laedyred's reviews
280 reviews

Beach Read by Emily Henry

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-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

2.5

Cute moments, but Gus just doesn't sit well with me. He's a playboy with no redeeming qualities other than a sense of humor. Why would you want someone who acts like women are objects? He treats January badly several times, as seen when
he takes a full day to consider whether to leave her for his ex-wife. He ignores January, doesn't consider her feelings, and has the audacity to feel like he has a right to "decide if she's worth it".
  In my eyes, he's not a good man. It ruined his character for me, I didn't want them to be together, I wanted her to tell him to fuck off after his final "decision". The story seemed cookie-cutter to me after reading Henry's other works. I know this was her first novel, but it to closely followed the standard formula. It felt cheap when I compared it to Book Lovers or People We Meet on Vacation. I add half a star for January's character, who is relatable while still having her own personality. She is a good female lead, although not groundbreaking. 
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The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System: Ren Zha Fanpai Zijiu Xitong (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

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

2.0

It was...fine? The plot is not particularly interesting in terms of the actual events that happen, even though the idea of the situation, "series in a series" has a lot of potential. The romance component is forced, there's justification for It. The text was originally written on a writing website and it shows. The writing is high school level at best. Another thing that bothered me greatly is the language about women and the female characters, and the fetishization underage girls (and some boys). I understand that part of this story is parodying the nasty things in stories written for men, but there was too much of it and no "redemption" by reversing the criticism. I was surprised to learn that the author is a woman. I deducted half a star for the rampant misogyny. 
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My Sweet Orange Tree by José Mauro de Vasconcelos

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

4.0

A bit of an abrupt end, but I loved it. 
The Way Home: Tales from a Life Without Technology by Mark Boyle

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reflective slow-paced

3.5

I enjoyed his storytelling and advice on bushcraft, pushing people to connect with their immediate environment rather than just dream of travel to distant places. His tone, however is really condescending at times. He seems to have a strong ego and little empathy for people in different or more difficult situations than himself. One moment stood out to me especially. He mentions
a family on an escalator and the father is taking a video of his very happy children. Boyle says this worship of tech is sad. Or, maybe they've never seen one. Maybe the kids see it as an amusement ride, as children do. Maybe Boyle could consider literally any other reason than judge the little moments of joy others have even if he doesn't share the same.
  
The Call of the Wild by Jack London

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

1.0

I do not understand how this book is beloved. Am I missing something? It's full of racist, violent content that serves no other purpose than to say "the dog turned to its wolf roots". Cool? What's the comment on it, why should we care? It's boring but skimmable and I only bothered finishing it because it was short, hoping that I'd discover some profound idea hidden in the nonsense. I did not. I actively did not like this book, not even the writing could make up for it. Not worth the time to read.
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A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
It was time to renew this for the second time and I just didn't want to. It's slow, he doesn't talk about anything more than making fun of every single person he meets on the trail. It's not funny enough to be a comedy book and not introspective enough to be a memoir. I picked it up on a friend's recommendation, but this is clearly not for me. 
Mr. Loverman by Bernardine Evaristo

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

2.5

Mixed feelings. The writing itself is brilliant, Evatisto has a talent for comedy. However, our main character hates women and it shows. It was frustrating to read and hard to like him with such outdated, nasty views of the women in his life. The last hundred pages saved the book for me. At least at that point Barry
starts to understand he's in the wrong and Carmel gets her life back
. My rating is mostly for the quality of writing, not for the main character who I think we're supposed to like. 
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The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I cannot figure out if I like this book or not. On one hand, I admire the attempt to show the strongest side of women and fully explain how we have to be better than men in society. Every male character in this book is disgusting, often making me want to put the book down for good. The nastiest things about men are told with no detail skirted around. The women in the story are complex enough to show their weaknesses to men while still being strong, but I couldn't help but be disappointed in them for allowing these men in their lives that act like living trash. Too much of the story is spent in this weird arc of "redemption" of the grandfather, who is a serial rapist, misogynist, and horrible human being. It made me sick to read about his acts and then somehow be expected to...forgive him? Like him? Just because he becomes "oh woe is me, my country fell apart". Guess what, you're part of the reason, you made people's lives awful. I don't know, maybe my rating will change after I ruminate on the book. But for now, I'm conflicted.
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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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emotional funny hopeful 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

No notes. Adorable, funny, feel-good.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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emotional funny hopeful medium-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

5.0

This is one step down from Books Lovers for me. Their relationship is palpable in every facet, they treat each other pretty well, I like that friendship was the priority instead of giving it all up in favor of something sexual. Both leads are more than just troubled characters, they have lives outside of each other. The "quirky friend" stereotype is unfortunately used again, which I am quite tired of. All in all though, this was a hit for me.