight at times, it was just a little convoluted.
Overall, I found this story entertaining but not exceptional.