walskishere's reviews
100 reviews

It's Been a Pleasure, Noni Blake by Claire Christian

adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

This book is so good! It was very light and tackled serious topics in a very gentle approach. Noni was not the not-like-the-other-girls main character that is often written these days. She had real problems and actually sounded like an adult woman. I'm definitely keeping this book and probably reading again!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Miscarriage

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This was a solid read. There were some things I didn't like, though, for example, I thought August was way too Millennial-tumblr-awkward-quirky, if that makes sense. I also feel like at times the writing was a little wordy, and the book could've been trimmed down by 30-50 pages. I enjoyed the descriptions, but sometimes I would find myself skimming to get the end of the August describing a single feeling or event. 

I did also find Jane and August's connection to each other like, waaaay to convenient. Although, the book does have supernatural/sci-fi undercurrents, so maybe the spiritual/fate aspect fits with that. I don't know if I'd read it again, but would definitely recommend it to the right crowd. I don't think the book is for everyone, but definitely has an audience.

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

This was a great book. It brought me back to when I would watch tennis with my dad. It was amazing to watch Carrie come back and attempt to prove everyone wrong. I also really liked that she was characterized as a bitch. Sometimes she was, but sometimes she was just competitive. It was a great side-commentary on how the media view women in sports. I listened to the audiobook, and would likely buy the book and reread.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

slow-paced

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

2.5

This book was so mid. It put me in a reading slump. It wasn't really bad, but it wasn't really great either. I'm not sure I'll read it again.

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

It was really sad to see Matthew Perry struggle through his addiction. It was harder hearing about it, especially how to media praised him for getting thin. Highly recommend the audiobook, as it's narrated by Matthew, so it's delivered the way he wrote it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Vomit, and Chronic illness

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

dark tense fast-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

This was a thrilling read! It's interesting to see how Atwood wrote about AI 7 years ago vs. what's occurring today. I'd like to delve deeper into Stan and Charmaine's characters, but I think a notable phrase from the book is from Jocelyn, who says something to the effect of, "I'm an English major. I know all the plots."

I would probably read this again. It's a wild little time with fast-paced fun and interesting characters.

An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Benedict was so frustrating and vile in this book. I've given the previous 2 books in the series around 3 stars, but this was just so offensive to read that I had to give it less than that. Benedict's character is aggressive, mean, selfish, and intolerant of Sophie's position. And while Sophie wasn't truthful, warranted or not, if you want to be with someone, that's not how you treat them. 

I do have to say the writing of Araminta and Rosamund was great, because it made me feel all the rage the reader was meant to. And I'm glad that Posy redeemed herself, even mildly, at the end.

I'm really hoping Eloise's book is better than this. She's my favorite Bridgerton and if her story isn't what she deserves, I will cry.

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski

4.5

Overall, this was great. And while I don't fault the author, as the content is complicated, I felt like there were a lot of interwoven science-y parts. That's fine, but there were so many analogies it was hard to keep track of what's what and how one analogy fits into another analogy. Obviously that comes with the territory. Still overall a great resource, and I will likely pick it up to read a few chapters here and there for a refresher.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Reading this book was so captivating. I have been interested in the stories of the Jews that hid in the woods during WWII since I read the non-fiction The Avengers by Rich Cohen. While incredibly heartbreaking, it speaks to the human ability to survive, as does this book.

I would definitely reread this book. If I had to change one thing, I would want more information on Jeruzsa, her powers, and why Yuna.

There was so much commentary on different aspects of the war including hope, love, revenge, other religions, etc.

The Shaadi Set-Up by Lillie Vale

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

There were several problems, for me, with this book. The first half of it, I would say, was great. I thought it was only going to get better, but I turned out to be wrong.

Firstly, the author claims that Rita's best friend, Raj(vee), uses multiple pronouns, but when referring to them, the author only used she pronouns. Why go through the trouble of writing that little bit in there if it's not going to be executed in the book. It was brought up when giving context to the relationship between Milan and Raj, however, the author could've used a different LGBTQIA+ identity if she was going to be lazy about writing it. I just don't understand the point of a throw-away bait like that. 

Secondly,

Spoiler

Milan was childish. He blamed Rita multiple times for what happened when they were teens when it wasn't her fault. She also asks a large chunk of that blame. I'm not saying she was 100% right, but Milan initiated that situation, so most of the responsibility to fix it relied on him. He also said he never broke up with Rita, but he definitely did. He just regretted it and tried to fix it calling her back. That's not the same as never breaking up with her. He then assumes they'll just... pick up where they left off when they decided to work things out. I feel like he made Rita out to be the bad guy, here, when he was, in my opinion, equally, if not more, to blame.

Tertiarily, I didn't feel the chemistry at all between Milan and Rita. The dialogue between them always seemed so calculated. Additionally, there were no spicy scenes we got to read between them, which didn't help.

Fourthly, I understand there are different types on love, but

Spoiler

Aji telling Rita to essentially settle like her mom did, I did not appreciate. If that was one of the themes in the story, we could've cut the second half out, and she could've just married Neil, because love comes in all types, right? This was so annoying, and something I don't think we should be advocating for in a romantic partnership.

Lastly, the stunt Rita's mom pulled at the beginning to set them up again enraged me. AND how she acted throughout the whole first set-up. I wouldn't have been as quiet as Rita, but this could be chalked up to cultural differences, so I didn't end up counting this as a reason for rating it so low. Just thought I would mention my feelings on it.