michaelapr's reviews
74 reviews

The Burning by Linda Castillo

Go to review page

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

4.0

I'm really here for Kate and Tomasetti, I like seeing them work together and having each other's back. That's what makes the book (and all of the books in this series) good to me, I'll just be honest.
This book was also fast paced and addicting too, don't get me wrong. The ending leaves lots of questions that I want answers to but I'm okay with that.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Go to review page

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

4.0

I reread this because I'm teaching it this year. When I first read this in high school, I didn't understand it or enjoy it. But rereading it I enjoyed it a lot more. The language is rich and the characters richer. Most of the characters are hateful in a way that's enjoyable and real. Originally I didn't catch the love story. To be fair to my younger self this isn't really a love story. Instead it's about the danger of putting someone on a pedestal, changing your entire life around that person, and expecting them to never change. It's also about how awful rich people are, how relatable is that.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is an intensely emotional read. Katherine Arden delves deep into the horrors of World War I using enough details to make you hurt but without going into too many details. This book is an exploration of the traumas of war and how war is often an apocalypse for those living through it. The characters in this book were deeply traumatized and I was rooting for them all the way - especially Freddie and Winter. I really enjoyed listening to this book with it's trauma, it's haunted desperation, and an antagonist that's easier to go up against than the system of war as he tempts our characters into oblivion with his fiddle and his hotel. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Odessa by Jonathan Hill

Go to review page

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

3.0

This book has an interesting premise and I'm not sure where it's going. This book is really just... Fine. Hence the 3 star rating. Not the best but certainly not the worst.
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted 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

3.75

This book is everything I expect out of a beach read. A fun time with a light hearted plot, romance, and an easy, fast read. I enjoyed the characters and their friendship, a highlight in this book. I'm glad that the Maryn/Madison storyline was added because it gave the book a bit of an edge to keep the reader going. Honestly if you like chic flicks you'll like this book - sometimes a chic flick is what you need in the summer. 
Also, I really want to go to the beach now!
Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: The Big Lie by Anthony Del Col

Go to review page

adventurous dark 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

4.0

Sometimes you just want to read a mystery with your favorite childhood detectives revamped in graphic novel form.
The Me You Love In The Dark by Skottie Young

Go to review page

dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The art is fantastic and the story is okay. I feel like there could have been more on the story end especially with all the hype I saw when it came out but it still makes it evident why one should not get romantically involved with a supernatural entity, no matter how nice they seem at first.
Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck

Go to review page

adventurous funny informative reflective relaxing slow-paced

3.0

 Steinbeck searches for America and finds that it is full of paradoxes just like he is. I suppose in searching for America, Steinbeck truly discovers himself as he reckons with his younger self, his present self, and the reputation he has developed as an author. For the most part this is a good read, even if it is slower paced. This is also a snapshot of an America in 1962, where Ruby Bridges is going to school with grown adults screaming at her and JFK is about to become President. It's an America that should be far from this one but it's really not - it's the present America but on simmer. It's pretty interesting to see, and maybe a little depressing too. 
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense 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

4.25

A dark, mysterious but hopeful story thick with language and magical realism. This book follows the Southern Gothic style in a state that is often in the middle - my home state of Kentucky. Set in a fictional town in the real county of Muhlenburg, Harrow focuses on the Southern Gothic question of how history scars, haunts, and curses those in the present, with the equally Southern Gothic magical, horror-like consequences. Harrow also asks a question that I think we should ask ourselves more: What is the truth? And does the truth depend on the truth-tellers? Unlike most Gothic pieces, however, this book also focuses on breaking generational trauma and what (and who) makes a home - making it a more enjoyable read, at least in my opinion.
The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

Go to review page

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

2.0

This is a book that was apparently popular when it was written but I didn't care for it. I'm really just left bummed out and glad it's over.
This was written in a way that's popular in mystery books that are trying to be "gritty" and "real" which really translated to focusing on the grossness of humanity along with unneeded sexual violence. Besides that, the premise was fine but the execution was lacking. The ending didn't have a twist and the end could have been much better instead of making reading this book feel pointless.