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cassroberts89's reviews
436 reviews
Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.25
So cute! This took me FOREVER to finish on audio but probably because I listened mainly on the way to and from work, and it’s not far. I grew so attached to Pru and Quint, despite seriously disliking Pru at first. Actually… for a very large chunk of the book. She grew a LOT, however. I loved seeing how devoted to their work these kids were, and not necessarily the overly ambitious academics (Pru) but the work of caring for the animal center and taking steps to get the whole community involved. The romance was also perfect for the target age level. I think I would be just fine handing this to my kiddo in a year or so, whenever she is more interested in romance (she’s now 13).
On to the next book about Pru’s brother ☺️
On to the next book about Pru’s brother ☺️
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I’m sorry, I could not get into this. It just wasn’t very well written. “Charm” started out as an interesting magical element, but it very quickly turned into something that just made everything come way too easily to the MC. She was able to do pretty much anything she needed/wanted to do while using it. Her problems just didn’t feel like actual problems as a result, so I found I didn’t care all that much how her story turned out. I also found I was confused on some parts, like when the two friends (Sujin and Hureal?) were with Min, then betrayed her, then they were with her again, but then they… forgave Min? I don’t know. AND it made no sense at all how the mother reacted to seeing the ghost of her son return home! Like she had basically no reaction at all. It just read strangely to me. This was our pick for my library’s tween book club. They seemed to like it a bit more than I did, but no one seemed crazy about it.
Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
I enjoyed this book SO much. This really hit a little close to home as well, what with me working in a library (in the south). The MANY different viewpoints were wonderful and read almost like a series of connected short stories. They did, however, make it a little hard to keep track of the many characters. Still, loved it!
Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I pretty much saw how this was going to play out right away, but I was more than happy to tag along for the ride! I was smitten with both MCs, seriously. It was a lot of fun to get a glimpse into a lifestyle I have absolutely no knowledge of as well. My only big criticism is how bland some of the supporting characters were. Oddly enough, it was especially the women that felt so flat they could have all been basically the same person. Evie had a few close girlfriends that came into play often, but I never got a great image of them as individuals. Still a fan though!
Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was so engrossed in this book! When leaving for a trip, I borrowed it on Libby so I could continue reading. Imagine my dismay when it was not compatible with my kindle 😭 Finally finished though, and I loved it.
Watching the relationships between Zan and his humans was fascinating. Most of the main characters had plenty of growth as well.
Parents: There are a few parts that touch on 15yo (I think?) Ben’s budding love life. He has a crush on a girl, mentions feeling “desire” for her, there are a few make out sessions, and one mention of him feeling arousal. I can’t recall the exact wording on that. It was all fairly innocent and age-appropriate in my opinion.
Watching the relationships between Zan and his humans was fascinating. Most of the main characters had plenty of growth as well.
Parents: There are a few parts that touch on 15yo (I think?) Ben’s budding love life. He has a crush on a girl, mentions feeling “desire” for her, there are a few make out sessions, and one mention of him feeling arousal. I can’t recall the exact wording on that. It was all fairly innocent and age-appropriate in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Loved it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was… an experience. I went into Hollow Kingdom expecting a strange, unique take on a zombie apocalypse. It was sort of like that, but it was really more of a character study of our dear friend, Shit Turd.
Crows are pretty intelligent creatures, so it was interesting to get a bird’s eye view (harhar) of the very bizarre downfall of humankind. Good ol’ S.T. starts out a die-hard fan of humans. His whole journey even starts off as a quest to find a cure for his beloved human, Big Jim. But as he ventures out into the world gone to shit, he embraces his crow-ness more and more. I never thought I’d be so interested in the character development of a crow, but here we are.
Where Buxton sort of lost me was with the meandering plot. It was at times more of an exploration of the natural world, how it can function and thrive without the interference of humans, and a love letter to the earth. I can read that and enjoy it, but then we’d be thrown back into the action and plot. You know how sometimes characters are just there to help the plot move along? In Hollow Kingdom, it was almost like the plot was only there to help the character development and overall message move along. I’m probably making about as much sense as this storyline did 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway, kudos to the author for endearing a crow to me, along with a thick but heroic bloodhound, a bald eagle (used to raise chickens in WA, not usually a fan of these particular raptors), and other critters. I particularly enjoyed the couple of chapters on Genghis Cat.
Thanks to one of my sweet kiddos in our library’s tween book club who requested books from an animal POV, which inspired my own choice to read this—on my own. Not for kids. Definitely not for kids.
