libbyhb's reviews
231 reviews

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

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5.0

I loved this! Very Sally Rooney. The writing, the structure, everything was just so compelling.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

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emotional hopeful
  • 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

3.0

I kind of enjoyed this? It was a quick read for sure, couldn't put it down. The writing was a little over the top (flowery? idk), and the relationship felt insta-love-y. I really liked the grief elements of the story, they genuinely made me emotional. The device of the time traveling apartment was cool, too. The relationship itself was what I just wasn't fully sold on. But it was still cute.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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dark emotional informative reflective 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? Yes

5.0

ASTOUNDING. Really blew me away. Perfect, complex world building and characters. Beautiful writing style (and different styles depending on the character involved). I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. This was so dark and makes you hate the world we live in, but I loved it nonetheless.
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

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adventurous hopeful 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

3.0

I was a huge Boxcar Children fan growing up, I couldn't tell you how many of them I read from the library as a kid. It's been a long time since I revisited them so I picked this up. I did forget that this first installment has no mystery/doesn't fit the pattern of the others, but still had fun reading it. The characters are so cute, and I can see why I loved them back then. I do want to pick up another one in the series to remember what it's really like, but this was fun and worth the revisit for now.
The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is so cute! I loved the note-passing build up of their relationship, and the payoff was so cute. I also really enjoyed the perspective switching, especially the style of Leon's chapters. The drama parts of this were a little too...dramatic...(?) for me, like in a 2000s women's fiction type way. But generally this was cute and fun.
America the Beautiful?: One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Traveled by Blythe Roberson

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adventurous funny informative medium-paced

3.5

This started off so well for me - I was so into the premise, and her writing style and all of the fun facts she was dropping (like the Theodore Roosevelt section). By the middle it started to feel a little repetitive and almost like there were separate essays embedded within the chapters that didn't really mesh well with the narrative. I did really like the part in her friend's ghost town, though. Super cool.
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

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

3.0

I generally liked this, but some parts didn't work for me. In the first section, I was mostly hanging on for the behind-the-scenes aspect and less for the romance. With the switch to the email section I was HOOKED to the romance part - I'm such a sucker for epistolary stories. Then I kind of flagged on the whole thing by the end section. I wasn't super into any of the characters specifically, and there was a kind of remote/detached way they interacted with each other that felt off to me.
Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

5.0

Loved loved loved this. I loved being in Enid's head and feeling the whole emotional rollercoaster along with her. It felt wild and out of control and so relatable. Every relationship in this was complicated but real, especially between Enid and her mother and Enid and Polly. Such good writing.
Come & Get It by Kiley Reid

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

5.0

This very much lived up to the anticipation for me! The setting of the university was so detailed and grounded in reality which really enhanced the story. The characters were so interesting and complicated. I also liked how efficient(?) the book felt - like nothing was superfluous. Can't wait for more Kiley Reid!
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

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dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

Amaaaaaaziinggggg! I highly recommend reading this on a plane like I did. It really put me in a good headspace for this weird story. This was written so beautifully, and I loved how the plot unfolded. Such an enveloping atmosphere, too.