sfbookgirl's reviews
412 reviews

Landline: A Christmas Love Story by Rainbow Rowell

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

3.0

Landline is a cute holiday novel that tells the story of a married woman who spends Christmas away from her husband and children for the first time in years. But every time she picks up the old landline at her mother’s house this holiday season, she finds herself having conversations with her husband…from the past…Maybe she can fix their present-day relationship through the conversations she has with her husband on the phone. 
 
Rowell’s novel is a cute story, but I found Landline’s plot to ultimately travel in circles without any sort of underlying motive or end-goal. The story ends suddenly and I didn’t love any of the characters. If you are looking for a cute holiday read, I encourage you to go into it with lower expectations. 
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Under the Whispering Door is a love letter to those that we have lost. Categorized as speculative fiction, TJ Klune wrote a character-driven story about what happens to us after we die. Turns out, it involves making friends in a tea shop. The novel is centered around Wallace, an uptight lawyer who finds himself dead after suffering from a heart attack. But wait, Wallace has so many meetings to manage, so many forms to sign…he can’t die yet. With no choice in the matter, Wallace learns to accept his fate while meeting a few new friends along the way. 
 
Despite how little the story progresses, I found Under the Whispering Door to be an engaging read that asks readers to think about life, death, and the unknown. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how easily the ending wrapped up, but I really enjoyed the thought-provoking, yet wholesome story. TJ Klune is a prolific writer and I can’t wait for what he writes next!
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In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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

Why the book title has the word “knife” in it when it should really be scissors I’m not sure…but forget that for a moment and get your hands on this book immediately! This is one of my favorite thrillers of the year. I looove dark academia and this one was just so good. If I didn’t already own so many books, I would buy a physical copy just to hold it and cherish it forever 🖤 
 
Ten years after graduating from Duquette University, Jessica Miller has plans to look dazzling, beautiful, and oh-so different than how she appeared in college, back when her friend Heather’s murder changed everything. When Jessica and her friends are reunited at their 10-year reunion, she and her friends discover that Heather’s younger brother is still on the hunt to find the murderer, and is convinced that one person from Jessica’s friend group is guilty. I wish I could read it again for the first time. So juicy, so thrilling, so intense. I loved every page.
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Lore Olympus: Volume One by Rachel Smythe

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

Talk about one of the most beautiful graphic novels ever! Lore Olympus quickly became one of my favorite reads of the year. Originally posted on Webtoon by author and illustrator Rachel Smythe, Lore Olympus tells the story of two Greek gods - Hades and Persephone - and their forbidden love dilemma with a modern twist.

This is definitely a fast-paced book that you could easily read in one sitting. I loved the illustrations and story so much - I’ll be sure to read it again. And this edition only has the first 25 episodes. You can go to Smythe’s Webtoon and read the hundreds of other episodes for free. I think I know what I’ll be doing this weekend…
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Front Desk by Kelly Yang

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dark informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Front Desk was put on my radar after a parent filed a complaint that the book should be taken out of a school’s curriculum because it was promoting racism. ??? Based on real-life experiences by author Kelly Yang, main character Mia Tang is a young immigrant who now lives in and helps to manage a motel with her family in the United States in order to make ends meet. Despite the fact that the book is intended for a younger audience, Front Desk is a heavier middle grade novel that examines racism, inequality, and poverty. 
 
I’m really glad I read Front Desk…and even more excited that there are two more books in the series! While depicting heavier topics, Front Desk is a great read for advanced middle grade readers looking to gain a greater awareness of racism and inequality through a fictional narrative.
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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

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

3.0

Labeled as “Gossip Girl meets Get Out,” I was pretty excited to read Ace of Spades…and everyone has definitely hyped it up. I won’t give too much away, but Ace of Spades is about two Black students at a private high school who are the victims of a series of text messages that threaten to reveal all of their deepest and darkest secrets. The book is a fast-paced read in which I ended up reading three-fourths of the book in one day 😮 but I have a few thoughts about the mechanics of the novel. 
 
