blewballoon's reviews
598 reviews

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Oh man. I just bought this book from my local bookstore, and it's a new release I've been hyped for since I saw it on NetGalley a while back. I was rooting for this one, but I just can't do it. The main character/narrator is impossible to deal with. I don't like any of the other characters either. I can't do 400 pages with these people and this writing. The humor is taking up so much time and is completely failing for me, it's a strange mix of juvenile slapstick and sex jokes? I feel like this would work better as a raunchy comic strip than an actual novel, but it still wouldn't be to my taste.
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My Lady Jane by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

4.5

I went into this with low expectations. I have heard good things about the show adaptation that just came out, and I wanted to read the book first. My assumption was that I'd actually like the show more once I saw it, and the book would feel too cheesy, try-hard, and dated, but there would be changes to smooth it out in the adaptation. Now I've got the opposite feeling and I'm wondering if the show will be able to live up to how fun, earnest, and chaotic this book was. I had such a great time! The audiobook narrator sells the hell out of it, she's giving it 150% for every sentence, and it absolutely worked for me. The romance surprised me as well with how sweet and tender it was. I'm sad the book is over, honestly, I really enjoyed the ride.
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Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing slow-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

4.0

This was like reading a pretty decent hallmark movie. It's a wholesome story about a small cozy town, a cafe with home-cooked pie, family drama, and a sprinkle of magic. I picked this up because I wanted a romance, but the emphasis is on the family dramas and personal journeys. The romances are there, but they're off to the side and barely on the page. The magical aspects are not the focus either, they're mostly to facilitate the plot. This is a good summer read, it takes place right around the 4th of July, which is when I happened to be reading it. 
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Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
I vaguely remember liking the movie Timer (2009) and I thought this premise sounded kind of similar. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything here for me to like. The main character is shallow and apathetic. Most of the characters around her seem just as vapid. The narrative structure of showing her past relationships interspersed with her present day prospects does nothing to add depth to the main character's choices or personality. It seems like every time she meets a moderately attractive guy they immediately want to be with her, but then their mediocre time must come to an end for reasons that are usually ambiguous. The present day romance feels indistinguishable from the past ones. The writing style is more like reading a television script than reading a novel. "Person A is wearing a blue dress with high heels and a red bag. They pick up a plate from a table, eat some eggs off of the plate, and then put down the plate on the table. Person B talks about their LA job. Person A talks about their LA job as well." That's pretty much how every scene goes. This book feels like a waste of time, so I'm gonna cut my losses early.
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Death in the Spires by KJ Charles

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dark mysterious reflective 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

4.25

 I knew I was in good hands with KJ Charles. It took me a while to warm up to the cast of characters, but I was pretty invested in the mystery by about 30% of the way in, and by the end the characters had grown on me to the point I was reluctant to part with them. I guessed some revelations and was surprised by others, which makes for a good mystery reading experience in my opinion. I would be happy to see more in this genre by KJ Charles for sure. The audiobook narrator was pretty good, some of the voices were more distinct than others. I listened on 1.4 speed. 
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Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

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adventurous dark funny hopeful reflective 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

This book has so much going on. The closest thing I can think of to the tone is maybe the movie Everything Everywhere All At Once? The plots are not related, but there is a similar layer of chaos and humor along with grounded conversations about life and meaning. The text jumps around perspectives very frequently, which can be disorienting, but also usually pays off. The closer you pay attention the more humor you will find. As someone who reads for fun and teeters on the ledge of depression so often, I was worried this book would be too dark and cynical for me. I was pleasantly surprised at how positive it was. The hardest passages for me to read were about Katrina's experience both as a trans girl and as a
sex worker
, but those passages are not lingering or gratuitous. The audiobook narrator seemed like she was whispering the whole time, which I didn't love, but I thought her comedic timing was pretty good.
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Hen Fever by Olivia Waite

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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

I love Olivia Waite's writing! I enjoyed the small town tension with the chicken competition and how all that played out. For a short novella, there were a lot of characters to add texture to the story, but I did struggle a little to remember who they all were. Due to the short length, the romance moves pretty fast, but I think that also made sense based on the traits of the main characters and where they were in their lives. 
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Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn

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emotional lighthearted reflective slow-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

4.0

This was pretty good. I am not sure it quite met my expectations, but I think I wanted something different than what this book set out to do. This is predominantly a love story despite the other plot beats kicking around, and it's a small scale, low stakes one. That's not necessarily a bad thing, I prefer that over unnecessary injected drama just for the sake of drawing a story out. I also appreciate romances where we get chapters from both characters perspectives, so that was a point in favor here. I enjoyed Levi's chapters the most, but felt like there was a slight dissonance between how Georgie came across in his chapters than how she came across in her own; it was almost like she was two different characters. Overall I'd recommend to contemporary romance readers who want a more chill book to relax with. It worked well on audiobook.
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The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.
Really not loving this so far. It's a bit too crass and unpleasant; there were 3+ mentions of casual sexual assault in the first 5% of the book. It feels like everyone is just abusing each other, or making whatever the most selfish and impulsive choice is that they can make. All the side characters seem to be there to add more awful texture. I think you're meant to sympathize with the main character and her bad choices, but the writing is missing the mark because I don't feel anything for her apart from mild exasperation.

It reminds me of some other books I read narrated by Saskia Maarleveld (Hester, God of Endings, Little Thieves), but she didn't narrate this one and I wonder if she could have made it much better if she did. I can take some grit and darkness, but I need there to be a sense of hope and change to get me through the sloggy parts. I am not finding that here.

This is my first Leigh Bardugo book, and if this is a good indicator of her writing style, I don't think I like it. I had high hopes since I know her books are quite successful, and this premise interested me, but hopefully this is a fluke and I'll have better success with one of her other books in the future.
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Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

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adventurous emotional funny 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

4.25

I wasn't super into this book at first. I found Arthur annoying, and I think part of that was the narrator for his chapters in the audiobook. I was hoping he might go through some character development and I'd like him more, which happened so gradually I didn't even realize it was happening until I was practically crying for him. The book in general has a bit of a slow start and it took me a while to get invested in the characters and get a sense of where the plot was going. The end kind of rushed at me and I found it hard to put down in the last 70%. There is a pretty big tonal shift after that point as well, I didn't expect it to go as dark as it did. I kind of wish this had stayed a bit more lighthearted.
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