ellemnope's Reviews (2.4k)

 I really enjoyed the premise for this book and all the social commentary that followed in the plot. The characters were interesting and the structure, even though the POV shifted a little bit roughly, totally worked. I binged this one in just a couple of days and I will be reading the follow up novel The Shutouts as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Not quite a 5-star due to some minor issues with plot and some unexplored explanations of some of the logic, but I still had a really good time with this concept. It was one of those situations where I got a good story, but I just wanted to know more. I wanted a bigger exploration of the "world" created. I'm hoping to get a little bit of satisfaction to that regard by reading the follow-up. Fingers crossed.

Regardless, totally worth the read and one I would consider putting on the shelf for a reread sometime soon.

 

This historical fantasy romance series keeps growing in interest. This fourth installment is told primarily from the POV of Owein and it's an intriguing look into his thought processes and emotions.

The characters continue to grow and bloom throughout the series and I really enjoy how Holmberg lets her characters change based on life circumstances. They make realistic alterations to their thought patterns and actions. Their priorities are quite fluid and they come off incredibly realistic.

The plot was very action filled with a lot of tension throughout. There is a lot of emotional struggle for Owein and you could plainly feel the discordance. His anxieties and convictions were excellently handled and presented. The development of a love triangle was fairly well handled, but there is some awkwardness to it simply because of the situation of the age and the off kilter personality of Fallon.

The pacing starts off slow, but as soon as Silas appears on the scene things take off like a shot. There is a LOT of action and the scenes are gripping and interesting. The read went remarkably quickly for the last 3/4.

The ending was solid and can stand on it's own, but there are some things left unsettled that will be fodder for the fifth and final book in the series. Though the ending does feel complete, the novel itself is absolutely not a standalone and readers will need the background of the first three books in the series in order to understand the basis of the plot.

Summary: Excellent read that starts out slow, but quickly turns fast-paced. Fantastic character work that feels realistic and makes the reader sincerely care about the individuals. Absolutely worth the read, but will require reading of the series as a whole. One book remains to be published for the series, expected in 2026.

 

This dystopian read from Laila Lalami is frightening in how easily it can be believed to be integrated into the near future. It's a modern 1984, where Big Brother is always watching and all of your actions are scored to determine your worth or threat to society. When Sara Hussein's score exceeds 500, she is taken into custody by TSA on her return flight from London and sent to a detention center.

Defined as "not a prison", but instead a "holding" location, there are many excuses for why it is not against Sara's rights to hold her without charging her with an actual crime. The parallels to profiling and detention of immigrants and others of ethnic backgrounds are plainly obvious. Current events only heightened my apprehension at the actions that were occurring in the narrative. The potential realism is very powerful in generating intrigue for the plot.

The writing is fantastic and there are many issues approached and handled throughout the narrative that make things feel absolutely plausible. The tension between guards and detainees feels real and the mind games for both the characters and the readers themselves are very skillfully crafted. There was a definite hook.

So why not a 5-star read? Well...while the concept is intriguing and the execution paints a good picture of the possible ways this approach could go drastically wrong for innocent individuals, there were issues with pacing and with character construction. The plot felt occasionally repetitive and the pacing sometimes dragged a bit, making it feel like I was stuck in a deja vu situation for chapters at a time. This does serve to reinforce some of the trapped and helpless feeling of the situation, but distracted me from the overall movement of the narrative.

As far as the characters go, somehow they just felt flat to me. There wasn't a lot of dimension to them and I really didn't form a deep attachment to their particular well-being. The situation was gripping, but the individual story didn't shine.

Lastly, if you know anything about me, endings are a very important part of my rating decision. They can make or break a book. In this case, there were both good and bad things. Good: there was some resolution of the situation and I definitely got the PTSD feeling of the situation. There was a good message there. Bad: it felt like the plot just dropped out. There wasn't a firm conclusion and everything was just left floating mid-action. I get the intent, but it was super frustrating as a reader.

Summary? Good read. Well worth the time. I can absolutely see merit in its nomination for literary awards. Not a perfect read and it did require a bit of patience, but excellent concept and really well considered by the author. She's an author I would read again. 

Solid disclaimer that I do occasionally struggle with literary fiction. This one kind of blew over me. The writing was good and the scene setting was well-crafted, the story just didn't feel gripping in any way. I just wandered through George's life ping ponging off small moments.

I couldn't connect to the character or the story...I simply found that I didn't care much about the outcome. George's privileged life and his lackadaisical attitude about any responsibility left a rather sour taste in my mouth. He just didn't seem to have any motivation to succeed in anything and nothing that he faced really felt like it lent itself to a solid turnaround. His relationship with Jenny was a disaster and insanely toxic for her. Why she stuck with it for so long is beyond me.

When it really comes down to it, I just couldn't connect and I didn't care what happened to George so I really couldn't care about the story either. 

There are things about this book that are just beautiful. There is some magical writing and a few intriguing storylines. But the construction and pacing are where this book lost me. The narrative is told from five different perspectives, there was always the potential for a jumble. And unfortunately, this one fell prey. The constant switch from character to character felt overly jarring and disorienting, despite the chapter headings.

The plot is very slow to unfold and I got very impatient, nearly shelving this as a DNF. The character work was decent, but a few of them felt substantially more fleshed out than the others.

