expecto_padronum's reviews
137 reviews

Funny Story by Emily Henry

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.75

Emily Henry does it again, another delightful and funny romance with very strong subplots and character development. The woman never misses.
One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

4.5

This book made me sob. I predicted who she was going to choose about a third of the way in, but it was still one of those books that you devour in a weekend. It had a beautiful message and I really enjoyed reading / listening to it. 
Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capó Crucet

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medium-paced

2.5

I came into this as a fan of JCC’s other 3 books but this one really wasn’t for me. The heavy reliance on Scarface and Pitbull references felt gimmicky.  I get that JCC’s books aren’t meant to appeal to the widest audience possible, but it felt limiting to have this story that can’t stand on its own without these other two pieces of pop culture. I don’t like heavy reliance on pop culture in books period so that’s on me for still picking it up, but I wanted to give this one a chance since I like her other books so much. I enjoyed the Tia Tere / Izzy / Julisa chapters, but I started skimming over the whale chapters after the first few, it felt like overkill. 

I was going to give this 3 stars, but the ending knocked it down another half star.

I’ve never read Moby Dick so I’m guessing it ends the same way and I should’ve seen that coming. Books don’t have to be fair obviously but Izzy didn’t deserve that so it was disappointing to read, although his story wasn’t really going anywhere so. Yeah. Also the letter from Pitbull felt so presumptious and kind of illegal? It  doesn’t sit right with me for an author to put so many words into the mouth of a real person in order to further their own agenda in a story.
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book was WILD I gasped out loud a few times at major reveals. The ending was good and explained some things but didn’t tie everything together in the way that I had hoped. It was satisfying in a way but also left me wanting a little bit more. Overall really interesting commentary on feminism and motherhood and what it means for women to reach their full potential.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative tense 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

5.0

Loved this book so much!!! Much like The Martian, it’s wholesome, funny, and interesting from start to finish. 

Rocky was hilarious. Sassy, caring, and competent - everything I want in an alien bestie! Finding out that Stratt sent Ryland on the mission against his will had my jaw on the floor!!!!!!! What the hell!!!! I mean it worked out in the end but what the hell!!!! That was INSANE though totally in line with the character development we had seen from her up to the point.  Her history speech I thought was perfect in adding her context and reasoning, and I’m glad that Ryland stayed mad even though it worked out because I would too! Love that he still was able to be science teacher on the alien planet. So freaking cute.
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

On the one hand, this book had some beautiful parts about seeing your mother as a complete human independent of motherhood. The descriptions of Positano were really nice as well. However, similar to In Five Years, it was hard to sympathize with the main character as she was such a bad partner to her perfectly nice man!
The beginning of this book felt like she was saying “my mom died and now I hate my husband because he’s boring” like!! What!!
Bossypants by Tina Fey

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funny informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

The first few chapters didn’t age super well, but once she got to talking about her career and motherhood I really enjoyed it and laughed out loud quite a bit!
The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

I spent the first chunk of this book wanting to skip to the good part. I liked the first two chapters, but once she magically appeared in her new life it was just like any other story with this plot line (13 Going on 30, Big, etc) where she goes through a phase of shock and denial and figuring out what’s happened which felt a bit dragged out. After that though, I really did like all the supporting characters, and how kindly they treated her throughout her “amnesia.” Lucy’s internal growth and budding relationships with the people in her future life were very sweet to read. The second half definitely redeemed the slow start.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A WILD ride, I devoured this book in 2 days. The writing is so good, the narrator is unlikeable but very realistic. One of those books where I just HAD to know what was going to happen next. 
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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emotional funny informative reflective
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

The last 25% of the book added a half star for me. Some parts were so much exposition and backstory I felt like I was reading a series of Wikipedia articles instead of a novel, but the action and character relationships picked up toward the end. All the themes really came together (the politics of gentrification, the conflict between having revolutionary ideals and having a family, familial support / dynamics, what success really means) in an impactful way at the end and I learned a lot!