writteninthestarwars's reviews
344 reviews

A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

3.75

I genuinely loved this queer, gothicesque book about botany, passion, pain and love. But some of the character work fell flat to me, and the ending left me somewhat unsatisfied.

I'll do a longer review of this on my blog, but the characters' arcs often felt unearned and left me confused as to how they reached the emotional standing they arrived at in the end. I'm also not completely sold on the handling of the female characters, especially when compared to their male counterparts.

Still, I greatly enjoyed this book and will look forward to future work from the author!

Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Me: "I just don't think anything could ever beat Legendborn"

Tracy Deonn: *Writes Bloodmarked*

Bloodmarked reminded why I loved Legendborn so much, and then some. Tracy Deonn has also cemented herself in my mind as one of the best writers of a love triangle ever.

I'd also like to say that, though I am biracial Mexican-American and not Black, Bree's journey throughout this series has always resonated with me. Deonn shows it perfectly in her storytelling, but also in her author's note at the end. Marginalised groups, especially women from marginalised groups, are expected to be brave and strong and fearless and accepting of the hardships forced upon them. But that's not always fair. And we shouldn't always have to bear those burdens. Bree is a perfect exploration of what this means. She's allowed to be complicated and confused and less than perfect. I'll always be thankful Tracy Deonn brought her into our lives.

Have We Met? by Camille Baker

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

When Cori moves back to Chicago for the first time since she was a child, she’s not entirely sure what she’s looking for. So an app mysteriously appearing on her phone and claiming to have the capabilities to guide her directly to her soulmate feels like the perfect solution.
Even if she’s pretty sure what she wants is already right in front of her. 

First things first (but I did NOT choose my rating based on this): the spice level of this book is very nearly non-existent so adjust your expectations accordingly. 

There were a few things I enjoyed about this book and a lot I didn’t. 

What I liked: It’s a book with a genuinely diverse cast of characters. The friendships are beautiful. The plot is quite intriguing, and the last quarter of the book held my attention past my bedtime. 

What I didn’t like: The pacing is all over the place to the point I don’t think I ever was able to really understand Cori’s mindset or reasons for her thoughts/actions. I just don’t think I finished the book having a good feeling for her at all. It didn’t help that information about the characters or the plot is kind of thrown at the reader haphazardly. And though I think the friendships are beautiful … they don’t exactly feel earned to me. There’s something missing in all the interactions that leads to them not connecting the way I hoped they would. 

Finally, the idea of the app is fun and interesting, but I had to suspend a lot of disbelief because it’s never fully explained. Maybe that’s the point, but I finished more confused than enlightened. 

I’m still happy I read this book. It left me with a cute, happy feeling, and I do really appreciate the diverse cast of characters. This is the author’s debut, so I might check out the sequel to see if the writing and structure fits with me more!

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

The best part of this book for me was the exploration of small-town Southern life. Titus's love-hate relationship with his hometown, and his constant questions about whether he's playing in to their games or helping move past them, really resonated with me.

Though the main case is interesting, I didn't enjoy the crime/thriller aspect as much I'd hoped I would given the reviews. The ending felt a bit underwhelming, likely because of a lack of 'wrap up' for the case after the climax.

Still, a solid read and I'll likely read more of the author's work.

The Fury by Alex Michaelides

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.25

Many thanks to the Penguin imprint, Michael Joseph, for sending me an ARC.

I might be one of the very few people who has not yet read Alex Michaelides' other books, The Silent Patient and The Maidens. So, I went into The Fury with no real expectations. Based on some reviews I've seen, this might have been for the best!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Fury and its original narrative style. Michaelides took the 'unreliable narrator' and turned it up a notch by blurring the line between truth and embellishment to a point I've rarely experienced in other books. With this type of narration, there is no solid understanding of the story, which might be off-putting for some, but which I appreciated. 

The entire book felt like a meta exploration of storytelling and I'm very glad to have read it. Michaelides' other work has definitely jumped up on my TBR list after this.

What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

3.25

One of the strangest books I've ever read (I mean that in both a good and bad way). I understood and really liked the premise, but I don't think it was executed as well as it could have been.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Suicide

Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock by Maud Woolf

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

Thank you to Angry Robot for sending me an advanced copy for review!

Lulabelle Rock isn’t just a person, she’s an industry. And she has thirteen copies of herself to prove it.

When copy thirteen wakes up in the world, she’s surprised to find that her purpose in this star-studded industry is to kill the other twelve copies. It’s supposed to be straightforward. It’s supposed to be easy. Thirteen is supposed to be a lucky number.

But nothing in the shiny world of Bubble City is ever quite what it’s supposed to be.

I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Comedic and sometimes incredibly sad Thirteen Ways to Kill Lulabelle Rock is a wonderful mixture of Black Mirror and Orphan Black. It explores the idea and beauty of individuality while still deeply appreciating the need for human connection.

Though I felt the last three chapters were a bit rushed and would have liked a little more to the ending, I love this story and will be thinking of it for a long time. Highly recommend.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

This was my first Emily Henry book and I absolutely understand the hype now because I stayed up until 5am to finish it. Literally everything I want in a romance: just enough angst to keep me going, just enough spice in just the right places, friendships that actually feel real.

Can’t wait to read more Emily Henry books!

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.75

I've been a fan of Stephen Chbosky since I was 18, when I first read Perks of Being a Wallflower. Though the genres of Perks and Imaginary Friend are vastly different, I found that they deal with similar themes of love, resiliency and faith. Unfortunately, Imaginary Friend never quite matched Perks for me.

Coming in at roughly 850 pages, this book could easily be at least 200 shorter just based on how repetitive and long-winded some aspects are. Even so, I would have been more accepting of the unnecessary length if I'd liked the story itself more. Many horror tropes are overused, and the Christian allegories are incredibly, incredibly heavy-handed. It was almost as if Chbosky didn't trust readers to read between the lines and understand his meaning if he didn't spell it out for us. There are only so many times you can compare "the sun" to "the Son" before it becomes trite (and Chbosky crossed that line about 300 pages in). I've seen lots of people praise this book for blending an exploration of hope and humanity into a horror story, but ... that's what horror does. The best horror books are able to do this without specifically pointing it out.

I have a lot to say about Chbosky's dedication being to all mothers, and the main character's mother being the only woman in the book who wasn't a stereotype or made to ridicule in some way, but that's for a longer review.

Still, I did enjoy elements of this book. Chbosky created a truly captivating place in the imaginary world before it turned into a one-to-one allegory. And I was intrigued enough to want to know the end, so that has to count for something.

Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

I loved Get a Life, Chloe Brown, so I had high expectations for this book. And now I think I love this one more??
Talia Hibbert understands my little romance heart and I'm so glad there's still one left in this series for me to read.