purplepenning's Reviews (1.72k)

A Gentleman Never Keeps Score

Cat Sebastian

4.0

emotional hopeful

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Content Warnings

It Takes Two to Tumble

Cat Sebastian

4.0

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Content Warnings

The Bookshop and the Barbarian

Morgan Stang

DID NOT FINISH: 0%

Just not keeping my attention right now. May come back to it later.

A Dictionary of Scoundrels

Beth Lincoln

5.0

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

An enormously entertaining middle grade mystery that's brimming with adventure, wordplay, and shenanigans — both the general mischief sort and the delightfully specific sort of mischief that is Shenanigan Swift! Picture Ramona Quimby as a Lemony Snicket character. Now picture her searching for a legendary family treasure on a sprawling country estate only to be rudely interrupted by the need to solve an attempted murder during a family reunion. With help and hindrance from her sisters, Phenomena and Felicity, new best cousin, Erf, and an unabridged version of her extended family, Shenanigan is determined to sort things out. Lies! Insults! Murder! Hilarity! This book had me in suspense and in stitches throughout, pausing only to fully appreciate the clever and exuberant writing.

Content Warnings

Full Exposure

Thien-Kim Lam

DID NOT FINISH

Although the writing here is better than the writing in the first book, it's still not really to my tastes.

Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide

Rupert Holmes

4.25

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Wryly humorous, darkly satisfying, and only a bit too clever for it's own good, MURDER YOUR EMPLOYER is an ambitious and entertaining murder mystery turned inside out. Readers of this case study guide to homicide follow three would-be student assassins in the 1950s as they study, train, and enact their final murderous theses to successfully matriculate from McMasters Conservatory of the Applied [Homicidal] Arts. McMasters is a [poison] Ivy League-calibre "finishing school for finishing people off." The course work is high stakes but each student has such a deserving thesis subject that we can't help but root for high marks.

Content Warnings

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 1 Volume 1

Miya Kazuki

DID NOT FINISH

Struggling with the writing style and main character

A Boy Called Bat

Elana K. Arnold

4.5

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

A lovely character story about a neurodiverse third grader who loves animals, learns to be a great caretaker of an orphaned baby skunk, and grows his social skills around caring family and friends.

Content Warnings

Harriet Spies

Elana K. Arnold

4.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Just Harriet

Elana K. Arnold

4.0

emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

A spunky and relatable grade schooler who is learning to be a little more self-aware and honest while solving small mysteries and (eventually) making the best of an impromptu summer at her grandma's B&B.

Content Warnings

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