randelina's reviews
528 reviews

Deadly Daddy by Charity Parkerson

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

3.0

Little strong. A short DD/lb story filled with deadly struggles. This has been the saddest of the series but the happy moments are all the more adorable because of it. I enjoyed this tale and look forward to the next installment. 
Eartha & Kitt: A Daughter's Love Story in Black and White by Kitt Shapiro

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adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

A love story indeed. I enjoyed learning about Eartha Kitt through the eyes of her one and only, her daughter Kitt Shapiro. There were moments I laughed, cried, read excerpts out loud to my person because I related hard. A wonderful book about two women's inexorably entwined lives. So many life lessons to take away if you choose. The only thing that brought this down for me was a feeling of redundancy as I read. I got the feeling that each chapter was written individually which lead to many things being repeated in several places throughout the book. Overall, well worth reading and quite enjoyable.
Cats Don't Like Dinosaurs! by Nahum Ziersch, Andy Wortlock

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

My son, 7 years old, thought this book was really fun. He loved going back through to find the mouse, cat and yarn. He says that finding the cat was always easy but he needed my help to find the yarn because it was hidden really well. Looking together is what he enjoyed most. The story was cute and cuddly. The pictures were great. Wonderful book to read and search through with young kids.
Yellow Wife by Sadeqa Johnson

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

4.0

This is a wonderfully written novel with deeply important and painful to read subject matter. I cried many times as I read the atrocities that are included in this book. While difficult to read it is extremely important to know and understand the horrors that slaves were subjected to each moment of their lives. We can not stop teaching our history, we can not ignore our past, we can not gloss it over. I will have both my daughter and son read this book when they are appropriate ages. We will have deep discussion about the injustices and evil that is still all too common. I applaud Ms. Johnson for doing the research to be able to write as accurately as possible about history from the point of view of slaves. We need more stories from the other side of history. Well done. Highly recommend for all.
Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis by Annie Proulx

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 27%.
I found the information presented to be very interesting. However, it was so densely written that I found it difficult to read. I felt that I had to grind through and was just not in the mood to do so right now. I do believe that I will finish this book at some point. 
Nothing Special by A.E. Via

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.0

I've lost track of how many times I've read this book. I still enjoy the relationship between God and Day. They struggle through their beginnings but quickly find their footing. Ro and Johnson are an interesting inclusion in the story. Definitely as smutty and testosterone filled as I remember. 
Reflection by Elizabeth Lim

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

Fabulous extension of 1998 Disney Mulan movie I grew up with. I enjoyed the Chinese mythology that is included. So much happened in such a short span of time during this book. There were peaceful moments and extreme challenges. I loved how the story of Mulan learning about/finding her true self is fleshed out in this tale. I highly recommend this one to anyone that enjoys Disney or continued lore.
The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

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funny lighthearted 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

Adorable introduction to Dream Harbor. I enjoyed getting to know Jeanie and seeing her find her place in town as she got to know herself as the owner of the cafe. Logan was all kinds of warm and cozy with his flannel-y gruffness. A few times I shook my head at his communication skills. The spice was hot, the relationship sweet, the secondary characters antics hilarious. Overall, this book is like reading a Hallmark movie with the addition of sexy fun times and provocative language.
Crying in the Bathroom by Erika L. Sánchez

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challenging emotional funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I enjoyed this book. It is one that all women should read, one that both my daughter and son will read one day, one that men should read as well.

I was so pleased with how Ms. Sánchez presented her memories and thoughts. The bite size essays within each chapter have such an ease of reading. She is funny! I laughed several times, smiled often, felt deeply when various heartaches and darkness were discussed.

Amazing and excellent writers will do that, cause you to feel right along with them. Erika Sánchez must be included within those labels, amazing, excellent writer. Though one can not acknowledge her as a writer without accepting her as a woman. Amazing excellent woman, writer, teacher. (There are other titles that I'm sure she deserves but for me specifically I have felt these three.)

I learned about myself while reading this book. Which, I think, is the greatest compliment I can give. I will, hopefully, raise my kids better because of the lessons I have learned within these pages.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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dark slow-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

2.0

So many words to tell a story that could have been half as many. I can not say that I enjoyed this celebrated classic.

My overwhelming feeling upon finishing it is sadness for the monster which Frankenstein created. In the whole the man only once takes personal responsibility for creating a being when he shouldn't have. Yet he still pushes it off as a problem simply because he would not create another as a companion. That Frankenstein would protect the human race by refusing to make the monster another like himself. There is no acknowledgement of the wrongness of creating life where there was death. No remorse for playing God.

I ended the story having concluded that the monster was in fact the man. This is not a tale that I will encourage anyone to read. I found it to be boring quite often. Extremely wordy. Not near what I was expecting considering the hype it receives as a piece of literary history