hellokatya's reviews
144 reviews

The Night Swim by Megan Goldin

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.0

i really enjoyed this book. overall, i thought it was very well written, paced, and just the right length. 
left very good breadcrumbs throughout the read that really all came together with the big reveal. ending felt very realistic. would recommend. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

i loved this book. she was able to speak on extremely difficult topics with humor, grace, and humanity. she could admit to faults and call other’s bullshit and i have endless respect and admiration for her. please pick this up
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

this was a very good read - super easy to get through, and felt like a palette cleanser. 
only complaint is it felt a bit too YA for the mature topics that were in it, hence the lower rating, but overall i thoroughly enjoyed it and the ending was really nice! 
highly recommend
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Outlawed by Anna North

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

i absolutely adored this book. a beautifully written and developed story of love, loss, friendship, and family. please please read this book. definitely one i’ll be recommending to anyone who will listen.
bring some tissue though
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Sundial by Catriona Ward

Go to review page

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

4.75

the only reason this doesn’t have a 5 star rating is because it did have some lulls in it — otherwise, this book is beautiful. would highly recommend. 
beautiful tale of mother and daughter, of sisters, and escaping the path that’s been laid out for you. so gorgeous please read it 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
In the Miso Soup by Ryū Murakami

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-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? It's complicated

2.5

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

Go to review page

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

3.25

i really enjoyed the guide and introduction. it felt like a friend giving u inside information and really helped my understanding of the book. 
i do wish it had focused more on the relationship, more intimately, than it did. it felt very glossed over and not the focal point of the story. definitely should’ve been a longer and more thorough story. 
overall, i did it enjoy it, but it was a bit hard to comprehend at points - had to reread numerous times - but i think that’s also a skill issue as i’m not used to this particular style. 
would recommend
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Only One Left by Riley Sager

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i had really high hopes for this book, but it kind of fell flat. 
it felt like he was trying too hard to put as many plot twists as he could possibly make into the book, and the big reveal muddied the plot a lot. it took a bit for my brain to catch up with the new info and it ruined the reading experience for me. 
too much of a “gotcha” for my taste. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Go to review page

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

thank you ms britney
i loved this book and getting to hear what happened from the source. must have felt so liberating to put this all out there and behind you. i love u happy healing 
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

2.5

i wanted to like this book; i went in so excited but it really just fell flat. i had read in someone else’s review about the blog posts being out of place, and considering there wasn’t much done with them — and it spoiled the biggest twist — i am also not a fan. i feel like the story being told on chronological order, through the unreliable perspective of an 8 year old would’ve served the book a lot better. saddened to see the loss of the potential it had.
 try hard to pick back up once i’d put it down.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings