aislinghelen's reviews
984 reviews

Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens by Shankari Chandran

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 6%.
Not for me
Taken by the Snowmen by Maggie Alabaster

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

I have no explanations. Don't ask.
Life to the Limit: My Autobiography by Jenson Button

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emotional informative fast-paced

5.0

I’m on a bit of a non-fiction kick. I don’t usually read memoirs/biographies, but this was really interesting. I love the way it was written. I don’t have much else to say; it feels weird to review the story of someone's life, you know?
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The Bottleneck Detective: Fix Bottlenecks, Boost Productivity, and Unlock Profits—in Just One Hour by Clarke Ching

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informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

Total Competition: Lessons in Strategy from Formula One by Ross Brawn

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informative medium-paced

4.0

Bride by Ali Hazelwood

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

3.5

I read this because I saw a lot of people who didn’t really like her other books who said they loved this one. I didn’t really care about this one. It was cute enough but honestly too drawn out and it just made the FMC seem kinda stupid.
Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Health Threat by Derek Beres

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informative

4.0

This was interesting and definitely gives a good background on the crunchy to alt right pipeline. That said, it was very focused on the yoga world and didn’t go into the broader crunchy ideas. I touches on MLMs and essentially oils but doesn’t go into much detail.
I'll Be Home... by Tate James, Heather Long

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

2.25

I’m a big fan of Tate James’s books, and I’ve liked a few by Heather Long, though I haven’t finished any of her series because the one I loved went a bit off the rails. That being said, I hated this book. I really should have DNFed it, but I was already at 70% when I realised it wouldn't get better.


The biggest issue with this book was that they tried to fit too much into it. It probably needed to be two books at minimum, but because it was all crammed into 400 pages, it felt really jumpy. So much happened without any time to breathe. I mean, it went - trauma reveal, sex, trauma reveal, sex, murder, sex, bad guys, info dump, sex again. And yet with all of this happening it still somehow managed to be boring at points.

I think this was an interesting story and a good concept. If it had been excuted better I probably would have loved it. Also would have helped if the names were better, I get the Christmas theme but I didnt need to be beaten over the head with it.

Also the big bads were named Scut, Grandmother and Olaf???
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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

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funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

4.75

I loved the characters and the plot of this book. I read it as an audiobook, which I wouldn't recommend. The narration wasn't great. But the characters and the book, in general, were still fantastic, even with the bad narration.I loved the character development and the plot twists. 

The romance was cute, too, but definitely took a bit of a backseat to the rest of the story. It was mostly her finding herself and her found family, new and old. It was really cute and kept me interested.
Night Shift by Annie Crown

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

3.0

This was giving coming-of-age novel more than romance at points. Especially during the sex scenes, which was weird. Basically, it was an awkward more-highschool-than-college college romance. 


I was expecting a cute sports romance. Book girlie and adorable golden retriever basketball player. But it wasn’t really that. Even the FMC description of the MMC wasn't really accurate to the cover. She also kept putting everything that happens into book trope boxes, which was kind of annoying, and I am glad she was called out. The poetry thing also bugged me.

I will say there were some very cute moments. That's why it got 3 stars; I was definitely giggling. 

I would read a second book about one of her friends, especially because they wouldn't have the virgin trope.