maggies's reviews
630 reviews

Gracie's Mom by Misty Walker

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Maybe age gap isn’t for me? The spice was spicing when I could forget the cringey age gap and daughter’s best friend element! Plot was so-so, but that’s not really the reason we read these books, is it?
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Off the Air by Christina Estes

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

3.0

The best thing about this book was Phoenix, but that might just be because I miss it so much. I loved following Jolene around the Phoenix metro area as she reported on the suspicious death of a local Rush Limbaugh-type radio personality. Sometimes the historical asides/lessons felt a bit out of place, but they were still interesting tidbits. For a debut novel, I think it was overall a good effort.
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Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons

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emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've always loved the idea of revisiting classic literature to examine whether things could've ended differently, and this was so well executed. It manages to be faithful to the original text, pulling direct quotes and recreating scenes, while also changing the story without changing the meaning of it all. I would highly recommend this as a companion to Romeo and Juliet because it really drives home fact that R+J is not a love story. If I had read this in high school alongside the play, I imagine I'd have felt very differently about Romeo! 
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Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

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

1.0

Booktok lied about this one. The characters are borderline insufferable or otherwise so one dimensional that they might as well not even have been in the cast. It was easily 20% longer than it needed to be, with entire chapters where nothing happens to move the plot forward. The constant references to pregnancy were really annoying, especially because the subtext was always "a baby is the worst thing that can happen to you."
I was really frustrated that Anastasia ended up pregnant at the end despite telling Nate that she didn't want to be pregnant and preferred to adopt.
I also found it to be poorly written in general—the tense was inconsistent and odd, switching randomly between past and present, and the dialogue did not feel authentic...a shocking amount of dialogue happened off-page and was recapped by the characters' internal monologue later, and what did occur on-page was stilted and awkward. The spice might have been the only redeeming aspect of the book ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
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If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 51%.
I think the only reason I listened as much as I did to this is that I’m on vacation and sometimes just needed a few minutes to listen to something quietly. It’s not good and I won’t be returning. Good riddance.
Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice by Elle Cosimano

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

3.0

On its own merits, this book is hugely entertaining! As usual, Finn and Vero are a great duo, racing around Atlantic City on a series of missions and being hampered by what seems like all law enforcement and bad guys on the eastern seaboard. I love how Finn and Vero are so supportive of each other, importantly without telling each other what to do! They are truly women supporting women 🤝 On the other hand, when compared to the previous novels in the series, it was the weakest for me. The pacing felt inconsistent and the action didn’t really thrill until much later in the book (
it was a lot of conversations with various people in various locations, and that didn’t inspire the urgency to jump off the page
). Regardless, Finlay Donovan has me in a chokehold and I will be back for book #5!
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Do Your Worst by Rosie Danan

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious fast-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

A quick, easy, travel day read. Loved getting to know Riley and Clark. The nod to the supernatural was clever and didn’t overwhelm the story, even though it plays an important part. The focus was definitely on Riley and Clark’s growth, together and as individuals. It could have come off like the plot was merely window dressing for the spice, but it was actually really well balanced.
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My Duty To You by Alyssa Martin

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emotional lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

A fun, light, easy read, inspired by Sense and Sensibility, wherein Lynette reads the book and discovers parallels with her own marriage. From a modern perspective, the lack of forthright communication between Lynette and Aiden was frustrating if historically appropriate, but I also just hate the miscommunication trope in general. There were several scenes where, if told a different way, could have made Aiden into a villain, and those stressed me out, but overall it was a quick and enjoyable read.
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Crosstalk by Connie Willis

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adventurous emotional funny reflective slow-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? No

3.0

About halfway through this book I was really loving it! It's a fantastic setup and I enjoyed diving into the action almost right away. However, by the middle of the book, I was losing interest in Briddey's monologue: CB's lying, no he isn't, yes he is, my family won't leave me alone, I love my family, CB's lying again, wait is he?, what lies have I told? and on and on. I think the urgency and emotional connection would have been there if Briddey had been pared back even just a little bit. I loved Maeve though!
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The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is very middle-of-the-road for me. It took a while to build up, and the ending felt very abrupt. In between was mostly Isa being anxious and insufferable, even if she was also justified. 
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