avieherman's reviews
104 reviews

Funny Story by Emily Henry

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-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? Yes

5.0

Loved this. Haven’t been disappointed by an Emily Henry book yet. Definitely the same vibe as Book Lovers and Beach Read, though a little less on the literary nose.
Obsessed with the way the end circled back to the beginning, best last line I’ve read in a long time.
Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This book was fine. I appreciated immensely what the writer was trying to do and I think it’s an important and eye-opening topic, but, as so often with books I’ve read that are not-quite-literary, it didn’t quite fulfill the promises it made/meet expectations. I loved the beginning and felt that it grew progressively less interesting and effective.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

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reflective slow-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

4.0

Slow and understated but enjoyable and deep read. Sped up and got more interesting as it went on. Enjoyed it. 
A Caribbean Heiress in Paris by Adriana Herrera

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relaxing 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

5 stars because I thoroughly enjoyed it for what it was. Spicy, historically rich, effective writing. Kept me turning the pages. Historical context was interesting. The locations (America, Espaniola, Le Havre, Paris, Edinburgh and the highlands) plus Scottish hero and whiskey making made me think of Outlander. 
An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera

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relaxing 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

3.5

Enjoyed. Not as much as the first book in the series. The historical context was interesting. 
The Say So by Julia Franks

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dark emotional informative reflective 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

4.5

Excellent and fascinating. I read the nonfiction book The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler when I was in college and found it fascinating and heart wrenching. This fictional telling of these stories was poignant and important. Thoroughly enjoyed, except when I wanted to throw the thing across the room. 

Would have liked the 3 narratives to be a little more intertwined and end with a bit more closure, but the choice for it to be how it was was probably a big part of the point. 
Reproduction by Louisa Hall

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

5.0

Read this book in 2 days over Pesach. Super literary but super fast paced and engaging, was so good. And I realized halfway through that I think the “I” who is narrating it isn’t just a fictional person, but it’s actually semi- or totally-ish autobiographical and the “I” is the real life writer? But some of it is fiction? And that’s what they meant by “genre-defying”? I don’t know, it was spectacular. Some of the writing kind of reminded me of Wintering book, except it was actually really good and it totally met all the expectations it set and was everything it promised to be. It‘s one and only fault was being too short. Part of what was fascinating is that it didn’t grapple at all with motherhood, as in caring for and raising her baby, that seemed besides the point, it was the childbearing, the reproduction almost alone that it dealt with and that was so interesting. 
For Her Own Good: Two Centuries of the Experts Advice to Women by Deirdre English, Barbara Ehrenreich

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challenging dark informative slow-paced

3.75

Fascinating and informative, but the broad coverage and density made hard to be deeply engaging and it felt at times like I was slogging through. At times it was unclear what place and time they were discussing. It’s breadth left little room for nuance at times and it dealt almost exclusively with the white middle and upper classes. 
The Marriage Box by Corie Adjmi

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dark funny fast-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? Yes

3.25

Fascinating and couldn’t put it down, I read it in 24 hours. But a lot of the plot points were unhinged and, like many books, it didn’t meet the expectations that it set and the end felt unsatisfying. The writing quality itself was effective and engaging. 
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

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dark informative reflective slow-paced

3.5

Very interesting, well written and informative. It was quite detailed, so it was quite long. It wasn’t a super captivating read for me, but I listened to it while doing stuff around the house and learned a lot.