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brittishliterature's reviews
210 reviews
One Day in December by Josie Silver
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Have loved listening to this series on audio for roadtrips or doing chores - there’s just something comforting about it 💚
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Read this one for my local bookstore’s Bingo Book Club and loved it! A good mix of mystery and rom-com set around Christmas - and the audiobook narration was superb as well. 🎄🕵🏻♀️
I enjoyed the mystery aspect, which made it feel different enough and more interesting than the average holiday romance to keep me turning the page. The spice level was pretty PG, but I liked that, so just don’t expect much there if that’s what you’re looking for.
I would definitely recommend, it was such a fun read and I look forward to reading The Blonde Identity next. I also didn’t realize she wrote The Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor, which has been on my TBR for a while! And she wrote the Netflix rom-com “A Castle for Christmas” so I’ll have to watch that one.
(Also cool that she lives in Oklahoma! 🫶🏼)
I enjoyed the mystery aspect, which made it feel different enough and more interesting than the average holiday romance to keep me turning the page. The spice level was pretty PG, but I liked that, so just don’t expect much there if that’s what you’re looking for.
I would definitely recommend, it was such a fun read and I look forward to reading The Blonde Identity next. I also didn’t realize she wrote The Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor, which has been on my TBR for a while! And she wrote the Netflix rom-com “A Castle for Christmas” so I’ll have to watch that one.
(Also cool that she lives in Oklahoma! 🫶🏼)
Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News by Brian Zahnd
Will come back to it later
A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
Kinda liked the vibes for October, but the story wasn’t grabbing me.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
So slow and I was getting bored. Looked up spoilers to at least know what happened and glad I didn’t push through, because I don’t think it would have been worth another 330 pages 😅 Really disappointed in this one after seeing it recommended and loved by others, but oh well. I’ve got too many other exciting reads to get to, so I’m proud of myself for DNF’ing!!
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Finally read this one for a book club, and I may have more thoughts to add later but here’s my initial reaction:
While this book didn’t exactly rock my world, I still enjoyed it once I got past some of the things I didn’t enjoy about the delivery style/writing. At times it felt a bit distracting or off-putting and got in the way of my getting lost in the story. (And also I felt like all the death from so early on and then constantly was unnecessary? Idk just started to feel like overkill and kind of annoyed me but whatever.) It got more interesting by the end of the book, and I do really like the characters and plot at the core of it all so I look forward to reading the next one.
UPDATE: After finishing this one I found myself sad that I wasn’t reading it anymore and ready to get back into the world so I guess that says something 😂
While this book didn’t exactly rock my world, I still enjoyed it once I got past some of the things I didn’t enjoy about the delivery style/writing. At times it felt a bit distracting or off-putting and got in the way of my getting lost in the story. (And also I felt like all the death from so early on and then constantly was unnecessary? Idk just started to feel like overkill and kind of annoyed me but whatever.) It got more interesting by the end of the book, and I do really like the characters and plot at the core of it all so I look forward to reading the next one.
UPDATE: After finishing this one I found myself sad that I wasn’t reading it anymore and ready to get back into the world so I guess that says something 😂
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Funny Story by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’m officially hooked on Emily Henry. She knows how to write feel-good stories with depth and characters that are so real.
Daphne Vincent and Miles Nowak were such a cute pairing 🥹🫶🏼 And I enjoyed the storylines and relationships with Julia, Ashleigh, Daphne’s mom, and the other characters just as much. I loved reading this one and look forward to whichever one of hers I read next 💙
Daphne Vincent and Miles Nowak were such a cute pairing 🥹🫶🏼 And I enjoyed the storylines and relationships with Julia, Ashleigh, Daphne’s mom, and the other characters just as much. I loved reading this one and look forward to whichever one of hers I read next 💙
Funny Feelings by Tarah DeWitt
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.0
It was okay! I really wanted to love it because it was one of the books my husband gifted me at Christmas (we each chose one book we knew the other wanted and one book we thought they might like, and this was a fun-sounding one he’d landed on for me!) - plus the cover is so cute.
He’d remembered how much I loved watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and thought I might like the concept of the main character being a female comedian, and it definitely made that connection for me!
While it was a good story overall, something about the writing and delivery just didn’t click with me and I might have DNF’d it if I wasn’t determined to finish it out of sheer appreciation for my husband’s thoughtfulness. I think maybe this one was a bit too cheesy/Hallmark-y for me, but then again the romance genre is not always my go-to so there’s that. But still a sweet story with great characters, especially Hazel! 🫶🏼
He’d remembered how much I loved watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and thought I might like the concept of the main character being a female comedian, and it definitely made that connection for me!
While it was a good story overall, something about the writing and delivery just didn’t click with me and I might have DNF’d it if I wasn’t determined to finish it out of sheer appreciation for my husband’s thoughtfulness. I think maybe this one was a bit too cheesy/Hallmark-y for me, but then again the romance genre is not always my go-to so there’s that. But still a sweet story with great characters, especially Hazel! 🫶🏼