blewballoon's reviews
598 reviews

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

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adventurous emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I went into this not really being in the mood for another contemporary romance and also having heard nothing good about this book. I picked it up used a couple years ago because I knew Emily Henry was a popular author, but then everyone I talked to who has read her books said this was their least favorite. I put the audiobook on reluctantly in the car, assuming I'd probably DNF at some point, and then I found myself laughing within the first 10 minutes. I get why Emily Henry is so popular, it's deserved. There is so much texture to all of the characters and to the world that make them feel more like real people in a real place. The writing is clear and immersive. I thought the format of having the current events interspersed with the snippets from the vacations Poppy and Alex had taken over the years was done really well. Friends to Lovers is probably my favorite romance trope, and this book nailed it. The audiobook narrator was great. Can't wait to read more Emily Henry now if this is apparently the least good book?
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The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray

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funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I didn't like this entry in the series quite as much as I liked the previous one, but I think that's because this one centered around characters I found less interesting. I did still enjoy my read very much, and I laughed at a few bits. I did manage to solve each of the mysteries just ahead of the main characters, so I think the "clues" were well distributed in the text. I'm looking forward to more from this series, but curious how the author will be able to pull off getting the two leads together again, progressing the romance, and having another mystery for them to solve.
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A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

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mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I would say that I recommend this to fans of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and fans of WWII and WWI epistolary novels. The tone is very similar to books like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Last Christmas in Paris, and the setting is a sort of steampunk water world where there seems to be a big social emphasis on scholarly pursuits such as natural science and innovation. I found the setting and tone very charming, and I was compelled along by the mystery as well. The audiobook did a good job of providing multiple narrators to keep it clear who was speaking. I enjoyed the "present day" perspectives of two people who were trying to determine what had happened to their respective siblings who had perished/disappeared sometime in the previous year, and it was interesting to follow their reactions to the letters exchanged between the missing couple as they fell in love before whatever happened to them. I related more than I expected to E's mental health struggles. Towards the end I sort of lost track of what was going on and I honestly couldn't tell you what happened. The book also ends
with the big mystery unresolved. Coupled with my general confusion, the lack of a clear ending made for an ultimately unsatisfying read. It does appear this may be the first book in a series, but I didn't know that while reading.
If I were going based on the ending I might give it a 3, but I'll stick with 4 because I think I'm partially to blame for not paying enough attention while multitasking with the audiobook on and I did really enjoy the earlier parts of the story.
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Ready or Not by Cara Bastone

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I had a good feeling about this book, and I'm so glad I picked it up when it was a Book of the Month pick. I probably wouldn't have ever gotten to it otherwise, since I don't normally go for pregnancy related stories and find them hard to relate to. Something about the the way the premise was presented made me feel like there would be something special about this book that would reach me anyway, and I was right. I think the author did a masterful job with the characters. They are conflicted, complicated, but ultimately trying so hard to be good people and support each other. It is refreshing to see such a positive and thoughtful take on these various relationships that are often used like trope props to facilitate drama in similar stories. The friends-to-lovers romance is a beautiful slow burn with a touch of mutual pining. It's as delicious as the descriptions of the homemade bread Shep makes. The audiobook narrator went so hard, this was more like a voice acting performance than a book reading, in the best way! If you have any interest in anything mentioned in the summary of this book, I highly recommend giving it a try. This is a very high quality contemporary romance, and I'm eager to read more from this author, and I'm gonna see what else this audiobook narrator has done that I can listen to as well.
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Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

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adventurous dark funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Rating based on how much this book made me audibly laugh. I had hoped this would be fun and maybe similar to T. Kingfisher's twisty takes on fantasy, and I think it delivered on both fronts. Predictable elements and tropes are played with and commented on without losing the sense of being an actual story with characters living in it. The stakes are high, the characters are nuanced and charming, and the humor worked well for me. I enjoyed the audiobook, but if you don't like male narrators doing female voices then you're in for a bit of a rough one.
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A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

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emotional lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This is a fun concept for someone who reads a lot of contemporary romances. I never got quite as sucked into the story as I hoped I would, and I'm not sure why. I thought the characters were fun, loved seeing a cameo of the characters from The Dead Romantics. I think I found myself more invested in the friendships the main character had than the romance, and I almost wish the book had ended
without the love interest coming back. This being a book about romance books though, I can see why it kind of had to end that way.
 
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Murder at Marble House by Alyssa Maxwell

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I had just as much fun with the second book in this series as I did with the first. I really enjoyed a particular action sequence in this one that took place in an area of Aquidneck Island I'm very familiar with. Regarding the romance element: I am probably in the minority in rooting for the guy-next-door love interest over the uptown guy that the series is focusing on, but he's quite nice as well and I don't actually mind if that's the direction things go in. Again I commend the audiobook narrator, I wonder if I'd enjoy these as much if I were text reading them myself. Unfortunately the 3rd and 4th books in the series are audible exclusives, so I'm not sure how I want to deal with that. I have avoided audible on principle, and I highly recommend libro.fm as an alternative service or libby if you have a library card.
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Murder at the Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I have been to the Newport Mansions multiple times and I'm very familiar with the Newport area, that's the main reason I picked this up. I was expecting a somewhat badly written mediocre historical mystery, and boy was I wrong! I was sucked into the story immediately and I enjoyed just about every moment. The audiobook narrator was excellent, she brought a lot of personality to Emma. The descriptions of the Newport area and properties were well done, and I enjoyed the tension of Emma's investigation. If I had to pick the biggest negative: I could have done with a little less commentary on Nanny's "hefty frame," but I think it was all affectionately meant. I am looking forward to more from this series, I hope some of the side characters will have their roles a bit expanded in future installments. 
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That Summer Feeling by Bridget Morrissey

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emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

There are a lot of concepts I liked here: Adult summer camp, discovering your sexuality later in life, roommate romance, found family vibes. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy those elements as much as I wanted to. The humor and banter didn't work for me, and that's the bulk of the character interactions. The "jokes" didn't feel natural and the musings were too saccharine even for me, a known sap. I think the audiobook narrator contributed a level of awkwardness to the dialogue and internal monologue as well (though arguably that was in character). I found myself feeling more annoyed than invested in Garland and removed from the rest of the characters. I understand a summer camp romance needs to move a little fast, but the way Garland and her love interest were talking made me think "wait a minute, didn't you two meet today? Like a couple hours ago?" 
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The Lady He Lost by Faye Delacour

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had my ups and downs with this book. I liked the beginning, but then I started to feel like Jane was being unreasonable. Eventually she seemed to come around and I enjoyed myself more, but she never fully recovered in my esteem. There were a lot of things about this book I did really like. I thought Eli was a great male lead. I appreciated that we got his chapter perspectives and that he was
a virgin!
I liked that the miscommunication issues were not just characters communicating poorly but were integrated into the historical setting and took advantage of how rarely a single man and woman could be alone together. I liked the portrayal of a consistent and healthy female friendship. I listened on audio and I didn't love the narrator but I also didn't think they detracted from the reading experience.
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