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vienna_books's reviews
17 reviews
Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I listened to the audiobook in one day and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The book follows Lucy a young woman who returns to her hometown in Texas after 5 years in LA for her grandmothers 80th birthday. She moved away because everybody in her town is convinced she murdered her best friend Savvy a few years ago. Lucy was found covered in blood with no memory of what had happened to her or Savvy in the night the latter was found dead but the police did not have enough evidence to arrest her. A podcast is being made to uncover what really happened that night.
Usually I’m not a fan of the memory loss trope especially when it’s the main character in a mystery but I think Amy Tintera did a really good job with it. I really like true crime podcasts in audio books, that element made the story feel more real. Hearing the different interviews and how the publics opinion shifted when new episodes came out was also interesting.
The main character Lucy is pretty flawed (reminds me a little bit of the protagonists of “girl on the train” and “woman in the window”) but I enjoy reading from a unique perspective, so I liked her sarcastic sometimes mean nature.
Many other characters were a little bit one dimensional in my opinion, especially Lucy’s family members.
Would recommend the book to everyone looking for a quick thriller mystery, just be warned that it includes a lot of cheating as well as domestic abuse scenes.
Spoiler:
I was completely wrong when it came to the murderer at first. I was pretty convinced that it was Lucy’s father. Later I caught on (when Lucy first remembered that she had kissed someone at the wedding) but it took a while and I always love when I can’t solve the mystery right away. I didn’t really like that the murderer seemingly changed his whole personality suddenly but then that’s probably how it often is in real life: the Mr Nice guy whom nobody would suspect turns out to be the murderer.
The book follows Lucy a young woman who returns to her hometown in Texas after 5 years in LA for her grandmothers 80th birthday. She moved away because everybody in her town is convinced she murdered her best friend Savvy a few years ago. Lucy was found covered in blood with no memory of what had happened to her or Savvy in the night the latter was found dead but the police did not have enough evidence to arrest her. A podcast is being made to uncover what really happened that night.
Usually I’m not a fan of the memory loss trope especially when it’s the main character in a mystery but I think Amy Tintera did a really good job with it. I really like true crime podcasts in audio books, that element made the story feel more real. Hearing the different interviews and how the publics opinion shifted when new episodes came out was also interesting.
The main character Lucy is pretty flawed (reminds me a little bit of the protagonists of “girl on the train” and “woman in the window”) but I enjoy reading from a unique perspective, so I liked her sarcastic sometimes mean nature.
Many other characters were a little bit one dimensional in my opinion, especially Lucy’s family members.
Would recommend the book to everyone looking for a quick thriller mystery, just be warned that it includes a lot of cheating as well as domestic abuse scenes.
Spoiler:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity and Mental illness
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Spoilerfree review:
Did not know anything about the book before I started it and was pleasantly surprised!
I usually don’t read urban fantasy but I loved the world and all the different magical inhabitants. The book has Fae, witches, demons, vampires, witches and much more. The main character has a strong personality and is pretty cunning. The plot kept me on my toes the whole time, since there was a big mystery to uncover. I think it became a little bit slow around the middle but it picked up again and even had me in tears a few times.
Recommend for all Romantasy fans :)
Did not know anything about the book before I started it and was pleasantly surprised!
I usually don’t read urban fantasy but I loved the world and all the different magical inhabitants. The book has Fae, witches, demons, vampires, witches and much more. The main character has a strong personality and is pretty cunning. The plot kept me on my toes the whole time, since there was a big mystery to uncover. I think it became a little bit slow around the middle but it picked up again and even had me in tears a few times.
Recommend for all Romantasy fans :)
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.5
Spoiler free Review:
This was an amazing ride! If Agatha Christie and Leigh Bardugo co-authored a book - it could look something like this.
