jsant's reviews
935 reviews

None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Gripping thriller. Read this book in one sitting. Loved all the twists. I didn't see any of them coming. Should I have? Hmm

Beautiful Things by Emily Rath

adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Victorian England meets The Bachelor? This NSFW book is entertaining and racy. Looking forward to the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine

funny lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Cheesy, campy and a bit forced. But still entertaining enough to finish it. 

We Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? No

5.0

Powerful story from the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII. Profoundly capturing life there and telling the stories of the Jewish people who fought to survive there. 

Humble Pi by Matt Parker

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.25

Tedious and geeky (in a good way). As a software engineer myself it's interesting to hear about and learn from others mistakes so that I can hopefully avoid adjacent mistakes (and instead find new and more interesting ones). 

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Took a bit to get into it but once it, but once I got in a few chapters I got into it. 

I think this had a bit of the same premise as "Betwixt" by Darynda Jones, but I think I liked this one more. 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Really cute book. This was a recommendation from a friend and I really enjoyed it. 

Watchers by Dean Koontz

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Reading this book 30+ years after it was written and it's still awesome. It must have been fascinating to read in the late 80's. A solid suspense/thriller with a futuristic (now more current) theme of DNA experimentation. 

The audible version had an author's note spoken by Dean Koontz they I found interesting as well, and added to my appreciation of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Murder

The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie
Did not finish book. Stopped at 26%.

Series of short mysteries. Enjoyed the first one. Couldn't get into the next couple