kajasversion's reviews
184 reviews

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

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challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

I loved the writing and the story itself, but not enough to give it 5 stars. It was an interesting experience and i felt like the insight into the character was good but could be fleshed out a bit more in certain parts. I don’t think i’d read it again since the first 1/3 of the book is just her talking about calories, but it was great nonetheless. 
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Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan

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challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.5

I think the writing is magnificent and i truly did enjoy reading it. Some scenes were a bit too much for me personally, but not in a sense that they were bad, just that they were really gruesome and a bit hard to read. I think it’s an interesting portrayal of love that isn’t good for any party involved. I wasn´t rooting for any of the characters, but i did feel deep pain for how the mc was feeling because i think that her emotions and her view of the relationship and herself were so beautifully transferred onto paper.
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Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

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

4.75

This book is the epitome of ´no plot just vibes´ and i loved it so much. The writing is so meticulous and it felt like i was there, living through everything with Isa. And i read it during the summer which just adds another layer, cuz i think i picked it up at just the right time. 
She Gets the Girl by Alyson Derrick, Rachael Lippincott

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
i hate ya i don’t know why i even bother i feel like i lost braincells reading this and the mcs barely met
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

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emotional hopeful sad 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? No

5.0

Now that i have finished it, looking back on it, it doesn’t seem like a stand out story, but it just resonated and spoke to a deep part of me and i genuinely love it so dearly. I can’t wait to read it again. 
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Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

It truly is an good book, but still, with all the metaphors and discussions of emotions, i felt like it was lacking more depth. I can’t quite articulate what, but something was missing from the book to make it truly an amazing one. I would probably come back to it cuz the writting is exquisite. 
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Heaven by Mieko Kawakami

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

3.25

I absolutely adored the writing, I think it was truly phenomenal especially the vivid descriptions and the metaphors. However the story itself was… weird? Like I don’t get how a 14 yo bully can think the way it was presented in this book, and also I felt  a lot of the time that I was being pushed an agenda or a way of thinking from almost every character. And the bullying scenes really did not have to be so graphic, especially considering how many there were. It was actually traumatising just reading about it since you spend the majority of the book reading about how they are being abused and not actually spending half as much time on developing them as a person and exploring how they are feeling. Idk it just felt flat for me and it had great potential at the beginning, however I was greatly disappointed. 

TW: attempted rape
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Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It was really beautifully written and it felt like every word was meticulously chosen, the plot and characters however was where the book lost me a bit. I’m still confused as to what actually happened to Lea, and you could argue that it’s not the point of the book but it kinda becomes one once the author basically spends the whole book building it up. The love story was beautiful and truly sad but for some reason i just couldn’t connect with the characters. The sci-fi/fantasy element seemed very unnecessary and kind of far fetched especially since it’s supposed to be set in our world but there was no predisposition that would explain how something like this can even happen. It was a very fun experience and no matter how much i criticise the book, i still loved reading it and it was genuinely a pleasant experience, i just feel like some things could improve it drastically. 
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

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slow-paced

2.75

I genuinely don’t know what to write. I read this whole book and i have no idea why the war started,  how does it unravel, who is in charge, how the time travel? works. It’s all so confusing because nothing is established ag the beginning and throughout the book we only get a couple of glimpses into the world but thats it. I liked idea of the love story itself but it was executed so poorly it was just sad. The characters were not fleshed out in the slightest, i know barely anything about them. I genuinely don’t know what i would tell a person if they asked me what the book was about, that’s how undeveloped everything is. And it’s such a shame cuz the writing is amazing, the author truly has a way with words. But from all the hype i heard, this was a big disappointment. 
Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-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

3.5

I think the book is good, and the summer vibes were radiating, ignoring all the sadness. But i was bothered by the main love story. I read the author’s note and i can see how the book is very personal, but i just didn’t necessarily feel like it was realistic regarding the timeline and the fact he left and didn’t speak to her for 10 years. They also just knew each other for less than a day, and personally after all of that i would not have let him in again. The whole thing just rubbed me the wrong way, idk I wasn’t a huge fan. The book is still good, i really loved the subplot with her mom and Peter and their love through their whole lives.