monicalaurette's reviews
294 reviews

Wool by Hugh Howey

Go to review page

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

5.0

“And yet, his feet moved. They carried him down the hidden passageway and into a room full of the strange and curious, a place that made the charting of stars seem insignificant, a den where the sense of the world’s scale, of size, took on wholly new proportions.”

This book was, to me, a roller coaster. There was confusion at first of what is going on, why are people doing the things they are, and then I just quickly fell in love with so many of them just for some of them to be ripped away (sorry for the spoiler but don’t like any characters until at least half way through just to be safe but even then you won’t).

The world building in this book was also very interesting. While for most of the book you’re just in that Silo, there were so many layers and groups of people depending on those layers was so interesting. Like how was there such a disconnect from the lower levels to the top levels when they are all one big community? To me you can just find that with different cities in the world that have different areas where the people who live there have different levels of socio-economic status.

“And so the descent, this spiraling downward, was much like the drowning that swallowed her at night. It felt inexorable and inextricable. Like a weight pulling her down combined with the knowledge that she’d never be able to claw her way back up.

I wish I had found this book when I was younger, or I had read them when I first added them to my shelf because I loved it so much. I give this book 5 stars because it was just such a fun experience for me to go through and I can’t wait to read more about these giant silos in the ground.

“These would be the parts of her that rotted last, the bits left over once the rest skittered off on the wind or was drunk deep by the roots.”

I almost ended the book when Marnes died after Jahns because I wanted them to be a couple so BAD! Literally wrote down that they’ll be together in the dirt because they were buried during the same week basically.
From the first moment I saw Bernard I disliked him, and he in my mind is the one that killed Jahns.
At first I didn’t know how I’d like the relationship between Lukas and Jules but by the end of the book I feel that I grew to like him just like Jules did - though I could see them being a couple by the first time they interacted.
I thought Solo was killed and almost ended the book again there but glad that he’s got a purpose now with those kids!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Heartstopper Volume 4 by Alice Oseman

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.25

I really loved this volume of Heartstopper. I liked how it showed the way both characters were able to grow away from each other instead of just as a couple and how they both stayed together through it all.

I know that the ED discussion in this book is something that I've never dealt with personally or have helped anyone with so I don't know how to feel about it in this book. From my knowledge of it this book handled it well - along with the mental health aspects, and liked how the families changed around it too and how it was sort of a snowball to make people look into themselves a little more.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Heartstopper Volume 3 by Alice Oseman

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? No

4.25

Everyone is gay and in Paris - that's the basic plot of this volume and I loved it. There were so many moments where I was smiling or laughing from the way the friends were interacting with each other.

Also I thought it was very interesting at the end the contract between what Nick and Charlie were searching due to what had happened during the trip. I know it's going to be a touchy subject for what Charlie is possibly going through and might come up more in volume 4 but still excited to see the growth of these kids just overall.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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? No

3.75

I really loved this continuation of the story and seeing Nick come to terms with what he is and his feelings. It made me think about my own time with coming to terms with my bisexuality too.

Also I loved seeing the different friends in the group and how Nick stood up for Charlie to Harry - because it's always good to have someone there for you.

I removed a full star for the brief Harry Potter mention just on principle because at the time this book it wasn't as well known to JKR's feelings but to me it was icky
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Iron Vow by Julie Kagawa

Go to review page

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

4.75

“We are all but dreams in the endless nightmare of the king.”

I’m both happy this series is over and sad that there is no more left to come. The Iron Fey world has been such a big part of my life since I was in high school, and I graduated from college four years ago at the time of writing this. I went along the journey with these characters through big parts of my life and through it Julie has become one of my favorite authors.

The way the characters I have grown to love moved through both this book and the rest of the Evenfall trilogy was so fun to read. I find myself thinking about it often since finishing the book, so I think that means that every book that Julie makes that is purple is amazing and sticks with me because the same happened with Night of the Dragon.

I gave this book 4.75 stars because I loved it and the tense moments - I just wish there was a little more since it was the last book. But I will always recommend this series to all those that talk to me.

Why does my boy Keirran go through so much? Like just let him take a NAP.
KENIZE AND ETHAN HAD A BABY I’M SO HAPPY THEY DESERVE ALL THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD!
Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

4.0

“You are a woman who, in a life filled with pain, came here to ask about love.”

The speed in which I read this book once I finally sat down and just did nothing for hours but just enjoy the story of Chloe and Red. I don’t know why it took me so long to read this book but am so glad that I finally did pick it up finally. I can say right now that I really enjoy Talia Hibbert’s writing and can’t wait to read about the other two Brown sisters soon.

One of the main reasons I picked this book up was that Chloe was a bigger girl and she found love in the book - and I love seeing plus size girls and women falling in love and being happy forever. The other reason I wanted to read this was how much people loved it online and I wanted to see some of the rep in the book.

While reading I found myself giggling, kicking my feet in the air, and having such a fun time with the characters here. I found myself relating a bit to Chloe in different aspects of her life and feeling happy to know that she was in her early 30s finding this love, so me in my late 20s still has time to find it myself with my own Redford.

I am giving this book four stars because I really enjoyed the book. The only thing I didn’t like was how often there was miscommunication between the characters (JUST TALK! USE YOUR WORDS!) even though it made sense with who they were
and maybe if they had had some sort of revenge against Pippa & Henry - like just revenge by showing how much happier Chloe & Red were together and without the others!
. However other than that - a great book and I highly suggest it!

“Bliss should be held on to with both hands.”

