maddness22's reviews
713 reviews

Repetitive and really only beneficial if you're not already self-obsessed with self-improvement. Most of the practices seemed to be built around recognizing areas for improvement/support rather than actually building those areas 

Super quick read! I loved the cozy setting and the bittersweet nature of the characters' lives. There's clearly a lot of love and heart written for the characters. I wish it was just a tad bit longer and more in-depth but the shorter nature of the book and heartfelt story makes this feel like a good cup of espresso meant to be savored while reading. 

I always love Christina Lauren and this book is no exception, but goodness this has a lot more heavy family drama than I initially expected. It's also very business and inheritance law heavy which makes some sections drag. But! I loved, loved, LOVED Anna! She was seriously so fun and funny and I loved how easily she took everything in stride. The escapist island fantasy with infinite money was also pretty fun to dive into for a summer read. The spicy scenes were pretty smokey too and the chemistry between the leads was straight on fire. 

What a delight! I enjoyed all of the characters and the in-depth storyline. This was an incredibly expansive world that offers a huge amount of empathy. This was also one of the funniest books I've listened to all year. The chapter about Elijah reading the Rivals and Lovers book had me dying laughing. In fact, all of the kids/teens featured in the story were an absolute delight and so well written. The ending drags for a bit and is a bit heavy handed, but overall I loved this book about banned books and the ways they could influence a community and people. Highly recommend!

A reading experience absolutely outside of all of my expectations. I didn't expect to read the entire thing in one sitting or feel the emotions that I felt while reading it. It's a lot darker and more sad than I thought it was going to be but damn that conclusion absolutely sells the point of the narrative. It's probably going to be a novel I'm going to ruminate for ages on and all of the different nuances experienced by the narrator in her incredibly messed up year. 

One of the more accurate portrayals of depression that I've read, honestly, with both the good and bad of it too because there is a certain peace with the isolation that this book captures well in between the bits of absolute dark chaos and void-feelings. This was a lot in a good way. 

Hmmmm not for me. The spicy scenes give me the ick and I enjoy Teen Wolf, but not enough to read pages of fake lore about a fake knockoff version of it. 

I'm just really not interested in this Poppy War without the edge knockoff. Plus another library hold came in so I'm okay DNF-ing it. Especially after reading the reviews where it apparently turns out to be a colonizer romance (gross)

This was great!! I actually loved the age gap dynamic and I'm always a sucker for a well written small town setting. Daniel absolutely didn't deserve half the crap he went through, but it was so charming that I was sold on the happy ending anyways. The antagonists are a bit heavy handed at times, but they deliver an excellent dose of conflict to the narrative. Pretty dang good romance! I'm excited to read her other stuff! 

Both physically and emotionally gorgeous. I loved the storyline and emotional depth the characters explore, even though my cold dead heart is skeptical that two teenagers can be in "true love" but it was very heartwarming. I also loved the various cultures in the story and how naturally they interacted. Very gorgeous art style as well too! St. V was horrifying when it called for it and represented the emotional arc well. 

I feel like the definition of "Single at Heart" is still too ill defined for me to truly grasp the concept. The idea seems to be both too inclusive by stating that anyone can identify as single as heart, even those in active romantic relationships, but yet it's too exclusionary by regularly stating specific characteristics that define someone that is single at heart and not matching those characteristics indicate that the subject is simply just unafraid of being single or actually aspires for a romantic relationship. It also very barely touches on asexuality and aromantic, keeping the concepts contained to only chapter 7, which is surprising given how these sexualities can likely be incredibly intertwined with this concept of "single at heart" if the author chose to do deeper research on them. 

The true benefit to this book is that it serves as a direct challenge to compulsory coupling and the idea that being in a relationship gives you an automatic advantage in life. It's a great exploration of the advantages of remaining single and prioritizing solitude over the expected partnership demanded in our society to prove that you're a "real" adult. I especially enjoyed the chapter studying the difference in happiness levels between single adults and married adults and how single adults are regularly happier than married folks, but society perceives them as less so due to their lack of relationship status. 

Also the writing style is a bit woo-woo and quote heavy for my tastes, but at least it made it a quicker than expected read.