Take a photo of a barcode or cover
monicalaurette's reviews
298 reviews
A Polar Expedition: and Other Stimulating Research Opportunities by Kass O'Shire
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
I liked this story. It was short so I finished it quickly and the story progressed fast. It's the type of book I expected it to be so I'm not disappointed by it. The only reason it's not like 4 stars or higher were the spelling and grammatical errors I found while reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Excrement, and Stalking
the 'stalking' is because he follows her in the woods for two weeks to both protect her and the secret
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Full review to come
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
A Victorian Posy by Sheila Pickles
2.5
Maybe because it's just a collection of prose & poetry about flowers and not something telling a full story I didn't care for it. But loved the pictures and some of the passages inside.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
4.0
I've been a fan of Trevor Noah since he was introduced on the Daily Show and knew very little about his life and apartheid as a whole. This gave me more insight into that time of history and more than history books would be able to tell me (because most of the history books probably watered down the facts).
Wish I could have found it in audio form to hear Trevor read it as I feel that would have just added to it.
Wish I could have found it in audio form to hear Trevor read it as I feel that would have just added to it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Blood and Death of parent
Deviant Secrets by Alicia Ramos
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Okay so this book was NOT for me. It's for someone out there, but not me. Only thing it had going was that it was short so I could finish it in less than a day.
I was scared at one point by the wording that the MMCs were underage, and then there was questionable acts done but one of them with a cucumber and an UNCONSCIOUS WOMAN. Couldn't get past how quick the FMC went from "wait I didn't write that ad" to "hell yeah give me ALL of it" because it was a 180 in attitude and gave me whiplash.
I didn't even feel like the smut scenes were that great because they were all over the place and just seemed outlandish to me - like the entirety of the dad's office scene.
I was scared at one point by the wording that the MMCs were underage, and then there was questionable acts done but one of them with a cucumber and an UNCONSCIOUS WOMAN. Couldn't get past how quick the FMC went from "wait I didn't write that ad" to "hell yeah give me ALL of it" because it was a 180 in attitude and gave me whiplash.
I didn't even feel like the smut scenes were that great because they were all over the place and just seemed outlandish to me - like the entirety of the dad's office scene.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Medical content
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
Told alongside research and writings from a scientist looking into the dragoning it gave me a very good view into the world that this book takes place in, even if it's not our world it felt like it could been. Who says there aren't dragons out there and the gov't hasn't covered it up like they did in the book - has anyone checked on Barnhill since publication?
Alex and her dad made me cry thinking about my dad and our strained relationship - even if mine was better than Alex's dad
Sonja coming back for like two chapters to fall in love with Alex just to leave again HURT me personally
I wish more was talked about with the knots Alex's mother made and why Alex never felt the pull to dragon
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-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
4.75
What a beautifully written book that touches on the world back in the day but also current day (if you look enough). I think women turning into dragons is a very interesting concept and the way that it was written out was also compelling. It's not something you can stop, or predict, and even really document.
Who benefits when knowledge is buried? Who gains when science succumbs to political expediency?
Told alongside research and writings from a scientist looking into the dragoning it gave me a very good view into the world that this book takes place in, even if it's not our world it felt like it could been. Who says there aren't dragons out there and the gov't hasn't covered it up like they did in the book - has anyone checked on Barnhill since publication?
When power belongs, not to the violent, and not to the wealthy and well-connected, but to the people, a different sort of future begins to present itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer and Gaslighting
This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection by Carol Burnett
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
I really liked this book by Carol. I've grown up with her on my screen as my mom and aunt loved her as a comedian and actress - my first time seeing her was the Annie movie that she mentioned too!
Reading about her life in the business was great and I think I'm going to try and find her first book too to learn more about her childhood.
Reading about her life in the business was great and I think I'm going to try and find her first book too to learn more about her childhood.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
The Anxiety First Aid Kit: Quick Tools for Extreme, Uncertain Times by Matthew McKay, Martha Davis, Rick Hanson
hopeful
informative
reflective
4.0
I found this book at the library and knew it was something I wanted to own so I could write in it. Took me much longer to actually start reading it than I thought but got a lot of useful notes and tips.
I think it can be summed up by the last two lines of the book:
I think it can be summed up by the last two lines of the book:
Ultimately, try to have more faith in the best parts of yourself. They’ve always been faithful to you.
For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten
Also, instantly in love with the Wolf - the relationship that grows between him and Red as she learns more about him and the real story had me giggling and kicking my feet more times than not. also when they finally kissed I felt VINDICATED and then the trees became voyeurs and ruined it all
One aspect that shocked me when I started reading was that the daughters were twins - I had not known that before so I think it helped my enjoyment of the book. It made me think of my own twin and how we are separated (by distance and not a curse) but in a way made me feel closer to her.
I disliked Kiri from the start and then glad to know that it wasn't actually Arick being a prick and instead was Solmir, rip Arick
Fife and Lyra slowly allowing themselves to be together more around (maybe because of?) Red was so nice
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I'm upset it took me so long to read this book after I got it. The first book in a while to fully pull me into the world and had such an interesting concept and story to follow along. Even more upset that I never purchased the second one because 'what if I don't like the first one?'
Red was a dynamic character if sometimes an unreliable narrator at times for the things she just didn't know going on so you were trying to learn along with her. The story was engaging and what I wasn't able to sort of guess ahead of time I was shocked by along with her.
Red was a dynamic character if sometimes an unreliable narrator at times for the things she just didn't know going on so you were trying to learn along with her. The story was engaging and what I wasn't able to sort of guess ahead of time I was shocked by along with her.
Why are you so determined to think yourself helpless?
Also, instantly in love with the Wolf - the relationship that grows between him and Red as she learns more about him and the real story had me giggling and kicking my feet more times than not.
One aspect that shocked me when I started reading was that the daughters were twins - I had not known that before so I think it helped my enjoyment of the book. It made me think of my own twin and how we are separated (by distance and not a curse) but in a way made me feel closer to her.
...it always came back to guilt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm and Vomit
Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and War
The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.0
A great conclusion to the series (even if I saw multiple twists coming)
Sad to lose some characters but overall happy with how it all turned out and that they won in the end - right down to the wire too.
not into how Allie (Julie) talked about the size of the mayor...felt wrong to me in a way as a plus size person
I KNEW ZEKE WOULD BE TURNED! just didn't realize he'd be so murderous at first lol, and that's why it's 'forever song'
I knew Kanin would probably die but that doesn't mean I wanted it! he was the perfect fit for the 'tired dad forced to care for children' trope
Sad to lose some characters but overall happy with how it all turned out and that they won in the end - right down to the wire too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent