sarahthegaymer's Reviews (305)

No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality by Michael J Fox
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

Though my Nonfiction November challenge was a bust where physical reads were, I was on a roll with audiobooks - and this was one of them! 🎧 

Truthfully, I normally wouldn’t have selected an option like this, but as we are recently watching The Good Wife (yes, I’m aware its old) and it features a lot of Michael J. Fox, I decided to give this a go! 🚦 

I wasn’t sure what I was really expecting to get out of this but I wasn’t disappointed. I enjoyed listening to him talk about his life experiences with Parkinson’s and how he still manages to live life day to day, enjoying the things he wants. He takes the time to slow down and live in the moment. He also loves realistically knowing, one day we’re all going to move on. 💜 

I think it’s a good reminder that everyone needs to do that, medical issues or not, because you’re never sure what tomorrow holds and you don’t want to wake up and regret not doing something because you were ‘too busy’. I’m trying to embrace this more so than ever and it’s going to be part of my 2022 mantra, for sure. After the past two years, I think we all deserve the ability to slow down. 🐢 

So, all in all; if you’re into listening to a celebrity talk about their life in a way that humanizes them a bit more, than this one is a good choice! 👌🏼 

#celebrity #celebritieswhowritebooks #bookreview #fourstarreview #optimist #mortality #parkisonsdisease #liveinthemoment #slowdown #itsnotaracetodeath #michaeljfox #onceuponapittsburghwizard #readwithsarebear

Know My Name by Chanel Miller 
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

I don’t give generally give five stars too easily - but this book no doubt deserves that. ⭐️ This was also part of my #nonfictionnovember reading and I listened to it via an audiobook. 🎧 

TW: Rape/Sexual Assault

While it’s always been a serious problem, with the added amenities like social media, sexual assault victims and their rapists are easily being blasted on the internet - and sometimes it gets down right ugly. 

This story is written by Chanel Miller, who was raped and violated at a college party by the infamous Brock Turner. It retells the entire story, from the party - to the in between - to the trial and beyond. 

I’ll be the first to admit, this was a tough read. There were times I had to stop the audio and take a small break - listening to something lighter in between. I felt things I didn’t quite understand or know I was capable of. I was angry, sad, disgusted, and yet, the end left me feeling as if there is hope. 💜 I’m not afraid to admit that at parts I was so overwhelmed with emotion that all I could do was cry. Hearing her retell the story in her own voice, in her words, was moving in ways I still can’t comprehend. 

I applaud Chanel for deciding to not keep quiet - for writing her story so the world can have better understanding of what happened. I envy her courage and strength. Even in the darkest of times, she continued to get up and fight. 

I hope that this story can be eye-opening to those who feel lost and discouraged. I hope that this story can offer others the courage they may need to face their demons. I hope that someday we may never NEED to read a story like this. I hope that with this story it brings you compassion. 

Though not for the light-hearted, I feel everyone should take the time to listen/read this profound memoir.

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

This was a quick holiday read that I read to get me into the Christmas spirit! I didn’t know much about it but after reading the back and seeing it was about twins, one of them was a chef, and it had small town vibes - I was convinced!  👯‍♀️ 👩🏻‍🍳 🏔 

When a crisis on set creates an issue for one sister and a high school romance goes off the rails for the other; the two agree to switch places in order to help the other out - but they each take on a bit more than they’re prepared for! 

Can they fix the mistakes and save Christmas?! 🎄 Read this fluffy, light-hearted holiday novel to find out!

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

This is a book I’ve had on my shelf for over a year and one that Sam had already read but I hadn’t gotten around to. I was super excited to find it available as an Audiobook so I could listen while I worked! 🎧 

Needless to say, I have mixed feelings about this book and overall just felt it was…meh. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

The storyline was simple enough and was sort of cute, but mostly lacked feelings that captivated me. It was sort of bizarre in a way, too. Ultimately it boils down to the main character losing a best friend, falling out & then back into love? Yeah..that’s it, mostly. 

TW: Cancer and Death

Once again, I’m finding that romance genre just really isn’t for me but yet I keep reading them hoping that one day I’ll find that book that will change my mind! 😜

#bookreviews #audiobooks #threestars #romance #bestfriends #lostlove #newlove #tragedy #sortahappyending #heavyfeelings #loss #bonds #infiveyears #fiveyearplan #lifegoals #lifeplans #lawyers #Onceuponapittsburghwizard #readwithsarebear

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

(As most of the books I read) this was sitting on my shelf and I hadn’t committed to reading it. In order to finish up the year, I came downstairs to my overflowing bookshelf, closed my eyes, waved my finger around like a nutcase and where it landed is what I read!! Enter: ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’! 🔪 

So, as this was a Young Adult story, I didn’t have high expectations for the story (the last few I have read have been ..meh) so I started it out with the idea that I was going to like it, but not love it. It started off a bit slow for me; but boy, was I wrong in my expectations! This thriller was written better than some adult novels I’ve read and once I got into the thick of it, I couldn’t put it down! 🏃🏻‍♀️ (I was even MORE surprised to find that there were two additional books in the series!) 

