_soraya_pl's reviews
310 reviews

The Hearing Test by Eliza Barry Callahan

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challenging fast-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? No

3.0

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

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challenging funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

The translators are on a case when their author goes missing. This book is a translation from another translator’s POV. Confused? Godspeed reading this book. 
Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin

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

3.0

You don’t find out until the end of the book why the title is “Night Will Find You” and honestly it’s not fitting. Even though the book was 340 pages it felt way longer than it needed to be. It’s a slow build and I think Joie’s explanation for joining Bubba Guns is rushed and not developed fully. I would read another book by Heaberlin.
How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind by Clancy Martin

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emotional reflective tense slow-paced

3.0

If this book was titled “How Not to Kill Yourself by Drinking” I would’ve had better expectations and honestly skipped it. Alcoholism isn’t something I struggle with so if you also don’t, this memoir may be a skip. I anticipated a mix of memoir and thought process of the suicidal mind, not hours of AA meetings. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris

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

3.25

Lost Hours by Paige Shelton

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

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

2.0

The book has so many new characters just hope you figure out who is who, their ages and relationships. If you can pretend to believe Russians descend on a small southern town to find a Faberge egg and that twins separated at an orphanage have the pieces of the egg AND many people get murdered, this is the book for you! Coble must be a practicing Christian because every chapter had the line “just pray” at least twice. 
The Daughters of Block Island by Christa Carmen

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

4.0

As a Rhode Islander who doesn’t enjoy Block Island, I think Carmen nailed it. I was very nervous about how many times “gothic novel” was mentioned because my immediate assumption of gothic fiction is Mexican gothic which isnt my style. But Carmen was aiming for “new gothic” which she does in this story. It’s the epitome of dreary weather small town “trust no one” fiction!
Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Touched by Walter Mosley

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

2.0

Low 2 because I could follow the story but it’s so loosely sci-fi I wouldn’t categorize it that way. Trust is a very unreliable narrator and there’s little development as to why he’s going to save the world… It’s more a short story about the judicial system and racism in Hollywood.