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ali_k0's reviews
168 reviews
Powerless by Elsie Silver
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
By god this book was a fucking SLOG. the first two of this series were so good and then this one was just UCK. First of all, STAND UP SLOANE I can not imagine being stuck on the same guy for over ten years.... Like please wake up and learn your worth! Secondly, although Sloane did eventually wake up and learn her worth, sorting her character issues, jasper never did. No closure around his family, no working on his guilt, not even "yeah I'm going to therapy now" he just bought Sloane a safe car and that was it? Also, the sex scenes felt like what someone who grew up in an abstinence is the answer household would think BDSM is after hearing about it from their middle school friend. I've never felt so dry as when Jasper told her to crawl 🤮
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
A most wonderful retelling of the princess bride. The magic of this world only builds on the magic of the original piece.
This was a great first book to jump into Sanderson universe with. Brandon Sanderson wrote this book for his wife, and the love in that act is woven into every page.
Highly recommend.
This was a great first book to jump into Sanderson universe with. Brandon Sanderson wrote this book for his wife, and the love in that act is woven into every page.
Highly recommend.
Bond of Destiny by Tessa Hale
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Mark of Stars by Tessa Hale
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Spark of Fate by Tessa Hale
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
3.0
It's like reading Wattpad at 2 am under your covers on a school night. Very few redemptive qualities, but a grand ol time all around.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Funny Story by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Funny Story wasn't my favorite Emily Henry book (Book Lovers you will never be beaten!!!) but it was a good time. For a Romance to really hit home, I think you need to be attracted to at least one character, and neither was it for me.
Still, the story, especially the POV character Daphne and her relationship with her dad, hooked me. I'm not a fake dating person, and that was the big trope of the book, but if you are, I would recommend this book. I'd recommend it if you weren't but had daddy issues and a passion for libraries!
My favorite thing about Emily Henry is her penchant for the absurd. All the whimsy characters she packs into a small town or a big city, whether they be the main characters or mentioned only once, make her small towns feel bursting with life. Her books always make me want to take the long path to my coffee shop and the scenic route to work.
If your looking for that, whether or not romance is your genre, I think you should pick up Funny Story. Because it's as much a book about falling in love with life in your thirties as it is about falling in actual love (also, can we please have more romance novels with characters who are in their thirties? The fully developed prefrontal cortext is so refreshing.)
Still, the story, especially the POV character Daphne and her relationship with her dad, hooked me. I'm not a fake dating person, and that was the big trope of the book, but if you are, I would recommend this book. I'd recommend it if you weren't but had daddy issues and a passion for libraries!
My favorite thing about Emily Henry is her penchant for the absurd. All the whimsy characters she packs into a small town or a big city, whether they be the main characters or mentioned only once, make her small towns feel bursting with life. Her books always make me want to take the long path to my coffee shop and the scenic route to work.
If your looking for that, whether or not romance is your genre, I think you should pick up Funny Story. Because it's as much a book about falling in love with life in your thirties as it is about falling in actual love (also, can we please have more romance novels with characters who are in their thirties? The fully developed prefrontal cortext is so refreshing.)
Religion of Sports: Navigating the Trials of Life Through the Games We Love by Gotham Chopra
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy by Craig Whitlock
funny
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I think I got this book off my Libby shelf the day it came out, and probably read 75% in one day. The author and audio reader are both fantastic, I couldn't stop. I was so annoyed finals kept me from finishing it another week.
I know almost nothing about military or rank, certainly not the navy. Usually when I go for nonfiction, it's nothing like this, but the subtitles enticed me to step out of my comfort zone and dive into some military scandal like I was a middle aged dad talking about WW2.
I think I told just about everyone I knew to read this book, purely based on how unbelievably incredible I found the entire story. At every point, you're thinking, "That can't possibly happen!" And then it DID.
No matter your background knowledge on Politics or military this book is very easy to understand with a cast of characters that will leave gasping. It is both the most entertaining and horrifying real-life episode of Gossip Girl you could ever imagine.
It was a ride from start to finish. Read it.
I know almost nothing about military or rank, certainly not the navy. Usually when I go for nonfiction, it's nothing like this, but the subtitles enticed me to step out of my comfort zone and dive into some military scandal like I was a middle aged dad talking about WW2.
I think I told just about everyone I knew to read this book, purely based on how unbelievably incredible I found the entire story. At every point, you're thinking, "That can't possibly happen!" And then it DID.
No matter your background knowledge on Politics or military this book is very easy to understand with a cast of characters that will leave gasping. It is both the most entertaining and horrifying real-life episode of Gossip Girl you could ever imagine.
It was a ride from start to finish. Read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Sexual content
Minor: Violence and War
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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
The Once & Future Witches reports to follow three sisters bringing back the age of Witching. However, it's better told to be about a movement of women across the world who held onto the words and the ways so that those with the will could fight there way through life back to a time when they had power.
In the ashes of Old Salem is New Salem, a city free from witches and where every street is named after a saint, and hidden in those streets are women who have held on to the dying dregs of witchcraft by weaving it into their quilts and whispering it in each other's ears. All dream of a time where they have more then penny pinching and abusive husbands, but with the exception of low level house magic there is little left for them to use.
But the sufferage movement has women organizing, talking out of shadows, and the winds have blown three sisters back into the city. The sisters alone won't be enough to bring back the Lost Way, but with their new sisters (and romances) they'll find the way.
This book is for every spitfire with a habit for finding trouble, girls who draw their circles large enough for only themselves, anyone whose ever dreamed of being a magic librarian (I know I'm not the only one) or anyone looking for a story about organizing, finding a way when there's a will, and the power of intersectional allyship.
In the ashes of Old Salem is New Salem, a city free from witches and where every street is named after a saint, and hidden in those streets are women who have held on to the dying dregs of witchcraft by weaving it into their quilts and whispering it in each other's ears. All dream of a time where they have more then penny pinching and abusive husbands, but with the exception of low level house magic there is little left for them to use.
But the sufferage movement has women organizing, talking out of shadows, and the winds have blown three sisters back into the city. The sisters alone won't be enough to bring back the Lost Way, but with their new sisters (and romances) they'll find the way.
This book is for every spitfire with a habit for finding trouble, girls who draw their circles large enough for only themselves, anyone whose ever dreamed of being a magic librarian (I know I'm not the only one) or anyone looking for a story about organizing, finding a way when there's a will, and the power of intersectional allyship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Abortion
The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos by Mark Chiusano
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75