jcaceres88's reviews
396 reviews

The Wishing Pool and Other Stories by Tananarive Due

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I've been a fan of Tananarive Due since I read The Good House for the first time last year. She is so great at weaving stories and building suspense. These stories definitely did not disappointed. I don't usually read short stories so it was hard for me to move on each time one ended. I kept wanting to know more haha. My faves from the bunch are Haint in the Window, Incident at Bear Creek Lodge, Last Stop on Route 9, Rumpus Room, Migration, Caretaker, and The Biographer.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Loved it! I had trouble getting into it at first because I was worried I was dealing with another unlikeable main character but by chapter 4 I was fully sucked in. I ended up really enjoying the characters and the ode to books littered throughout the story. I found all the nods to tropes entertaining. Libby is the only character I couldn't really understand and left me a little annoyed. But otherwise I loved delving into all of these people's lives and witnessing the love story unfold. Parts of it felt a little one sided to me, with Nora sharing A LOT and Charlie always keeping things super close to the chest and vague. But it was great to see Nora opening up and Charlie eventually doing the same. Really enjoyed it!
Snow Place Like LA by Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy

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emotional 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

3.0

Quick little addition to the Merry Little Meet Cute world. I had a gard time sympathizing with Luca as I didn't really find him likeable in the first book. It was good to get more insight into his world with this book and work towards bridging connections but his reactions and reasonings didn't always make a ton of sense to me. Felt almost like just contrived drama for the sake of drama 
The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

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

2.5

I liked the idea of this book but I had a hard time connecting with it. Something about the writing just didn't suck me in. I didn't feel any sort of attachment to the characters, it all just felt very clinical and distant. Maybe I shouldn't have done this one on audio because I'm still not 100% accustomed to consuming books this way. I found myself going back to it each time just because I wanted to be done and not because I wanted to dive into the story. A shame really because I really loved the message behind this book. 
A Merry Little Meet Cute by Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy

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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? No

3.5

I enjoyed it a lot... I love a good cheesy Christmas movie so it was a fun setting for me. I loved seeing a plus sizez woman as a lead in a romance. However I did not think this could be considered a "meet cute" lol. There were also some elements that I felt were overdramatized (i.e. Nolan's home life). But I loved the characters and was definitely invested in their success. I also enjoyed seeing through the lense of a sex worker and seeing bisexuality talked about from the male perspective. Lots of perspectives that aren't usually in the mainstream were explored in this book which I thought was cool. 
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

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

3.0

I was entertained but I didn't love it. I thought the way the past memories were overlaid with the current moments were really well done and I could perfectly envision it as a movie or TV show. But being stuck inside of Chloe's brain for this entire book was TOUGH. There were just a few too many spirals for my liking, especially for someone who studied psychology smh. I also didn't really love the twist, half of it was easy to guess and the other half was so out of left field it almost felt like a let down. There were also too many convenient moments that were clearly just plot devices and some holes mixed in that just didn't lay well with how things ended. I still give it a 3 as it was pretty gripping and hard to put down.
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

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emotional funny 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

5.0

I haven't done a lot of straight up romance so I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I loved this one! It's super cute and I loved the characters and their dynamic. They had such great banter and kept me thoroughly entertained without giving me any ick. Will definitely be reading the rest of the series!
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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

4.0

Realistically this is probably more of a 3.5 star book but due to my emotional attachment to the world and some of these characters I'll bump it up to a 4. Some of the relationship drama was just too much. How many times can you have the same argument??? It got quite silly at times. But otherwise this book was pretty action packed and a super crazy ride. I'm going to need that last book like now! That ending should have been illegal. 
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

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lighthearted mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

As someone who has worked in the food industry for quite some time and loves to bake and loves delicious food, I thought I would be all about this book. At first it was endearing but eventually I got tired of all the overly descriptive prose about food. It was just too much for me. And I did not find the process of them unraveling this mystery entertaining. I had to force myself to finish this audio book. 
Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

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

4.0

I gave it a 4, the concept I found interesting and the inclusion of the pictures was original and a nice tough from a story telling perspective. It also did manage to surprise me in certain points which I always applaud because most thrillers are a little heavy handed with the foreshadowing. Overall a fun and easy read besides the weird and awkward comments littered through out. Not sure if the author was just trying to hard or their bias was peeking through... who knows.