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michaelapr's reviews
93 reviews
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
I had a fun time reading (actually listening) to this one! It was like Spiderwick Chronicles for adults and I loved it. It was a lot of fun with serious moments as well - just as any book about the fae should be.
The Reckoning by John Grisham
challenging
informative
slow-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
0.25
I read this book for a book club and so I didn't DNF it. This book was a waste of time for me since I do not understand the point of this book - there was no thriller aspect, there wasn't much legal drama, and the "twist" was just stupid and felt like it was just put there.
This book was also just poorly written because:
1. It was structured in a way that made me drag through the story, especially during Part 2. Honestly this book turned into a historical fiction novel during Part 2, except a badly written one since I was left desensitized after all the info/trauma dumping. It felt like Grisham was like "No one talks about this part of WWII so I WILL"
2. He used passive voice the entire time and so you couldn't really care or understand the characters. It felt like you were being told step by step events and you weren't able to immersive yourself in the story at all.
This book should've been way shorter, by about 100 or so pages, since most of it was unnecessary.
Basically I have ultimately decided that John Grisham books and I are not meant to be friends. This is my 3rd book by him and hopefully it will be my last.
This book was also just poorly written because:
1. It was structured in a way that made me drag through the story, especially during Part 2. Honestly this book turned into a historical fiction novel during Part 2, except a badly written one since I was left desensitized after all the info/trauma dumping. It felt like Grisham was like "No one talks about this part of WWII so I WILL"
2. He used passive voice the entire time and so you couldn't really care or understand the characters. It felt like you were being told step by step events and you weren't able to immersive yourself in the story at all.
This book should've been way shorter, by about 100 or so pages, since most of it was unnecessary.
Basically I have ultimately decided that John Grisham books and I are not meant to be friends. This is my 3rd book by him and hopefully it will be my last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
What an excellently written story imagining and humanizing Shakespeare. Heartbreaking in the best way.
"Remember Me."
"Remember Me."
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
3.0
This book is a fine story though it took way too long to get through. The writing style really dragged, not to mention the long chapters. This book was also all over the place - it's like the author decided to put every stereotypical life in the mountains in this book I swear - not to mention the many unnecessary meanderings of the main character. It still isn't a bad story, just not the best.
Also. Not really funny as advertised.
Also. Not really funny as advertised.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
dark
tense
slow-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
3.0
This book was... interesting to say the least. It was almost like a train wreck or a burning car on the side of the road, you don't want to look away because you want to see what happens (and how the situation can get worse in this case). The characters are unlikeable and their actions cause chaos as well as misery. 100% the flaws of these characters are the main focus of the book.
This is not a romance by the way. I don't know why people think it is. I've read in books and seen movies where people say they want a relationship like Catherine and Heathcliff - I don't understand what they could've missed. These people are like the 1800s version of Harley Quinn and Joker, except Catherine is less likable and Heathcliff is a bit more sympathetic at first before he starts getting his revenge. Emily Brontë really did say "I can make these insane, detestable characters worse together."
Luckily I had heard enough to suspect that this was not an actual romance, what I didn't expect was how absolutely insane these characters were going to be.
At least I can say I read this classic.
This is not a romance by the way. I don't know why people think it is. I've read in books and seen movies where people say they want a relationship like Catherine and Heathcliff - I don't understand what they could've missed. These people are like the 1800s version of Harley Quinn and Joker, except Catherine is less likable and Heathcliff is a bit more sympathetic at first before he starts getting his revenge. Emily Brontë really did say "I can make these insane, detestable characters worse together."
Luckily I had heard enough to suspect that this was not an actual romance, what I didn't expect was how absolutely insane these characters were going to be.
At least I can say I read this classic.
Aurora's End by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
The Scent of Lilacs by Ann H. Gabhart
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
A nice little story. Ann Gabhart does love her small towns and quirky characters.
Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The Sisters by Nancy Jensen
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This rating should actually be in between a 2.75 and a 3 stars but it gets a 3 out of 5 stars.
This book is a hard one to rate, it's one of those where the story is well written and the characters feel like real people but it's also incredibly sad with an unsatisfactory ending that bummed me out. The book is thought provoking and the characters are incredibly complex. Sometimes they're likeable, other times their absolutely not - which I believe adds to their authenticity (although I will say I only had maybe 2 characters I liked consistently throughout the book). Unfortunately this book made me incredibly sad especially with the end. There was so much tragedy on one particular side of the "sisters" family and it just felt like a "women can't have anything they want" kind of book. There wasn't enough time spent on one sister's side of things in my opinion, as she seemed to have a nice life with nice people even if her perspective was always tinged with regret - I really wanted to know about her (she's also one of the characters I always really liked by the way).
This is a typical book by a Kentucky author with an MFA - it's very sad and takes itself very seriously (hence the ending). I was pleased that the book wasn't about Eastern Kentucky/Appalachian area as most Kentucky books are, although Louisville is mentioned at least once (I'm starting to think that it's a requirement of stories based in KY to mention Louisville or Lexington).
Just a note: I don't know if a lot of people have put trigger warnings for this book on here but I will be and I will say you should definitely check those out. The book deals with sexual assault especially and it does get intense at the very beginning and the aftermath is especially heartbreaking throughout the book.
This book is a hard one to rate, it's one of those where the story is well written and the characters feel like real people but it's also incredibly sad with an unsatisfactory ending that bummed me out. The book is thought provoking and the characters are incredibly complex. Sometimes they're likeable, other times their absolutely not - which I believe adds to their authenticity (although I will say I only had maybe 2 characters I liked consistently throughout the book). Unfortunately this book made me incredibly sad especially with the end. There was so much tragedy on one particular side of the "sisters" family and it just felt like a "women can't have anything they want" kind of book. There wasn't enough time spent on one sister's side of things in my opinion, as she seemed to have a nice life with nice people even if her perspective was always tinged with regret - I really wanted to know about her (she's also one of the characters I always really liked by the way).
This is a typical book by a Kentucky author with an MFA - it's very sad and takes itself very seriously (hence the ending). I was pleased that the book wasn't about Eastern Kentucky/Appalachian area as most Kentucky books are, although Louisville is mentioned at least once (I'm starting to think that it's a requirement of stories based in KY to mention Louisville or Lexington).
Just a note: I don't know if a lot of people have put trigger warnings for this book on here but I will be and I will say you should definitely check those out. The book deals with sexual assault especially and it does get intense at the very beginning and the aftermath is especially heartbreaking throughout the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Violence, War