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bookedbymadeline's reviews
907 reviews
The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimons
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Quick, entertaining read! I loved the characters and the rep. Spencer has an autistic younger brother and seeing the support and love, to making accommodations for him healed a part of me š I enjoyed the balance of showcasing the struggles and anxiety around being trans and coming out, while also sharing the joys of having support/a queer community around you!
This is such a sweet sports romance and the first sports romance Iāve ever read! I loved Justice and Spencerās chemistry as well as the found family aspect they had within the soccer team š©·
The main conflict mentioned in the synopsis didnāt happen for a long time so my expectations were different going into the book. We donāt see the main issue arise (and ultimately resolved) until the last 100 pages so it led to feeling a bit rushed! I think itās more accurate to say that the book is about the anxieties around coming out and adjusting to a new school in general, and not just Spencer being benched from playing.
I didnāt love how much telling over showing there was at times especially when discussing the details of the games. Iām not a sports fan and donāt understand the rules/plays so I skimmed those sections š Another thing I didnāt like was it had one of my biggest pet peeves: when a book is set in one country, in this case the US, but the author and therefore characters use the UK terms-stop calling it a pitch (itās a field) and boots (theyāre cleats)?! š
Overall it was an enjoyable read with moments that made me smile and cry! Iād highly recommend if youāre looking for a queer sports romance or want to read more books with trans and autistic rep š©·
TW/CW: bullying (brief references), religious bigotry, forced outing (brief mention), transphobia, homophobia, misgendering (brief mention), child death (brief), drug abuse (brief)
Rep: trans and gay MC and author, non binary side character, Biracial (black/white) MC, Black side characters, autistic side character, bi side character, gay love interest
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
Moderate: Religious bigotry
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, and Outing
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The first half was extremely slow and I had a hard time feeling motivated to read it especially while in a mini slump. I enjoyed the unique concept and the atmospheric, gothic setting!
Also was it meant to be Lisavet bathory as in BLOOD COUNTESS BATHORY?! Because that wouldāve been cool.
Food descriptions made up for the sometimes nauseating blood scenes š«£ Iām someone with a very weak stomach like canāt look at blood and Iāll get dizzy so I often times felt queasy reading this, itās not for the faint hearted (like me)!
The second half picked up and I did enjoy the plot twist but felt it lacked in execution, it was resolved so quickly making it feel rushed while at the same time I still have questions. The characters overall felt very flat and one dimensional. I wanted to get to know them better, even Marion I feel we donāt get much from other than how she views herself.
It was an interesting story and one that Iām glad I stuck with! It was entertaining and unique but I didnāt love it as much as I expected to. Will definitely check out more from Henderson as I do still want to read Year of the Witching!
It was an interesting story and one that Iām glad I stuck with! It was entertaining and unique but I didnāt love it as much as I expected to. Will definitely check out more from Henderson as I do still want to read Year of the Witching!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Incest and Death of parent
Wild Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.
I really wanted to like this book and get more background on Palestine but sadly it just wasnāt working for me.
The narrative could be confusing a lot of the time as things are repeated over and over again plus the large cast of characters. Iām not sure if it was the writing style or the translation which made it so difficult to follow. I set this aside a few times thinking it was me but I could feel the book pulling me into a slump so ultimately itās a DNF
The narrative could be confusing a lot of the time as things are repeated over and over again plus the large cast of characters. Iām not sure if it was the writing style or the translation which made it so difficult to follow. I set this aside a few times thinking it was me but I could feel the book pulling me into a slump so ultimately itās a DNF
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
The Island by Adrian McKinty
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
I thought we agreed enough with the fucking HP references in recently published books?!
The dialogue is so cringey and unnatural, honestly I think McKinty has never interacted with a Gen Z person.
Weird description of a 14 YEAR OLD GIRL āsheās really starting to grow outā¦could be mistaken for 16 evenā WTF
These kids are absolute brats, Tom is an entitled white man, and Heather is meh-Characters are just one dimensional
Who the fuck goes to a private island where they even state āno laws thereā LIKE I WOULD BE ON DRUGS TO AGREE TO THAT AFTER HEARING HOW THE MEN TALKED ABOUT IT
We killed someone, letās leave the islandā¦def Americans with how entitled they act when visiting other places (I say this as an American)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Gore and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
Such Lovely Skin by Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Thank you to netgalley and Page Street Publishing for the eARC!
I was hooked from the start! I did make the mistake of reading it before bed and gave myself nightmares šš Loved the character development throughout the novel! The pacing is also well done, I was engaged the whole way through even while half hiding my face behind a pillow š
Itās a scary but also deep, emotional read with explorations of grief and guilt. This is such a unique horror novel and one of my faves of the month! And the ending was so perfectly done š® I canāt wait to read more from this author in the future and eventually add a physical copy to my shelves.
TW/CW: child death, grief, underage drinking, drunk driving (brief mention), blood, violence, suicide (brief mention)
Rep: Black side character, half Japanese MC
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
One by One by Ruth Ware
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
This was a quick, engaging thriller! It started off slow and didnāt pick up and fully catch me until about 100 pages in though. It was difficult to keep all of the characters straight at times but it helped to keep you guessing, although my first guess as to who did it turned out to be correct so it wasnāt shocking. Fairly predictable with maybe one or two twists I didnāt see coming. Overall it was interesting and a fun thriller to occupy my time and would recommend if you want a quick, easy locked room style mystery story
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
This is so boring š„± thereās literally nothing happening and although I love Nikolai and this is his duology, heās barely in it apparently?! Iām neutral about the OG trilogy and loved SoC but to go in with a plotless book that undoes sooo much of the original world and story feels like a tactless money grab
One of Us is Back by Karen M. McManus
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
This was exactly what I needed to beat my tiny reading slump! It was an easy, quick read and held my attention. I think it did a great job of wrapping up the trilogy!
It could be confusing in the beginning because there are so many characters to keep track of but eventually it got easier. The pacing felt slower at times compared to the first two books. It felt less like a thriller and more of a character driven story with some mystery, as it takes almost 100 pages to get into the action. I predicted 2 of the plot twists long before they were revealed but the biggest twists were well executed and shocking!
Overall it was a good read that did exactly what I needed it to do!
It could be confusing in the beginning because there are so many characters to keep track of but eventually it got easier. The pacing felt slower at times compared to the first two books. It felt less like a thriller and more of a character driven story with some mystery, as it takes almost 100 pages to get into the action. I predicted 2 of the plot twists long before they were revealed but the biggest twists were well executed and shocking!
Overall it was a good read that did exactly what I needed it to do!
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
This reads like a pretentious, telling over showing, morality play š« I couldnāt read more than a few pages at a time without getting bored and a fig tree in love with its owner (a male human)ā¦nah Iām peacing out.
The characters are uninteresting and the synopsis of following a forbidden love story in 1974 Cyprus sounds way better than what weāve actually been given.
After reading reviews by native Cypriots, this is apparently a horribly biased account of what happened, absolving British and Turkish soldiers and playing the ācanāt we all just get alongā āthey were following ordersā cards
The characters are uninteresting and the synopsis of following a forbidden love story in 1974 Cyprus sounds way better than what weāve actually been given.
After reading reviews by native Cypriots, this is apparently a horribly biased account of what happened, absolving British and Turkish soldiers and playing the ācanāt we all just get alongā āthey were following ordersā cards
The Ice-Cream Makers by Ernest van der Kwast
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 2%.
So overly descriptive and the way women are described?! Iām begging men to stop writing women. This is my reminder to stop reading books written by straight men