aislinghelen's reviews
982 reviews

Bourbon & Lies by Victoria Wilder

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funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

Loved the story but the writing wasn’t great. There were sentences felt overwritten and a lot of places that felt very jumpy. It regularly had italicised paragraphs that flashed back to something, and honestly they didn’t feel necessary most of the time. Personally I just kind hate flashbacks though, so it might be me.

I did really enjoy the plot. It was interesting and I never wanted to put it down. There were some parts that felt a bit random but I think that’s hard to avoid. I do wish we got more of a wrap up. There were some things I really wanted answers to but we got a “that happened, no clue why” instead.

Overall, it was a great story but could have used a bit more editing in parts.
I've Been Thinking About You, Sister by Witi Ihimaera

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

Not for me
Fake by Tate James

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Zombabe by I.S. Belle

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 24%.
I just can’t get into it. I don’t like the writing style, and it’s kinda hard to follow 
Power Play by Chelsea Curto

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funny lighthearted 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

I did really enjoy this but I also thought there was a bit much going on. Most of it was absolutely adorable but I’m really bad with second hand embarrassment, so the sex lessons stuff was a bit uncomfortable for me. 
I liked the fake dating aspect and all the little micro tropes but
WHY WAS THERE A VEGAS WEDDING?? Like there are already fake dating, sex lessons, grumpy sunshine, secretly in love and then they add drunk marriage and a random sex tape?
. I think there was so much thrown in that we also lost some other storyline’s.
Like her ex husband calling her repeatedly despite being being divorced for years? Where did that all go?
 

Overall, it was completely adorable but has little too much thrown in.
The Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia Hibbert

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

2.75

I think this one just wasn’t for me. I didn’t particularly like either of the main characters and the whole thing felt kind of floppy(?). The middle part was fun enough but the rest of it just didn’t hold up for me.
Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

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Did not finish book.
Against Technoableism: Rethinking Who Needs Improvement by Ashley Shew

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informative fast-paced

4.5

This was really inetresting and a very necessary read in the current world we live in. It was fast and a quick read, although sometimes that wasnt helpful. For the most part it was great but I did think that some of it would have benefited from being longer and slightly more expanded on. Overall, it was great and I recommend reading it.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 28%.
The writing style wasn’t for me. It felt like middle grade rather than YA and just moved a bit too slow for me.
The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour

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challenging emotional informative fast-paced

5.0

This was incredibly interesting. It was also a very hard read at points. She explains her time as an SOE agent in France working undercover as a 14 year old (when she was 23) during WW2. 

There is a lot explained more broadly about how the allies worked and how being undercover worked, it’s tied into her story. 
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