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marlovve's reviews
197 reviews
How to Leave the House by Nathan Newman
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for providing me with a free copy of this books in exchange for an honest review!
I unfortunately did not enjoy this book for the most part. The main character came off as quite pretentious, and the plot felt meandering and pointless to some extent. Whilst I felt the premise of this book was interesting and held some promise, the execution left the story feeling disjointed and inconsistent. The side characters, whilst somewhat interesting, still felt quite flat and the sheer number of them left little room for development across the novel.
The ending was incredibly confusing; there was no suggestion as to what the actual ending to the novel was, which could be a stylistic choice by the author, but it was just incredibly jarring to read and left me feeling unsatisfied with the conclusion. The tone and character left much to be desired, at least for me, but I can absolutely see others having a great time following Natwest. Overall, this book was just not for me.
I unfortunately did not enjoy this book for the most part. The main character came off as quite pretentious, and the plot felt meandering and pointless to some extent. Whilst I felt the premise of this book was interesting and held some promise, the execution left the story feeling disjointed and inconsistent. The side characters, whilst somewhat interesting, still felt quite flat and the sheer number of them left little room for development across the novel.
The ending was incredibly confusing; there was no suggestion as to what the actual ending to the novel was, which could be a stylistic choice by the author, but it was just incredibly jarring to read and left me feeling unsatisfied with the conclusion. The tone and character left much to be desired, at least for me, but I can absolutely see others having a great time following Natwest. Overall, this book was just not for me.
Death's Country by R.M. Romero
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-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
Many thanks to Netgalley and Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink for providing me with a free copy of this books in exchange for an honest review!
This book was just... Stunning. The prose was wonderful; it flowed so beautifully and painted a gorgeous picture of this book for the reader. The way the characters and environments were described, succinctly yet in such a lovely way made this an incredibly refreshing book to read overall. The worldbuilding was so intriguing, and the author did a wonderful job of introducing you to the world within the limitations of the style they chose.
The only thing I can nitpick about this book is that I want more; more time with the characters, more time in the underworld the author created and just more time spent in the novel itself, but I think that this would prove an almost-insurmountable task. It would likely take away from the stylistic choices made to make this novel whole, and overall would probably work to its detriment, so I can't really call it a criticism at all. As much as I would have loved to spend more time with these characters, I think it is more a compliment to the author that I became so connected to them in such a short time. Even the side characters were endearing and the antagonist was quite obvious to me, but I think that was also intentional; even Andres had his suspicions quite early on.
Overall, this was a wonderful read that will absolutely stay with me, and will certainly be reread and analysed again in the future.
This book was just... Stunning. The prose was wonderful; it flowed so beautifully and painted a gorgeous picture of this book for the reader. The way the characters and environments were described, succinctly yet in such a lovely way made this an incredibly refreshing book to read overall. The worldbuilding was so intriguing, and the author did a wonderful job of introducing you to the world within the limitations of the style they chose.
The only thing I can nitpick about this book is that I want more; more time with the characters, more time in the underworld the author created and just more time spent in the novel itself, but I think that this would prove an almost-insurmountable task. It would likely take away from the stylistic choices made to make this novel whole, and overall would probably work to its detriment, so I can't really call it a criticism at all. As much as I would have loved to spend more time with these characters, I think it is more a compliment to the author that I became so connected to them in such a short time. Even the side characters were endearing and the antagonist was quite obvious to me, but I think that was also intentional; even Andres had his suspicions quite early on.
Overall, this was a wonderful read that will absolutely stay with me, and will certainly be reread and analysed again in the future.
Up Your HOA Hole by B.J. Irons
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to Netgalley and Spectrum Books for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book fell a bit flat for me. It may be that it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but reading the premise made me expect I would have a good time with it. Unfortunately, the writing felt very weak to me and the characters were not at all likeable to me.
