alysereadsbooks's reviews
364 reviews

Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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

4.25

I enjoyed this book. It was the perfect balance of well written prose, balancing both romantic comedy aspects with drama and angst. 
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Everything's Fine by Cecilia Rabess

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

2.5

This book was a hot mess. I wanted to like it so much, but felt the characters were very unlikeable and I don't understand how you could stay in a relationship with someone with such fundamentally different values. I HATED the ending.
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Life and Other Love Songs by Anissa Gray

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

3.5

This book was not what I was expecting, but I still very much enjoyed it. I liked the alternating perspectives and timelines. It was a bit slow at times, but I found the ending very unexpected and gut-wrenching. Overall, a bittersweet read. 
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The Body Liberation Project: How Understanding Racism and Diet Culture Helps Cultivate Joy and Build Collective Freedom by Chrissy King

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I really enjoyed this book - its prompts and its overview of body liberation, which is a great primer for someone new to body liberation. I enjoyed the author's focus on intersectionality and explicit, regular mentions of disability, and how this may affect body image, self love, etc.
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How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

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challenging dark emotional reflective relaxing sad fast-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

4.5

Listened to the audiobook and it was AMAZING. the production quality and narration was great. Well written, gut wrenching, examination of generational trauma. 
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Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-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

2.5

Oof. I wanted to love this book, but I didn’t. I found the writing nearly impossible to keep my interest because it was so flowery. So slow and the ending overall was unsatisfying. Felt unfinished. 
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When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

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

3.25

I liked this novel. It’s a cool premise, and I think it pays homage to women’s rage/autonomy, especially in the 1950s. Parts of it felt disjointed, but on the whole, I did enjoy it.
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Betty by Tiffany McDaniel

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

I loved this book. Heartbreaking and devastating but rich. I loved to learn about the perspective of Indigenous people and generational trauma. **Check trigger warnings before reading***
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A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-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

3.5

Listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed it! Great story with fun and flawed characters. It felt magical and Christmasy and I like that the author focused more on the relationships between the sisters than just romantic partners. I recommend for anyone seeking a heartfelt holiday read. 
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101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think by Brianna Wiest

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

2.5

I listened to this as an audiobook - it’s great for around New Year’s, it does feel inspiring. Parts of it I really enjoyed and parts of it made me really cringe. I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it. I might revisit in a different format and maybe i’ll like it more.