safsaf118's reviews
264 reviews

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

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

4.75

I was a bit unsure about how a book that is essentially just women talking for several hours would be executed but I always have faith in Miriam Toews. This was incredible and hard to read but even harder to put down. Gripping and devastating. 

“We are women without a voice, Ona states calmly. We are women out of time and place, without even the language of the country we reside in…All we women have are our dreams — so of course we are dreamers.”

“We will feel anguish and we will feel sorrow and we will feel uncertainty and we will feel sadness, but not guilt, says Agata.”
Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-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? Yes

2.0

 I thought I would like this more than I actually did. It sounded like a really interesting and cute concept but the execution was painful. This was not for me. 
The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson

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emotional tense
  • 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

4.5

 The way that this completely took me by surprise and was better than anything I could have ever anticipated or imagined? I loved, loved, loved everything about this. The characters, the plot, the storytelling and the writing!! The descriptions of nature were so beautiful.
  Points off for the most terrible and frustrating miscommunication to ever miscommunicate - and I don’t know how I felt about the pregnancy plot line.
But this inspired me to read more Eva Ibbitson because she’s sort of onto something. 

 
Would You Rather by Allison Ashley

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emotional lighthearted sad 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? Yes

2.0

Why did I not like this at all? An interesting premise, I can’t lie. And on paper it seems like such a promising book. But it fell so flat it was actually painful to read. I’m giving two stars because I thought the depth and writing around chronic illness and loss was super strong, but was weighed down by all the other (weak) writing and plot.  
Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley

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

3.75

I always enjoy a wacky old woman who has no boundaries and no filter. I really loved how we got to follow along the different parts of the different character’s lives and their inner struggles. It reminded me so much of The Lost Ticket though so I kept getting confused.  
Charming as a Verb by Ben Philippe

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emotional funny reflective 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

2.75

HENRI NEEDS TO BE JAILED he’s actually so evil. Oh my goodness. It took so much inner strength for me to keep reading after what he did…I’m actually shocked. Wow. I did enjoy the whole look at cutthroat uni/college applications and how the book talked about class and wealth. But I still can’t get over his audacity. 
The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

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

2.75

This was like a train wreck you couldn’t look away from. It made me die inside but I also couldn’t put it down. Is this a Wattpad book, because it felt like a Wattpad book. (Derogatory). Some parts did make me laugh though, but I think the main character’s personality and sort of cluelessness was annoying after awhile.
And what was the ending? The marriage part killed me.
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

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funny inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

This was SO cute. I was worried that it was going to be too cheesy with all the movie and pop culture references but I felt like it was pulled off beautifully. A really nice homage to all the best rom-com tropes (childhood best friends remain TOP TIER) and so fun to read. I was definitely kicking my feet while reading. 
100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons

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adventurous emotional 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

3.25

This was such a sweet and surprising read! I can’t even remember why I wanted to read it, but it reminded me of something written by Jennifer Niven. There were some religious undertones so not sure if this is considered Christian lit, but it was an endearing story.
The Lost Ticket by Freya Sampson

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funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The main character was a stupid, whiny, annoying, (did I mention stupid?) and incredibly frustrating woman. Why am I reading about an old man who waits until he’s at deaths door to look for a woman who presumably lives in the same town as him? Like I understand miscommunication but this was extreme. And the main character was just so triggering and the
pregnancy was so unnecessary I don’t know why it bothered me so much.
This had the potential to be a great concept but it just fell apart.