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thereadingraccoon's reviews
1490 reviews
All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
All the Water in the World is a futuristic climate fiction novel about a changed world after the polar ice caps have melted and the planet’s waters have risen.
Nonie and her family have been surviving the storms ravaging New York City by eking out a living inside the Natural History Museum. But when the waters rise too high, they are forced to escape in a canoe. Along the way, they encounter a world of survivors capable of both generosity and cruelty, struggling to find food, shelter, and safety. The timeline shifts back and forth between Nonie’s current experiences and her past, where she lost people she cared about.
All the Water in the World is a thoughtful and fast-paced novel about how families find normalcy and safety on a planet pushed to the brink. It has very dark and difficult moments but is also optimistic and hopeful.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook Notes: All the Water in the World is narrated by Eunice Wong who does an excellent job with the youthful but “old soul” voice of Nonie.
Disclosure: An ALC (advanced listening copy) was provided by Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A Sea of Unspoken Things by Adrienne Young
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
A Sea of Unspoken Things is a contemporary mystery about a woman who returns to her childhood home to investigate the death of her twin brother.
James Golden left her small Northern California logging town twenty years ago for art school and a new life in San Francisco. But that meant leaving behind her complicated twin brother, Johnny, and her first love, Micah. When Johnny is killed in a hunting accident, James feels compelled to come home to uncover exactly what happened—and what secrets her brother was keeping.
Like her previous novels, A Sea of Unspoken Things is a dark and atmospheric tale of bad deeds, small-town life, and lost love. I enjoyed the mystery and paranormal elements of James’s investigation into her brother’s life and death, as well as their complicated relationship. Adrienne Young’s writing is beautiful and lyrical and her characters have depth and nuance.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Disclosure: a copy of A Sea of Unspoken Things was provided by the publisher for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Lucky Leap Day by Ann Marie Walker
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
3.5
Cute and entertaining
What Happened to the McCrays? by Tracey Lange
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
What Happened to the McCrays is a contemporary novel about a man who returns to his hometown to care for his ailing father and confronts the people he left behind, including his former wife.
Kyle McCray left his hometown in New York over two years ago to start over in Washington, but he’s unexpectedly called home to help his father recover from a stroke. His extended stay means he’ll have to face his failed marriage to his high school sweetheart and everyone else he left behind. His ex-wife, Casey, has tried to move on after a devastating loss and Kyle’s departure, but the local middle school hockey team desperately needs a coach, and Kyle is their best option.
Tracey Lange does a terrific job of writing about complicated families and couples. There is a lot of loss in this book, which can be difficult to read at times, but it’s a beautiful story about moving on after grief and finding your way back to each other.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audiobook Notes:
What Happened to the McCrays is narrated by William DeMeritt and Stephanie Németh-Parker, who do an excellent job with the dual perspectives of the main characters.
Disclosure: An advanced audiobook copy was provided by Celadon for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Idol Who Became Her World by J.S. Lee, Ji Soo Lee
2.0
Read for Popsugar Reading Challenge “about K Pop”
I found the writing really awkward and odd and there was no chemistry between the main characters. The information about K-Pop was interesting and it was blessedly short but that’s about it.
I found the writing really awkward and odd and there was no chemistry between the main characters. The information about K-Pop was interesting and it was blessedly short but that’s about it.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-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
Moving story of a girl who misses her absent sister and starts making risky decisions eventually losing herself in a dangerous relationship
The Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black
adventurous
dark
funny
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? No
4.0
Coldest Girl in Coldtown- I loved this book but I don’t remember enough of the characters to completely recall who these people were. But ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ anyway because it was a good story packed in a small number of pages.
A Reversal of Fortune- fun little “Devil Went Down to Georgia” type story about cheating the devil to win
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Boy Who Cried Wolf- probably my least favorite of the collection about a boy who loves to read while he boats around the world with his family and finds himself as the main character of a werewolf tale ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dog King- another shifter story about the a crooked king and the boy/wolf/slave who gets even ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Vodka Veritas- a dark academia tale of a Latin club that uses magic to cause havoc at the prom ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Coat of Stars- one of the strongest urban fantasy tales I’ve ever read! A Broadway costume designer goes back to his New Jersey family home to confront the fallout of his sister’s abusive marriage and the boy he lost to the fae years before ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Paper Cuts Scissirs- the wildly creative story of a young man who loses his girlfriend (literally) to books and tries to get her back ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Going Ironside- short story of a fairy that comes earth to stir up trouble and get a baby ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Land of Heart’s Desire- the Lord of the Unseelie Court hangs out at a New York coffee shop with his pixie girlfriend undetected by humans until the coffee shop owner uses the fae to put his shop on the map. Lots of discussions about finding and keeping love.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Poison Eaters- three sisters are used in the politics of royalty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Reversal of Fortune- fun little “Devil Went Down to Georgia” type story about cheating the devil to win
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Boy Who Cried Wolf- probably my least favorite of the collection about a boy who loves to read while he boats around the world with his family and finds himself as the main character of a werewolf tale ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dog King- another shifter story about the a crooked king and the boy/wolf/slave who gets even ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Vodka Veritas- a dark academia tale of a Latin club that uses magic to cause havoc at the prom ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Coat of Stars- one of the strongest urban fantasy tales I’ve ever read! A Broadway costume designer goes back to his New Jersey family home to confront the fallout of his sister’s abusive marriage and the boy he lost to the fae years before ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Paper Cuts Scissirs- the wildly creative story of a young man who loses his girlfriend (literally) to books and tries to get her back ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Going Ironside- short story of a fairy that comes earth to stir up trouble and get a baby ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Land of Heart’s Desire- the Lord of the Unseelie Court hangs out at a New York coffee shop with his pixie girlfriend undetected by humans until the coffee shop owner uses the fae to put his shop on the map. Lots of discussions about finding and keeping love.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Poison Eaters- three sisters are used in the politics of royalty ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Good Part by Sophie Cousens
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
4.0
The Good Part is a novel about a twenty-six-year-old woman who wishes on an arcade machine to skip the part of her life where she’s broke, dating terrible men, and unappreciated at work—and go straight to the “good part.” But when she wakes up fifteen years later with a husband, two kids, and an important job in television, she realizes that the “good part” has its own challenges.
This is a thoughtful novel about embracing everything in life, both good and bad. Lucy thought that putting the hard part behind her was the key to happiness, but she discovers there is sweetness hidden within even the hardest times and that our past shapes us into who we are. I loved the beautiful love story between Lucy and her future husband and how much he adored her, despite the fact that she couldn’t remember the last fifteen years of their life together.
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys women’s fiction with romance, family, friends, and a hint of magic.
In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0