The future leaders of 12 provinces go on a 12 day ship voyage together. Every one of them has a unique magical ability- except for our protagonist who only pretends to have one. During their journey people start dying and soon foul play is suspected. The mystery kept me on my toes the whole time and even though I guessed part of the solution, most of it was a surprise to me. I love hard to solve mysteries and this one certainly gave me that. The protagonist was a little bit annoying at times but I still liked him. Not sure about the romance plot, I feel like the story didn’t really need it but it was fine.
All in all I loved the book and will definitely recommend it to friends :)
This was an amazing ride! If Agatha Christie and Leigh Bardugo co-authored a book - it could look something like this.
The future leaders of 12 provinces go on a 12 day ship voyage together. Every one of them has a unique magical ability- except for our protagonist who only pretends to have one. During their journey people start dying and soon foul play is suspected. The mystery kept me on my toes the whole time and even though I guessed part of the solution, most of it was a surprise to me. I love hard to solve mysteries and this one certainly gave me that. The protagonist was a little bit annoying at times but I still liked him. Not sure about the romance plot, I feel like the story didn’t really need it but it was fine.
All in all I loved the book and will definitely recommend it to friends :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood for this book but now that I finished it, I can’t help but feel disappointed. I was bored right until the very end and would have stopped reading around the 20% mark if I wasn’t reading it for a book club. The main character was a dull teenage girl, nothing about her was special.
The plot in a nutshell: poor teenager who sleeps in her car finds herself randomly inheriting billions of dollars from a guy she’s never heard about and needs to live a full year in his mansion. She shares the house with relatives of the deceased who are mad about not inheriting much. The whole story revolves around the question WHY the deceased left her all his assets and he left behind clues for her to figure this out. There is a little bit of romance hinted to as well which I found very unbelievable and insta-lovey.
I strongly disliked the whole thing - mostly because I really didn’t care about the Why-question. I would have preferred if her finding the reason was more of a side plot and there was a different main storyline instead. I can also already tell that I will forget everything that happened in this book and I know I won’t continue with the series.
The plot in a nutshell: poor teenager who sleeps in her car finds herself randomly inheriting billions of dollars from a guy she’s never heard about and needs to live a full year in his mansion. She shares the house with relatives of the deceased who are mad about not inheriting much. The whole story revolves around the question WHY the deceased left her all his assets and he left behind clues for her to figure this out. There is a little bit of romance hinted to as well which I found very unbelievable and insta-lovey.
I strongly disliked the whole thing - mostly because I really didn’t care about the Why-question. I would have preferred if her finding the reason was more of a side plot and there was a different main storyline instead. I can also already tell that I will forget everything that happened in this book and I know I won’t continue with the series.
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was looking for an easy fantasy read and that’s exactly what I got here. It was very entertaining and I would compare it to books like “A Court of Thorns and Roses” or “Fourth Wing”.
We follow Jude, a teenager who’s a mortal who ends up living with her parents murderer as her adoptive father (adoption not official just easier to explain that way) in the fairy world. Her older sister and twin sister live there too. So the family dynamics were interesting to say the least. A new ruler for the fairy kingdom is about to be crowned and Jude gets herself involved in political intrigue. There is also a dark and handsome but cruel prince involved (hence the title). TW: The main character is experiencing extreme bullying, so just be aware of that going into the book.
I got through the story pretty quickly and will be picking up the second one in the series.
We follow Jude, a teenager who’s a mortal who ends up living with her parents murderer as her adoptive father (adoption not official just easier to explain that way) in the fairy world. Her older sister and twin sister live there too. So the family dynamics were interesting to say the least. A new ruler for the fairy kingdom is about to be crowned and Jude gets herself involved in political intrigue. There is also a dark and handsome but cruel prince involved (hence the title). TW: The main character is experiencing extreme bullying, so just be aware of that going into the book.
I got through the story pretty quickly and will be picking up the second one in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Bullying
Die spürst du nicht by Daniel Glattauer
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Das war das erste Buch, das ich von Daniel Glattauer gelesen habe, deshalb bin ich mit relativ neutraler Erwartungshaltung in die Geschichte eingestiegen.
