Category Archives: Realistic Fiction

February 16, 2023 · 8:11 pm

Aries by Gemma James

Aries by Gemma James

Aries cannot truly be called a novella. It’s a serial, the first installment of what should’ve just been a longer book. It’s interesting and reasonably well written and the premise is good, too. The problem is the direction the story went with the queen falling in love with her captor, the man abusing her and keeping her as a sex slave. That’s not a love story, that’s Stockholm Syndrome. Not cool at all. I don’t recommend this book.

2 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 24
Pages Read in 2023: 7455

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February 9, 2023 · 2:34 pm

Skink: No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Skink: No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen

Skink: No Surrender is hilarious. So many crazy, over the top things happen and Skink is crazy and over the top himself. It is a pretty quick read and just totally enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who is in the mood to read a really fun book.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 19
Pages Read in 2023: 6275

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Filed under Realistic Fiction, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Bedtime Story for the Boys, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Literati

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December 22, 2022 · 7:52 pm

Lost and Found by Amy Shojai

Lost and Found by Amy Shojai

The attitude toward those with autism in this book is a bit alarming, clearly a “they are damaged and so we must fix them” sort of thing. Also, the medical people refer to the medication they are giving as a cure. A medication that must be given daily at precise intervals for life in order to prevent violent side effects and keep the person taking it free of signs of autism is not a cure. The premise is kind of over the top unbelievable. Refusing to involve the police makes no sense. That they just wanted a flash drive and were willing to kill and kidnap multiple people in order to get it also makes no sense. It’s a quick and easy read and, while totally unbelievable, the writing itself is excellent. It’s not a must read, but it’s not one that should definitely be skipped either.

3 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 111
Pages Read in 2022: 38,989
Graphic Novels: 3

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November 1, 2022 · 8:49 am

Remember Me by Christopher Pike

Remember Me by Christopher Pike

What if you died from a fall and everyone assumed you had died by suicide? What if you really didn’t think you jumped? What if you thought one of your friends might have murdered you? What if you were a ghost and had to wait for the investigator to figure it out? What if someone else might die if he takes too long? All this plus questions of the afterlife and moving on and the dead communicating with people who are still alive are covered in Remember Me. It reads very quickly and pulls you completely into the story, which is told from the point of view of the dead girl. It is dark and sometimes creepy (but not very dark or creepy… I have a low tolerance for both). I recommend it to teens and up.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 98
Pages Read in 2022: 34,670
Graphic Novels: 3

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September 11, 2022 · 5:53 pm

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

The Cousins by Karen M. McManus

As is typical with books by Karen McManus, The Cousins was filled with twists and turns and so many things I did not expect. My daughter read the book just before I did and she happened to be sitting next to me when I got to one of the big shockers and my mouth dropped open and my eyes got huge and she knew exactly what I had just read. All three points of view it alternates between have their own voice and are easily identifiable as Milly, Aubrey, or Jonah. Every question (except maybe one) was somehow answered satisfactorily by the end. This is a truly excellent book. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult mysteries, especially if you like to be surprised.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 81
Pages Read in 2022: 29,204
Graphic Novels: 1

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Filed under Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Reason: Buddy Read, Reason: I Like the Author, Reason: Recommended by a Friend, Young Adult

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September 11, 2022 · 5:40 pm

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

I preordered The Final Gambit ten months before it was published. It was worth every month of that wait! The book is full of surprise twists and puzzles to solve. The light romance is nice, too. By the end of this book all the questions have been answered and the ends are tied up, for now at least. I was very sad that my time with Avery and the Hawthorne brothers had come to an end, but it was a very satisfying end so that made it okay. I very highly recommend this book to everyone, but you have to read the first two Inheritance Games books first.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 80
Pages Read in 2022: 28,874
Graphic Novels: 1

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February 21, 2022 · 8:09 am

The Chocolate Cure by Roxanne Snopek

The Chocolate Cure by Roxanne Snopek

The Chocolate Cure is perfectly predictable. It’s a sweet story that ended up exactly how I wanted it to. The main character starts out a bit insufferable, but she evolves over the course of the book and ends up super nice. It’s a very enjoyable mind vacation. I recommend it to adults who enjoy fun, predictable brain candy.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 21
Pages Read in 2022: 7550
Graphic Novels: 1

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February 16, 2022 · 9:18 pm

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

One minute you are reading about something that happened decades ago on a Caribbean island, the next you are reading about a woman who grew up in England now living in Italy, and the next you are reading about siblings coming to terms with their mother’s death and details of her life they never knew. Amazingly, it was never confusing, was truly effective, and, really, was just the way I tell a story. The characters were very well developed and realistic. From about halfway through I barely put it down because I wanted to know the rest of the story. It’s a bit heavy, but not overly so. I enjoyed it so much and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good book about family dynamics and secrets.

5 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 17
Pages Read in 2022: 6475

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January 29, 2022 · 9:21 pm

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini

Be More Chill takes everything wrong with a small segment of high school boys and glorifies all of it. The end isn’t so bad and is basically its one redeeming quality (saving it from being a one star book). The premise is ridiculous. The behavior of everyone with a squip is ridiculous. It’s just overall extremely ridiculous. This is a book to skip.

2 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 11
Pages Read in 2022: 3800

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January 24, 2022 · 8:28 am

Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia by Michal Viewegh

Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia by Michal Viewegh

This book is just plain terrible. It’s fiction written as a memoir. There’s a lot of stream of consciousness drivel with random quotes thrown in that usually have no discernable purpose but to pad out the rather short book to make it longer. The book is mostly about an older, married teacher having an affair with a 20-year-old. He never feels remorse, never finds it inappropriate. He’s only upset when she ends it. This is definitely one to skip.

1 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 7
Pages Read in 2022: 2336

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