lindsaylhunter's reviews
165 reviews

How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

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dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An enjoyable little read! Intensely unlikeable characters (which I love) and a well-paced series of events make for a book that keeps you guessing and wanting more.
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The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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adventurous inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A new favourite! Rarely does a book make me forget that I'm reading, but Samantha Shannon has created this world of hers in such detail that it almost directly transports you there. The only fault this book has is that, at 800 pages, it's far too short.
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The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 42%.
Started this one for a book club so it technically wasn't my own choosing, though it did sound interesting from the blurb. Certain turns of phrase had me pushing further into the book and I can't deny that Shafak writes with an understated beauty, but I wasn't compelled to finish this one. I found myself pushing it away in favour of other novels.
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I Love Dick by Chris Kraus

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challenging emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I really don't know where to start with this book. I am neither American, nor middle-aged, nor upper middle class, and I feel like that combination serves me poorly as a reader of this memoir. It's incredibly difficult to engage with something that references so many (to me) unknown people, events, places and concepts. That said, there are certain lines that stay with me even now that I've finished it.
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Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Insanely enjoyable. I listened to the audiobook and Lesley Sharp did a fantastic job at bringing the characters to life. It's rare that I read a book that I feel wouldn't be able to be replicated for the screen, but this one hits the mark and the twists really landed without me seeing them coming.
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The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla

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funny inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.0

I think for a book like this, it can only be as good as its weakest story. Otherwise a very important read.
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Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

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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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I might have given this book more than two stars if I hadn't figured out the major twist less than halfway through. Overall, I just found Feeney's writing style stilted. Not for me, this one.
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1984 by George Orwell

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

If human equality is to be for ever averted the prevailing mental condition must be controlled insanity.

A classic for a reason! Deeply unsettling and superbly readable. The contrasts between this and what real life could be is nauseating. What a thing to have written.
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The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Short stories aren't my favourite so this review is already going to be biased, but even so I wasn't blown away by this one. Very middle of the road. Some pretty good, some pretty dull.
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Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.
I'm tapping out. I bought this book about ten years ago, absolutely hooked on the opening line and naively up to the challenge of reading one of the most convoluted books ever written, but ten years apparently wasn't even enough time for me to brace myself for this behemoth. Gravity's Rainbow sees its author spin an intricate web of unenjoyable nonsense. This book was written for the mind of someone smarter than me, and I'm OK with that. Reading something that personally brings me so little joy (to the point where I dread doing my daily reading) isn't a sacrifice I'm willing to make for any book, let alone one over 900 pages long.
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