jomarie's reviews
314 reviews

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

This book did not deliver on the promises of the back cover blurb. I wanted to see what growing up was like for Elizabeth, wanted the tension that came with Victor being sent away for school and coming back amid tragedy that he helped cause. The flashbacks were as close as we got, but they came in only when Elizabeth was reminiscing on a specific memory. 

While Elizabeth was positioned as being a master manipulator, it had a desperate edge to it that didn’t strike the right cord for me. In the beginning, I couldn’t tell if Elizabeth truly wanted to be with Victor or if she just was compelled due to her station - and I don’t think I was supposed to question that. Victor retained his dramatic pick-me tendencies from the original story, but with a more sinister, psychotic edge which was the best combination of original text and innovation by White in the whole novel. 

In fact, the one plus this reimagining has over the original text is that it had much more of the gothic, creepy vibes I expected from a story about reanimating the dead. Although, if I hadn’t read Frankenstein right before, then I’m not sure I would have enjoyed this book since everyone’s travel across Europe would have seemed overly random. 

The final nail in the coffin for me was the ending. There was promise when the author changed Elizabeth’s end from the original text, even if I didn’t love the implication that Victor wrote a fictitious version of events that became The Modern Prometheus (put some respect on Mary Shelley’s name). Still, it was a chance for the author to get creative. Elizabeth’s final confrontation, however, felt a bit rushed and out of the blue, and then the literal last page went back on her characterization for the back half of the book. My opinion of the book plummeted from ‘fine’ to ‘annoying’. 

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is just one of those stories where the premise is better than the actual plot. 
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Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I know it’s a romance novel but Bee and Levi were perfectly matched. At times, it felt like Ali was really pushing Bee to be the Quirky Science Girl (TM), but I still deeply wanted to see her succeed. Levi gave me total Mr. Darcy vibes, as he was grumpy without being a total jerk. His inner monologue was also so stinking cute! * squealing in hopeless romantic * 

The progression of the story felt really natural and there was never a bit where I felt like the action was lagging or too overwhelming. I started out wishing Bee and Levi got together sooner, but how it happened was much better. I sort of predicted the twist, but it was still widely entertaining. Because of this, I think this story would be a great book to adapt to a movie. 

I wanted a cute romance novel and Love on the Brain delivered. While the characters were maybe a little more basic than I’m used to in my usual reads, the chemistry and plot were excellent! I’ll definitely be recommending this to my friends and looking forward to reading her other novels. 
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Tease by Amanda Maciel

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

docked one star for unnecessary romance subplot, the lack of empathy for the dead girl from the MC until she was pretty much made to make a statement in court, and for the back copy leading me to believe the MC was going to be the main perpetrator of the bullying when really she was a painted as just going along with her shitty friend.
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Towering by Alex Flinn

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adventurous mysterious sad 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

2.0

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The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

“The finest of pleasures are always the unexpected ones.” 🎪 

The Night Circus is a book that had been on my radar since it first came out over a decade ago. However, it took until the beginning of this year to get my hands on a copy and months after that to finally read it. 

I thought it was a wonderfully enchanting story that captures the delight and magic of the circus in a way that I don’t think I’ve felt or really understood since I was a kid. It also has super similar vibes to another book I read this year, The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Solo, which I’ve been recommending a lot. 

The one thing that made it difficult for me to follow was the time jumps following multiple characters. My eyes tend to skip over chapter headers and, honestly, unless it’s relational to a Big Event, I’m terrible with timelines, so I was having to puzzle out what had happened in what order to who while reading. I know that I had the story laid out as far as the plot was concerned, but some nagging part of my brain did get hung up on figuring out the timeline. Before I was halfway done, I was already planning on reading it chronologically my next time through to see if it helps my engagement without hurting the story. 

Also, as much as I love a slow burn, this one was pretty slow. Then, after feelings were confirmed, there was so little romantic interaction after they were that that element of the story felt unbalanced and not as satisfying as I would have hoped. That said, the two leads were exceptionally good at dancing around one another and the banter was honestly top quality. 


I am so glad to have read this book, even if it didn’t top my list of favorites the way I’ve heard others say it has. However, maybe that is only a matter of letting it sit with me and in time I’ll grow to love it even more. It’s just that kind of story. 
Things Are What You Make of Them: Life Advice for Creatives by Adam J. Kurtz

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funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

2.75

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I'm sure if I had read this in high school and not in my mid-20s, I would have enjoyed it more, so I think this book just wasn't for me. I would still recommend it for fans of Simon vs. the Homo Sapien Agenda and any teen looking to read LGBT+ stories.
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The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

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4.25

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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

3.5

We love broken & beautiful people. 🎤 

While I didn’t know much about this book going into it, I had high expectations based on what I had heard about the story. 

Since the book is set up to be a biography of the band, I guess it explains why it took a minute to focus on Billy and Daisy’s upbringing. However, I don’t feel like the story really started until 120 pages into the book. Once it did, I loved playing with the tension between Daisy & Billy. I thought their working relationship was fascinating & honestly kind of cheapened when the romance element was introduced.


Seeing their process of building out the album was cool, though I sort of wish the lyrics were included in the story & not just the back of the book so we could see exactly what they were talking about. In fact, I wish the format was played with a little more. It was certainly interesting to have it laid out as a series of interview transcripts. Perhaps that’s why I heard so many people say it worked well as an audiobook. As a print format, the style lacked the detail that would be included in an actual biography of a band like photos, articles, & the song lyrics I mentioned before.


As for the characters, my opinions of them shifted throughout the book, which is good so no one was just one thing to me. Daisy was tragic & beautiful and Billy was just tragic. I don’t feel like he got an actual win throughout the whole book. As the story progressed, I felt more invested in Karen & Graham. Then, the ending twist didn’t quite land for me as much as it could have & I think it’s because it’s such an easy edit in my mind that I’m annoyed it was written how it was.


Overall, I think this was not the best medium to tell the story the way it was. I’m curious to see how the upcoming TV show might do it differently & if the story hits a little harder for me then. If you like TJR or the OG rock scene, I can see someone enjoying this, but for me, it just wasn’t a hit.


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The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Imma be honest: I didn't know much of what was going on and really couldn't keep most of the names straight. I only knew a vague outline of the plot after watching the movie adaption years ago and, since they take roughly the same amount of time, I'd pick the movie.
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