maggies's reviews
627 reviews

Central Park West by James Comey

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informative mysterious tense medium-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? No

4.0

Truthfully, I wanted to see what kind of novelist James Comey is, and my verdict is he's not bad. It's clear he was drawing from his own experiences/perspective, and there were some awkward moments where he perhaps over-explained the legal system or legal jargon, but overall the mystery was interesting and the characters were multi-dimensional.
Oak King Holly King by Sebastian Nothwell

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Just wasn’t capturing me.
How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

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adventurous funny mysterious slow-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

4.0

I've never read a book quite like this. It took a while to get into it, but I'm so glad I pushed through! The irreverent tone was hilarious and engaging, and while there are lots of questions left unanswered, I'm very much looking forward to reading the second book in the duology. I have high expectations!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The Roommate by Rosie Danan

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hopeful lighthearted 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? No

3.0

Pros:
  • An easy, short read/listen
  • Interesting/unique setup

Cons:
  • The build up between Clara and Josh felt fast/forced
  • Side plots were a bit much
  • I think it's possible that women-writing-men can be as egregious as men-writing-women
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A Marriage of Misconceptions by Alyssa Martin

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

2.0

This one's tough because I both identified with and kind of hated Teresa—what's the thing about disliking that which is a reflection of oneself? Anyway, Teresa's lack of knowledge/understanding and tendency to judge coupled up to make her a bit insufferable, and Thomas's pursuit of her bordered on stalking by modern-day standards. I honestly thought it was better written than the first in the series, but the content wasn't enjoyable to me personally.
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We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Me, throughout: Just kiss already! Nick and Andy are adorable, and their story was heart-warming to see unfold. It definitely came across as well-researched for the time period, which is always a bonus to me.
Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

Alexis Hall does mental health stuff really well, and I loved following Edwin and Adam as they navigated it together.
Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux

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funny informative medium-paced

5.0

As a crypto-skeptic, reading this book was schadenfreude, so I was almost guaranteed to like it. But Faux's humor, willingness to go the extra mile for his research, and keen attention to the human costs of crypto made it a favorite. The cast of characters is bizarre, from the obvious (Sam Bankman-Fried) to the less obvious (Razzlekhan—seriously, look her up), and Faux somehow managed to simultaneously humanize them and highlight how their eccentricities play into the crypto economy writ large. Highly recommend.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

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

3.0

Unfortunately, this book was not for me, but I'm rating it slightly higher than I would otherwise because the references to all my favorite rom-coms was such catnip for me. That and the authentic portrayal of grief were the real bright spots of this book. On the other hand, I felt the characterizations were flat, with no real evidence for traits that were claimed but never shown.
For example, nearing the end of the book, Liz tells Joss that she didn't tell her the truth because Joss is "judgmental," despite no examples of this in the prior 80% of the book. Bothersome.
The plot and particular plot points were also eerily similar to The Duff. I've only seen the movie adaptation, not read the book, but I was distracted the whole way through by similarities that I didn't feel comfortable just ascribing to the genre as a whole ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
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Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

4.0

What a lovely romance. It's refreshing to read a book with a mature FMC and MMC. It really changes the whole dynamic—these are people with experiences and lives beyond each other and their own little worlds. Nora, raising her children as a newly single parent after her ex leaves them; Leo, grieving his mother and learning about being a "real person." You couldn't help but root for them as they tend to their wounds and tenderly open up to each other. And even the
miscommunication
trope was handled in a way that didn't feel infantile to me, as it so often does, so points for that!
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