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blewballoon's reviews
694 reviews
Out on a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Well, that was lovely. I prefer romances where the main characters start on friendly terms and then just get closer and closer until love is inevitable. This is a great example of that type of love story. I enjoyed the easy chemistry between the leads from the start. I understand that the "issue" with this type of romance is that it's "harder" to create tension, and here the tension came mostly from the characters just wanting to do the right thing and respect each other's wishes. I really didn't mind those low stakes and appreciated that in all the spots where I thought a trope I hated was going to happen, the characters handled it like emotionally mature adults instead. Also, even though I normally dislike the surprise pregnancy trope/story, this book kind of made me wish for a version where it really was just two people who are friends and decide to raise a baby together, as friends. I think there's a good story there as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, and Death of parent
Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Abandonment
The Perfect Crimes of Marian Hayes by Cat Sebastian
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't know why I put off reading this for so long, it's a great follow up to The Queer Principles of Kit Webb and I loved seeing a bit more of those characters while following Marian and Rob. I picked this up now because I thought it was a Christmas book for some reason, and it does take place in winter time with some mentions of snow, so I guess that's close enough? I thought Marian was great in the first book but wasn't too sure about Rob, he definitely won me over here. I liked the demonstration of different styles of love, motherhood, happiness, and family. The spicy scenes were refreshingly different, especially compared to the Julia Quinn style of historical romance. (No offense to J Quinn, it's just nice to read something unexpected.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, Dementia, and Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Pregnancy
The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
I actually like cheesy Hallmark/Netflix Christmas movies, but this isn't working for me. The sisters, particularly Charlie, just seem really stupid with the decisions they make. I can't root for them. The love interests are incredibly bland, and there's too much lying for any romance to work. The toxic male antagonists are annoying and I'm sure will be dealt with at the very end in an unrealistic way along with the fallout when all the lies come out. I can already map out the trajectory of this book and I'm not interested in seeing it happen.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Excellent Victorian Christmas vibes, definitely a great book to read around the holiday season. I think fans of Salt & Broom by this author will also enjoy this one. At times it reminded me of Mimi Matthews books. The romance and the mysteries take up about the same space in the book, but I thought both plots were done well. There was one segment of the book where I got pretty frustrated with the characters, but their choices did make some sense considering they didn't have all of the information that I did as the reader.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Mental illness, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was delightful! I don't have much of a history with Supermarket Sweep apart from a very good Saturday Night Live sketch, but the book added plenty of context for the fictionalized version of the show. Holden was a compelling main character, quite flawed but willing to learn and grow. The love interest, Leo, didn't feel too perfect like some love interests in single POV romances do. I thought the natural chemistry between Leo and Holden was done really well, it was fairly believable that these two could become as close as they did as quickly as they did. The spicy scenes are fairly graphic, and I normally don't enjoy reading dom-sub sex, but the author managed to do it in such a way that it was still appealing and woven into the characters getting emotionally closer. The audiobook narrator also did a good job. Would recommend to anyone interested in the premise who is up for the more overt spice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Infidelity
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
funny
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
I had seen a negative review for this book, so I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. I thought the writing was solid and I actually thought the romance worked, as well as the mystery. The audiobook narrators are two of my favorites, and they both smashed it as always. The banter reminded me of Lucifer and Chloe (from Lucifer the TV show). I didn't pick this as my Book of the Month, and now I kind of wish I had because I liked it much better than the book I did pick.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Gun violence, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Good, silly, smutty, Christmas fun! Definitely a book meant for the more sex positive and open minded, but I feel like the premise makes that pretty clear. Both audiobook narrators were good. Looking forward to more from this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Starter Villain by John Scalzi
adventurous
funny
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? No
4.0
This book doesn't have the things I usually am looking for in a book, but what it does have it does well. I'm most invested in characters and their relationships, which is why I read a lot of romance; it's a genre that has similar priorities. This book is focused on a quirky and twisty plot and humorous commentary and dialogue. It's like one really long and actually quite good Saturday Night Live sketch. It was fun and refreshing to read something outside my typical domain, but still compelling and enjoyable. I'd recommend to most readers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Car accident, Alcohol, and War
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
If you enjoyed this, then I'd recommend Alice Oseman's novels, which are more somber and tense than the Heartstopper comics. This reminded me of Loveless in particular with regards to the setting and general character dynamics, but the main character in that book and the one in this book have quite different problems. This book is also a bit of a product of its time and some of the dialogue and attitudes are bit less culturally sensitive than a more contemporary book would probably be. I usually give books that I had a pretty good time with but didn't get really excited about 4 stars, but I can't quite give this book that rating. I started the book disliking all of the characters at least a tiny bit and none of them managed to fully grow on me. I mostly felt uncomfortable and worried while reading, right up until the end I just didn't trust that anything would be resolved or that Cath was going to make good decisions. I will say that it was interesting to read this after having read Carry On, since a decent percentage of the book is references to that story and the Simon Snow in-universe series. The audiobook narrator was a little too monotone for me, I had her sped up to 1.7 speed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, and Sexual harassment
The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig
Did not finish book. Stopped at 63%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 63%.
This book is gloomy, but not in a fun way, and it's a bummer, but not in a meaningful way. It feels like sad things happen just because. Hazel never seems to learn from her painful mistakes or from any of the tragedies she witnesses. At this point in the book (63%) she's being especially frustrating.
I liked Hazel well enough for the first like 30% of the book, but she's lost my favor now and I don't find any other characters likable or interesting. Even the god of death is a bit boring and disappointing. The gruesome imagery also feels pointless, the world building feels too vague and nebulous for it to contribute to the atmosphere. At first I thought this world might be similar to Little Thieves with the way the gods are involved and presented, but the fantasy setting is too incongruous with itself, there are many anachronisms and modern vocabulary that pull it back and forth across potential time periods.
The audiobook narrator is alright, and I was going to try to push through with a higher speed (I was already at 1.55) but I saw that I still had 6 hours left and I don't really want to spend 6 more hours on a book I'm not enjoying at all.
I liked Hazel well enough for the first like 30% of the book, but she's lost my favor now and I don't find any other characters likable or interesting. Even the god of death is a bit boring and disappointing. The gruesome imagery also feels pointless, the world building feels too vague and nebulous for it to contribute to the atmosphere. At first I thought this world might be similar to Little Thieves with the way the gods are involved and presented, but the fantasy setting is too incongruous with itself, there are many anachronisms and modern vocabulary that pull it back and forth across potential time periods.
The audiobook narrator is alright, and I was going to try to push through with a higher speed (I was already at 1.55) but I saw that I still had 6 hours left and I don't really want to spend 6 more hours on a book I'm not enjoying at all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and War