rodiemom's reviews
343 reviews

What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

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

3.75

A fun adventure and good movement along the story. 
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin

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emotional hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Loved this sweet story. I wasn’t expecting a “story within a story” style and it was a pleasant surprise. The audio narration was top-notch!
The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson

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challenging informative tense slow-paced

4.0

Despite being a little slower than his other books, Larson’s Demon of Unrest is a fascinating telling of a pivotal moment in the nation’s history. I had a difficult time following the flip back and forth between union and confederate POV while listening on audio and eventually listened to the audio while also reading along in hardcover. I found myself so intrigued by the little nuggets of personal detail Larson adds about people who might not otherwise even be in the history books. He does a great job of bringing the reader into the story by making the characters come alive.  This is a great book for a history buff or someone like myself, who wants to learn more about history but in a narrative form.  
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

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hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book was amazing. I didn’t know it was YA when I picked it up, but I’m so glad it was Becauee it’s such a hard story and the YA aspect makes it much more digestible. The author gave so much respect to the Syrian people and their fight, she did not turn away from the harshness of war and the tragedy of murder, but neither did she treat them flippantly. Fantastic. Beautiful. Brutal. 
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel

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dark sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The River Goddess Ganga finds herself tricked by a man and cursed to birth her “godlings” into the world. The story follows Ganga as she fulfills the terms of the curse, but isn’t able to protect them all as she planned. She becomes a River once again and then the story becomes more of a history, following the River as one character and the remaining “godling” and many of the people around him. 

I LOVED Kaikeyi and was looking forward to the next novel from this author, but I found myself disappointed. This story had so many characters and the constant time and perspective shifts made it difficult to follow. Several times I wished for a character breakdown to be included or that I had had the foresight to take my own notes on characters. 

Overall, I still really enjoyed the story, but it was difficult to follow and that made me less likely to want to pick it up.

An extra note, please check the content warnings before reading. Cultural norms and mythology can take the reader by surprise and could be triggering to some. 
A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

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adventurous emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I was so excited for this story. The premise is a girl forced to wander the earth to outrun her mysterious illness. She meets interesting people and tells her story. She experiences grief and joy and passion, but all in bits and pieces. But about 2/3 through the book, the story changes and her illness becomes personified. It felt like the author couldn’t decide which story to tell and as a reader it felt a bit like bait and switch. I was disappointed and really struggled to finish reading.
The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

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funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The melancholy atmosphere of this book about how our culture reacts to death makes the story so real. Having lost  my mother recently, I was concerned a story about a death doula would be too hard for me to read. Instead it was entrancing. I laughed and cried out loud several times throughout Clover’s story and I’m so sad I don’t get to spend any more time with her now that it is over. This is the book I didn’t know I needed, but I’m so thankful I found it. Audio narration is also top notch. 
The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

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

3.5

This book was ok. The narrator was very good. I loved the idea of studying the contrast of classes within an Ivy League school. But it felt like the story started in the middle and then dragged on giving backstory. This book is marketed as a thriller, but the tension seems to be lacking. All that said, I enjoyed the book. The story carried along fine, but it would be better served as a contemporary fiction and just leave the “thriller” parts out. 
Congratulations, The Best Is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

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emotional funny medium-paced

4.0

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

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

5.0

Yaa Gyasi has a way of looking straight into the heart that is so piercing. This book is a slow character study, exploring depression and addiction without attempting to find answers, just sit with the heart of the questions.