katiemack's reviews
1409 reviews

For me, this was more of an intriguing project than a successful book; the Augustus E comics at the beginning didn’t make much sense, and it was tough to tell which comics were written by which people. Nonetheless, the through-line with Leonard Batts and Dick Burger was satisfying, and I really appreciated the incorporation of Maori exploration and culture (especially the notes and glossary in the back of the book).

A few of the stories were a cringe-worthy or unremarkable, but for the most part these stories were compelling, easy to devour, and/or made me cry (e.g., the now-famous You May Want to Marry My Husband by Amy Krouse Rosenthals).

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5. It was REALLY difficult for me to get into this story; at the beginning there are several shifts in POV that are confusing, and the writing is incredibly dry. There are also some formatting issues—for example, there are random phrases listed that I assume are chapter titles, but this is never fully explained—and some of the translations are strange. It did flow better once the romantic interest was introduced and I got used to the style, but I don’t think the attempt at a historical cozy narrative worked well for me.

3.5, rounded up. Although the writing style is a little disjointed and gets bogged down by some of the historical details, I enjoyed solving the mystery of the "lady with raven tresses" along with Khayyam (excellent interfaith/intercultural representation here) and Alexandre Dumas (yes, he is a descendant of THE Alexandre Dumas).

Ahmed describes the streets of Paris so vividly and with a lot of love--it gave me wanderlust, which is not ideal under social isolation during the current pandemic! I also appreciated that all the characters (even the side characters, aside from the mysterious uncle) have depth and are well developed.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My fellow librarian tried to warn me about this one, but I decided to read it anyway...

I had high expectations based on Katarina's ambitions and the book's representation, but I was disappointed. The story was unremarkable to me and was filled with unrealistic aspects (e.g., the dog being able to go wherever it wants, Tiler's interactions with Katarina, and the way Beatz is involved at the end). It also lacks the characterization I expected (e.g., her South Asian friend Sunny only exists as a foil for Katarina and does not really get her own personality or any depth) and is filled with cliches.

I'm still getting used to Sally Rooney's writing style, but I liked this one far better than Conversations with Friends because, unlike her first book, this one completely broke my heart.

This is a 2 or 2.5 for me. If you're looking for a romantic comedy, this is not the book for you--McFarlane writes about heavy topics (TW: ending a long relationship; death; mention of childhood sexual assault) with a deceptively light premise.

The book begins with Dan ending an eighteen-year relationship with Laurie; the set-up was strong, and I was looking forward to see how both characters (especially Laurie) developed afterward; it's not a premise one often sees in a romance book. Unfortunately, I felt like the story became mundane because McFarlane tends to tell rather than show her characters--for example, she focuses more on the past events of Dan and Laurie's relationship and only includes brief mentions of how Laurie actually dealt with the breakup--and that, for me, affected the chemistry between Laurie and Jamie. Also, as a romantic prospect, Jamie lacks depth (likely as a result of McFarlane's telling rather than showing character attributes and development), which affected how I felt about him and Laurie (especially toward the end). While Laurie is a stronger character, I felt like I enjoyed the side characters (like Bharat) even more; I'd love to see some stories featuring them. Also, there is something a little off about how McFarlane describes her non-white characters; at times it felt like she was checking off a diversity/inclusion box instead of authentically incorporating her characters of color.

Ultimately, by the end of the book, it felt like McFarlane wrote it to throw every potential challenge she could think of at the couple, which also took away from the story; as a result, I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

This is a refreshing read. There are some aspects of this (e.g., Yumi's lying and self-deprecation, how harsh Yumi's parents are) that I found problematic at the beginning, but I think they serve their purpose by the end of the book.

I also appreciate how well-rounded this book is; so often we see books of parents vs children in which the parents are one-dimensional and/or lack depth, but the author does a nice job of balancing this dynamic--Yumi, her sister, and her parents all have their flaws and unique motivations. I also appreciated the insight into Korean American culture; I think it's effective when authors insert words or phrases from different languages and cultures, and Jessica Kim does a nice job of defining everything and integrating it into the story without spoonfeeding her readers.

It also has a good message for kids reading the book; as Yumi's father states at one point, "Talking together is better than sneaky lies."

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The only way I can describe this book is that it's an epic. No, not "epic" (though it is certainly that), but AN epic of Homerian proportions that delves deeply and into the lives of its characters as opposed to focusing only on its main character (Violette, the cemetery keeper) the entire time. It is contemporary fiction, a murder mystery, a thriller, a tragedy, and a romance all rolled into one.

It is daunting to read, with more than 400 densely packed pages in the physical book, but it is worth it.

DNF @ 25%. While the writing is sharp, the book moves at a slow pace that is only further inhibited by the lengthy monster glossary at the beginning.

I'm sure it would be appealing to a niche audience, but I'm not sure this has enough universal kid appeal.