mlinder18's Reviews (632)

Before I go into this review, just a heads up that I read an ARC of this novel, and it doesn't release until November 2022. Therefore, the book I am reviewing could be incomplete.

"...History isn't what's written or told. History is hidden away in dark corners and shadows."

I both loved and hated this book. On one hand this was a slow telling of the woman who inspired the writing on The Scarlett Letter, on the other hand it's a beautifully written literary novel that tackles themes on race, womanhood, and independence. 

I truly thought the author could have cut this book in half and it would have been just as impactful. The first 100 pages are slow and full of very unnecessary details. The writing gets better around page 150 or so and the story really speeds up. The second half of the book feels almost like a completely different story. I think the version I read could benefit from another edit. 

This book held a lot of potential for a 5 star read. Unfortunately the slow beginning and overly detailed background impacted my rating. 

This book was messed up, disturbing and also heart-warming in a way. Grady Hendrix is a master as these horror books that are both funny and touching as well as down right disgusting. 

The last chapter of this book really made this whole book worth it and wrapped up a beautiful story about friendship. 

It's so hard to review poetry books because it's all about if you personally resonate with the topics of the poems. Some of these poems really hit home and some just straight missed. However, modern poetry tends to be very one note and I enjoyed this collected more than most. 

Emily Henry is a genius. She knows how to write a character that is relatable to almost everyone. I savored each page of this masterpiece. 
I could write a whole essay on why you should read this book and why it's so good but the slew of 5 star reviews it's getting does that for me. I'll just say this, it's a beautiful book for all book lovers, hard working-women (or men or nonbinary folks), people with siblings, people who have experienced loss, people who love New York City, people in small towns, etc. 

Made it almost halfway through, the magic system made no sense and the fantasy was difficult to connect with. Will not be continuing. 

I went into this book knowing nothing. I thought I was getting a women's fiction/contemporary romance. Safe to say I was wrong. Let's just say the mid-point twist was a shock but made the book about 1000x more interesting. 

I loved all the conversation around being a plus sized woman and social media. My only complaint would be the description of all the clothing was dated and made everything sound utterly appalling. 

This was my very first cozy mystery book and I think the genre is not for me. I was so bored throughout this whole book, didn't find it mysterious at all and the reveal was not satisfying to me. I won't be continuing this series. I may try another cozy mystery just to test out the genre though. 

I did not make it very far but I hated the writing. Read a few chapters and nothing happened. Plus a lot of unnecessarily details. 

A group of college friends get together for a girl's weekend and shit hits the fan when one of them turns up missing. 

I think the plot was great and had potential but turned out a little simple and unoriginal. Nothing about this book was bad and I flew right through it. Just not my favorite mystery/thriller ever.