Quotes:
“This bird-with her buttercup-yellow eyes and perfectly alabaster head plumage, her voluptuous shuttlecock tail, and the rich chocolate of her body-rendered me a statue. She was flawless in feather, strong and savvy. She looked at me-right fucking at me!-with that iconic regal ex-pression, daffodil-yellow eye absorbing and adjudicating with a sharpness rivaled only by her talons. Bald eagles are majestic as fuck.”
“The tiny sparrow darted through a sky of birds and was suddenly hurtling alongside the eagle and me.
‘Don't worry,’ he said in a jittery whisper. ‘I believe in you.’ They were tiny words from a tiny bird, but perhaps sometimes all you need is a speck of encouragement, an acorn of belief.”
Crows are pretty intelligent creatures, so it was interesting to get a bird’s eye view (harhar) of the very bizarre downfall of humankind. Good ol’ S.T. starts out a die-hard fan of humans. His whole journey even starts off as a quest to find a cure for his beloved human, Big Jim. But as he ventures out into the world gone to shit, he embraces his crow-ness more and more. I never thought I’d be so interested in the character development of a crow, but here we are.
Where Buxton sort of lost me was with the meandering plot. It was at times more of an exploration of the natural world, how it can function and thrive without the interference of humans, and a love letter to the earth. I can read that and enjoy it, but then we’d be thrown back into the action and plot. You know how sometimes characters are just there to help the plot move along? In Hollow Kingdom, it was almost like the plot was only there to help the character development and overall message move along. I’m probably making about as much sense as this storyline did 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway, kudos to the author for endearing a crow to me, along with a thick but heroic bloodhound, a bald eagle (used to raise chickens in WA, not usually a fan of these particular raptors), and other critters. I particularly enjoyed the couple of chapters on Genghis Cat.
Thanks to one of my sweet kiddos in our library’s tween book club who requested books from an animal POV, which inspired my own choice to read this—on my own. Not for kids. Definitely not for kids.
Quotes:
“This bird-with her buttercup-yellow eyes and perfectly alabaster head plumage, her voluptuous shuttlecock tail, and the rich chocolate of her body-rendered me a statue. She was flawless in feather, strong and savvy. She looked at me-right fucking at me!-with that iconic regal ex-pression, daffodil-yellow eye absorbing and adjudicating with a sharpness rivaled only by her talons. Bald eagles are majestic as fuck.”
“The tiny sparrow darted through a sky of birds and was suddenly hurtling alongside the eagle and me.
‘Don't worry,’ he said in a jittery whisper. ‘I believe in you.’ They were tiny words from a tiny bird, but perhaps sometimes all you need is a speck of encouragement, an acorn of belief.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcohol
Beautiful Little Fools by Jillian Cantor
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This Spells Love by Kate Robb
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was really enjoying it at first, but I kept waiting for the part where she actually gets back to her own timeline. She was only trying to get a kiss for the spell, but at one point it’s like the spell, and the reason for it, had left her brain altogether.
I really don’t see this as a friend-to-lovers romance. Like, at all. We barely got a peek into Gemma and Dax’s friendship in the real world. In the new timeline, he doesn’t even know who she is. How can they have started as friends if they basically started as flirting/dating? And if she intended to go back to her own timeline and pursue Dax, why did she jump his bones?? She’s experiencing all the newness of their sexual relationship here, and then she will, what, go back and do it all over again with the real Dax? I feel like that’s just asking for some kind of weird emotional/sexual tension and confusion. Something about it just feels icky.
As a regular old love story, it was really not bad for a debut. There were just some weird things about the timeline. Robb’s writing style is light and fun and made for a quick read. I might grab another by her at the library to see if her writing improves.
Solid three stars.
I really don’t see this as a friend-to-lovers romance. Like, at all. We barely got a peek into Gemma and Dax’s friendship in the real world. In the new timeline, he doesn’t even know who she is. How can they have started as friends if they basically started as flirting/dating? And if she intended to go back to her own timeline and pursue Dax, why did she jump his bones?? She’s experiencing all the newness of their sexual relationship here, and then she will, what, go back and do it all over again with the real Dax? I feel like that’s just asking for some kind of weird emotional/sexual tension and confusion. Something about it just feels icky.
As a regular old love story, it was really not bad for a debut. There were just some weird things about the timeline. Robb’s writing style is light and fun and made for a quick read. I might grab another by her at the library to see if her writing improves.
Solid three stars.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
So cute! I absolutely adored Dead Romantics and completely forgot Poston had another book until this hold showed up on my kindle. I loved in nearly as much. There were just a couple of minor errors that an editor probably missed, but I can’t wait for her next book!