bookedbymadeline's reviews
907 reviews

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love the banter and tension!! The chemistry between Wyn and Harriet was 🥵

I related to both Wyn and Harriet a lot of times! I loved all the characters, getting to know them and watch them grow through the novel. I laughed, smiled, and cried but I think this is the first of Henry’s (so far) that’ll be rated under 5 stars 🙊

Around the 230 page mark I was so sick of the lack of communication!! This is essentially down to miscommunication being a main plot pointm, which I didn’t mind at first but eventually got so annoyed about it 😭

You’re in your 30s and had been together for nearly a decade!!!! YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO TALK FOR 5 MINUTES AND HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS?! I understood to an extent given their characters backgrounds but still if you’re dating and ENGAGED to someone for that long, you should be able to communicate and share your feelings and if you can’t then maybe you shouldn’t be together 😫

By the end, I kind of understood the miscommunication, given the background and character traits of both Harriet and Wyn. Also I think it frustrated me so much because I recognized myself and my past issues in their issues. I also liked the author reader guide to explain the choices because then it made more sense but I was still annoyed and think it went on longer than it should’ve.

I didn’t cry at the end like I normally do, I still marked a lot of passages and loved the characters but I didn’t have the same emotions quite like the other books I’ve read so far 😞 It was fun and easy to read with top tier banter as always but because of the miscommunication (that lasted waaay too long) it’s going to rank last for now.

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How the Man in Green Saved Pahang, and Possibly the World by Joshua Kam

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

I hate to DNF this since it’s Joshua’s books but A little too much telling over showing, repetitive writing, and alliteration for my taste 😭 it’s so chaotic and all over the place that I have no clue what’s going on and it’s not flowing

The Ones Who Stayed by Shannon St Hilaire

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Immediately intrigued by the prologue! This is a historical fiction novella about an American nun living in El Salvador during the civil war in the 1980s. I didn’t know about this piece of history and felt like I learned a lot despite the short length of the story!

The writing is beautiful and descriptive. We really get to know sister Agnes and see the effects of war and loss through the characters. I think the pacing was well done and I will be adding the suggested books mentioned at the end to my tbr so I can learn more about the civil war! Overall it was a fascinating look at strength, resilience, faith, and moral reflections set in the backdrop of a devastating time period for El Salvador.

I look forward to reading more from her in the future!

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Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 by Ibram X. Kendi

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informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was an informative, thought provoking look at US history and the stories that are often not told. I took my time reading this to fully understand and take in the information. The book has a variety of writing styles that make it such a unique collection from straightforward informational essays to novel-like recreations to poetry!

Four Hundred Souls should be a book that everyone reads and refers back to in order to understand history, systemic racism, and the problems/politics still present today. I look forward to using this as a stepping point and researching many of the topics that I had never learned about in school, as well as reading more from the contributors!

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Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

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lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I loved reading about the store and Keiko’s inner thoughts! I really related to a lot of the things she brings up about what is “normal” and changing her tone/expressions based on the people around her. It’s very similar to how I feel as a late diagnosed autistic woman so I marked a few pages that struck me!

I hated Shiraha, he was so irritating with his sexist incel commentary 😡 I wanted less of him and more of Keiko interacting with customers and going about her daily routine! This was a quick, easy read that offers some great commentary on society expectations and forced conformity.

There could be moments that were repetitive or too telling over showing plus I wanted more from Keiko so for that reason it’s only a 4 star read for me!

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The Heir of Venus by Laura Shepperson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.

I love myth retellings and was very excited to have one about the Aeneid! It’s one I don’t see retold often and loved the idea of retelling through the eyes of the women around Aeneas but sadly the execution fell flat. The writing was very choppy and felt a bit all over the place. The characters also felt flat and one dimensional. Overall I just found myself having a hard time feeling engaged or motivated to read this and often was bored or confused. It’s one of those stories with a lot of telling over showing as well but I’d still give the author another try in the future.

Build Me Up by Caitlin Klassen

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

This healed me in so many ways 🥹 I cried for Whit and Wyatt, I giggled at their romance and loved how they helped each other grow all while falling in love too!

I also loved Wyatt and Grants bromance!! Klassen’s books are the definition of found family 🫶 as always the characters are well developed, even the side characters. I enjoyed getting to know Wyatt and Whitney better, and revisiting other characters from book 1!!

I love that this is still a fun, sweet romance but one that also tackles deeper issues and has a lot of character growth. The dark topics like abuse and sexual assault were handled with care and made me feel seen/understood ❤️

The best part of Klassen’s books, including BMU, is no third act breakups or miscommunication!!

The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is I personally didn’t love Wyatt as a romantic lead simply because he’s not my type 🙊 the backward hat wearing and guitar playing isn’t my thing but I loved him for Whitney and know plenty of other people will love him too! It’s funny because I loved him as a side character in book 1 but I just had a hard time loving him as a romantic interest due to personal preference.

Overall I loved this book and would highly recommend if you want a sweet romance that breaks generational curses/trauma, found family, or want the ‘he falls first’ trope!

Spice: 🌶️ (1/3)

Tropes: he falls first, found family, cinnamon roll/golden retriever MMC

TW/CW: physical abuse, emotional abuse, negative self talk, alcohol, sexual abuse, death threats, suicide attempt (discussed not shown), sexual assault (discussed but not shown), drug abuse, sexual content, alcoholism

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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I listened to the audio narrated by Meryl Streep! Switches between 1980s and 2020 as Lara recounts her life and foray into acting to her grown daughters years later.

I love the character studies and listening to Lara’s story with the same rapt attention as Emily, Maisie, and Nel! Listening to the audio felt like I was one of Lara’s daughters listening to their mothers story as well.

I spent many summers as a kid in traverse city so it felt very nostalgic ❤️ I loved the atmospheric setting descriptions of Michigan and found parts very funny and true, it really captures the “Pure Michigan” vibes 🌊 It also made me slightly homesick for Michigan summers!

Deeply relate to Lara with her bookish loves and despising the symbolism of the school gym 😅 This is a slow, picturesque story that felt relaxing and lighthearted! I enjoyed taking my time with this book and getting to know each character ❤️ A beautiful story of youth, nostalgia, and relationships!

A stunning audiobook that felt like napping in the sun while listening to crashing waves

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What the Wild Sea Can Be: The Future of the World's Ocean by Helen Scales

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hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

So amazingly written! I was immediately pulled in, it doesn’t read as a dry academic text as some science books can. There were parts in the middle that started to slump a little, in part because of my burnout but also because the science info could become a little heavy.

A look at the past and present of the ocean and the animals/wildlife that live there, using this information to see how we can save it! Great intro about how we can be fearful but also hopeful and use both those feelings to take action before it’s too late 🤍

Explores some of the dangers facing the future of the oceans and marine life including overfishing, microplastics, and climate change. Each chapter focuses on one of the issues we are facing, a few species that are affected, and what is being done/can be done to stop or sometimes reverse the damage being done.

The last couple of chapters especially focus a lot on different methods being tried to save the ocean! Throughout the book and in the end, we learn about marine reserves, reef restoration, and that no matter what method scientists use the only thing that can have enough of an impact is cutting carbon emissions and having stricter restrictions on fishing industries.

Scales also reminds us that boycotting and using our voices can help make changes in whatever ways we can, but to not feel bad for what we can’t do because it’s ultimately up to governments and corporations to make the biggest changes since they’re the ones causing the most damage.

I’ve looooved the ocean since I was a kid! I hated science classes but the ocean, I fuck with 😂 i am terrified of the deep ocean/waters in general (the phobia thing) but my arguably healthy fear is also paired with a very deep respect for ocean life 🌊

Love that the author uses indigenous names for places/settings! Like Aotearoa is the Māori people’s name for what is New Zealand. She also points out the issues we are facing are mostly due to colonialism and colonial countries in power that don’t have to rely on ocean life the way indigenous peoples do. It’s a reminder that everything is connected and none of us are safe and protected until all of us, including ocean life, are free and protected!

I do hope the final version will have photos of the animals mentioned because I did have to look some of them up because I didn’t know what they were/looked like.

Overall it was informative without being dry/boring and kept me engaged for the most part! It reinforced my love of the ocean and wanting to save it, while also teaching me about its history. I’d highly recommend to anyone who enjoys science books (or doesn’t as much, like me) and has an interest in environmental justice, marine life, or the affects of climate change and how we can do better!

“An alternative view is to think of fish and other sea life not as a resource to profit from but as animals that have their own right to exist.”

“Unhitching humanity from business as usual, shifting the underlying drivers that cause so many problems, and finding new ways of living with the changing ocean is where truly radical views of the future lie.”

“We all depend on healthy seas for the air we breathe, for the falling rain, for the livable world we inhabit. For millions of people, a healthy ocean means food and jobs.”

Content Warnings

Florida by Lauren Groff

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adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

I don’t always like short stories but this was one of the best I’ve read! Groff is able to give us insight into each character whether we follow them for 10 or 50 pages. Some stories and characters I connected with more than others of course, some I wanted to stay with and others did have confusing endings where I didn’t fully understand what the point was. I think I’ve found that I enjoy short stories more when I’ve read the author’s novels first, and can therefore better understand their writing style and appreciate the stories and characters more!

I marked quite a few pages/passages-I love Lauren Groff’s lyrical writing and exploration on humanity! I enjoyed the first half of the collection much more than the second half.

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bookedbymadeline's reviews 907 reviews

bookedbymadeline's reviews
907 reviews