natreadthat's reviews
388 reviews

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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

4.0

 
June Hayward is an aspiring author who will do anything to make it big in the publishing world. Even stealing her frenemy’s unpublished manuscript in the moments following her traumatic death. 
 
After editing and rewriting the manuscript, June passes it off as her own and soon climbs the ladder of success when it’s published. Everything she does to protect her little secret from the world shines a light on just how far June is willing to go. 
 
Whew, there was a lot to unpack. Kuang does a great job demonstrating every side of the story, forcing readers to question who’s “side” they’re on. This book was a rollercoaster of deceit, racism, and plagiarism alongside a (mostly?!) satirical look at the skeletons hiding in the publishing industry’s closet. 
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This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? No

4.5

 
“Now, please, go tell someone how much you love them.” 
 
This was a wholesome father-daughter love story. 
 
After drinking a little too much on her 40th birthday and waking up in her childhood bedroom, Alice doesn’t expect to be 16 again. Who rightfully would? 
 
To go from visiting her dad on his deathbed at the hospital to seeing him alive, vibrant, and young? Whew, this one tugged at the heart strings. For some reason, Alice is given a second chance to spend time with her dad, actually appreciate their time together, and figure out what life is really all about. 
 
This Time Tomorrow is a lovely mix between The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Midnight Library. It’s so much more than the “what ifs” we often see in the time traveling trope. It’s a nod to 90’s nostalgia, the importance of relationships, and celebrating the tiny, messy, everyday moments in life. I hope you enjoy the charm, heart, and wit Straub put into this book as much as I did. 
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The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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

 
The Mistborn trilogy has dystopian world building, magic, interesting characters that you either love or love to hate, and a fast-paced plot. There are no dragons, fae, or shapeshifters. But there are Allomancers aka people who can burn metals to gain superhuman abilities. 
 
The story can be summed up as one giant heist to destroy the evil, immortal Lord Ruler and free the Skaa from the abusive nobles once and for all. Of course there are obstacles to overcome, magical duels to fight, court politics to play, and ultimately, the small feat of figuring out how to actually kill the Lord Ruler. 
 
My small grievance is the almost laughable “romantic” relationship and the absolute lack of spice. Don’t get me wrong, I very much appreciated that the heroine was a badass, strong, and resourceful woman who don’t need no man. But damn, it was more vanilla than vanilla. 
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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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adventurous funny 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

This was as wholesome as it gets. It’s not everyday that you read from the POV of a grieving widow and mother, a man searching for his father, and a giant Pacific octopus. 

In addition to the unlikely friendship of Tova, the widow, and Marcellus, the octopus, there’s an air of mystery as their stories intertwine. Came for the sweet story and stayed for the subtle humor, fun imagery, and charming characters.  
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City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective tense 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? Yes

4.0

This is the brilliant story of Vivian Morris’ life—from being kicked out of college to getting shipped off to her semi-estranged aunt in Manhattan to actors, plays, sex, and show girls. 

It’s basically a 400-page response a woman named Angela receives when she asks what her father meant to Vivian. Ultimately it’s a coming of age novel about a beautiful, rich girl finding her way (and making mistakes) through show business, war, love, loss, and life. 

I loved the darling cast, dazzling New York City nightlife, and overall ode to Vivian’s life. It’s everything you’d expect from a multi-faceted, complex, and sometimes unreliable narrator. That’s showbiz, baby!
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Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns

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

3.5

 
When I skimmed the description, I somehow mixed up Taxi Driver with Baby Driver so I was expecting more of an action-packed-bank-robbery situation. 
 
What I got instead was the dark, satirical commentary of a bi woman working long hours, caring for her grieving mother, and dreaming of a better life. Despite needing to take necessary precautions to stay safe throughout the night, she meets new people and eventually meets Jolene. And so begins their whirlwind love affair. 
 
It touches on political unrest, white saviorism, exploitation of workers, and grief. There were parts I liked and parts that fell flat. It was a love-hate relationship. 
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What Remains by Wendy Walker

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

 
The decision to buy pink towels from the department store changed Detective Elise Sutton’s life forever. 
 
As shots ring out, Sutton snaps into action and takes down the gunman to save the life of another man—a life for a life. Dealing with tremendous guilt, Sutton seeks out the man she saved to justify her actions. Thus begins a captivating cat-and-mouse thriller that swaps POVs, leaves the reader guessing, and delves into the human psyche. Overall, this was a layered, fast-moving psychological thriller. 
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The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

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

3.5

How can an interesting concept with dark academia, magic, and a secret society go wrong? 
Pacing. It was so. damn. slow.

Every decade, six of the most talented magicians are chosen to compete against each other for initiation into the Alexandrian Society. Unfortunately I didn’t love any of the characters. This is not to say that I hated them, but I definitely didn’t love them or feel connected to anyone in particular after the first ~100 pages. 

While the premise really was interesting, the execution just wasn’t there for me, which is too bad because I wanted to love it. In hindsight, this book seems like mostly world-building and character development for the rest of the series, but I needed more. I’m not sure if I’ll be picking up book two yet, only time will tell.
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Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

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challenging informative reflective 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

The story of Molly Bolt, a lesbian in postwar America, is just as relevant today as it was when it originally published in the 1970s. While we’ve seen more progress and acceptance in recent years, the LGBTQ+ community still faces many issues Molly does.

The main focus is Molly’s exploration of her own sexuality and the community surrounding her—the good, bad, and ugly parts of it. Molly is shamelessly unapologetic about who she is, what she feels, and what she desires, giving us a brazen and bold coming of age story. 
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Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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challenging informative reflective sad tense 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? No

4.0

This novel covers many themes—gentrification, colonialism, familial relationships, politics, cultural and sexual identity, corruption, love. Gonzalez left nothing out of the spotlight.

Olga and Prieto are siblings. Both have quietly struggled with their mother’s abandoment decades ago to support Puerto Rican independence. Although they receive letters from her, they’re typically to ridicule them for partaking in the “American Dream” or to push them towards achieving her anarchist legacy. This novel portrays Olga and Prietos’ struggles to define themselves outside of their parents’ activism, abuse, societal expectations, and their own pasts. 

While dense with political information, this novel will pull you in a few different ways. At times, I felt simultaneously sympathetic and totally aggravated with the characters. It’s a smorgasbord of sub-plots, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Puerto Rican politics (or PR in general) isn’t a common theme I see in books, which means I need to diversify my bookshelves. I’m reminded of how little I know about Puerto Rico. Yet seeing a congressman of Puerto Rican descent be the only one expected to talk about PR issues was uncomfortably realistic making it a good read. 
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