blissofalife's reviews
111 reviews

This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: How the Pill Changes Everything by Sarah Hill

funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Hill does a fantastic job of simplifying scientific jargon to help the reader understand what is being said, and why it matters. The bibliography was HUGE, with every point well-cited. I read and re-read it several times as I wrote my paper, and would recommend it to anyone who has ever thought about birth control.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Sexism, Blood, and Medical trauma

I over-add content warnings just to be safe, but with this book it talks ABOUT them in a very medical content instead of SHOWING them. Everything is bluntly but careful handled.

Scoundrel of My Heart by Lorraine Heath

lighthearted medium-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

3.0

An enjoyable listen, definitely sappy but that’s on par for the genre. This author definitely overuses the word “slammed” but I’ll be listening to more so long as there’s more to listen to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Alcohol and Classism

Minor: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Classism is the genre-typical stuff the upper crust was so concerned about. Sex scenes lack any real anatomical description, with a focus on emotions

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An interesting read! I enjoyed reading it, though each time I put it down I struggled to want to pick it back up. The ending was satisfying, and the non-linear timeline was well done!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Grief, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

emotional funny sad medium-paced

4.0

Holy smokes. Just. Whoa. Every time I thought I knew where it was going, I was super wrong. I wish her all the best, and I am grateful to her for sharing her story. She was a wonderful author & narrator, with distinct voices and emotions. It feels wrong to say it was an enjoyable listen? But it was.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Stalking

The Hollow Kingdom by Clare B. Dunkle

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A fun, fairytale-esque YA read. If you’re a fan of hidden worlds within ours, magic, and an unlikely romance this is for you!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

The Viscount and the Vixen by Lorraine Heath

medium-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

3.5

A fun read! I think I enjoyed the other books in the series more, but I enjoyed getting to know the absent third Hellion. I appreciate that each book was distinctly different. Predictable, but fun, I was not disappointed. Although, towards the end, I would have appreciated literally any other descriptor that wasn’t “slammed “. So many eyes slamming into each other. It’s a wonder they weren’t all blind by the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Infidelity

The sexual content is super flowery, but there’s a lot of it. More of the eye-rolling than blushing sort.

Falling Into Bed with a Duke by Lorraine Heath

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

A fun listen, I've enjoyed reading the series out of order (2, 1, 3) and feeling like I could understand some characters better for it. I liked Minerva, but her insecurity was a little grating by the end. Also not generally a fan of the "she doesn't know she's beautiful until a man can show her she actually is" plot, but it's to be expected from the genre I suppose. The writing style does get kind of redundant what with the "but he/she would never accept them because of their HORRIBLE SECRET" every other line and then the secret is like...my nose is too big behind this mask. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcohol

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.25

A quick, enjoyable listen over a few days of commuting to and from work. I enjoyed trying to connect the story to my (hazy) memory of reading Wuthering Heights, definitely a last minute reveal. I quite liked the ending. For the most part, there was very little plot. They existed. Tabby isn't the most compelling narrator but her naivety never wavers making for a supremely unreliable narrator which I did like. Ultimately a forgettable read, but not a bad way to spend an afternoon. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, and Murder

Spare by Prince Harry

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

It felt simultaneously full of emotion and emotionless, burnout personified. Straightforward, no beating around the bush. It feels wrong to say I enjoyed listening to it, to hearing Prince Harry lay his life out for all to see, but it was well done. I would recommend the audiobook for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy

Princess Furball by Charlotte S. Huck, Anita Lobel

lighthearted fast-paced

5.0

My favorite children’s book of all time, the illustrations are gorgeous and the story is sweet.