Reviewing a young adult book as an adult reader is tricky. As adult readers who read adult novels, we often expect more sophisticated writing, deeper plot points, and more in-depth character development. Young adult novels can definitely have these elements too, and that relationship between writing and character development should ideally be amongst the same caliber. I think teenage readers of Ace of Spades would have benefited from a story with more sophisticated writing, but that isn’t to say that the content of the book is also lacking. Àbíké-Íyímídé provides readers with a strong, thrilling story that sparks an important conversation about racism in an academic setting.
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The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

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funny lighthearted
  • 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

5.0

Another romance hit! This book has it all. ✅ Academic setting ✅ Steamy romance ✅ (Bonus) Located locally with accurate geographical references. ✅ (Bonus) Star Wars fan fiction?? @treereads brought this book (and the Star Wars reference) to my attention and all I could picture as the love interest is Adam Driver. 
 
The Love Hypothesis is about Stanford Ph.D. candidate Olive Smith (*ahem* Rey) who goes to extreme lengths to convince her best friend that she is over some guy so that her best friend can go date him instead. She pretends to fake date the untouchable and scary Professor Dr. Adam Carlsen after accidentally bumping into him to the point where she kisses him. But can Olive keep up this fake dating scheme? Or will it evolve into something more?…All around this book is absolutely amazing and is definitely one of my favorite books of 2021. A must-read! 
 
Content warnings: sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual content, death of a parent, cancer 
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The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

Oh, how I desperately wanted to like this one. I’ve heard amazing things about Wendig’s previous book, Wanderers, and I’m a big fan of all things spooky. Despite the hefty page count, I was determined to read it during spooky season to get my share of horror. The Book of Accidents had elements of magical realism that I, unfortunately, did not enjoy, and I would have rather done without. Nevertheless, The Book of Accidents is definitely a spooky tale…I had vivid dreams every night while reading this book. 
 
The Book of Accidents is somewhat of a scary family saga in which Nathan and his wife Maddie move into Nathan’s old childhood home after his father passes away. Both Nathan and Maddie were raised with somewhat terrifying childhood experiences, and when their son Oliver starts getting spooked by things he sees in the woods out back, Nathan and Maddie start to panic. There were quite a few components of the story that I really enjoyed, but I think I could have done without those magical realism elements. Several people I’ve talked to have said otherwise, so it’s up to you to decide whether to pick this one up. 
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The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

This witchy book is fabulous! I devoured it in a couple of days during spooky season and I loved every bit of it. If you’re looking for something light, but spooky (no scares involved), this is the book for you! The Ex Hex is about a witch named Vivienne Jones who *accidentally* put a curse on her ex-boyfriend, Rhys Penhallow, for funsies and he doesn’t even know it. 
 
Fast forward nine years and Rhys has plans to return to Vivienne’s witchy town to recharge the town’s ley lines. But when Rhys arrives, Vivienne learns that her *for funsies* hex that she put on Rhys has some pretty strange consequences...I found The Ex Hex to be absolutely hilarious and a perfect read for spooky season, although this book is honestly perfect for any season.
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The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

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dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! I found it to be spookier than your average thriller and loved the good-old-fashion mystery storyline. The Sun Down Motel switches between two characters - Viv Delaney in 1982 and her niece, Carly Kirk, in 2017. Carly’s aunt Viv mysteriously disappeared while working at the Sun Down Motel in 1982 and Carly returns to Fell, New York to solve what happened to her long-lost aunt in the present-day 2017. 
 
I don’t normally enjoy the back and forth between two different characters and periods of time, but I loved trying to solve the mystery while reading about Viv’s and Carly’s experiences. If you’re looking for something spooky, you’ll find your fair share of ghosts and weird noises, but nothing so scary that it will keep you up at night. As the author Simone St. James says in the dedication, this book is definitely for murderinos. 
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