jrayereads's reviews
424 reviews

Rating: 3.5

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Romance

If you know me and are seeing evidence of me reading this series, no you don’t. 

I’m actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this since I’m not a big romance reader. I was looking for a cheesy sports romance as a palette cleanser and this is exactly that. Not that I’m that big of a sports person, but I actually wish there was MORE hockey in this. Give me a training montage or something. 

I always appreciate when characters have real struggles and the mental health issues that make them feel like real people. The anxiety the MMC had and the body image issues with the FMC were relatable and added a layer of depth to their characterization. We love a plus sized FMC.

My biggest gripe is that this book is waaaaay too long and had some repetitive writing that probably needed another round of editing to clean up. Like why is the paperback for this 603 pages (according to Goodreads)???? Why is the audiobook almost 17 hours???? There were also some truly cringe moments where characters did these big, emotional speeches that I cannot fathom anyone in real life doing. 

But, for someone who has historically struggled to find straight romance books they enjoyed, I liked this one and would be interested to read more of the series when the mood hits. 

Rating: 4 stars

Format: Ebook/Audiobook

Genre: Fantasy

Though I do think you can read Daughter of the Moon Goddess as a standalone, because it wraps up well, Heart of the Sun Warrior raised the stakes and deepened Xingyin’s emotional journey. I do think both of these books are quite long, longer than they need to be, but I appreciate the ground that Tan covered in both of them.

Just like the first book, the writing is beautiful. There were some major emotional moments and high action-scenes. I think Xingyin carries these books with her cunning and strong sense of morality. 

I thought Liwei’s parents (along with a couple of other antagonistic immortals) were so irritating. They did not feel intimidating or scary, they were just petulant and annoying. I get that this was the point of their characters, but so many of the antagonists were petty and vindictive and acted like children, so it got tiresome. The meddling of Liwei’s infuriating mother contributed to the love triangle drama, which I didn’t really find compelling. I was less interested in Xingyin’s romantic interests than I was interested in her familial relationships and friends. I didn’t really care who she ended up with, especially when the height of the drama came when the stakes of the main conflict were highest. 

Aside from pacing issues and some melodramatic character beats, I really enjoyed this duology. The prose, the world-building, the magic, the mythology, and the protagonist and her journey were all stand out elements that made this so addicting to read. I am excited to read more from Sue Lynn Tan in the future. 

 

Soft dnf, I definitely want to read this book this year, I just have other books/ARCs I am prioritizing right now. I was enjoying what I read so far. 

Rating: 3

Format: Ebook (ARC - pub date 1/28)

Genre: Historical fiction, Literary fiction

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Charmaine Wilkerson is an undoubtedly skilled writer. This book is ambitious and the overarching themes and ideas of it are captivating, but the execution didn’t resonate with me as much as I hoped it would. I loved the idea of a single heirloom tying a family history together, especially one that is as meaningful as a clay jar crafted by an enslaved potter being passed down through six generations. 

Both the prose and the characterization were excellent in this book, but the pacing and back-and-forth between our modern timeline and the different historical flashbacks to the creation and transportation of the clay jar didn’t work for me. I had a hard time getting into the book initially and the moments I was most invested in Ebby and the conflict in her life were the times we would cut away to hear about Ebby’s ancestors, which we didn’t spend enough time with for me to get invested in their lives outside of The Jar. The ending and resolution of the book also felt quite long.

Still, as someone who has experienced the loss of an older brother, I thought the depiction of complex grief and how losing a child/sibling impacts a family of four was well done. In many ways, it mirrored my own experience, even if I didn’t go through such a violent loss as Ebby did. I appreciated the representation of sibling grief and how that impacted Ebby’s romantic relationships as well. Wilkerson knows her stuff when it comes to writing complex emotional relationships between characters who feel like real people. 

Ultimately, Good Dirt is well written with stunning characters, but its pacing and structure dragged and pulled me out of the narrative. 

Rating: 4 Stars

Format: Physical book

Genre: Literary fiction, Classics

I have heard such incredible things about Clarice Lispector and her writing. I’m not quite sure what I expected when I picked this book up, but I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed the ways she played with language and found the prose hypnotizing. Not many authors could successfully make me feel such dread and despair while simultaneously making me appreciate life and art and being able to experience both. 

Though I really enjoyed this overall, I rated 4 stars instead of five based on my subjective enjoyment of the “plot”, which I honestly DIDN’T enjoy in many places. I recognize that the narrative/story was not necessarily the point and the goal was not for it to be enjoyable. Still doesn’t change the fact that I thought the middle 20-30% dragged quite a bit, which is unfortunate to say about such a short book. I think a re-read will make me appreciate those slower sections more, since I know where things ended up going. 

Absolutely worth reading, but this will be unlike anything you have read before. 

 

 Rating: 3.5 stars

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir

Hamilton’s story is heart wrenching and made me feel absolutely SICK to my stomach at times. The abuse, self-gaslighting, and cruelty she suffered is horrible. I appreciate the insight that she provided in looking back on her life. You can get a real sense of the work that she has done to unlearn the harmful beliefs that made her feel stuck in her abusive marriage. 

I don’t think you have to agree with everything someone does in order to enjoy a memoir, so I won’t go into a rant about monogamy and cheating - which are typically big turn offs for me. She displayed a lot of bravery by showing the ugly parts of her life in this way and how she deeply hurt others, even when she was in a horrific cycle of abuse with Rick.

My favorite parts were about the process of her divorce and her leaving and what taking back her agency and sense of self meant for her. Those felt like the strongest parts narratively, and they were the most impactful for me. I thought this was well written but the pacing felt off in some parts, especially towards the beginning.

The material in this book is heavy, so please check content warnings, which I have listed below.

 

 Rating: 4 stars

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Memoir

What a stunning book. I have never read such a detailed account of what experiencing psychosis is like. I can’t imagine being in her position and the immense fear and paranoia was palpable in her writing. The information she provides on postpartum depression and psychosis is essential for sympathizing with and supporting mothers. 

I appreciated what she was going for with the non-linear structure, but I think the sections in the psych ward could have been more impactful if I had known about the psychosis that led up to it. Sometimes they felt a little tedious because I wanted so badly to know what led to her ending up there. 

 

Rating: 4 stars

Format: Physical book

Genre: Literary fiction, historical fiction

This had a personal, conversational quality to it that made it feel like I was just sitting down and hearing someone’s life story. Isaac’s life story was interesting to read about, but it was his insights into the whys of his life that made this so captivating and meaningful. I loved the structure with the conversations with this therapist that were sprinkled throughout. It gave me a sense of growth as he pieced together key moments from his childhood and how they shaped him as an adult. 

Because of the conversational writing, this book was easy to read and I devoured it in about a day. Definitely worth reading for the discussions on blackness and queerness and because Isaac was such an enjoyable protagonist.