davinareads's reviews
818 reviews

In the Capital City of Autumn, written by Tim Bowling, is a poetic retelling of his life. There were poems that made me feel sad, and poems that left me with a sense of peace and calmness. Tim wrote poems about the loss of his mother, his dog, the atmosphere when the cherry blossoms falls (one of my favorite ones) and watching his children grow.

There was beauty to some of his pieces that I enjoyed.

With that said, there were also a few where I had to slow down my already slow pace to comb through what Tim was trying to say. A thing that stands out with poetry books to me is the different messages different people will get from a piece. I may not have gotten the true meaning Tim was trying to make but I did come to my own conclusions that satisfied me. Some of them though, I was feeling a bit lost as a causal poetry reader who didn't spend too much time trying to analyze everything.

Overall, if you're interesting in adding a poetry read, I would recommend checking out In the Capital City of Autumn. It was an enjoyable book and reflective with its messages.

When I picked this memoir up, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. While it was still a political read, Barack Obama did an amazing job at simplifying his points to make it digestible. There were some parts that were really political that I found boring, but it was only a small portion, the overall story being very interesting.

I enjoyed reading about Barack's POV and why he was running for President. The way he presented himself and his overall vision for America made it easy for me to see why he got the votes needed to put his words into action. It was nice to read about all the things he had to consider when making a decision and the thoughtfulness of his choices as President. From dealing with the economy crises to pushing for accessible Healthcare or the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, Barack showed the sides of all the decisions, narrowing it down to the best choice to make for America.

He stayed true to his roots and even though I am not American, I was cheering for him in my head with the tough calls and fierce pushed backs he had to deal with. When he was President, I was still on the young side so I never paid much attention to the political impact he had on the world at that time. The things he managed to achieve in his first term as president was outstanding and the way he represented himself and the promise of what America can be is admirable.

Overall, a very reflective and inspiring read by the 44th President of the USA.

The Brickworks offers readers a delightful slice of life narrative set in the early 1900s, chronicling the journey of two gentlemen as they embark on the endeavor of building a brickmaking business. While initially slow-paced, this novel gradually unfolds into a captivating tale of resilience, friendship, and the pursuit of success.

At its core, the story is a simple yet emotionally rich exploration of Brodie and Alistair's entrepreneurial journey. What sets this narrative apart is its focus on the characters' past, shedding light on the experiences that shaped them into the individuals they are today. As the plot unfolds, readers are drawn into the daily routines and simple pleasures of the protagonists, forging a deep connection with their struggles and triumphs.

What truly distinguishes The Brickworks is its nuanced portrayal of the characters' growth and development. Despite its slow start, the novel succeeds in immersing readers in the lives of Brodie and Alistair, fostering an emotional investment in their quest for success. The depiction of their efforts to run a business while prioritizing the well-being of their workers adds depth to the narrative, resonating with themes of integrity and compassion.

While some readers may find the pacing initially challenging, those who persevere will be rewarded with a richly woven tapestry of human experiences. The open-ended conclusion lends a sense of continuity to the story, allowing readers to imagine the future adventures of Brodie and Alistair beyond the final pages.

In conclusion, The Brickworks is a compelling portrayal of ambition, friendship, and the pursuit of a successfulbusiness. Despite its slow start, the novel's endearing characters and heartfelt narrative make it a worthwhile read for anyone seeking a poignant glimpse into the past.

Described as these Violent Delights meets Cinder with some Vietnam inspiration. I think that is an accurate description for this medium paced YA fantasy 

Like
- A very needed and amazing YA book that brought topics about what preserving one culture means 
- Fantastic world building and a very unique idea. 
- The ending gave me goosebumps. 
- Well done enemies to lovers where it wasn’t the main thing like what other's have been pushing in YA. There was a strong plot with strong plot development and the relationship was the secondary thing that pushed the plot forward
- Easy to read and I got emotional through multiple parts.

Dislike
- On the repetitive side 

Brigid Kemmerer is definitely one of my go to  author especially when it comes to kingdoms and deeply misunderstood characters.

Destroy the Day is another successful written book in the Defy the Night trilogy and I'm very happy with the way it wrapped up this series.

There were many funny moments that took me by surprised and a lot of moments where my eyes watered. I laughed, cried and loved a lot through this read.

The characters are by far the highlight in this book. Every single one of them has great chemistry between one another and they all 
had fantastic character development.

I loved where Corrick's and Lochlan's relationship went. It felt very natural and there were many layers added to them. 

I always loved Harristan but I loved him even more in this book same goes to Quint, he's the secondary character in this series but I loved him as well. Harristan definitely made me cry the most at his parts. 

