liamliayaum's reviews
285 reviews

Ana María and the Fox by Liana De la Rosa

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emotional informative lighthearted medium-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

3.5

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Must Love Books by Shauna Robinson

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emotional funny inspiring relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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The First Ladies by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray

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emotional informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land

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challenging emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

Riveting, heartbreaking, and an immersive dive into the people that society deigns to keep invisible and dependent on systems designed to keep people in poverty.
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All's Well by Mona Awad

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

4.0

Shows the world of chronic pain.
Renovated to Death by Frank Anthony Polito

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A fun and cozy mystery centered around a gay couple in Michigan who restore and gently renovate old houses. Being a Michigan native, I loved all the Michigan connections but I felt some of them were overexplained (which I might not feel if I wasn't a Michigander). 

The writing style was a bit odd. There were some direct callouts and foreshadowing to the reader. Not quite breaking the fourth wall but almost. 

The characters were fun and quirky. I loved how the majority of the characters were LGBTQ with varied interests, showing that yes, LGBTQ people are people just like every else. 

Nothing substantial to this book but a fun and lighthearted read. Good for a beach or vacation read.
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Bunny by Mona Awad

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is Mean Girls with cults, blood, and a coating of sugar. I'm not entirely sure what I read or of all what happened.

It's a fast read and I can understand why folks have trouble explaining this book. For me, the gore was too much.
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The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman

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funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is for any bookworm. The kind of book where you can lose yourself in, learn lots of random facts, and giggle. The kind of book that just puts a smile on your face.

It is not a particularly deep or challenging book but it is witty. The romance is not the main star of the book, which I appreciated. I liked how the author portrayed Nina's anxiety in that it wasn't a one size fits all or a strict stereotype of anxiety.

The family relations were a bit confusing to keep track of and perhaps less would have allowed more page time for some great side characters.