racheyohh's reviews
100 reviews

Flawless by Elsie Silver

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lighthearted fast-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? Yes

3.75

My friend gave me this and I expected it to be cringingly bad but it was actually kind of addicting? Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely cringy points and the beginning felt a little like a hallmark movie but the spicy scenes were far from hallmark 🔥. I also enjoyed the twist about her past, though would have liked to hear more about that and the repercussions of that secret coming out.

Too often in romances I feel like the man is annoyingly perfect and the girl is just dumb but I appreciated that he was flawed and thought Summer was fair with getting upset about his outburst.

Also who knew there were Canadian cowboys?! 
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

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emotional informative reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I’d say this book is more out of my comfort zone than most I’ve read lately. I mistakenly took it as more of a love story when I bought it but then picking it up to begin I realized that was not really the main focus. 

It felt a bit slow to me but it was definitely informative and interesting. I didn’t know anything about Cyrus and the ethnic struggles and civil war there. The environmentalism and knowledge about the ecosystem was educational as well. The fig tree’s resilience was inspiring.
Finding out more about Dafne’s death was disappointing and sadder than I expected but I appreciated the metaphors and how a troubled past can cause neverending pain.
Funny Story by Emily Henry

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

4.0

Miles is a very lovable leading man, Daphne can be ridiculously dumb at points but still lovable overall. This was an enjoyable audiobook and fun “fake relationship” trope. I enjoyed chemistry between them and small town with a charming cast of characters. Reminded me a lot of Beach Read and I enjoyed the brief mention of those characters! A few cringy moments but overall fun 
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

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informative 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

4.0

Storygraph told me this was a book outside my comfort zone but it’s very much The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets The Vanishing Half, and I enjoyed it!

As others have mentioned, the historical part is much more compelling than the modern part. Instead of being truly interwoven it’s more like the beginning and end are modern and the majority of the book is in the past. I understood the point of the modern section, connecting how far we still need to come and BLM but the section and characters weren’t as interesting.

It was less mysterious than expected but I still enjoyed reading about the journey of Kitty’s life and all the Old Hollywood aspects. Unlike The Vanishing Half, it portrayed
passing in a less lonely way, with her having a full support system and people that loved her regardless.
I’m curious if that’s just optimistic or how much is based on true stories from that time. 

Ultimately it was an enjoyable read for anyone interested in old hollywood or race studies! 
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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adventurous funny informative mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book was advertised at a book store and it sounded like the perfect book club pick. It took me awhile to get into it, though unsure how much of that was the book vs me being distracted at the time. I thought the narration was unique and fun with the alternating overlapping stories and the brutally honest POVs from flawed but lovable characters. The true history it ties into was very interesting as it was something I knew nothing about and assumed the narrator had made up more but the circumstances (from the author’s note) seem pretty accurate! Not sure if I’ve ever read a “noir” but it was fun! 
From the Corner of the Oval: A Memoir by Beck Dorey-Stein

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informative medium-paced

4.5

This book has been on my To Read List for years and after breezing through this week I’m very glad I finally did. Honestly a bold move for your first book to a memoir about your time at the oval and the majority of it be centered around
cheating on your bf with a coworker
. However I think it really told in a relatable way of her perspective during this time. It definitely had lots of amusing and inspiring anecdotes from Obama and her professional experiences but naturally romantic situationships take up much of one’s attention span and memories. Jason is the epitome of a toxic man that one knows it’s all too easy to fall for, though it’s quite to an extreme. Also I enjoyed the relatable portrayal of how close you can get to your work family, especially on work travel. 

I do wonder how much of it was real, I hope most of it as that makes me appreciate the book more. Confused what she meant when she said she rearranged some events though 🤔 

Ultimately it was exactly what I was marketed as and I throughly enjoyed it. Non fiction that reads like a beach read, page turning fiction 
The Porcelain Moon by Janie Chang

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

3.75

I liked this book but not to the extent of war books such as The Nightingale or All The Light We Cannot See. The characters seemed less complex and it did seem be more optimistic about everything. Maybe it’s just that WWI was much less devastating to France than WWII or maybe it was just that the author wanted to show a happier story about the elite, likely a mix of the two. Rarely does war fiction have
such a happy ending for all characters
, which I enjoyed but still, seemed a little too good to be true. The characters all seemed much more focused on marriages than the war, though Theo’s letters do give a little bit of perspective. I enjoyed the authors note at the end regarding some history backstory about this time. 

All in all it was an enjoyable book about a less discussed part of history (I hadn’t heard about it until reading Yellowface) but nothing too amazing. 
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The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

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challenging emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I finally decided to read this book and can’t believe I didn’t earlier, I couldn’t put it down. It was such an interesting story with deep serious topics (racism, colorism, domestic violence etc) but also had some heartwarming romantic relationships and some page turning suspense. I read a review that said they were upset that
Stella had no repercussions and got away with her lies but I don’t think that was true at all. She sacrificed a ton for this “freedom”. In addition to the obvious being her family (who she’d loved and had a good relationship with until then) she also lived her life scared and closed off, never really able to connect to another person.
. I liked the way the story was told and how the different POVs were so interwoven. A thoughtful book about identity: the different extents and ways people change theirs, and the costs of each. 
Ghosts by Dolly Alderton

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

4.25

They was something a bit eh about the plot line and I was never really a fan of Max. Also some reason I expected the book to cover more different dates / men than it did. 

That said, it is SO relatable, I was reading exerts to my friends left and right. One of them said “good to know they’re having the same problems in London that we’re having” in the US ha. There’s an influx of avoidant men damaging women left and right and it’s good to see the similarities at least. Being single and 32 I really enjoyed reading about the very relatable issues regarding dating at this time in your life. 

Felt more like a great non fiction analysis than a gripping story but I definitely enjoyed it! 
I'll Have What She's Having: How Nora Ephron's Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson

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4.25