blewballoon's reviews
672 reviews

The Merriest Misters by Timothy Janovsky

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

4.0

This was a light, easy read. I only heard of this book because it was the romance book club pick at my local bookstore. I didn't read the blurb or anything, and it was fun to go into it blind since the main plot came out of nowhere. While it was easy to get through, there were aspects of the book I didn't love. I was often frustrated with Patrick and found the writing a little overly simplistic and unsubtle in spots. If I was told this was a debut I would have believed it. My favorite moments came towards the end (
the brothers phone call and the shelter dog
) and were just effective enough to give my heartstrings a little tug, but would have hit harder if there had been more build up and they weren't swept up in what was almost a character development montage. I did appreciate that this felt like a fresh take on a holiday romance by following a married couple growing apart and reconnecting rather than a new relationship, and avoiding or lamp-shading a lot of common holiday romance tropes. Spice is fade to black for anyone curious. 
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How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

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dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.25

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but I really enjoyed it. The present day segments reminded me a little of some of my favorite historical mystery series like the Lily Adler Mysteries and the Gilded Newport Mysteries, but in a contemporary setting. I actually thought the pacing between the past and present segments was done pretty well, the journal entries were interspersed in such a way that the reader was discovering them at the same time as Annie. I got pretty sucked in and had my own mental murder board going as more information was revealed. I also thought the author managed to handle introducing all of the characters/suspects in such a way that they were revealed gradually and with enough emphasis that it was fairly easy to keep track of them all. The audiobook narrators were both good, and reflected the different outlooks of their characters in their delivery. Annie had more of a sense of humor and Frances was more introspective. I'd definitely read more from this series.
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The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson

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

3.75

I always struggle with books about main characters who are lying and keeping secrets from the important people in their lives. It's especially difficult for me when a romance is involved, since I feel like it undermines the level of consent due to one member of the pairing not being able to make a fully informed decision. This is one of those books. Maggie's reasons for lying to her best friend, love interest, and boss are all spelled out clearly, but it made me uncomfortable. 

I think the character journey of Maggie starting to figure out what her talents and passions were and why other jobs and career paths hadn't worked for her in the past was done pretty well, with some balance between showing and telling. I liked seeing her make connections with the townspeople, not just befriending them but creating a network that benefited everyone. I thought the old curmudgeon character was done much better in this book than The Lonely Hearts Book Club. I also liked the ending and the resolutions to the main plots. 

This falls into the contemporary fiction sub-genre of books about books, but Maggie the POV character isn't actually that much of a book worm. It feels more like one of those books about a woman in their 20s-30s still figuring their life out like Georgie All Along. I'm not sure how much the romance was supposed to factor in, but it felt like a sub-plot to me. (For those curious: There is one "sex scene" but it's basically just "and then we had sex" without any significant detail.) 

So, I guess in summary I didn't love or hate this book, it does some things well, and I wouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it who was already interested. The audiobook narrator did a good job, but I listened to her at 1.65 speed.
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The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang

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emotional reflective slow-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

3.5

This book is fine, it feels a little like the kind of story that would have been a Lifetime or Disney channel movie back in the 90s with some really bad special effects. For me reading it today, I just never really cared what was happening. I didn't really like either of the sisters, although I preferred Zadie to Finn. None of the people or places they visited along their journey to find their mom made an impact on me, I was usually just waiting for the sisters to move on or frustrated with their decision making. The audiobook narrator was okay. Just a very meh book. I will give it credit for not being about a romance, it's refreshing to read stories about other kinds of relationships, but it loses a point for
throwing Joel in as a potential love interest.
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The Nightmare Before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

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emotional funny 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

4.75

I'd recommend this to fans of Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, there are a lot of similarities in the setup and tone, but in this case the fantasy element is that Holidays have real magic and are run by royal families rather than the US having a female president. 😅 I was expecting a fun and silly romance, which was definitely delivered, but was pleasantly surprised by the political plots and world building for how the holidays worked. There are several spicy scenes and a lot of sexual tension, arguably a case of insta-love and insta-lust, but the scenes are not particularly graphic. The insta-elements were done pretty well, considering those are tropes I usually don't like. Part of the book takes place in the normal world away from the holiday magic, but most of the book takes place in Christmas land. The entire book is told from the Christmas Prince's perspective. I did wish we got more time exploring how Halloween worked, and it would have been cool to have the prince of Halloween's perspective, but that's a small criticism. If you're the kind of person who is a little annoyed to see the Halloween decorations in stores come down before Halloween is even over and frustrated with how  commodified the Christmas season has become, you might get a little smug satisfaction from this book as well.
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Interesting Facts About Space by Emily Austin

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Nope. This is one of those contemporary books where you're just following the train of thought of some 20-30 year old woman and whatever quirks the author has decided to give her. Unfortunately, I don't like being in this character's head and that's going to keep me from enjoying whatever plot this book may have had.
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Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

So much fun!! This is definitely a high school romance with aspects of a coming-of-age story, but as an adult reader who appreciates sweet, grounded teen romances like Heartstopper this was a great time for me. This is a little more lighthearted than Heartstopper, but just as charming. I was immediately invested in the story. Riley is a vibrant protagonist driven by her passions and learning from her mistakes. Nathan, the love interest, is a great character as well. He has enough layers for Riley to peel back to be intriguing and to make his moments of vulnerability feel more impactful. He has some insane charisma, the dude is ridiculously smooth during the fake dating scenes. It's easy to see why she'd fall for him and how well their personalities compliment each other. The supporting cast of friends all felt like individuals with their own lives and personalities. I loved the balance between Riley's other budding or established friendships, her growing understanding of her parents, her musical theater goals, and the romance. It was all woven together very well and the tension and pacing felt just right. I could have easily read this in one sitting if I had the time.
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Taxi Ghost by Sophie Escabasse

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funny lighthearted
  • 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

4.75

This aims more middle grade than some other YA graphic novels I've read, but it was cute and sweet. I was surprised by the resolution of the gentrification plot, it was more realistic than how I've seen other stories tackle that type of plotline.
A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

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

3.0

For me this was like the author bought a bunch of ingredients that could have made a great dish, but nothing was seasoned or cooked properly and it just kind of tastes like bitter mush. If you like mean lesbians who have no character growth, grumpy + sunshine pairings where neither have any nuance, dark academia: backpacking edition that feels as immersive as a puddle, extremely thin allegories, and a gaggle of uninteresting interchangeable characters, then this will hit the spot. Jokes aside, I feel like there will be plenty of people who enjoy this who aren't as character-driven of a reader as I am. I could not make myself care about the main character and her straight line of starting the book as a broody jerk and finishing the book as a broody jerk, and her perception of every other character is so narrow and unforgiving that I couldn't latch onto anyone or anything to keep my attention. Despite excellent narrator Saskia Maarleveld's efforts, I felt like my mind was constantly wandering away from the book. 3 Stars because I think there was potential and I think there will be an audience for it and I'm happy for those readers, but I personally didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
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The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-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

Hollywood-centric romances aren't really my favorite, or celebrity romances. I've read two by Katherine Center so far and she actually does them in a way that manages to keep my attention. The characters and settings feel grounded and interesting enough that I find myself drawn in despite not being drawn to the tropes of the sub-genre. This one lost me a bit towards the end, but if you want a no-spice contemporary romance I do recommend this and any of Katherine Center's other books. Even when I'm not in the mood for them when I pick them up, they always end up charming me through.
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