Darum geht’s: 2 österreichische Familien machen Urlaub in Italien. Dabei passiert ein schreckliches Unglück, welches psychische Folgen für alle Beteiligten sowie einen Gerichtsprozess auslöst.
Die ersten paar Kapitel haben mir leider gar nicht gefallen, weil der Autor die auftretenden Charaktere nacheinander auf fast schon klinische Weise mit seinen Worten seziert hat. Statt Informationen auf natürliche Weise ins Geschehen einzubinden, zählt er Beruf, Familienverhältnisse und Aussehen der Personen einfach nacheinander auf. Hat sich gelesen wie Personenbeschreibungen, die man in der Schule abgeben musste und nicht wie der Anfang eines Romans.
Nach diesen ersten stolprigen Kapiteln nahm die Geschichte jedoch an Fahrt auf. Die eigentliche Handlung war interessant. Trotzdem bin ich mit dem Schreibstil nie richtig warm geworden. Für mich könnte diese Geschichte vermutlich auch ein 5-Sterne-Buch sein, wenn die Erzählperspektive anders gewählt worden wäre (z.B. aus der Sicht der Tochter oder sogar der, des unsympathischen Anwalts). Dieser distanzierte, emotionslose allwissende Erzählstil war mir auf Dauer einfach zuwider - aber ist wahrscheinlich Geschmacksache!
Nichtsdestotrotz fand ich die letzten Kapitel des Buches sehr stark und war auch mit dem Ende zufrieden.
Darum geht’s: 2 österreichische Familien machen Urlaub in Italien. Dabei passiert ein schreckliches Unglück, welches psychische Folgen für alle Beteiligten sowie einen Gerichtsprozess auslöst.
Die ersten paar Kapitel haben mir leider gar nicht gefallen, weil der Autor die auftretenden Charaktere nacheinander auf fast schon klinische Weise mit seinen Worten seziert hat. Statt Informationen auf natürliche Weise ins Geschehen einzubinden, zählt er Beruf, Familienverhältnisse und Aussehen der Personen einfach nacheinander auf. Hat sich gelesen wie Personenbeschreibungen, die man in der Schule abgeben musste und nicht wie der Anfang eines Romans.
Nach diesen ersten stolprigen Kapiteln nahm die Geschichte jedoch an Fahrt auf. Die eigentliche Handlung war interessant. Trotzdem bin ich mit dem Schreibstil nie richtig warm geworden. Für mich könnte diese Geschichte vermutlich auch ein 5-Sterne-Buch sein, wenn die Erzählperspektive anders gewählt worden wäre (z.B. aus der Sicht der Tochter oder sogar der, des unsympathischen Anwalts). Dieser distanzierte, emotionslose allwissende Erzählstil war mir auf Dauer einfach zuwider - aber ist wahrscheinlich Geschmacksache!
Nichtsdestotrotz fand ich die letzten Kapitel des Buches sehr stark und war auch mit dem Ende zufrieden.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Drug use
Minor: Bullying and Grief
Was man von hier aus sehen kann by Mariana Leky
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 35%.
Habe ich bei Max und Lea angefangen, aber bin nicht fertig geworden, lese nächstes Mal weiter
Weyward by Emilia Hart
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I read “Weyward” with my book club and was pleasantly surprised! Usually I don’t care much for magical realism OR historical fiction - this book fits with both of those genres - but I really enjoyed it.
The story is character driven and the three women at the center of it are very well flushed out and different from each other. This turned out to be my new favourite book about realistic witches. Some of the content is pretty heavy and graphic, so I would recommend to check out trigger warnings. I was shocked to hear that this is a debut novel and will definitely be picking up the next Emilia Hart book!
The story is character driven and the three women at the center of it are very well flushed out and different from each other. This turned out to be my new favourite book about realistic witches. Some of the content is pretty heavy and graphic, so I would recommend to check out trigger warnings. I was shocked to hear that this is a debut novel and will definitely be picking up the next Emilia Hart book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I’ve been planning to pick up the Percy Jackson series for years now and I finally did! People have compared it to Harry Potter because it’s following a group of young magical children/teens. The first book was a solid three for me but I listened to it on audio and have to admit that I wasn’t always super concentrated. It’s the kind of book that you can have on in the background and still follow along even if you leave the room for a second.