It was easy to fall back into this world and remember where we left off. I will say the characters are the main focal point and the plot secondary but again, the characters are so well crafted that I didn't care. I can read about them all day.

A very hard book for me to rate but I think I'll settle for a low 4 star rating. The last 150 pages bumped it up.

In the recent years, I've read a handful books written by V.E. Schwab and while she is an extremely talented author, I find her work consistently inconsistent in the writing style. Some of her work is amazing while others not so much. (To me) This does allow her work to reach a wide range of readers but I always find myself unsure in what I'll be getting.

I bring this up because The Fragile Threads of Power was swimming between a 3 to 4 star rating when I was expecting the same pacing as The Darker Shade of Magic triology.

Let me go through all the things that I enjoyed first.

I liked how it felt like all these loose puzzle pieces were coming together to form a more coherent and connected story. Of course, I loved seeing our original characters back on the board and I enjoyed the glimpse of what they have been doing in tbe last seven years. I also enjoyed Tes as a character and I found her to be the more developed character introduced in this series. I'll go back to Kosika a bit further down. This book was definitely a character dependent read over plot development.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into it but it felt like there were some tributes to other books as well and if that was on purpose, I loved it. From the Six of Crows to The Midnight Circus, there were little settings and tie ins that felt too coincidental.

Nearing the end is where the story picked up and it felt almost worth it to read through 500 some pages to get here. Almost. The ending is where my rating solidify to a 4 because the plot was finally starting to move at a quicker pace. There was finally more excitement.

Now here are the things that I didn't quiet enjoy.

V.E. Schwab's writing is always easy to read which I appreciate but it was also very predictable. The story is on the simple side, the focus being mainly on the characters. I think it didn't need to be this long of a read because it was repetitive in descriptions.

With this, I think there were too many characters and found myself having to stop and go back to remember the smaller ones. Some characters like Tes's friend felt forced in and there was no real smooth introduction to him. After I finished this book, I can't even remember Tes's three sisters name. Just too much.

As for the characters that did matter like Kosika, I didn't necessarily care about her character and found myself slightly disappointed when I reach her POV. At the start it was very strong but it tapered out so I didn't feel anything towards her.

Because this book was so heavily character based, the story felt like the secondary thing and not the main one. The balance between story and character wasn't there.

Overall, it was hard for me to give this one a rating because it was a bit too long with no real plot movement, too many names and characters. When the story did move, it was awesome and the last 150 pages really helped to bumped it from a 3 to a 4 star rating. I did like seeing our favorite characters again which is always nice. 

I do feel like this first book in the series is setting up for the future ones so I am excited to see where this book will go and hopefully it will be a much stronger series than what I've read so far.

If you told me 7 years ago that I'll end up loving a complex love triangle that ends up with a pregnant 18 year old trying to worm her way into a broken family I would have laughed. But here we are with me absolutely loving this story 

Like
- Started with a very mysterious plot with characters that I knew I would love  
- Sometimes we all need a complex, blue collar,  small town story to read 
- Beautifully written with some deep themes throughout 
It had layers on top of layers. It wasn’t just a young love story, but a story about learning who to love, the sacrifices of a mother, and fighting for a place in a disjointed family
- I understood Elise the most and I think her story - giving herself away piece by piece to her sons and to a difficult husband - is one of the pain points I see in marriages in the 90s
- A slow paced, character based read with the found family tropes

Adam Kay is a hilarious individual with his to the point personality. 

Like
- Not only was it entertaining, but it was a fantastic reminder about how people treat healthcare workers and the mental strain they are put through on a daily bases 
- Still funny but I felt like he held back a little with the stories for his debut memoir. Enjoyed his second book a little more
- While there were jokes throughout, the devastating stories of those less fortunate had my crying. The last journal entry he shared was the worse

Dislike
- My own problem but I have a horrible attention span as of late and the drop in of a lot of medical terms made my eyes glazed over at some parts

This book is insanity. Violent, deranged and an absolutely horrific and gory read. 

Like
- It's somewhat fits our Christmas read theme... just dark, so dark 
- Trigger warning at the start of the book was not joking - animal, physical and mental abuse
- You will not known what will happen next
- Unique in idea, very fast paced and the main character will take readers on a wild and unpredictable horror rollercoaster 
- If you want to be uncomfortable, this books does it

Dislike 
- The writing needs some editing. 
- Nearing the end it was dragging and spiraling (perhaps what the author intended but the writing can maybe be improved to explain it more)

I have no idea what I read other than... I did not like it

Dislike 
- The ramblings... they were ramblings 
- Repetitive 
- Bizarre story and again, I have no idea what I read but it was not good 
- Books from tiktok... is 75% bad and 25% good