I took a whole star off for all the mentions of HP because no thanks.
The third act breakup I saw coming from a mile away because of how much mis-communication there was and the fact Chloe didn’t let him see the full list at first but I still hated that it happened.
SMUDGE FOREVER BELONGS TO CHLOE AND I’M SO GLAD THE LITTLE FLUFF WAS RETURNED!
The scene where Red was wondering if blue balls made him dumb because he let Chloe in his apartment after giving himself a hand made me laugh so hard because no Red - you’re just in love already.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

“Choose yourself. Choose joy.”

I went into this book with no expectations other than it being a plus-size Cinderella retelling and I was so happy that I did. I feel if I went into this book with anything else it could have ruined how I feel about the book which is that I enjoyed the story!

With it being a Cinderella retelling I was worried about how the Stepmother portion would go but honestly I loved the twist put on it and how the mice characters of Jacques, Gus Gus, and Marie were included. Having healthy relationships with step-relatives is refreshing to see happen and in my opinion made things not as cringe-y as they could have been.

Cindy just being herself and so proud in it, not having to watch her grow to love herself was nice in the book too
and while I’m glad we didn’t get to like hear what Addison said about her on the solo date part of me also wants to know so that I can hate her character more
.

This hopefully solidifies for me that I do like Julie Murphy’s writing, I just like her adult books more than her YA ones, so I’ll go pick up her newest book (though I might wait on that one since it’s a winter/Christmas themed book. Because I liked the book the amount I did I will be giving it 4 stars and I’m excited to see what her other adult book brings me.

“It’s just another stop on a long search for home.”

Side note: can someone tell me why I like side characters named Wes so much?

For a moment I thought she wouldn’t end up with Henry but someone else who had seen the show and really liked her, but glad in the end that the cute boy she connected with on the plane (that I clocked as the suitor in a millisecond) was her true life prince charming.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Fangs by Sarah Andersen

Go to review page

funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.75

I saw this book on social media and I love reading about vampires so I wanted to find it. The fact that it was also a graphic novel and looked very pretty was a plus. The story went by really fast and I wished it had been a little slower to see Elise & Jimmy’s relationship unfold together. However, with them I got a little bit of Mavis & Johnny vibes. Just that Johnny was a human in Hotel Transylvania but I felt like if he wasn’t a human this would have been them.

This book also had a darker sense of humor than I thought, but helped it be more adult in nature with how Elise & Jimmy interacted and joked about each other and themselves as ‘monsters’.

One great part of it being a graphic novel is that you could see & understand parts of them without having to have them state it outright with words or a descriptive paragraph. I was able to get through this book in about 16 minutes according to StoryGraph. Went so fast that I didn’t even get quotes and notes down, but I can always read it again later to get a quote if I really want one.

I actually laughed out loud when he opened the curtains and Elise just BURST into flames in the bed
Why does the “I want your love blood quote that’s on the back of the book not a part of the actual story? I think that could have been really cute as a scene.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

Go to review page

emotional inspiring lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

“Life may be shitty. But in moments like these, everything feels like it might just be all right.”

This book was like a hug to my younger high school self. Now I wish I was more like Charlie growing up - as I’m a little like an adult version of her (just white, so maybe not an adult version). I picked up this book without knowing anything about it one day at the bookstore. I knew that I at least had to give it a try for my past and present self as a plus-size girl & woman.

I enjoyed following Charlie in this book. Her and I are very similar in the way we see the world and some of the people around us in our lives: so that was great to unpack with myself while reading 😅. At the beginning of the story when she was getting ready for the dance and her date - I was so nervous about how that scene would play out that I just didn’t pick up the book for a while. I didn’t want to read any fat-related humiliation: but to be a slight spoiler: don’t worry it’s not that way, it’s not like a big scene in front of everyone like I thought it would be. After I was able to get past that point in the book I read the rest of the book in two days through work.

“And now I’m not sure I ever want to think about loving someone ever again.”

There were really only two things I didn’t like about the book, one of which was the third act break-up from a relationship & friendship. I knew that she’d find out Brian asked Amelia out first as it was in the summary, but I didn’t realize how close to the end of the story it would be - and then the following reconciliations afterwards I felt were very fast and didn’t give as much as I wanted from the self-esteem journey that Charlie went through at the end. I wished there had been more of that part to experience.

The other part I didn’t like was how many parentheses were used to convey an additional thought or clarifying bit of information from in Charlie’s head. I’m not against that type of grammatical piece, but I felt that it was used too much when those additional thoughts could have just been part of Charlie’s inner monologue and almost (to me, mind you) aged her down below sixteen/seventeen.

Besides those two things though, I found that by the end I really liked the book and found a few tears in my eyes. I hope that this book stays a great book for young, plus-size girls to let them remember that they deserve that happy ending and just a happy life in general. If I had gotten this book while in high school I know I would have loved it. Charlie may have even been an inspiration to change my life sooner, but it’s never late than never to make Charlie proud.

“It’s the first year where I don’t waste my wish on being skinny; I wish for more happy moments like this.”

I’m glad that after the dance, Cal was basically not seen again. If he kept coming back into Charlie’s life and playing with their emotions I would not have liked this book as much.
I also remember when I first realized that I was bigger, and it changed my life forever since. And like Charlie it was another classmate that said it. So I hope that kids growing up now and in the future will maybe….not do that.
THE BOOKSTORE CAT BEING NAMED CHAPTER WAS THE CUTEST PART OF THIS WHOLE BOOK I’M UPSET I’VE NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT!
Called Amelia an ally (for plus-size people) and then she was pan. TALK VALENTINA!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Floral Frolic by Cari Corene, Amanda Coronado

Go to review page

funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.5

Got this book from the authors at a con because I love foxes. A cute little read with very pretty artwork about two foxes picking flowers.