This story is about Pip, an ordinary teen who happens to be an overachiever and very ambitious. She starts her last year of high school with a goal to solve the murder of Andie Bell and prove Sal Singh’s innocent - all for her senior project! Will this path Pip has chosen lead her down a path of distraction? Can she do it? And who will help her❓

It’s full of twists and turns and the plot thickens at every one of them! I did not see a lot of things comings and was SUPER surprised by the ending! 🌪 

If you’re into Thrillers, but like a nice easy read every now and again and don’t mind YA Genre - this is for you!!!

Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cumming
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

This was another audiobook that I had hoped to read during #nonfictionnovember but had to place a hold on and didn’t receive it until December! It took me almost the entire month to read it due to the fact that the holiday’s made life a little crazy, but I’m glad I followed through until the end. 🎧 

While I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this, I didn’t know who Alan Cumming was until recently when we binge-watched ‘The Good Wife’. I fell in love with his character on the show and while researching about him and learning that he was gay, I decided I need to know more about him and immediately checked to see what books I could find! 🌈 

This was an emotional re-telling of his life as a child and the trials and tribulations he experienced as an adult due to choices his family had made. I can’t say too much more as I don’t want to spoil the whole point to the memoir. Once again, as so many other memoirs I’ve read, I love getting to see someone famous in a new light - their flaws and all. 💜 

If your’e someone who enjoys memoirs, I highly recommend this one to you! 

#audiobook #allbooksaregood #memoir #nonfictionnovember #bookreviews #fourstarreviews #alancumming #notmyfathersson #booksaboutfamouspeople #lgbtqia #bookstagram #betterlatethannever #tryingtocatchupon2021bookreviews #onceuponapittsburghwizard #readwithsarebear

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich 
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

If you’ve been around for awhile, you will not be surprised to see that I rated the most recent novel in the Stephanie Plum series with five stars! ✨ 

I got this for Christmas - after making threats to burn down the tree if this wasn’t under it - and dug right into it. And finished it the following day! 😉 

As always, you’re following along as Bounty Hunter Stephanie tries to apprehend the latest fugitive along with fan favorites such as Morelli, Ranger, Lula, and Grandma Mazur - and even a guest appearance from Diesel! 😍 

There’s a lot of laughs and clusters that are Stephanie’s life and I just can’t get enough! 💜 I was sad to finish it and I’m waiting (im)patiently for the next one - and hope there is one! 🤞🏼 

If you’ve not read this series yet, and you’re a fan of comedy and tragedy 🎭- I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend these books for you!

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

This is the second book in the “A Good Girls Guide To Murder” series! Another YA Thriller, this one kept me on my feet as much as the first in the series and I loved that! 

Pip is a bit infamous in Fairview, a small Connecticut town after the events that take place in the first book. She decides - or so she thought - to put her mystery solving days behind her and focus on preparing for college and creating her podcast which is following the trials from the first book. 

When one of her lifelong friends show up in a panic over his missing brother and asks Pip to help..how can she say no? Follow her as she dives back into the world of solving Fairview’s mysteries and stay on the edge of your seat as she uncovers truths that people were hoping to bury. 

For me, this book was not as exciting as the first - but that seems to be a trend with series for me. However, I enjoy this writing style of being front and center in Pip’s thoughts as she walks through the possibilities. I definitely wasn’t able to guess at “whodunnit” but that makes for an even better story for me! 

If you love thrillers, true crime podcasts, and have read the first in this series, you’ll love this one for sure! 💜

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 

This is the final books in the A Good Girls Guide To Murder Series. ✌🏻➕☝🏻…yinz guys, I was shook. 

Just as Pip finally thinks the chaos in her life is starting to settle and she can go to college and enjoy life…things get twisted upside down once again. When Pip decides to take on one more case, she has no idea she’s about to take on the most important case of her life. Saving herself. 🤯

Everything that you thought you knew up to this point is about to get crazier and everything comes full circle, in a weird sort of way. Something WILD happens and things look pretty grim for Pip for a hot second..or few hours…but she comes out on top. Or..does she? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

I will say, the first two-thirds of this books were rough for me. The idea of Pip having a stalker creeped me out a bit and I had a hard time reading it at first. Then, once I adjusted to the idea, things seemed a little slow moving and it felt there was a lot of detail that maybe wasn’t necessary and could have been shortened? But then..the last third of the book…I was GLUED to this story, reading faster than I could comprehend, trying to find out what was happening next! 🧐

If you’re a fan of thrillers, twists and turns, and being SHOOK, this is a book for you! 👌🏼