The literary prose will work well for some and I can understand the pull for literary awards based on the content. It just didn't work for me. I am a stickler about my endings, and this one didn't sit right. It felt half-hearted and didn't give me the closure I needed. There was too much of the story left to explore and after a slow paced, drawn out narrative I felt like I needed more reward for my efforts.

 

This series is a wild ride. It's completely ridiculous, but hilarious. I love Cosimano's writing. It's fast and witty and her characters are a good time. These books are a great quick read and perfect for travel or just a little change of pace. 

This was a crazy ride. There were a couple of twists that sent me reeling and I had to regroup to understand everything that was taking place. There were some very clever moments that had the tension cranked up as if anything could happen...because things kind of went off the rails a bit.

A perfectly enjoyable read and a good plot basis, I had fun with this one. But it does have some issues that lent it to being a more average rated book.

My primary issue: the characters. I really didn't like any of them. There was a lot of whining and self-deprecation and just a whole lot of psychological issues. I didn't feel like the protagonist learned a dang thing and the people around her all had some sort of problem. Is there something in the water in this town? Because everyone is wildly damaged in some way. Obsession is a major issue for a lot of them and everyone seems to be very selfish and insulated. It drove me nuts. I just wanted one person who wasn't a whack-a-do.

Second main issue that prevented a higher rating: The motivation behind the events in the narrative seems a little weak. I mean, I get it, but the set up and background for it wasn't super solid. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, I guess? It just seemed a little thin and didn't really feel emotionally believable. Meh. Maybe I'm just picky.

Anyway...despite my issues with the overall technical merit of the story, I still enjoyed the read. It was fast-paced and interesting and it kept my attention. Not a bad pick for a beach read, travel read, or palate cleanser. 

What a fun read! I've never read any of Marie Benedict's books before, but a mystery starring a whole group of famous female mystery writers sounded like such a good time that I couldn't let it pass me by.

The story is intriguing and the characters are delightful. I do wish there was a bit more exploration into the different women in the Queens of Crime group, but I felt like the development of Dorothy Sayres's character was very well written. There are some pieces of overly florid atmospheric work, but nothing that really detracted from the story or caused me any issues in reading.

The logic of the "luck" these ladies have in this investigation is, needless to say, a bit far fetched on occasion...so there is some need for a suspension of disbelief. The plot as it pertains to the murder mystery portion and the "whodunit" is really well constructed. I had theories throughout the read and I was correct in one of my guesses, but there was enough at play that it wasn't an obvious answer for me and I enjoyed the way the characters devised their plans.

This is a strongly feminist tale that explores a "woman's place" in 1930s England. There is a lot of discussion of misogyny and the way women were limited in their abilities to find employment, to live single lives, and to engage in personal lives without being judged for their sexual appeal or lack there of.

A good cozy mystery with a fun group of characters and a plot that moved at a decent pace. I enjoyed my read quite a bit and will be looking in to more of Benedict's writing for the future.

I loved Emily J. Taylor's Hotel Magnifique, so I knew I had to try this out. The premise of a world where the postal service has the magic? Weird...and awesome. I loved the development of this world and really had a fun time learning about how everything worked. The basis for the story was also compelling, with a strong female protagonist who is living her life anonymously and constantly on the run. The whole thing is incredibly unique and intriguing.

Marketed as YA, I felt like it really fit better in the New Adult category. There is some violence and intimacy that I feel might fit better for a slightly older audience. I would not recommend to the younger YA set. However, the story is fun enough to entertain anyone from older YA to adult readers.

The writing is great and there is wonderful atmosphere...the world coming off a bit gritty and gray with constant tension. There are some issues with pacing, specifically in the first half, but the last half flies by. This appears to be a standalone rather than exploring it's full potential in a duology or trilogy. There was not a lot of exploration into the schooling aspect and the other world potential was just sitting there aching to be explored. The lack of an expansion of this story into a duology or the development of this story and additional plot into a trilogy is somewhat disappointing to me. I feel like there was a lot left that I wanted to know and learn.

I recommend this for those who enjoy something a little bit different. If you can get through the slow pacing for the world development and plot setup in the first half, then you will be well rewarded in the second half with something that really makes you yearn for more.

This was a solid read that took off right away and was very strong in the beginning. I was incredibly interested in the dystopian atmosphere. However, things started to slow as the read progressed and had some issues gelling with the characters. To be frank, the kids annoyed me. A lot. And May just didn't seem like a strong enough character, in fact, it felt like her flaws just accumulated as the story went on.

Now...if I struggled with those issues, why do I still consider it a solid read? Because the intrigue is peak. There are a lot of bits that parallel with current political climates and pieces that make sense given the world around us and concerns about AI, climate change, overpopulation, etc. There is a lot of introspection for May about her worth as a woman, a wife, a mother. Those pieces of the narrative spoke to me and I felt like it just made sense.

Remember how I mentioned May not being a strong enough character who had a lot of flaws? Turns out that's a double-edged sword. Because while it made me not root for her as much as a character, it also made her more human...and more relatable as a mother. As much as I wanted to dislike her, her flaws and failures simply made me be a little more introspective about my own life and role as a mother. The focus on electronics and connectivity also hit home as screen time is both a comfort and a conflict for most parents.

All in all, not my favorite dystopian read and not what I expected, but an incredibly strong think piece that I could identify with.