micaelamariem's reviews
728 reviews

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women was a beautiful historical fiction novel inspired by a real woman during 15th century China who learned medicine and treated other women despite society’s ill regard of women doing so. I loved watching Yunxian learn all the rules of society and then disregard them when she could, struggling with what she believed was right and what was expected of her. This novel isn’t just about that, though. At its core, it is a novel about friendship, and how, no matter how many things try to pull two friends apart, they wouldn’t let their friendship crack. The novel made me cry and angry at parts (like how women were treated in the 1400s) but that shows how much of an emotional tie I had to these characters. There was also so political intrigue in the book and that definitely kept me on my toes. Just a note though: not a book to read if you’re squeamish, as there is an emphasis on childbirth, smallpox, and foot binding that is a bit graphic.

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Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I didn’t hate this book but I didn’t love this book. I had a really hard time getting into it. I appreciate that this was a family’s journey of healing from great loss and how the main character, Pup, found his own healing through photography. However, the last bit was more glazed over as it focused on his brother’s addiction. I would have to loved to see Pup explore his grief through the camera lens more than we did, and I think that would’ve added more. Also his relationship with his best friend seemed to just completely be forgotten about by the time we were halfway through the book, and I’d like to have seen more of that.

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So This Is Love by Elizabeth Lim

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hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

In general, I have trouble getting into the writing of the Disney twisted tales series, but this one was one of the better ones. I like how it wasn’t just a love story but also involved political intrigue and scheming. The ending was definitely a whirlwind. I still think things happened to fast but they do in the original Cinderella, too, so there’s only so much to work with. I loved Cinderella’s friendship with Louisa as well!

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Dark and Shallow Lies by Ginny Myers Sain

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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? No

4.0

I’m not much of a thriller reader but this YA thriller with magical elements kept me on my toes. In it, Grey returns to a small Louisiana town known for its psychic powers. But this is the first summer since her best friend’s disappearance and she’s determined to know what happened. I loved the beautiful descriptions in this book. If you ever wanted Southern Gothic with a touch of magical realism, this is it. I especially loved how the place of this town was a character in itself, showing how there was rot under even what was pretty, just like the festering secrets people kept. The twists were also satisfying. I was only partially correct in my original guess of who the killer was. I also liked the portrayal of grief and how trauma can affect mental health and the way a character interacts with others. I do agree that the characters acted stupid and selfish often—though they are teenagers so that could be realistic. I also agree that the pace was a bit slower than it needed to be. Still, I really enjoyed this book and if you like gothic fiction and thrillers, this is the perfect mix. But beware of trigger warnings: murder, domestic violence, death of children, alcohol.

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Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

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funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I really wanted to like this book…
A lot of people are comparing it to Bridget Jones Diary and I also hated that book so I guess that makes sense.
I appreciated the theme of women not needing a man to be happy and to be content with who you are. I liked the creativity of using mixed media (like Google searches etc) in the chapters.
However, I found the main character extremely u likable, constantly making nonsensical decisions and judging everyone else. I thought the dialogue was cringey and unbelievable. And honestly, I was just grimacing the whole time 😭

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Fable by Adrienne Young

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adventurous emotional 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? Yes

3.0

While I enjoyed this book, it really wasn’t what I was expecting.
Fable is a story about a girl abandoned by her essentially pirate father and made to figure out how to join a ship crew on her own.
I definitely thought there would be more pirates and swashbuckling. Or at least less descriptions of how to rig a ship and climb a mast and whatnot. Those scenes really bored me and it got to the point where I didn’t care about the major plot points because I don’t care about ships and trading.
What I did like about the book was the complex characters, the slow burn complicated romance, the found family trope, and the themes of grief woven intricately throughout.
So overall, I liked the book and probably will continue the series, but I didn’t love it and am not in a rush to read Namesake.

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Neon Gods by Katee Robert

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adventurous 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

4.0

Wow 😏 I’m not usually into super spicy books but I thought this one had a good level, where it focused more heavily on the plot but still added quite a bit of 🔥 in the last 2/3’s. I wasn’t too keen on the fact that it was a very modernized retelling but I loved the concept as a whole. I loved Hermes as a side character!! And otherwise, yeah there were flaws and cliches, but I don’t think that’s what most of us were paying attention to…
Anyway yeah I’ll read anything Hades and Persephone even if I know it’ll be a bit out of my comfort zone. And in this case, going out of my comfort zone was rewarded!

