expecto_padronum's reviews
141 reviews

The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

2.75

As someone who lives far from my family and still has a strong relationship with them, the stakes in this book  didn’t hold any weight for me. Violet’s chapters were SO boring and the house having a personality felt a little half baked. I really did not understand most of their decisions. 

Why would Anne choose to stop seeing the future when doing so was the only way she was finding these people’s Tasks? And the set up made it feel like finding those tasks was going to be hard but it took hardly any time at all. Honestly, Katherine being paranoid about a curse is what caused all this contrived drama. I did end up liking the twist of the curse actually being a blessing and Beatrix being a word weaver (which seems like a REALLY problematic and powerful skill in the wrong hands?!!?) to explain the book success
and the writing was pretty, but this whole story was such a drag for me.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 12%.
I didn’t like the writing style - seemed like it could have been an interesting premise but it was so boring. The narrator is supposed to be 19 but she sounds like she’s 12 (both the narrator’s voice and the writing) 
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.75

It was interesting and some of the points she made were beautiful. 

Toward the end I was wishing that something more would happen or that we would get some kind of explanation, but I also understand why we didn’t.
Never Lie by Freida McFadden

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

3.5

The first 80% was so boring and repetitive but the ending added a full star to my rating. Concept/twist/audiobook narrator were all great but she needs a new editor.
This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens

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3.5

This was cute! I enjoyed the story about Minnie’s career and friendship more than the romance, but I appreciated how realistic the themes / lessons were and how it took place over the coarse of a whole year instead of just a few weeks or months.
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

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

3.0

weird, entertaining, short 
The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

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

4.5

Loved it! A great prequel to the original.
Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala

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2.0

Didn’t really like this one. The writing was so repetitive. Half the sentences are justifying the previous sentence/explaining why a character said or did something. There were lots of awkward repetition of words from one sentence to the next that I feel like should have been caught by an editor. It felt like the author was telling instead of showing. Coming from a very liberal person, this book also felt performative to the point that it was annoying. Why do you need to mention on 3 separate occasions how you’re accommodating the gluten free side character? The love triangle was weak, the plot was boring, the subplots and relationships were underdeveloped, the final reveal was sudden and not believable, and the author never explained how the killer did it! Only finished it to hit my reading goal bc it was the last few days of the year.
The Wedding Witch by Erin Sterling

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3.5

Cute but probably my least favorite of the series. I liked it more as it went on. Cursing was a bit excessive for my taste 
Babel by R.F. Kuang

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informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I listened to the audiobook and it was great. The author made some really interesting and beautiful points about language and colonialism. The first half was nice but the second half was where things really picked up. There were a few times where I kind of glossed over a long description of various translations, and you do need to be in the mood for a long and dense read, but it is a beautiful and thoughtful and interesting story. 
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