fiwwa's reviews
213 reviews

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

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emotional inspiring sad slow-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

4.5

There's Something About Merry by Codi Hall

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funny lighthearted 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? No

4.0

This holiday romance with single dad trope in a small town is even better than I thought it would be. Merry and Clark had such adorable banter, and having Jace, Clark's son, present makes the story even cuter.

The first half of the book felt slower than the second half, which has more drama, and the plot shift from the online texting to them meeting in person felt sudden. The secondary characters were excellent especially Merry's brother, Nick. They made the plot more entertaining and it makes me want to read Nick's book too.

Someone said this is the holiday version of You've Got Mail and it was the first thing that got me hooked. I now finally understand why though it needs to be more rivalry and it felt like there's something missed, nevertheless it still counts and I didn't regret reading this at all!
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Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Like most of the readers, I didn't know what I was going into when I read the book except that it's about murder and I found it funny that a book about murder has such a colorful cover.

I was kinda surprised when I found out how chaotic the aunties are. They're real... I wouldn't call it psycho, but they treat a dead body like it's nothing. If I were Meddy, I'd just throw the body in the woods. Some of the things they do just didn't really makes sense to me nevertheless it makes me laugh. But the romance wasn't my favorite part of the book, the second chance romance was so... instant. Meddy could've given her and Nathan some more time to get back together again.

I love that this book is so rich in the Chinese-Indonesian culture and as an Indonesian myself, I can tell how relatable they are. It's giving Crazy Rich Asians family dynamic and we love it. Though I think non-Indo readers might find it kinda hard to understand because they don't make the Indonesian/Chinese words italic. 
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Wrecked by Lauren Asher

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

The Last First Date by Hayley Quinn

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lighthearted medium-paced

2.75

To start, I'd like to say that I do not consider this to be a romance novel. This is more of a chick lit than a romance. The book's premise is about how challenging it is for single women, especially those in their 30s, to find love, but it is poorly executed. Helen, the main character, was unlikable to me because for a 31-year-old woman, she was immature and as a main character she's uninteresting. She's desperate for a man yet ignores the guy who's actually interested in her. Even when she finally started dating him, I didn't sense any chemistry.

It was hard for me to adapt to the writing style. The internal monologues and description were overly long, and the conversation felt unnatural (many cringe lines were also spotted), making the pacing slow, but I was able to speed-read it. I get the message that this book was trying to show, but it didn't utilize the story's full potential.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and Hayley Quinn for the ARC of in exchange for my honest review.
The Right Kind of Unexpected by Rayna York

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

I don't usually read young adult romance, but I was surprised of how much I liked this book. Friends to lovers in small town trope has always been one of my favorites, especially when it's small town guy x city girl.

I would say the main plot was more about Tess' journey and that includes finding love, friendship, and a found family in a town of nowhere where her ex-boyfriend left her.  I love Tess' relationships with other characters especially Colten (of course) and his family! Would LOVE to try Earl's food.

Tess and Colten are absolutely adorable together. Though I have to say, I'm not a fan of the insta-love, but it was just an attraction between the main characters, they're secretly having a crush on each other and hesitating to confess. We kinda get both insta-love and slow burn at the same time. 

Reading this felt like watching a Netflix romcom movie and I enjoyed it, definitely recommend this!

Thank you to Netgalley, Toad Tree Press, and Rayna York for the copy in exchange for an honest review. 
The Moment We Met by Camille Baker

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
DNF at 21%

I really wish I could finish this book because the cover is so pretty and the blurb was interesting enough for me to request the ARC, but it's not my second or third attempt to at least reached 50% of the book. It seems like I just can't get into the story, it felt flat and I'm not going to force myself to continue. I don't feel connected to the characters and the writing is not to my liking. I tried to read the first book too (Have We Met?) but I'm also struggling with the same thing: it took me forever to get into the story. Probably going to try reading this again in the future. 

Thank you NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and the author for giving me the eARC in return for an honest review!
My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

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lighthearted mysterious medium-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

idk why forced myself to finish this book?? the mystery wasn't even 5% of the story and the rest was them having sex and being immature about their relationship. should've decided to dnf the moment myles refer himself as daddy but it was near the end... at least now i know who the killer is
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Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

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

3.75

You think you’re the painter, but you’re the canvas.
 
Since the moment I opened the first page, I was already hooked by the relatable quotes. It’s not the first book I’ve read from him, and this one, like any other Green’s books, the book revolves around the struggle of a teenage girl living her life. This time, it’s about Aza Holmes, a sixteen year-old girl who has an obsession with C. diff bacteria, because of her disorder and afraid it (the bacteria) will kill her someday.

I’d like to start this review by saying that I feel seen by Aza’s character. I might not be thinking about how bacterias from things we touch and food we eat works inside our body and how it might kill us whenever and wherever, but I still relate so much to her. 

Aza is right when she said that life is told about us, not the other way. You never really have control of your own thoughts, even you move because life controls you. You go to bed? Because the sun is down. You eat lunch? Because the bell rings. We live on someone else’s schedule and we never even meet that someone. Sort of like a prison, or exactly like it. And I agree, life does feel like a prison sometimes.

