msrichardsreads89's reviews
2616 reviews

This was delightfully cozy and heartwarming! I loved that it centers around a father and daughter who recreate lost recipes. This book will make you so hungry, and the stories were so touching. I loved the exploration of memories related to food and how they can evoke such emotional responses. I wish this had a bit more of the investigation of the lost recipes, but this was just what I needed at the right time. I'm excited to continue with the series!

This was such a pleasant surprise! I went in expecting a fun, Sapphic, small-town rom-com and discovered that this book is so much more. Not only do we get the relationship development between our two main protagonists, Delilah and Claire, we also get to see development in other relationships between the characters and their internal development. I also loved that the characters' lives don't center around their relationships; they have their own hobbies and interests. There are several conflicts in this book, but I felt as though it created realistic, dynamic characters. They had to work through their feelings about their relationships but also work through their own feelings and how they see themselves. I loved the build up of the slow-burn romance. It was a sweet one with some spice. 

The cast of characters was fantastic. Every character felt fully fleshed out and had their own voice. I was so invested in all the plotlines. This was so much more than a simple romance book, and I love it for that. The writing style was entertaining and effortless. I was hooked from beginning to end. The audiobook was great, and the narrator did a great job. The author explored the themes of friendship, messy relationships, toxic masculinity, queerness, female empowerment, and self-discovery so well. I am very eager to read the other books in this series, because this one was so fabulous!

 Martin Chuzzlewit, Senior is tired of his greedy relatives, so he disinherits everyone, including his grandson, Martin Chuzzlewit, leaving him to make his own way in the world. We also follow a cast of other characters including the hypocritical Mr. Pecksniff, the genuinely good Tom Pinch, Mr. Pecksniff's daughters, Merry and Charity, and their cousin, the devious Jonas Chuzzlewit. This wide array of characters added so much life to this novel! They are witty and nuanced and get into the most dramatic and funny situations.

Dickens's satirical portrayal of America really struck me as I was reading this book because while it may have been hyperbolic at the time, many of the things he comments on are so accurate and very thought provoking. He also reflects on England and how members of society are treated.

This is a theme explored in other Dickens novels, and one that is worth repetitive reflection. That being said, the American storyline would have been just as impactful if it had been significantly shorter, and most of the the Americans depicted were one dimensional and lacked nuance.

I really enjoyed the exploration of selfishness and how, to quote the author himself, "selfishness propagates itself; and to what a grim giant it may grow, to small beginnings." He explores rather well how selfishness permeates society as a whole and how society is dominated by greed. Dickens also includes murder, blackmail, hidden identities, and fraud in the various plotline and keeps the reader on their toes.

The characters were some of my favorite parts of this book. The cinnamon roll, Tom Pinch, is my favorite character. He is so genuinely kind and unassuming. Mark Tapley is another wonderful character who is just so jolly and wonderful. There is also Mr. Mould, the undertaker, who has a smile on his face until he reminds himself to act grim at funerals, and Mrs. Gamp, the lover of drink and the midwife was always a hoot.

Dickens is fantastic at writing characters that evoke emotions from the reader. Anytime something terrible happened to Tom, my heart hurt for him. Whereas any time the villain came on the page, my heart raced in frustration at his actions and motivations.

I was so pleasantly surprised at how much I loved this, and the aspect that really drew me in was the humor. This is such a witty novel, and I highlighted so many funny passages.

I buddy read this with friends, and we had such a good time sharing funny quotes and scenes.

It has been an interesting journey to read Dickens's novels in publication order because I can see how he improves as a writer. Each novel has its strengths, but I feel like Dickens improves those qualities in the next one, at least so far, such as the humor from The Pickwick Papers or the romantic elements in Nicholas Nickleby. However, despite its few faults, Martin Chuzzlewit won me over with its humor, vivacious characters, and compellingly readable plot. 

This book picks up where we left off in The Final Strife and takes off from there. The pacing of book one was very fast; whereas in The Battle Drum, the pacing slowed down significantly. On one hand I can understand the point of the change because it allowed us to see the characters develop, but at the same time I felt it was too slow at times. I was very invested in the characters and thought the character work was amazing. They are dynamic and messy and are flawed yet have strength. A new point of view was introduced, and I really enjoyed that addition. 

 I also love that El-Arifi made this a queer-normative world. It made my heart so happy. There are so many revelations about the magic system and world. However, I am so impressed by the depth of the lore, history, and magic of this world. It takes skill to interweave this into the plot so effortlessly. The plot twists did keep me on the edge of my seat and kept me wanting to read more. Most of them were phenomenal, but I did find some to be predictable.

There are some content warnings for this book. El-Arifi does not shy away from darker content. There is a scene towards the end of the book that will stay with me for a long time because it was so horrific and emotionally charged. It made the read very impactful. (CW: violence, torture, abuse, grief, addiction, religious bigotry, rape)

Objectively I think this is a very solid sequel. I was in a bit of a fantasy slump when I read this, so I think I would have enjoyed it more if I read it at a different time. I feel like the beginning and end were the best parts of the book and the middle dragged a a bit much for my personal taste. That being said, I did have a good time with this one, and I absolutely cannot wait to read the conclusion to this trilogy! 

This is a fantastic fantasy series, and I highly recommend it! It deserves more love!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful novel filled with endearing characters that become like family. Charlotte Mary Yonge's writing is absolutely lovely. Her character work is exquisite, and I was so happy to not only be reunited with characters from previous books but to meet new ones! She is a master at weaving together all the plot threads to conclusion in such a satisfying way. I look forward to reading more of CMY's work because I have loved every book I've read so far!

I went into this with high hopes because I love O'Keefe's Protectorate series. I was not disappointed. She is able to effortlessly combine genres and vividly bring her stories to life. I absolutely adored this book. The worldbuilding in The Blighted Stars was brilliant, from a mind mineral on which humans are dependent to prints (bodies) that allows for a form of immortality. The idea of the cradles (planets that could replace their own) was so fascinating and fun to follow. I liked that the characters did show character growth, and I felt like we got a good look at their struggles and motivations. The antagonists were fantastically written. My only complaint is that I felt that if this were shorter, it would have been a tighter story and a few of the chapters felt disjointed. However, I am so excited to get to the next books and find out what happens next!