readtotheend's reviews
1384 reviews

I had not read much at all about the siege of Sarajevo that occurred from 1992-1996 which was part of the Bosnian War.  I got a small glimpse of what that time period was like in Sarajevo through Zora, a Bosnian Serb artist living in Sarajevo at the time.  The book started out slow for me but then picked up until the very end. For me, I think once I read the reference to what black butterflies were, I just got swept into the story.  There aren't chapters - more like 5 sections which makes it challenging to go between audiobook and physical reading. I'd recommend this one in print. 

This was such a fun YA K-drama read! Although it's not a surprise to anyone who follows Korean entertainment, it definitely shows the pressure in the Korean entertainment industry. I love the childhood friends to lovers trope and it felt natural and not forced. I also really appreciate the audiobook narration having correct Korean pronunciation which hasn't always been the case in my experience. I felt like this really portrayed Korean-American teen life well. Even the church references and the moms all felt familiar to me. Definitely recommend this one for a fun, easy, romantic read!

Overall a perfectly fine romance read but nothing too exciting.  It wasn't even that long but it felt long at times maybe because it felt very formulaic?  I get impatient when two people are so clearly into each other but insist they're not sure how the other feels. Very mis-communication-y and I don't love that.  It was steamy and the audiobook narration was great so I did get through it pretty quickly but again it just felt longer than it actually was.

This is a middle grade novel about a girl's grief journey. Suzy loses someone who was close to her and tries to wrap her head around why her friend, Franny, is gone. I think there were lots of realistic scenes and situations and I'm always glad to see middle grade books hit on topics like grief so that kids can feel less alone.  The audiobook narration was great and this has been adapted into a play that's showing locally so I'm interested to see how it translates on the stage.  

This was kind of ridiculous. Things felt like they were made up to just conveniently help the story along.  This was my first Feeney and it wasn't a very good impression. The audiobook narration was great and there's some extra sound effects that were nice and I thought the cover was amazing but the actual story was weak.  I definitely got influenced to pick this one up because everyone seemed to be posting about it but alas, it did not work for me.

I will definitely share this book with many new parents as I think there's a lot of great information about play based childhoods vs. phone based childhoods. I also appreciated the helpful solutions and recommendations the author gives, I think it's very practical.  It's not about perfectly keeping our kids off phones, devices and letting them be "free range" as the author even shares how his family navigated tracking and letting the children navigate NYC but it gives data and information on what we've been hearing for years about the impact of phones, internet and social media on us as a society but especially children. 

 I enjoyed this book that starts out in Oakland, CA and brings us into the Black Panther Party in the 1960's through Nettie, a young Haitian student who gets involved with a Captain in the Party. Their journey continues in Chicago and I really enjoyed learning more about the Party. If you enjoy historical fiction, you may really enjoy this, it felt well researched. The part I didn't love was the love story between Nettie and Melvin. It got very soap opera-y with how their relationship played out. The audiobook narration was excellent, I recommend it in both physical and audio formats. 

This Sleepless in Seattle inspired book was a fun, easy read that was perfect to get me in the Valentine's Day season!  Aiden Valentine (cute name!) hosts a romance hotline on the radio and Lucie Stone's daughter calls in and away we go.  At times it felt a bit long, I think it could have been edited down about 100 pages but it was a fast read so it didn't feel like it dragged too much.  You know I don't enjoy miscommunication and this had some of that but it didn't make me as irritated as it usually does, maybe because the cast of characters was fun, especially Lucie's family!  This was great on audio, recommend in that format!

The book tells the story of 3 women in the same family line in 1619, 1942 and 2019. We see the connections between the generations of Weyward women and their connections with nature and magic.  The author definitely shares a commentary on womanhood and oppression but I loved how we see resilience through the generations. Did it have witchy and magical elements? Yes and I'm not a big fan of those elements so it was a bit of a struggle for me.  I also felt like it dragged on during some parts, especially the beginning. Once I hit the halfway mark, it was a much faster read for me.  If you are a sensitive reader, look up trigger warnings before picking this one up. I think if you're a lover of historical fiction and magical realism, this one might be a winner for you but this was just an alright read for me.

Brilliant and heartbreaking.  I was hesitant to pick up a book about the Holocaust and I wasn't sure if I was in the right headspace to read this given the conflicts happening right now in the Middle East, but I am glad I did.  The 4 main characters and how their lives intersect over time was so well done. I also learned a bit more about the experience of Jews in Greece during the Holocaust.  Albom has such a unique voice, I highly recommend this book.  The audiobook narration was also really wonderful, I switched between print and audio seamlessly.