amalas_bookstop's reviews
91 reviews

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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adventurous hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

What a really optimistic story about America. While the book is this murder mystery the book is so much more than that. Through spending time with different individuals in the town you really get to know them. I love that Hames McBride is not cynical if anything his town throughout the book is largely neutral until then end when he gives you warm fuzzies.

This is a really great novel about communities and how we can all use each other.
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Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

OMG! This Game was brutal! I think I like Peeta more in this book, Katniss frustrated me a little. I am trying to give her a break though because of all she has been put through. I am still having a hard time connecting that this is young adult. The details that Suzanne writes about the poorer districts and their starvation to President Snow having blood in his breath. This is such a powerful book two! 
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Beloved by Toni Morrison

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

5.0

This is a book that will need to be reread. 

Masterclass in how to write characters and consciousness, the characters feel so real. Quite honestly I feel like Beloved was haunting me what I finished. 

This is a messy but completely honest story, that is not told enough post slavery. 
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What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I totally recommend if you are looking for a historical fiction meets magical realism.

Wins: the author does an amazing job of setting the historical scene. From the beginning she ensures the reader knows about the limitations of being a young unmarried woman in 1884 to what it was like to be an Egyptian during European colonialism. She even had me doing a quick Google search of what caused Britain to invade Egypt in the 1880s. The pace was really well done and the actions scenes kept me going.

Personal reasons why this is not a 5⭐️: As I read more fantasies I am realizing I don’t enjoy those that center the relationships. I kind of find that the romance scenes get in the way of me totally enjoying the book, because they tend to pop up in the most in opportune times for me. That is strictly a personal reason, the scenes in this book are age appropriate (young adult) and are written well. Secondly the main female character is 19 and repeatedly makes 19 year old decisions. I am hoping in the next book she has learned some lessons and won’t keep making the same mistakes.

Despite that I am still looking forward to picking up the second book and reading how this story ends!
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Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

How do I write this review without sounding to scathing? Honestly I did not enjoy reading this at all. The language was to dense, and then somewhat lightened towards the last quarter, then became dense again at the end. Shame on Gregory Maguire's editing team for not cutting out like a good 200 pages of the book.

This just makes me appreciate the musical more, the way that they shined this diamond in a ruff is remarkable. Save your energy and don’t read this book. Just enjoy the movie and musical.
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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Such a fun cute story of relationships, human interactions and found family. I was looking for something unserious to read and this book fits the bill. I enjoyed that this was a quick read that I could finish in one weekend. I am also glad that the spice level of this book was low and very tasteful. I really enjoyed this book, this is a case where booktok has gotten it right.
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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense 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

5.0

We have finished the 74th hunger games! This was such a wild ride. This was my first time reading this book and as I am an adult I am surprised by how much I enjoyed it! Katniss is THAT GIRL! While Peeta is strong where it counts. That book had me crying, gasping, laughing, and holding my breath. I throughly enjoyed every minute of reading this book and I am looking forward to moving on to book two. 
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One of Our Kind by Nicola Yoon

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is a solid 3 stars for 3 reasons. The synopsis of this book completely gave away the plot. I knew how this book was going to end before I picked it up. Secondly, the social commentary is so heavy handed. I like a fiction that shows me not tells me and the black trauma, BLM, black mental health topics were in essentially every conversation that our characters had. This book felt more like a literary fiction that uses thriller as a vehicle to keep the plot moving. That brings me to my third point, that pacing of this book felt off to me. At one point it felt to slow, only to all of a sudden be at the end.

I will say that if you are wanting to read a fiction looking to learn more about these topics, this is a good book to start. 
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'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
Didn’t enjoy the language. Not people of color friendly.
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 9%.
I couldn’t get past calling the interviewer boy and that fact that he is a plantation owner and starts killing the enslaved.