alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

cute! fun! kinda like that’s so raven but with love! diverse characters! dancing! romance of all kinds!

if you’re feeling any sort of sadness, heaviness, heartbreak, or angst, this book of poetry will speak riiiight to your soul in the best of ways.

started reading this one a few weeks ago as Asian hate crimes were again on the rise and I knew I wanted to be a better ally but didn’t know where to begin. this book was incredible— eye-opening, massively helpful, celebratory of ethnic identities, compelling, kingdom-focused, and excellently written. clearly, i flagged a TON in this book… there’s so much i wanted to mark and remember and return to in these pages.

a quote that speaks to the title that i want to share: “Individuals claiming colorblindness cannot address racial issues that they cannot see.”

this book was so cute with major princess diaries/what a girl wants/crazy rich asians vibes but set in japan! i thoroughly enjoyed it and squealed at the ending (i think this is becoming A Thing That I Do ™)

started this one on audio this week (so so so rare for me!) and finished it up with the hard copy. to be honest, parts of this one were hard for me (tw for domestic abuse, sexual assault, bullying, murder, etc), and it felt far too long overall, and i figured out the big twist before the book got there, sooooo it didn’t totally blow me away!

Aimee reached out on Instagram about sending me her book, as it spoke EXACTLY to the season of life I’m in, and I am so, so grateful for this one. It was so encouraging, full of biblical truth and sound wisdom, warm and honest, and full of beautiful analogies that spoke right to me (olive trees! like my olive branch tattoo!!!). I hiiiiighly recommend this one if you’re struggling to know how to find hope and thrive in your current season of life, and I’m so grateful this one found me when I needed it.

New favorite of the series? YUP.

fiiiiinally returned to this series (i’m taking my time and loving it actually) and this one was definitely different than the rest, but still had me hooked! Gamache continues to be such an intriguing main character, with complexities that keep building, and Beauvoir continues to annoy me but in a minimally endearing way, and I’m very curious how the dynamic between them both will play out in the next one.

also, setting this one in a remote monastery and centering it on the murder of one of the monks led to a lot of peripheral commentary on abuse in the church, forbidden relationships among the men, why people give their lives to God, and how we connect with peace and hope, and it was thought-provoking for sure!

the first half was SO SLOW and read like so many other stories of troubled women trying to worm their way into the life of a rich, beautiful trophy wife. (seriously WHY are there so many books like this?! why do i keep accidentally reading them?!)

it did pick up the pace when the POV shifted, but only by illuminating even more layers of messed-up-ness in everyone involved. it wasn’t thrilling, just annoying and shallow and disheartening to read, honestly.

not my cup of tea.