alyssastag's reviews
232 reviews

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

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

5.0

Just loved it. Adina is such a relatable girl (despite being an alien). Watching her grow up via vignettes was magical and so normal at the same time. The writing is incredible.
The Guest by Emma Cline

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

4.0

Emma Cline really knows how to make me anxious. Alex is drawn to danger, makes decisions without thinking about them logically, and tells herself what she wants to hear. She destroys every relationship she attempts to build, and she sabotages any chance of getting what she wants, though she thinks of herself as a master manipulator (she’s not). Because we know little about her past, and she lives in her own delusions, it’s impossible to know how she got to this point. Though the story ends without resolution, we know exactly what will happen: she will get caught. We know that this is the story of her downfall, but Alex thinks it’s her new beginning. Cline uses the ocean/pools as a motif to portray this; Alex goes for a swim each morning to cleanse herself, to feel good and new, but she doesn’t register the riptides, or the dangers that come from swimming after taking prescription painkillers. She brings chaos to this pristine Hamptons setting, and though it is kind of fun to imagine the stress she brings to these super-wealthy side characters, it’s frustrating to see the “help” have to clean up after her mistakes. 
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

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

4.0

I feel like the people who didn’t like this book misinterpreted it or didn’t fully understand it. Lauren Groff does a brilliant job of showcasing how differently each person involved in a relationship can view it. She expertly crafted her main characters, and whether or not you like them, you can’t argue that she didn’t make them believable. Groff’s writing always hooks me, but this book especially had me captivated and I think that was mostly because of what she did with the characters. I found myself excited to see minor characters returning throughout— it almost felt like I was reuniting with an old friend. 
Push (25th Anniversary Edition) by Sapphire

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

4.0

Devastating, hard to read, so important
Lilith by Nikki Marmery

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adventurous reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I really liked the beginning of this book, but it lost stems after like the first third. The author tried to cram too much into this. It spans literally all of time. It would’ve been more interesting if it focused more in depth on one portion of Lilith’s story.  Most of this was just Lilith walking across the earth. I also felt like the “resolution” (if we can even call it that) at the end was so rushed, lazy, and boring. 
Angel & Hannah: A Novel in Verse by Ishle Yi Park

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emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Cute, classic story, vaguely similar to West Side Story but set in the 90s. The “first love” that Angel and Hannah share feels familiar and sweet. There were some magical descriptions of the setting, but I also felt like everything about it was lacking in depth, so I found myself wanting more of pretty much every aspect. Idk something was missing. 
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

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

3.0

I loved this book when I first started reading it, but lost interest as I continued. I would’ve loved some more scientific explanation. I was confused about the narrator and Adela being able to exist in the same timeline at once, when it was implied that the expats’ past selves “died” or at least disappeared when they went through the time door. I also thought the romance aspect was cute, but this was a SLOW burn. There might have been too many characters to keep up with. I really liked a lot of them, but I found myself wishing for more time with each of them. Idk I think this book had potential and though it was interesting it just didn’t live up to my expectations. 
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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adventurous funny inspiring 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? Yes

5.0

This is honestly a perfect book. It’s corny in an intentional way, heartwarming, and it normalizes nontraditional familial/romantic relationships without making them the center of the story. The focus on Linus and his personal journey was a great backdrop for these themes. 
Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee

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

4.0

This was cool. I feel like I haven’t read an actually devastating tragedy like this in a minute. At first I was really annoyed at his name being repeated so much but I was able to ignore it after a while. Maybe supposed to be a reminder that he is a person despite this soul-consuming work he’s committed to? Also hated how shitty of a person he is, but now that I’m done I’m questioning how much he actually remembered/knew about his life vs. how much was “packaged” away after starting his job. I’m left wondering what exactly was real, what were dreams, or if Jonathan’s world is an indistinguishable mix of dreams and reality. Like is the office building an actual setting or does he just go there in his dreams? Also what happened to his mom? Was she one of the first to fall victim to this? This was definitely an entertaining (terrifying) critique of late stage capitalism and I enjoyed reading it. 
Weyward by Emilia Hart

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

3.0

Cute