The writing told the reader too much without showing anything much at all. We were simply told how welcoming and wonderful the community was, how kind everyone was to them, but we barely saw this in the characters at all. Sure, Gwen was quite welcoming from the start, along with Lacey, but we absolutely did not meet enough characters to justify their view of the area. Whilst it was meant to be a bustling community, only having 2-3 named characters outside our protagonists who get any time on the page made it feel sparse, and almost all were quite unlikeable. The dialogue also felt quite stilted, and relationships felt somewhat forced at times, even between the main characters. There wasn't much chemistry between any of the characters on the page, which I suppose could have been somewhat intentional for certain relationships, but it felt very jarring to read.
If you're just here for the drama, I think you'd have a pretty good time though! The characters here were absolutely agents of chaos, messy as hell and filled with drama to the brim. The ending felt a little rushed for me, and using the exact same chapter from the beginning twice felt a little cheap. If it had been altered somewhat, it would have been a good nod without just copy-pasting it.
Overall, I think this just was not for me.
This book fell a bit flat for me. It may be that it wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but reading the premise made me expect I would have a good time with it. Unfortunately, the writing felt very weak to me and the characters were not at all likeable to me.
The writing told the reader too much without showing anything much at all. We were simply told how welcoming and wonderful the community was, how kind everyone was to them, but we barely saw this in the characters at all. Sure, Gwen was quite welcoming from the start, along with Lacey, but we absolutely did not meet enough characters to justify their view of the area. Whilst it was meant to be a bustling community, only having 2-3 named characters outside our protagonists who get any time on the page made it feel sparse, and almost all were quite unlikeable. The dialogue also felt quite stilted, and relationships felt somewhat forced at times, even between the main characters. There wasn't much chemistry between any of the characters on the page, which I suppose could have been somewhat intentional for certain relationships, but it felt very jarring to read.
If you're just here for the drama, I think you'd have a pretty good time though! The characters here were absolutely agents of chaos, messy as hell and filled with drama to the brim. The ending felt a little rushed for me, and using the exact same chapter from the beginning twice felt a little cheap. If it had been altered somewhat, it would have been a good nod without just copy-pasting it.
Overall, I think this just was not for me.
The Household by Stacey Halls
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Bonnier Books UK | Manilla Press for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book was definitely an interesting read. The writing style was incredibly immersive and the writing style was lovely to read. However, I found the characters themselves felt like they all needed to be fleshed out a little more, and the plot itself felt meandering and disjointed.
Angela herself felt a little wishy-washy; one one hand you could care she really did care for the girls, but at other moments, it felt like she treated the house as a hobby; somewhere to grace her presence with once in a while to feel better about herself. That is not to say that she seemed selfish or full of herself, just that she felt a little inconsistent.And the way she treated Mrs Holdsworth at the end, despite the fact she was made aware she had requested help was frustrating. She wasn't perfect, but she absolutely cared for those girls and was doing the best she could in the situation she was given. It was a doomed idea from the start, but man. . I also did not enjoy the romantic subplot given to Angela, and felt her story would have been stronger if it hadn't been included.
Regarding the girls, only Martha and Josephine felt remotely fleshed out to me. Polly seemed to fade into the background and all the others were passing thoughts at best, which I suppose to some extent was the point, to emphasis the revolving door of girls at the cottage. Also, whilst I did feel they were more fleshed out than other characters, they still fell a little flat for me. I think the sheer number of plots Stacey Halls tried to incorporated weakened the book significantly.
This book was definitely an interesting read. The writing style was incredibly immersive and the writing style was lovely to read. However, I found the characters themselves felt like they all needed to be fleshed out a little more, and the plot itself felt meandering and disjointed.
Angela herself felt a little wishy-washy; one one hand you could care she really did care for the girls, but at other moments, it felt like she treated the house as a hobby; somewhere to grace her presence with once in a while to feel better about herself. That is not to say that she seemed selfish or full of herself, just that she felt a little inconsistent.
Regarding the girls, only Martha and Josephine felt remotely fleshed out to me. Polly seemed to fade into the background and all the others were passing thoughts at best, which I suppose to some extent was the point, to emphasis the revolving door of girls at the cottage. Also, whilst I did feel they were more fleshed out than other characters, they still fell a little flat for me. I think the sheer number of plots Stacey Halls tried to incorporated weakened the book significantly.