bookedbymadeline's reviews
907 reviews

The Sound of Storms by Anya Keeler

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.
Love that there’s content warnings at the start of the book!
It’s a spicy romantasy but I love that she gives the option that if you don’t want the spice scenes, she tells you exactly which chapters to skip that won’t affect the overall plot.

Unfortunately though this was a DNF. A bit too much telling over showing for my taste, and the dialogue felt unnatural at time. Nearly 100 pages in and I still didn’t care much about the characters or what was happening, I never felt fully engaged so just not for me.

Thanks to the author for the ARC

Tropes: fae, shifters, enemies to lovers, found family, why choose

Rep: bi MC, non-binary side character 
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Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

A fun, quick read perfect for the Halloween season! This is a YA fantasy inspired by Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, following the events after the movie. 

It could be repetitive and cheesy at times. Also based on the synopsis it’s not at all what I was expecting but it was still entertaining. I enjoyed the first half better than the second half! It’s definitely one of those “I said I liked it, I didn’t say it was good” type books 😂 you can turn your brain off and just enjoy the ride but it’s not some incredibly written masterpiece.

If you’re a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and don’t mind cheesy writing then I’d recommend it!
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I Have Some Questions for You: A Novel by Rebecca Makkai

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-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

Pulled in by the beginning and I didn’t want to put it down! This is told in first person narration, as we follow our FMC Bodie reflecting on the past as well as her own culpability in having a career around true crime. 

She says “you” often which was both confusing and intriguing at first but eventually we learn who she’s talking to. Really thought provoking and complicated characters. There’s so much gray area and unlikeable moments that I had mixed feelings about the characters, especially Bodie herself! 

Some things did feel unnecessary? Like the MC romance with an Israeli guy was so random and the film class descriptions with references to classic films; It felt like the book was trying to do too much at once.

One of the subplots involving Bodie’s hypocrisy around victim hood and assault made me uncomfortable but was such an interesting exploration on things like “how do you define abuse? What would you do if a loved one was accused? How ethical is true crime as a genre?” Because for Bodie it’s literally her job to look at young women killed in Hollywood and mistreated/abused by men and she’s reflecting on the past where a young girl is killed by an older man she’s rumored to be involved with, so it positions how she views these things as wrong but then gets angry and defensive at the accusations against her sort of husband and accusing people of not understanding what “ACTUAL assault” looks like.

Intriguing, complicated explorations on grooming, abuse/assault of women, ethical issues around true crime, the US justice system and reliability on our collective memories! So many gray areas that make you think, and feel uncomfortable, but so important as well.

Overall I really enjoyed the issues brought up and even though I very often didn’t like Bodie, I couldn’t put this down! 
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We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
The first Hendrix book I’ve DNFd 😭 it’s just sooo bad! It’s overly descriptive with a whole lot of nothing. The synopsis sounded amazing, classic crossroads deal of selling your soul to the devil for fame?! But the first 3 chapters are just the main character going about her shitty life as a hotel clerk. This sentence was the nail in the coffin for me: “her brain was in neutral, stewing in a skull full of sleep juice, and she could feel the sleepy smell rising up from her chest.” Nothing grabbed me and I was so bored and irritated with the amount of minute details that didn’t lead to any sort of plot set up or character development
Daughter of Ruins by Yvette Manessis Corporon

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Muse for the eARC.

This was a DNF because I honestly just couldn’t care enough about the characters or story to finish. It’s supposed to be about 3 different women but we really only get Demetria POV for most of what I’ve read. The other two aren’t fleshed out/ one dimensional, and I wished we had gotten to know them better/see them more! By part 2 I still wasn’t engaged and kept putting it down to read other books so I ended up DNFing after not feeling excited to get back to it. I’m sure many others will enjoy it more than me! 
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Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
I love epistolary novels and this sounded really interesting and unique! Unfortunately the execution was lacking for me. Through the use of obituaries and dictionary entries, it feels mashed together rather than a cohesive story. From reading reviews I understand now that the AI is the narrator reading through these articles/stories but that’s not being made clear. There’s no break between these entries to allow us to make a connection or get to know the narrator (AI Peregrine). The detached storytelling style and lack of cohesion led me to feeling confused and bored so for that I DNFd the book-great idea, poor execution 
The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I love the mixed media with the podcast and articles throughout the story! This was an excellent retelling of the horror classic “Carrie” in which our FMC Maddy has telekinetic powers that erupt after years of bullying and racial prejudice.

Jackson writes a moving account on issues like bullying and racism in this small town to the point where I felt enraged and sad on Maddy’s behalf. I loved the plot twists and thought it was well-paced! 

We get a few POVs from different characters, some of which were infuriating/annoying. Because of the number of POVs plus the podcast/newspaper articles and transcripts, we didn’t get to know Maddy as well as I would’ve liked!  
 I also wish we got more about Maddy’s background with her family because it’s alluded to at times but could’ve gone deeper. Lastly the romance felt very rushed and kind of out of the blue.

Overall this was a fantastic retelling and perfect YA horror/thriller for Halloween! Very much a “supporting women’s wrongs/female rage” book
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The Summer Before by Dianne C. Braley

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
The writing style isn’t working for me and my own tastes. The writing is choppy and repetitive, plus the dialogue feels unnatural/forced. There’s a lot of telling through the dialogue as opposed to showing. I really wanted to like this book and sounded up my alley but the writing style just isn’t for me
The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Slow start but by the third chapter I was more engaged! I loved the Spanish interspersed throughout the book. I also loved the atmospheric descriptions! The Volcano Daughters is a historical novel with magical realism throughout, as our ghost narrators take us through Graciela and Consuelo’s life and we learn about the folklore of El Salvador.

The book is narrated in third person POV by Lourdes, Cora, María, and Lucía recounting the tale for us. It’s split into 3 parts, from early 1900s to 1932, 1932-38 and then finally ending in 1942!

First half focuses on the sisters’ lives in El Salvador, specifically Izalco, leading up to the massacre and then the second half is the aftermath. Sometimes the four narrators interject, bickering and adding side commentary-it was entertaining and reminded me of the muses in Disney’s Hercules! 

I learned so much about El Salvadorian history in terms of colonization and exploitation in taking land away from the indigenous peoples; making them work on farms to mass produce coffee and indigo as part of a “settler system” common at the time! Also that they had large Black and indigenous populations, referred to as Indians or Indiadas, that the government committed mass genocide against in 1932.

It was interesting learning the history and has made me want to learn more about El Salvador. I also appreciated the infusion of mythology and folklore! There’s talk about spirits that taunt or prank people, and La Cigua who haunts men and grieves for her stolden children.

The characters are also well written and although their stories are dark and emotional at times, I enjoyed following their stories getting to know them! The chapters could be a little long for my personal preference but it was an interesting and beautifully told story, giving voice to the indigenous women of El Salvador ❤️

Thank you to netgalley and one world publications for the eARC!

TW/CW: colonialism, genocide, xenophobia, racism, miscarriage, death, rape, blood, violence, suicide (brief mention), emotional abuse, suicidal ideation, sexual harassment, police brutality, PTSD, still birth, war, pregnancy
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The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.
I honestly could not get into this and forgot about it 💀