The plot fell a little bit short for me. Percy and his friends are basically on a fetch quest for the entire book. I would have liked this as a side plot but not the main story line. I also didn’t connect with the characters much. What pleasantly surprised me was that Rick Riordan wrote a main character that has a mental health diagnosis. I try to read diversely but I don’t think I’ve read anything else with ADHD representation. Also loved to be reading about mythological people and creatures. The chapters had actual names and I wish authors would do this more often! All in all I enjoyed the ride and will continue on with the series :)
The plot fell a little bit short for me. Percy and his friends are basically on a fetch quest for the entire book. I would have liked this as a side plot but not the main story line. I also didn’t connect with the characters much. What pleasantly surprised me was that Rick Riordan wrote a main character that has a mental health diagnosis. I try to read diversely but I don’t think I’ve read anything else with ADHD representation. Also loved to be reading about mythological people and creatures. The chapters had actual names and I wish authors would do this more often! All in all I enjoyed the ride and will continue on with the series :)
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
2.5
I always find it hard to rate memoirs. This is somebody’s real story and should be treated respectfully. It has very high ratings and many people seem to love this book.
That said: it was not for me. I mostly read fiction but I did enjoy memoirs like „Educated“ and „In Order to Live“.
First and foremost:
I would NOT recommend „when breath becomes air“ to anybody who is currently struggling with mental health, especially depression!!!!
I liked the writing and I feel like the author was a great person worth knowing. This book is probably great for people who work in medicine and want to gain the perspective of a patient.
There were chapters focusing on Pauls life before cancer which I sensed were more targeted to people he knew in person. Again I don‘t want to disrespect anybody but these chapters nearly made me stop reading.
Then we got a few chapters about his career and work. I found these interesting but I‘m the kind of person that covers her eyes in medical dramas when they show humans being cut open by doctors. There was a lot of graphic descriptions of medical conditions that had nothing to do with his cancer. I was also not prepared to read about the death of new born twins. Again, not the books fault but it was very depressing to read.
After I finished reading „When Breath becomes Air“ I asked myself: Why did I read this? I don‘t really feel like I‘ve learned something new about cancer. I had expected to maybe take life lessons from it when it comes to the topic of death but I don‘t know… I maybe just could not relate to Paul very well? I feel like I would have appreciated the book much more if I had known the author personally.
I landed on 2.5 stars because to me that‘s the average between 0 and 5. If this was fiction I would have rated it lower.
That said: it was not for me. I mostly read fiction but I did enjoy memoirs like „Educated“ and „In Order to Live“.
First and foremost:
I would NOT recommend „when breath becomes air“ to anybody who is currently struggling with mental health, especially depression!!!!
I liked the writing and I feel like the author was a great person worth knowing. This book is probably great for people who work in medicine and want to gain the perspective of a patient.
There were chapters focusing on Pauls life before cancer which I sensed were more targeted to people he knew in person. Again I don‘t want to disrespect anybody but these chapters nearly made me stop reading.
Then we got a few chapters about his career and work. I found these interesting but I‘m the kind of person that covers her eyes in medical dramas when they show humans being cut open by doctors. There was a lot of graphic descriptions of medical conditions that had nothing to do with his cancer. I was also not prepared to read about the death of new born twins. Again, not the books fault but it was very depressing to read.
After I finished reading „When Breath becomes Air“ I asked myself: Why did I read this? I don‘t really feel like I‘ve learned something new about cancer. I had expected to maybe take life lessons from it when it comes to the topic of death but I don‘t know… I maybe just could not relate to Paul very well? I feel like I would have appreciated the book much more if I had known the author personally.
I landed on 2.5 stars because to me that‘s the average between 0 and 5. If this was fiction I would have rated it lower.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicide