dennasus's reviews
728 reviews

Paper Names by Susie Luo

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The idea of the book / plot seemed interesting enough: the story of Tony an Chinese immigrant in the USA, his daughter Tammy and of Oliver, a white lawyer who Tony meets through his work as a doorman and who kind of gets involved / becomes friends with them. I keep it vague because I don't want to give away too much of the plot. All in all I felt let down by the book, maybe because I expected it to be a different story. Tony's struggles and his drive to provide a better life for his daughter felt real and realistic, also the difficult father / daughter relationship.

We "meet" those three people over the years and the narrator changes in each chapter, which maybe made it difficult for me to connect with either one more than just superficially. Oliver's character was a bit weird and for the longest time I was wondering what his point in the plot was or why I should have been interested in his backstory.

I thought what happened in the end was over-the-top and stupid and to be honest I felt like I had wasted my time with this book, as interesting as the summary on the back made it seem at first.

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The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

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informative medium-paced
I've been a fan of Gilmore Girls for many many years and thus I enjoyed this memoir from "Emily". I had no idea she had had such an interesting career, starting as a chorus line dancer in the 1960s. It was an easy read, sometimes felt a bit superficial or impersonal, but maybe that's just my take on it.

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Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
That was fun! Ludicrous in parts, but sweet and fun all in all. An entertaining easy read if you're into rom-com in a historical setting.

[I've stopped rating books]
Funny Story by Emily Henry

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Another good story from Emily Henry. I was a bit hesitant if I'd like the set-up, because it felt a bit far-fetched and cliched. And it was in a way and also the ex-partners who suddenly realized they were in love with each other felt a bit bland. But the two main characters made up for it. They were both interesting, both with their own sort of baggage. I also enjoyed the various supporting characters. Some were a bit over the top, but I didn't mind. All in all, I enjoyed it all.

[I stopped rating books] 
Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I recall that I enjoyed others in the series and I wasn't disappointed. This was cute in it's way and the characters had enough depth and interesting back story. Emma's was pretty dark, almost a bit too much. I liked the throwbacks to the previous stories and am tempted to reread those. Someday.

[I've stopped rating books]
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The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
That was okay-ish as a simple, mindless, not too complicated story. For me all a bit too saccharine, simple, so I doubt I'll read another one of this series

[I've stopped rating books]
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I had no clear idea what to expect from this, so I can't say I'm disappointed as such. The first half was a bit of a slow read, but there's more 'happening' after that. I had hoped for a bit more closure to the big revelation midway in this story. I also realised I'm not a fan of these kind of "several POV documentary style" narratives as a I feel there is so much missing which can only be transported in proper prose. So all in all a mixed bag. 

[I've stopped rating books]
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This was a weird book. I liked the unique writing style at first: sort of stream of consciousness, switching back and forth through Gilda's mind. But after a while that got tiring. It felt like everything in the plot was just touched on but not really explored any further. My biggest letdown was probably that the quotes on the cover advertise it as funny and hilarious. And it wasn't to me. It had it's moments. but all in all I thought it was more depressing. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

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Hope for the Best by Jodi Taylor

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I liked the idea of Max temporarily joining the Time Police in a plot to finally capture Clive Ronan. It was good to see all the other St. Mary's characters more involved in the actual plot than in the first one and the Time Police parts were allright as well. As usual there was a lot going on - history wise - and I admit with all the uproar in that 16th century I lost the plot for a bit.

I sort of expected Ronan to get away in the end after all (there are still more books in the series) and at first I thought how it happened was a too easy way out. But in the grand scheme of things - timeline wise (his future self still had to do what he did in Max etc past) - it made sense.

Of course Leon saved the day family wise in the end. And Mikey and Adrian join St. Mary's. Yay!

[I've stopped rating books]
An Argumentation of Historians by Jodi Taylor

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
On one hand I was glad to be back in the world of St. Mary's, it's been a while since my latest visit (book 8 and the following short stories). On the other hand... oh man did this drag on. I don't mind if a large part of the plot takes place in the past, but if it's just Max and no one else with her, it gets a bit boring, doesn't it. From a character exploration point of view I even liked the idea of having her stuck in the past 'for real' with all the emotional and relationship-related problems that entailed. It just took so so long. The "traitor / Ronan's accomplice" revelation in the end took me by surprise. The fact that Ronan was there all along felt a bit farfetched though. All in all, not my favourite of the series so far, but not a bad one either. There are no bad St. Mary novels, are there? (23 November 2024)

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