jcaceres88's reviews
396 reviews

A ​Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

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

4.25

I rated this highly because practically I can see that this is one of the better books in the ACOTAR series. But honestly I was not motivated to read this book because of how much Nesta annoyed me. Funny thing is when I reread the first 4 books I was like "hmm Nesta actually isn't so bad" and couldn't remember why I disliked her so much. Then the post war Nesta came and realized all over again how awful she was. Now after this book I understand better where her head was at for all of that and why she reacted the way she did. But this book leads to too dramatic of a shift in character and all mostly towards the end. I wish we saw a bit more of that understanding and her opening to the people around her (her sisters and the court) a little bit more earlier in the book.
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

Looooved it.... the story and the people all felt so real. It almost felt like I was listening to a friend tell her story. I enjoyed this journey of these two people finding their way back to eachother. All the emotions--the fear, the grief, the depression--just felt so authentic. Can't wait to read the next one.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

This was so well written and quite an emotional experience. I connected with her words and was pulled into her world. I did find myself drifting a bit towards the end but was hooked in for 95% of the book.
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

TJ Klune did it again! Sucked me into this quirky world and quirky characters. Loved the development of all their relationships and their characters. It dragged a bit at some points but I was fully egaged the whole time. I really enjoyed it.
Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

Loved this whole series. This one was just as cute as the others and I liked that it explored the perspective of someone on the autism spectrum. I didnt give it a 5 like the others only because some of these scenarios were not believable and would never happen in real life lol.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

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dark emotional tense fast-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

Tananarive Due is such an amazing storyteller. Her attention to detail and the way she sets the scenes just grabs me every time. It literally felt like a movie unfolding in my mind. I could see, hear, smell, feel every moment. Loved this book and would definitely read again despite the heavy content, which is a testament to how good it was!
Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

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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? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Love these books following the Brown sisters. This one lived up to how much I enjoyed the first. Super cute story and I appreciated the male love interest being the one obsessed with romance novels lol. It was also nice to see someone who experienced something tragic still be so open to love and their emotions.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager

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

3.0

Hmm I didn't love it but it kept me entertained. I was super frustrated with the main character for constantly making so many assumptions and leaping to her own conclusions literally every other page. But I was into the setting/vibe. I did find myself speed reading through a lot of it just to get to the end because I could sense there were a lot of twists and turns along the way that were not going to matter as much by the time we got to the real story.
Beach Read by Emily Henry

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

4.25

This is my second Emily Henry book and I'm finding I really like her way of story telling and writing. Her books have sucked me in each time and make it hard for me to put the book down. I loved the banner between the characters and how their connection built over time. But I do feel like there were some contradictory moments and unnecessary obstacles at times. At first I was worried this would be another story where the female main character gave a lot of herself and the male love interest stayed very surface level. But once Gus started opening up more I felt like there was a nice balance between the two. I did want more out of him at times but I'm sure the book was long enough as it is lol. I also didn't love the "happy for now" lesson that hit at the end as it felt it didn't mesh well with how their story ended since it was clear they were charting a path of wanting to build a future. 
A Holly Jolly Ever After by Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy

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emotional funny fast-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

3.5

I enjoyed going back to Christmas Notch for this story. I enjoyed Winnie's story of trying to shed her old self and learning who she is now after shedding those old preconceived notions. If anything I wish maybe we leaned into that a bit more? Don't get me wrong, a sexual awakening is always fun but seemed like her new self revolved around orgasms a lot lol. Kallum was a fun love interest too. I still feel like some things were over dramatized to create conflict? While other things that should have been seen as actual problems to work through were kind of just glossed over without a proper conversation. But all in all it was a cute book!