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Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

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dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really really enjoyed this Southern Gothic horror. I’ll try to write a full review on my blog tomorrow but for now..wow!
The descriptions were vivid and beautiful in a haunting kind of way. The characters were uniquely flawed to the point where you couldn’t help but empathize with their pain. The sins in the book were atrocious, and the themes of identity, belonging, and mercy crawled across the pages, igniting the words into some higher morals. And of course, who doesn’t love a sentient house?
I also thought it was super unique to include footnotes and a fictional bibliography! What a way to add voice.
The only reason it’s not five stars is because there are parts of the ending I wasn’t thoroughly satisfied with.

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Sizzle Reel by Carlyn Greenwald

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lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.0

I finished my first full read of 2024! Last year, I won this ARC in a Goodreads giveaway, and have been excited to read it since as I love queer romances. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

Sizzle Reel follows 24 year old Luna Roth, an aspiring cinematographer who recently discovered that she's bi, and is struggling to come to terms with that identity while pursuing a romance with an actress.

I thought it was a great concept. Like I said before, I love queer romances and I love the attempts at representation, like having a bi main character, a nonbinary supporting character, etc. The beginning of the book was strong, and I also would have loved to have the author explore the friendship dynamics more between Luna, Romy, and Wyatt. I also would have liked to see more about the struggles in the film industry that someone who is queer might face.

I really loved Luna's interest in cinematography and photography and how she was able to capture scenes in her mind, thinking about how she would adjust the colors and saturation of certain moments. That really added to her character and provided a unique point of view at times.

However, somewhere, this narrative fell flat for a few reasons.

More often than not, the dialogue was cringey and unrealistic. And...I can't believe I'm saying this as a hardcore liberal person but...both internal and external dialogue got "too woke." By that, I mean it seemed like the author was trying to hard to push these liberal ideas out (and liberal ideas are great, don't get me wrong!) and using trendy new terms to appeal to the audience. I think it would have worked better if it was more subtle, like a gentle nudge that goes "hey check this out" instead of the blaring neon signs that was just too much in this book.

I also didn't think the writing as a whole was that engaging. A lot of the supporting characters were static with forced relationships with the main character. Like the stilted conversations between Luna and her brother. Or well-meaning Wyatt who made some mistakes--I would have loved to see more depth to their friendship and how forgiveness might be achieved after a big event that happens.

There was supposedly a love triangle, but I think it should have been more obvious and not as passive on the part of the second love interest.

Finally, the book was too much about sex. That might be weird to say for a romance, but I don't mean that it was spicy (though there a bit of spice!) What I mean is that there was a whole quest for the main character to figure out what defines virginity and for her to lose hers; there was too much pressure on the concept, and even though many of the supporting characters said that virginity was a silly construct, the main character never seemed to believe it and put way too much emphasis on it, which just left a bad taste in my mouth. And in the last sex scene, it's like the main character was magically ready to do something she previously had an aversion to just because she was in love--and I'm pretty sure that's not how it works in real life.

All in all, I'm afraid I have to give this book two stars. I wouldn't recommend it unfortunately--it's cringey and, at times, problematic.

TWs: Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Outing, Sexual Content

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The Oaken Queen by Lene Fogelberg

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Thank you so much to Dedaun Publishing and the author for this arc!!
I really enjoy the NI Revolution trilogy so far, the first book being my favorite in the series so far. The sequel, however, was still really good. It’s always interesting to read a dystopian about nature taking over but it being told in a way that justifies the nature’s violence and still painting humans as evil is a very interesting take and I love the creativity and philosophy of it. In this book, there were a few instances of cringey dialogue and I’m very confused on how old Carl is, given his whole backstory, so I would want that more clarified because it seems very unrealistic. Otherwise the dynamic between the family member and allies with all the secrets and betrayal and emotions was very compelling. I’m excited to read what happens next!

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micaelamariem's reviews 728 reviews

micaelamariem's reviews
728 reviews