natreadthat's reviews
389 reviews

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

Christmas, a bookshop, and a sprinkle of romance in Scotland. What more do you need?

I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed this book considering I don’t love romance and I rarely read seasonal books. But I did! It’s the story of a sisterhood love-hate relationship, a failing bookshop, the beauty of Edinburgh, and a love triangle. Cozy like a warm cup of cocoa! 

Plus it’s always fun to have visited the setting of a book and getting to vicariously revisit it. 

Thank you, William Morrow Books for sharing a copy with me! 🎄
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Go to review page

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

3.5

I didn’t love this book but I can see how people do.

What I did like is that it centers around a normal, everyday family. No fantastical story arcs, twists and turns, or serial killers hidden throughout the pages. Just… real people.

What I didn’t love was how slow of a slow burn it was. It was a long, loooong character study of the Lee family—each grappling with the struggles of life and how lack of communication can slowly destroy relationships. The nature of the book is also very heavy, which (somehow) caught me off guard. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

Go to review page

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

4.0

Told in the alternating perspectives of close-knit fraternal twins, Fern and Rose have gone through everything together. Rose is Fern’s person. Rose took care of Fern when they were children and now, as adults. Rose is the only one who knows how to help Fern when she becomes overwhelmed by loud sounds, bright lights, and overbearing smells due to her sensory processing disorder.  
 
This was a domestic suspense novel through and through. Who doesn’t love a familial drama? I loved Fern’s character, maybe because in typical mainstream books, you don’t often see characters with disabilities portrayed well. It really made the book that much more enjoyable. Representation matters! 
 
Even though it was a slow burn and the twists were a bit predictable, I still wanted to see out the ending. Another good one by Sally Hepworth.  
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Golden Couple by Sarah Pekkanen, Greer Hendricks

Go to review page

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

3.0

To outsiders, the Bishops are a picture-perfect couple—wealthy, successful, and very much in love—but behind closed doors, their marriage is falling apart. This is your typical domestic thriller laced with infidelity, a former therapist and her unconventional approach, and the secrets everyone is keeping. All the Bishops have to do is go through ten sessions with therapist, Avery, and then they’ll be the golden couple once again. Right?

I wanted to see more from Avery’s character, her bizarre 10-step approach, and way less of Marissa’s whining. Although there were some notable twists, the back plot was kind of forgettable, and the big twist felt predictable. Ultimately, this one fell flat for me. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Bewilderment by Richard Powers

Go to review page

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

3.0

Seemingly unlike the masses, I didn’t love this one. My appreciation for it may have been affected by the dental work I was getting while listening to the audiobook, but who knows? 

Theo and Robin are an interesting father-son duo. Robin is obsessed with animals, the environment, and doing what a nine-year-old can to save the world. He is also showing distressing symptoms of behavioral problems. He has outbursts, trouble reigning in his anger, and really just misses his mother. 

At the heart of the novel is Theo. He loves his son and will do anything to keep safe, happy, and healthy—except medicate him. 

So the story goes of Theo and Robin: their shared love for nature and Robin’s mom. The experimental program that helps Robin with science and his late mother’s soul. And the undeniable love between father and son. 

It truly was a beautifully written novel, it just wasn’t the one for me. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

 I casually binged the entirety of this six hour audiobook between meetings and calls. It definitely made the Monday after Thanksgiving break go by quicker. 
 
If I take one thing from this book, it’s that I simply must get to Italy as soon as possible. I was living vicariously through Katy as she spends a summer wandering through Positano, Italy enjoying the beaches, delicious meals, wine, and so much more. 
 
And… that was the majority of what I enjoyed. Katy spent most of the book grieving the recent death of her mother, fair. But she was border line obsessed with her mother and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at the constant reminder that Katy’s mom, Carol, was “the one great love of her life.” Maybe I don’t love my mom enough (sorry, Mom), but it was too much for me. 
 
If you’re obsessed with your mom—or Italy, this book is for you. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Go to review page

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

3.5

Twenty years later, Chloe Davis is re-living the nightmare she went through at twelve years old: grieving parents are begging for their teenage daughters to be found only for their bodies to show up instead. Her father was the serial killer twenty years ago, who could it be now? And how can it be happening again? 

I’m not typically able to figure out “whodunit” but this time I predicted a few of the twists. It was enjoyable, albeit a bit predictable, with a few dark twists. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

3.5 Stars

This book was a quirky, dark humored, wholesome look at family, loneliness, love, and human combustion. Yes… children who burst into flames. 

It was a light, leisurely read that kept me curious about what could possibly happen with the fire children and their pseudo-nanny right until the end. I recommend this book if you like dark humor, wit, and a slow burn (pun intended). 

I picked up this book at The Living Room bookstore in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I hope to visit again someday soon! 📚


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Daisy Jones & The Six is the oral history of a gloriously messy rock and roll band that felt so real I actually looked them up. 🤦🏻‍♀️

The book captures, for the first time ever, how the band shot to the top of charts… and subsequently fell from them. It encompasses all of the emotions running hot between band members, the perils of addiction, and everything in between. 

There’s nothing quite like the entertainment of Fleetwood Mac-style drama a band goes through. And while I enjoyed the character growth, bearing witness to their stories concurrently, and hearing their (differing) point of views, the ending left me yearning for more. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This is the incredibly powerful and heart-wrenching true story of the women who took down the infamous former gymnastics doctor and pedophile, Larry Nassar. 

This memoir was so raw, so real, and often times uncomfortable and overwhelming. Despite the horrors of Rachael’s sexual assault and the resulting traumas, her resilience and willingness to do whatever it took to stop a prolific abuser is awe-inspiring. Rachael Denhollander is a hero even though she never asked to be one. 

There are important messages the world needs to hear in this memoir—about sexual assault, listening to survivors, and most importantly, doing what’s right. This should be required reading for everyone. 

“The darkness is there, and we cannot ignore it. But we can let it point us to the light.”
Expand filter menu Content Warnings