Being a teenager itself is not easy, introduced by many life problems that we should face whether we like it or not (well, it’s problems, no one likes problems) and then there’s that anxiety feeling that makes everything worse. And that’s the thing about anxiety, you keep expecting the worst. You never had an answer for your own questions but more kept coming through your mind. And as someone who also struggles with anxiety, the way Aza had a conversation with herself in her mind because she has many questions stuck in her head but having no one to ask about it is something that I do a lot too. Like two people arguing, but in reality, it’s just herself. Two different minds of one same person. 

The thing about a spiral is, if you follow it inward, it never actually ends. It just keeps tightening, infinitely.

That’s exactly how the thoughts go, spiraling, infinitely. And it sucks that some of those thoughts are becoming a reality, but it doesn’t mean that the world is gonna end. There was this one time Daisy confessed about something Aza worried about. It hurts, but does that mean they keep fighting? No, life goes on and so are we.

The side characters in this book are the type of side characters that has their own characteristics. Daisy Ramirez is a Star Wars (pretty successful) fan-fiction author. Unlike Aza who barely talks what’s in her mind, Daisy tells everything, though sometimes it might hurt, but she’s a very supportive best friend. She is a unique character, some might think that she was annoying about the money that they got, but to me, she was just being happy with something she never really had.

On the other hand, the rich boy Davis Pickett is such a likable one. Despite the fact that he has a lot of money (like, a LOT, the guy has a home theater), from the way Davis writes his thoughts on his blog, I can tell how much of a romantic person he is. 

You remember your first love because they show you, prove to you, that you can love and be loved, that nothing in this world is deserved except for love, that love is both how you become a person and why.

I found it adorable how they are both a little awkward because the relationship they had in the past, but it seemed so honest and innocent. Although Davis is a romantic guy, I love how the author didn’t make their conversation too much of an adult. I would love to see more of them as a couple, but we can't... If you know, you know.

For the other characters such as Aza’s mother and Dr. Singh, the author described them as realistic enough to be what they should be. A mother who’s always worried about her daughter who struggles with anxiety and a psychiatrist who’s trying her best to help her patient. The characters are well-developed but not too much, you can never be perfect or flawless.

In the best conversations, you don’t even remember what you talked about, only how it felt.

Now for the plot, there were moments when it was so heart-breaking but Green didn’t try to sugar-coat the raw and painfulness of mental illness, he stripped down the ugly reality of living with anxiety and OCD. He wonderfully put the emotion and feeling of being in a never-ending thought spiral into words. But not just that, each conversation that the characters had felt so real. It feels like I’m there next to them, listening to them talking.

But the bad news is, there isn’t actually a real plot. If you expected a young adult mystery book, you’re wrong. I hate how they marketed this book from the blurb because the mystery covers only 20% of the book, the rest was just about Aza, Aza’s thoughts, and Aza’s obsession with bacterias (no, she’s not even a biologist). I expected more from the plot, the ending itself was a bit underwhelming. I myself would like to think that there’s an extra chapter where what I wanted to happen will happen. 

The problem with happy endings is that they’re either not really happy, or not really endings, you know? In real life, some things get better and some things get worse. And then eventually you die.
 
I won’t say much about what the phrase “turtles all the way” means, but it metaphors everything this book is trying to tell us. Don’t try to find the bottom of the pile.

If you’re looking for a light young adult read with great mental illness representation and realistic life of a teenage girl struggling with it, I would recommend you to read this book. It’s less than 300 pages and full of quotes that you might find relatable. But this is not for you who expects an amazing plot and likes neat and happy endings. You’ve been warned. 
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50 Ways to Win Back Your Lover by Kelly Siskind

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emotional lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

"You’re my muse. My artistic inspiration, even when you drive me nuts. I love you times infinity, Delilah Mars."

I went into this book blindly, having never read anything by Siskind, and I wasn't sure if I'd like it because it's written entirely in the hero's point of view, but oh my, was I wrong. With all of its whirlwind of emotions, I absolutely like this book. Also, second chances aren't one of my favorite tropes, but this? He still loved the same girl who might have grown into a different woman after ten freaking years, no call, no text, nothing.

E, aka Edgar, has such a cinnamon roll personality; he's a a softie with a big heart. He's a wonderful character, and I adored how much he cared about Delilah and the effort he put to reclaim her heart. I pity him for what he's gone through and what he has lost because of his father and the witness protection thing (honestly, I still don't really understand what E's father problem actually is and the witness protection situation, but fuck his dad and I hope he dies in the next book). It was difficult enough for him to leave Delilah in the first place 10 years ago; now he has to return to her, despite the town's presumptions about him.

The story is beautifully written and full of hilarious banter between E and Delilah, who are simply adorable together. The small town setting was well-described and the reality of how fast the news travel (think about Babette in Stars Hollow). Every secondary character was well-developed, and each relationship dynamic was distinct and well-defined, including the bond between Delilah and the people that supported her. The characters are well-developed, and I don't just mean E and Delilah; I mean the entire cast of people, including E's family and old friends.

This definitely won't be the last book I read by the author but I hate that I have to wait probably a year for Desmond's book, but I'll be patiently waiting to read more about the Bower brothers!

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author herself for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
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