laurenleigh's reviews
636 reviews

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was one of my top reads of 2023, and I’m so glad I picked up one of Zevin’s backlist! This was a delightful, heartfelt palette cleanser after a lot of intense fantasy reads. It hit so many notes just right, and it never crossed that line into cheesy or trite. I was surprised how emotionally attached I feel towards these characters! And I definitely cried a bit at the end. So sweet!
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I don’t understand why this series has the insane amount of hype it does, and yet I can’t stop thinking about it lol. I think one thing these books do well is to put the characters in a lot of very high stakes situations, constantly keeping the reader engaged to see what happens. Violet and Xaden are somewhat annoying, but I find myself enjoying all the side characters a lot. I don’t know, I’m really trying to figure out why this has implanted in my brain and I can’t quite figure it out!
More Than a Body: Your Body Is an Instrument, Not an Ornament by Lexie Kite, Lindsay Kite

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informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I actually think I want to buy a physical copy and reread, which is probably one of the best things I can say about an audiobook! I often found myself wanting to highlight lines for future reference. And I can already see a positive impact on my self-talk. I self-objectify SO much, to the point where it’s second nature. Now that I recognize it, I can work to undo it. Highly recommend this one!!
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m always impressed by how authors can take fairy tales that have been infinitely told and retold and turn them into something new and exciting. Albert wasn’t directly adapting any fairy tales in particular (at least that I picked up on), but the dark and twisty Grimm-like atmosphere was done so well. Very in keeping with Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo. I honestly found myself a bit lost in the plot sometimes, but I was along for the ride.
The Map of Salt and Stars by Zeyn Joukhadar

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

4.0

This is a refugee story of a young girl and her family forced out of Syria in 2011 from the violent civil wars. There’s also a dual timeline that’s half medieval historical fiction/fairy tale fabel, but I found that storyline something I had to get through to read the main text. Not surprising given the subject matter, but it was a pretty depressing story. Every step of the way was another terrible event or injustice or roadblock. Joukhadar’s language is so lush and poetic, and even when the plot made me sad, their writing was a wonder to marvel at.
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The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew by Maggie Bullock

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funny informative medium-paced

5.0

My brother-in-law (that was fun and new to say!!) recommend this one, and he was so right! I loved this! It reminded me a lot of Empire of Pain, telling the story of a company’s history, especially focusing on the eccentric family that founded it. Here we have the tale of J.Crew, which I was FULLY obsessed with circa 2008-2012. It was also a really interesting take on American fashion retail overall for the past 4 decades. I learned so much and had a blast learning it! Who knew I enjoyed reading about company histories?
Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

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lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Here’s a short little novella that goes in between the giant books in this series (#2.5). I’m always in awe of Sanderson’s expansive world. There were some plot points that were surprisingly pretty important I think for the series plot arc, when I was expecting this to be a fully side project. The highlight of this book is our main character Lift, who appeared in an interlude in book #2. She is a delight and done so well! I don’t always love how Sanderson writes adult women, but he does a great job with a preteen girl!
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Finally getting into this series! I’ve read a lot of Schwab now, and I think she’s extremely talented. I read this book quite speedily without even trying to, which is always a good sign. Lila and Kell are both quite interesting characters, and I appreciate there’s still a bit of softness in each, even though they’re vicious when they need to be. I have a feeling this is like an intro track to an album – it’s certainly good in its own right, but it’s about setting the scene and introducing you to the concepts. I’m excited to see where this series goes!
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The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

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informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

So thought-provoking. We collectively let Britney down so spectacularly. It’s really a heart-breaking text at times, especially when she was forcibly separated from her kids. Our culture was just SO hard on women in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Like how everyone was freaking out about how “fat” Britney was at the 2007 VMA’s. No wonder I have body issues, geez. If you ever feel judgement towards pop stars, especially women in the limelight, I hope you read this and gain some empathy. Michelle Williams does an excellent job narrating!
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Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings

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challenging informative medium-paced

3.5

I agree with the conclusion here that anti-fat bias is absolutely tied up with racism and misogyny. However, I don’t quite know if the evidence provided was as strong as it could be. Maybe it’s because I was listening. There was a lot of discussion of artworks that I thought might be pictured in the book for a better understanding, which I’ve missed out on. And I’m often listening while driving or doing other things so I can’t really stop to find the image. Or maybe the narrator just didn’t work for my brain. I guess it was just a denser book than I was anticipating.