eggbeater's reviews
1210 reviews

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

I've never read anything quite like this powerfully evocative, non-stop action thriller story of regret, revenge, and redemption. It is heartbreaking and graphic and at the same time the characters are having important conversations about race and LGBTQIA discrimination. You get to see some surprising people change and grow and some people stolidly refuse and stay the same. It is a fascinating character study and commentary on social justice in the midst of this wild, never boring, vigilante thriller. I highly recommend it.
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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emotional reflective 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

3.5

The events of this family's lives all culminate towards a big blow out party that you know is coming at the end of the book. This book doesn't compare to The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones and the Six. In those two books, the story seems so real you swear it really happened. This is just a good, solid story. It is dramatic, evocative, and entertaining, but it is not incredible like Taylor Jenkins Reid's past two novels. She had a lot to live up to. 
Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena

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dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

Spoiled, rich sociopaths. Which one is the killer? It was a fun puzzle and I didn't guess correctly. This author is a must-read for me because her plots and characters are so entertaining. I enjoying all the red herrings in this particular novel.
Who Is Alex Trebek?: A Biography by Lisa Rogak

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slow-paced

2.0

I was disappointed in this book. I did not like the way the author casually threw around terms like "menial job" and "illegitimate son". She also included some rather cringe-worthy quotes of Alex's  without context without seeming to acknowledge them. The important parts of Alex Trebrek's life were glossed over because there just wasn't enough information; like his reunion with his brother or the change in his ideological thinking. The best chapters were about Jeopardy! itself, and that is information anybody could have gleaned from watching the show. The author obviously did not have any inside information and the book was bland.
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson

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adventurous dark funny 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

A stand-alone mystery with the characters from the first three Truly Devious books solving a camp ground murder from 1978. It was fun to revisit these characters. I was not on the edge of my seat as much as I was with Johnson's first three books, but it was definitely worth reading and the plot was solid.
Borderline by Mishell Baker

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious 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

5.0

This book is very unique in that the protagonist is not only physically disabled, but is also a self-described Borderline (person afflicted with Borderline Personality Disorder). That would be interesting enough, but then you add this whole urban fairy world into the mix and a plethora of other characters with various challenges. I was very impressed by how well the author managed to pull all of that together. 

I loved the imperfect characters and the twists that the story took, the author showed no mercy. It was a well put together fantasy and I think I came away from it with a better understanding and more compassion for people with BPD. Mental illness is underrepresented in literature and I thought this was a cool way of doing it.
Billy Summers by Stephen King

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

Okay, so I liked this book a lot, but there was a vigilante aspect to it and one incident that was so extreme it didn't sit right with me--and I have a high tolerance for violence. Billy Summers was an excellently fleshed out character with a great back story. Trigger warnings for rape and child molestation. I'm not sure Stephen King is the right author to be dealing with such sensitive subjects. He did his best, but it was definitely cringe worth in some parts. All in all, it was a well told story that held my interest the entire time.
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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

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adventurous dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

 This is the perfect blend of fantasy retelling with fresh, new ideas. I think it is amazing! The book deals with grief, trauma, and systemic racism as well as flying demon imps. The world building is impressive and the pace is nice and steady, especially for a long book. There are also some really good twists at the end.

I will say, I was mad at the therapist. I thought she should have been more understanding--and what ever happened to HIPAA regulations?

Also, Bree, Nick, and Sel should just become a throuple. That would solve all the problems.
Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

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emotional 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

3.0

A little too much time spent on dysfunctional relationship angst and not enough time spent on magic and fun for me. I like the characters a lot, but this book was disappointing compared to the first one.
Don't Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM by Sarah Berman

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dark informative medium-paced

4.0

Disturbing. I didn't know anything about this while it was going on, so it was all new to me. At times when I was reading it, I had to put the book down and read something else. Keith Raniere is Mansonlike and repulsive. It's hard to accept that other women could go along with this. Why don't we ever have female cult leaders with a bunch of men running around as minions who do their bidding no matter how nefarious? (that was sarcasm, I'm not actually advocating that) This book was well written and researched investigative journalism. I thought the author gave the victims a decent platform for their stories to be heard.