shereadytoread's Reviews (806)

I thought this was an excellent read. Well researched and stretching into music engineering, history, international trends and more. The book does focus on the history of pop music, but that is told through of the story of how it was influenced by all genres, long before the Billboard was established. I definitely think this is worth reading if you are interested in music, celebrities, or history. 

It is obviously set by 20 specific songs, but each chapter connects those songs to other parts of musical history, societal context, and other artists. You get to jump around to a lot of different time periods, bands, producers and events as each song is connected to other things in multiple ways. 

Disclaimer: I received a gifted ARC and finished copy of this book from the publisher. 

This was a sweet second chance but it seemed like the romance/relationship came out of no where? Like they just seemed to be friends and then a few pages later they were in love. I flipped back thinking I missed something. The same thing seemed to happen with the conflict in the story. It was a certain way and then all of a sudden it switched. 

The backstory was great and I loved the cultural inclusions. 

I did not read Lowcountry Bride and I didn't feel like I was missing anything in this book so I think it can be read as a standalone. 

Disclaimer: I received a free finished copy of this book.

 3.5 rounded up. This story was a lot of fun at first. Perfect cross between One of Us is Lying, Pretty Little Liars, and the Breakfast Club. The thriller aspects are well executed as small "twisted secrets" are revealed as the group tries to figure out an escape. It does lead to some pretty big plot twists. My biggest gripe with this book (it could have easily been a 4 or 4.5 star read). Unfortunately, they reveal the true mastermind BEFORE we get mastermind's POV and then they still try to disguise the person for some reason even though we already know who it is. So it was very anti-climatic by that point. BUT until that point I absolutely loved it. 

I didn’t love it or hate it. A pretty interesting story but the writing was a bit choppy to me.

This is an excellent foundational work on queerness in American horror. It makes the information accessible and easy to understand while still being thoroughly researched and well done. I loved the Infographs at the beginning of the chapter which couch the movies discussed in the important societal events of the time.

I thought the choice of making the main character a loyalist to the oppressive government was such an interesting one. The main character is neither unlikable or likable, you root for her but you cannot help but to remember her support of atrocities. As she was still a minor when this happened, the lines are blurred. 

I think the book excels in never trying to make you forgive her. There are not attempts to justify her past actions and even when she makes righteous choices, she is not given true redemption. The book is a mystery, more than a journey of growth. Her past is reckoned with, but the understanding that she was a villain is not glossed over. 

This was my first Veronica Roth read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This book is a good introduction to a lot of black female authors. I think where I struggled was there was more memoir than fiction and because they were excerpts, it was hard for me to connect with those chapters because I didn't have the full context of the memoir. I think it does a great job at giving you a look at their writing styles and seeing if you are interested in them. If you want to widen your knowledge of authors, it's a good choice.

All I can say is "I NEED A SEQUEL". This book hooked me so quickly. I love that they balanced her struggle of how to best care for her community with the romance aspect and it didn't feel like there was too much of either. I thought that this book's pacing was really good and you were able to look at multiple aspects and issues within the community (even issues that didn't really concern the MC) without taking away from the focus of her journey. I love that the author made you care about the community members even if you don't agree with their choices and you get a sense of the struggles fo the community in just surviving. There are true stakes to the story and the danger of the dragons is detailed very well. I like that the entrance of the dragons into the world is simple enough that there is not a ton of room for plot holes and information that is needed to figure out the science behind it. In general, I think this is an excellent book and I'm excited to see what is next.