tsundoku_'s reviews
151 reviews

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious 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

3.75

This was pretty predictable and cheesy but sometimes I just want a book where I don't really have to think about anything. Like pure escapism. Also Italy has now become more of a priority on my bucket list. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of Lina trying to figure out why her mother sent her to Italy and what the truth of her family is. However I did guess what was going to happen very early on. I thought the romance was cute, but honestly a little unnecessary. I might've liked it better if they were just really close friends because their nonplatonic love for each other ended up causing unnecessary conflict that just annoyed me. Also Howard <3333. Howard is so sweet to Lina and loves her so well and loved Lina's mother so well. The ending was quite unrealistic but then again this whole book isn't very realistic and thats ok. Also I read another review where someone pointed out that Lina never really processes the many traumatic things that happen to her in this book and that is a very good point. She just moves on like it's nothing after a few hours and those things were definitely not nothing. Overall it was a cute summery read
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The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

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

3.0

I read this for school, and I have to say this is one of the only books I've read for school that I've actually enjoyed. It was definitely sad. I just feel bad for Tom and Laura's situations.
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Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I was not aware that this book would take the whole hidden identity trope to stalker level. I don't like that only one of them knew who the other person was. Also this book had a lot of things that were really unnecessary and disrespectful. I didn't even like the main character either. She's way too self centered. Also I skipped to the end and the guy who I guessed was SN was who I suspected from the beginning. They made it so obvious
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The Cartographers by Amy Zhang

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 3%.
I only read one chapter and I don't like the writing style. This just doesn't interest me right now
This Time It's Real by Ann Liang

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.25

This book had me giggling. It took a bit for Caz to grow on me but then I absolutely loved him. The fake dating I think was done well. I did really like that Caz was the one who confessed his feelings first since it wasn't in his pov so you didn't always know how he felt. I will say Eliza did bother me sometimes. She was just so sure that nobody liked her or that everyone was going to leave her without even talking about it to them. And to an extent I have felt this way too, but I wish she would've at least tried to do something about it sooner.
I didn't like how long it took for her to make things right with Zoe. The whole plot with Zoe I felt wasn't fleshed out enough. Also, the scene where Caz was sick and Eliza took care of him????? Had me giggling and kicking my feet that was so cute and sweet. And when she got up and he woke up just to ask her to stay???? Soooo freaking cute I can't take it.
I do wish the ending wasn't so abrupt. They took so long to get together and then the book basically ended right after. I wish we could've seen what her article for the magazine was even though I technically know the general idea of it. I think there could honestly be room for a sequel, but then again I don't always like sequels for romance books unless there's an equal mix of something else like mystery or something. Also I don't usually pay a ton of attention to the writing style unless it's really not for me, but this was really beautiful writing.
Better Than the Prom by Lynn Painter

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5.0

I forgot how much I love Liz and Wes. They're literally perfect. I loved seeing this from Wes' pov. This literally made me cry it was so adorable. Here's some really cute quotes

Liz Buxbaum had always been my secret. She was the incredible thing I'd known about but everyone else seemed to miss. The treasure hidden in plain sight, the fortune of a lifetime that was somehow only visible to me.

It would forever be archived as what she wore to prom with Michael Young, and I was homesick for the before, when it was the dress she'd tried on because I told her white was her color

She's pretty, but her face doesn't transform into sunlight when she talks about music.

She's not you.
Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.75

I really have no idea what to rate this so maybe I'll change it later. This took me way too long to read and I blame that on both me being busy and that I'm still learning to love fantasy. This was good though. I don't know if I liked it as much as the first one. I mean it was nice that I already knew the characters and the world. I just think how long it took me to read it affected how much I liked it. Ok but Nikolai. I love Nikolai so so so much. Mysterious boys in books are just *chefs kiss* Also, those moments when Nikolai like takes off his cool prince persona and is just a normal human with real emotions are quite nice. I honestly didn't enjoy Mal and Alina's relationship and that makes sense given what they go through. But I loved them so much when they got together in the first book and I just don't feel that chemistry anymore. I almost wish Mal would leave or Alina would make him leave so that he could be free and eventually happy. But at the same time I still like Mal so I want him to be there. But then again do I really like Mal? I like who he was at the very beginning of their relationship. But now not so much. They were both jerks to each other for most of this book though. Also, the ending.
Kinda scared me there because Alina just wanted more and more power and while that is understandable given the circumstances, it's also scary to see her not as human. I hated seeing her say yes to the Darkling, but at least it didn't go that way after all. Also, Genya. Poor Genya. I know Genya betrayed Alina but I don't think she really wanted to. I still love Genya and I hate what the Darkling did to her. Also I do not trust the Apparat at all. He's so creepy and I don't know what's going to happen with him but I don't think it's going to be good.
I do think the ending was a bit rushed and sure some of the rush did make sense with the plot but it still ended kinda abruptly. But overall this was good and I'm excited to read the next book
Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.0

This was alright it wasn't spectacular. I liked Vero's journey of being able to stand up for herself and not live for other people. I can relate to a lot of the struggles discussed in this book. However, I felt the resolution at the end could've been a little bit better. I also didn't like the love story. It was way too rushed and very surface level. That's all I really have to say about it
When You Wish Upon a Lantern by Gloria Chao

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

This was pretty cute. It was definitely on the cheesy side but it did help me get out of a reading slump. It was lighthearted and fluffy whilst still having depth with the family issues and grief. Both families but specifically Kai's brother and father were absolutely insufferable to the point that I wanted to yell at them. I don't think Kai's family got as complete of a resolution that Liya got with her family. I would've also liked it if Kai and Liya got together a bit sooner because there wasn't much left of the book once they finally did start dating. Also, the reason they stopped talking for a few months was so silly but, I can understand the embarrassment on both ends that caused the misunderstanding. I really enjoyed learning about different Chinese and Asian foods, traditions, festivals, and folktales. It's always fun to learn about a culture you don't know much about. I also really enjoyed the lighthearted personalities of Liya and Kai. Kai is such a golden retriever which was absolutely adorable. I liked how much they laughed with each other. I also really enjoyed that we got both Kai and Liya's POV. Overall I'd recommend this.
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Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

3.25

This wasn't bad but it wasn't spectacular. I loved the first one but this just wasn't up to that same level. I honestly felt that most of this book was unnecessary. I think that the parents reconnecting and getting married could've happened in the first book. The conflict with Akio was somewhat unnecessary in my opinion.
while I agree Izumi needed to figure herself out and learn that it's best to do what she wants rather than what everyone else wants her to do, I think she could have learned this whilst still dating Akio. It was already known that dating Akio isn't what people wanted from her, so I feel that maybe there could have been a conflict between them where they discussed this without actually breaking up. Once she and Akio did break up, I rooted for her and Eriku. I did not like the love triangle in this book. While I understand why she chose Akio and I did find their happy ending cute, I also thought Eriku was really good for her. I liked that their relationship was much more lighthearted. Even though it was very obvious she would not end up with Eriku in the end, it was still disappointing.
Overall I think this book was mostly unnecessary and could've been accomplished with only one book. But I did also enjoy the character development between all the characters.
I must say that I was very happy that Izumi and the twins ended up putting their differences aside and becoming friends.
It also did take me several weeks to read this which may have affected my rating of this.