dlrosebyh's Reviews (773)

One True Loves

Taylor Jenkins Reid

4.0

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

i am not a huge fan of love triangles, so i had low expectations going into this book. i’m surprised i actually liked it.

the characters are very lovable. i couldn’t imagine myself in emma’s situation when she had to pick between jesse and sam. which brings me into another point— i preferred the other love interest over the person she ended up with (i’m not telling who). although, i sort of saw who she’ll end up with, i was rooting for it to take a curveball.

tjr is honestly one of the best authors i’ve picked up this year. she never disappoints. btw, i love the taylor swift references.

Content Warnings

Patron Saints of Nothing

Randy Ribay

4.0

challenging emotional informative 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

this is a very impactful and important read. i honestly think everyone should read it, especially people who likes to be educated with worldwide issues.

well, jason is a clueless teenager— maybe, oblivious at some point. sometimes, i found that aspect annoying, sometimes i find it interesting. it honestly depends on the scene. his cousin, jun, passed away abruptly and he’s determined to know why. like other mystery novels, the book describes his journey.

i really liked how unlike most filipino representations, the book isn’t white-washed and actually talks about filipino culture descriptively. you might think that it’s just a mystery novel, but it actually has deeper themes to discuss— especially in duterte’s leadership.

i found the ending a little fast, however this is such an amazing read overall.

Content Warnings

It Goes Like This

Miel Moreland

3.5

emotional lighthearted 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

this book was a cute and fun read. i loved the concept of being a queer band. as someone who grew up listening to bands, i definitely enjoyed this book. i loved the music references, however it got too much at some point. i was a little bit annoyed at eva and found her and celeste’s relationship toxic.

i cringed at some part; it was too cheesy for my own preference. there were some plot holes, but overall it’s definitely a good read.

Content Warnings

Underneath the Sycamore Tree

B. Celeste

3.75

emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

“she lied”

no one touch me, i am sensitive. right off the start, i could tell that i would love this book. as long as it makes me cry, i already know that i would love it. originally, if it wasn’t for the stepbrother trope, i would of have given it 4.75 stars. i took 0.25 stars away because i didn’t like how kaiden body shamed emery at the very start of the book.

it feels illegal to read two step-siblings falling in love. at first, i expected that he wouldn’t be the love interest, but it is what it is. although they don’t really share any dna together, it still does not sit right with me.

finishing this book, it made me realized how much i loved it— and i don’t know if i should be proud of it. nevertheless, this book is definitely one of my bookish guilty pleasures.

Content Warnings

Milk and Honey

Rupi Kaur

3.0

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

i don’t know how to review this, in all honesty.

growing up, i’ve always been a huge fan of poetry— both traditional and contemporary. however, contemporary has to be done right for it to reach my standards. this wasn’t the best poetry i’ve read, neither the worst. furthermore, this definitely has its own strengths and weaknesses. regardless, it still projects a very important theme— feminism. i would recommend this to people starting out with poetry, but if you’re more fond of traditional poetry, you might get slightly disappointed.

Content Warnings

Girl Out of Water

Laura Silverman

3.75

emotional inspiring lighthearted 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

this book is an interesting mix.

i decided to read this because i saw some of my favorite authors rate this 5 stars, and i can definitely see why. this book teaches the importance of self love and finding love in unexpected places— as the premise said.

i absolutely loved the characters and the settings. if you want to feel that summer rush adrenaline, this is a good book for you. however, i kind of wished to more memories with anise’s friends back in california. don’t get me wrong, i loved her spending time with her cousins, but i also wanted to balance that out with her friends.

i love the concept of lincoln being disabled, it shows a good representation. but, i found the love triangle between him and eric unnecessary.

overall, it’s a fun read and would probably recommend to some people.

Content Warnings

Anxious People

Fredrik Backman

4.0

emotional funny hopeful 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

i usually don’t read books in the third perspective. i found them harder to read than the ones in first perspective because i wanted to know what’s going on in the character’s head. however, with zero doubts, i enjoyed this book.

at first, i wasn’t so sure if i was going to like it— and being that person, i gave it a shot. i don’t know how to review a book like this properly; i barely read the mystery genre.

the thing that i absolutely love about this book is how it encapsulates different people in this society— how not all good people are good, how not all bad people are bad, etc. however, one thing that really kept me ongoing was the good representation of people with anxiety. this book showcases if not all, most type of anxiety and how it affects one’s person’s occupation.

i took a star of because i felt like i was drawn out of the book at certain points. even if i try to force myself to put my mind back into it, but i just find certain parts uninteresting.

Content Warnings

Believe Me

Tahereh Mafi

5.0

adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-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

this book probably won’t get published if it wasn’t for book twitter so applaud to them.

shatter me will always be one of my top tier comfort series. to be honest, i kind of disliked the ending in imagine me, but this book gave the series a perfect ending.

i probably cried too much reading this, it’s unhealthy— but, they’re tears of joy for the most part. it was a quick read as well, but that was already expected given the fact that it is a novella.

overall, i wouldn’t ask for the series to end in another way, and i’m very glad that i read this book.

Content Warnings

Heroine

Mindy McGinnis

2.0

dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

reading a character driven book is tricky because you will lost interest if you feel detached to the characters, and unfortunately, i felt detached with mickey.

first of all, i see why people rated this high. it has an interesting and a reflective insight on different themes like drug addiction— and no doubt, very heartbreaking.

for me, the usage of drugs were too much to the point that it got repetitive and annoying, taking me so long to get over this book.

the book itself was underwhelming for me, but if you like reading depressing books with complex characters and no plot, i would recommend this book.

Content Warnings

All This Time

Rachael Lippincott, Mikki Daughtry

3.75

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this book is a lot to take in.

i cried too much, to the point that in certain parts, i couldn’t breathe.

i usually loathe books with male characters as main characters because i couldn’t relate to them, but kyle is definitely not that type of protagonist. he’s very thoughtful, open, understanding, selfless, and overall, a wonderful person. in all honesty, i disliked marley at the start, but she grew to me as i read the book.

what threw me off is that sometimes, their dialogues became too cheesy. i also don’t see their dialogue as something people their age would use. it’s your typical ya romance, but with a depressing twist.

overall, i enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it for anyone who loves five feet apart or the fault in our stars.

Content Warnings

More...