graywild's reviews
575 reviews

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Go to review page

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

1.0

The beginning of the story deals with Lily, an unpaid intern (she is Chinese American) and Matt, a rich businessman, meeting at a party and starting a relationship.  The 2nd third is the story of Lily's son Nick and his struggles through school. The final third is the story of Lily's parents in China during Mao's time and eventually coming to the US.  The story gets very convoluted and the plot has alot of holes for me - especially when there is an interconnection between many characters that I find improbable.  Halfway through I was going to DNF but decided to power through.
The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-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? No

2.0

I received this as an ARC. The story takes place in the court of Louis XIV in France.  A group of women and a few men get together every month to tell stories as entertainment.  Many of these are retellings of Mother Goose stories with a darker tone or with a moral that is directed to people in the room.  There is betrayal and sex that one would expect of these people.  I am not sure the added spice in the book is really adding anything to the overall story IMO. The characters are very surface and hard to get into caring about their relationships.  Overall not a fan.
Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Diana and Linus are engaged to be married but Diana is holding off on setting a date.  Linus is in a terrible accident and Diana finds herself wishing she could have prevented the accident.  An enchanted snow globe allows her to revisit that day - sort of like Groundhog Day - over and over as she tries to rewrite the day.  Concept interesting but writing is just ok.  There are some convenient coincidences and to be honest the ending is a bit contrived.  Probably won't recommend.
Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

Not really for me.  Written in the style of "In Cold Blood", the story comes across as a true crime novel.  I was confused as it is tagged as fiction.  Not really a spoiler that it is in fact fiction.  The writing is just okay for me and in the end I didn't really find it engaging enough.
The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush

Go to review page

informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This is the story of the first 6 women picked for the Astronaut program for NASA in 1978. I am a big fan of space so I found this book very interesting.  Each astronaut has a chapter discussing their early life and their application as well as their specific Space Shuttle flights.  Not surprisingly each flight had some major issues that were not really well known at the time.  It does cover the Challenger explosion which killed one of the original six - Judy Resnick.  It also covers Sally Ride's illness and relationship with a women (that lasted almost 30 years but was not well known). I enjoyed all the stories and would recommend, especially for the stories that discussion around gender discrimination in the 70s including getting fired for being pregnant.  This changed when Congress passed the law you cannot discriminate on gender or color and was directly why NASA opened up applications for women and POC. 
The Change by Kirsten Miller

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

The story centers on three friends.  Nessa - who can see the dead.  Jo - who has great strength.  Harriet - the town witch who has great skill in plants.  There seems to be a serial killer in the community that the ladies live in and using their skills they set out to solve the crimes.  Mysteries are not my favorite genre because I feel like the villains are too one-dimensional and usually easy to figure out.  This book is no different.
Book of Night by Holly Black

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.0

Charlie is a bartender who lives with her sister Posey and boyfriend Vince.  She is also a thief for hire that steals things for money.  This world seems to have some magic available through your shadow but you have to do some rituals to get to that skill.  Book was just ok for me.  Not sure the magic part was ever fully flesh out.  
You Like It Darker by Stephen King

Go to review page

challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

The 1st half of this set of short stories were not really horror based but maybe more psychological.  They were good short stories.  The 2nd half was definitely more like the 'typical' King stories.  One was an extension of characters from Cujo.  I enjoyed this part of the book as well.  Recommend if you like short stories. 
Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time by Ryan McGee

Go to review page

funny informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

Ryan McGee writes about his time as an intern at the Ashville Tourists minor league baseball team in 1994.  Insight into the quirkiness and hard work it takes to run a professional team.  I definitely laughed out loud during his description of the Battle of Hickory (definitely had a vivid picture in my mind).  Recommend for fans of the game, especially if you have been to a minor league game in North Carolina.
I Never Liked You Anyway by Jordan Kurella

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Between a 3.5 and 4 rating. Modern retelling of the story of Eurydice and Orpheus. In this version they are in music school together.  Both are talented musicians. The characters Andromeda and Aristaeus are also central to that part of the story.  The story goes back and forth from memories (music school) and present day (the Afterlife).  In the Afterlife Eurydice is friends with Penelope.  There is also interaction with Hades and Penelope.  Good retelling and slight twist to the original story.  Recommend for those who like mythology.