Tag Archives: 4 Stars

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

I’ve read a lot of classic retellings and The Afterlife of Holly Chase is the most clever I’ve ever read. It was slow to get started. I wasn’t super into it for probably the first third. But then I started caring about Holly and so I was fully invested. While I had briefly considered that something like the ending could happen I didn’t think it was likely and I really didn’t expect how the whole ending went. It wasn’t the fully perfect expected ending I figured it was building to, but it was still an absolutely perfect ending. The author truly did a great job ending it. I recommend this book to teens and up, especially those who like A Christmas Carol.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 61
Pages Read in 2023: 19.405

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Filed under Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Young Adult

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

The four main characters in Killers of a Certain Age are so well-developed and fun and interesting people I’d want to be friends with… other than the whole trained assassin thing. While there is a lot of (not very graphic) death going on, there’s so much humor that it doesn’t feel heavy. The plans the women come up with to kill people are very creative, too. While the basic outline of how the book goes is pretty obvious from the start, there were a couple twists I wasn’t expecting. Everything in the present is written in first person while the flashback chapters are written in close third person (focused on Billie, who narrates the present day chapters). I found that to be very effective, much more effective, I think, than today’s Billie recalling the things that happened decades ago. The pacing is slower than most thrillers, but steady throughout the book. The slower pacing made sense given the ages of the women. Speaking of their ages, it was great fun to read a book about sixty-something women being totally awesome. I recommend this book to all adults, and especially to adult women of a certain age.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 57
Pages Read in 2023: 18,249

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Filed under Reason: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Book of the Month, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Thriller

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute is such a cute book. It’s an enemies to lovers trope, which is one of my favorites, with the added twist of them having been childhood best friends before they became enemies. The ending is exactly how I wanted it to be, but the path to getting there was pretty convoluted and steeped in a common worry that the other just doesn’t feel the same way. I recommend this book to teens and up who enjoy a sweet, clean romance.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 51
Pages Read in 2023: 16,757

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Filed under Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers, Young Adult

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Verity by Colleen Hoover

It’s easy to see why so many people say Verity is their favorite Colleen Hoover book. It’ll have you questioning everything you think you know and even after you’ve finished reading it you’ll wonder if your assumptions are correct or if you have it all wrong (this goes double if you read the new bonus chapter/epilogue). The story drew me in and I wanted to read it as fast as I could to find out what was going on and if my guesses as to how it would turn out were right (some were, some weren’t). More than once it made my heart race. The only problem I had with the book is the sex scenes are just a bit more graphic than I like. I recommend Verity to adults who enjoy psychological thrillers.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 49
Pages Read in 2023: 16,121

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Filed under Reason: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Thriller

Xamnesia by Lizzie Harwood

Xamnesia by Lizzie Harwood

Xamnesia is one crazy memoir. The author spent a few years working for the ultrarich in an undisclosed Middle Eastern country. And it was a seriously crazy time with seriously crazy things happening. The whole thing is written with an incredible sense of humor so even when she’s describing appalling things you can’t help but laugh at least a little bit. I recommend this book to adults who enjoy memoirs.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 47
Pages Read in 2023: 15,549

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Filed under Memoir, Reason: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers

Quackery by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen

Quackery by Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen

The humor and sarcasm surrounding all the facts in Quackery is what makes it such an enjoyable book. A couple of the later chapters were mostly missing that humor and I found that part rather dreadful to read. The humor came back before the end of the book, though. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about the history of medicine.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 45
Pages Read in 2023: 15,011

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Filed under Non-Fiction, Reason: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: We Be Book'N

Dead Line by RJ Patterson

Dead Line by RJ Patterson

While there are some minor plot holes in Dead Line, overall it’s an exciting thriller. It reads super fast. The idea that the FBI would ask a small time sports writer to help them/be used as bait just because he happened to see something is kind of crazy and totally unlikely, but as long as you can suspend that disbelief the book is great. I recommend it to adults who enjoy thrillers.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 43
Pages Read in 2023: 13,952

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Filed under Reason: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers, Thriller

Zero Cool by Michael Crichton (John Lange)

Zero Cool by Michael Crichton (John Lange)

Zero Cool is a very early Michael Crichton novel. The plot is very well developed and had me guessing the whole time. I both expected and didn’t expect the final twist. The dialogue was not realistic, though. It sounded way too formal and not like how people talk to each other. Otherwise I enjoyed it very much. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 41
Pages Read in 2023: 13,317

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Filed under Reason: Alphabet Soup Challenge, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Thriller

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

The fourth (or fifth if you include Assassin’s Blade) book in the Throne of Glass series, Queen of Shadows is quite a bit better than the previous books. The characters are settled and behave as expected and the pacing is good. I still like the witch chapters the least, but I see now why they are needed and how they tie in to the rest of the story. Some of those chapters were pretty good by the end of the book. I really liked that Kaltain was brought back in and was as awesome as she was. I always did like her. The Rowan/Aelin relationship is extremely Twilightish and as long as you can forget he’s several hundred years old and she’s a teenager, it’s fine, but once you remember the age difference (and it’s hard to forget since the book likes to remind you) it’s a bit creepy. The ending, as usual was excellent. The author certainly knows how to write a good book ending. Some things were tied up nicely and other things were opened up or continued for the next three books. I recommend Queen of Shadows to anyone who enjoys the Throne of Glass series.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 35
Pages Read in 2023: 11,493

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Filed under Fantasy, Reason: B&N Book Challenge, Reason: Buddy Read, Reason: Flourish & Blotts Reading Challenge, Reason: Grim Readers, Young Adult

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

Fracture Me by Tahereh Mafi

Fracture Me is the second novella in the Shatter Me series. This one is told from Adam’s point of view. I find Adam to be rather undeveloped. The novella contributes little to his character development. The end of the novella made me actually roll my eyes. It was kind of ridiculous. I still enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t as good as the previous books and novella in the series. It’s still a must read for anyone invested in what happens to the characters.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2023: 17
Pages Read in 2023: 5572

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Filed under Dystopian, Reason: Buddy Read, Reason: I Like the Series, Young Adult