kimmer99's reviews
605 reviews

Drive by James S.A. Corey

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Another short story in the Expanse universe. Not necessary to your understanding for reading the main books but still good, and incredibly sad.

The Butcher of Anderson Station by James S.A. Corey

adventurous sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Just some background for Fred Johnson, a character in the Expanse series. Not necessary to read enjoy the other books, but it doesn't hurt either.

The Fifty-Year Mission: The First 25 Years: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek by Mark A. Altman, Edward Gross

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

1.75

You can read my full review here: https://www.whatireallythink.net/the-fifty-year-mission-the-first-25-years/

Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight by Janet Evanovich

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

You can read my full review here: https://www.whatireallythink.net/game-on/

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

You can read my full review here: https://www.whatireallythink.net/leviathan-wakes/

Auntie Poldi and the Lost Madonna by Mario Giordano

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

You can read my full review here: https://www.whatireallythink.net/auntie-poldi-and-the-lost-madonna/

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

You can read my full review here
https://www.whatireallythink.net/rules-of-civility/ 

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

I’m a huge fan of Hercule Poirot (well the BBC tv shows; I’m slowly working my way through the books) so I thought I’d give Miss Marple a try. It was a bit disconcerting to me, at first, that our narrator didn’t have that much interaction with Miss Marple. After all, isn’t this a Miss Marple mystery? Then I remembered that Hercule Poirot is often narrated by Captain Hastings so not too dissimilar. Though, through most of the story, Miss Marple is really a minor character, who steps in when necessary to correct the course of the other amateur and professional detectives. Still I enjoyed it and will continue with the next in the series in the hopes we get more insight into Miss Marple. 

If you’re a fan of the cozy - how can you go wrong with the original? Plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing to the end and you get to spend time in a small English village.

Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation by Liana Finck

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-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

3.75

The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill

mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this story, fast paced and interesting with an original take of pen pals and a story within a story. The mystery was good with enough red herrings to keep you guessing until the end. It had a bit of a Scooby Gang feel which I enjoyed and then further appreciated when one of the characters comment on that towards the end. Which makes me wonder, do they have Scooby Doo in Australia? The characters could be considered a bit cliché but that didn’t bother me as the pace of the story kept  moving so quickly, I focused more on the plot than the character development.

 

Spoiler Alert:

 

I have two qualms with the story which probably keeps it from 4.5 stars.

 

The first is the tie in to Whit’s mom. It feels incongruous to me. It means Whit’s mom defended Cain in court 15 years prior. But it also means that she lived in North Carolina then, not Boston, and kept her maiden name until at least the time Whit was post 11 years old or changed it when they moved to Boston. Either that or the man we were led to believe was his father wasn’t? None of that was covered. Whit never mentioned living in North Carolina, and it seems implausible that his mother would bring case files from her cases in North Carolina when she moved. Do lawyers case files transfer with the lawyer or stay with the firm (assuming not a lone practice).

 

My other qualm deals with the age of the characters. I believe Whit ends up around 25, Marigold 23, Freddie 27 and Caine 30. Yet Freddie constantly comments as if she’s much older and more mature than Whit or Marigold. Let’s face it there’s not much difference in those age ranges in terms of maturity. I think the story would have played better if Freddie was 37 or 38 and Cain in his early 40s. Then their interactions would have made more sense, and it would have put Cain’s interactions with Whit’s mom, to the point where Whit had not yet been born. Would have made much more sense to me.

 

Other than that, it’s so quick I definitely think it worth a read.