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182 reviews

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-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

4.0

This book is a dive into the culture of Latin America as well as a generational study of a family between DC and USA. In addition, there are also some magical realism aspects that add a little bit to the plot, but they don't take up much space and therefore I wouldn't describe this book as fantasy. I found the initial idea of the book very fascinating and innovative, but the plot moved very slowly and some parts were a bit boring in my opinion. Fortunately, I soon got attached to the family and its members, and this made the overall experience way more enjoyable, because it kept me interested in what they were going through despite of how the story was paced. Moreover, I liked how the author was able to show many aspects of this culture which get ignored. In fact, despite me not feeling completely comfortable during the many discussion around sexuality and pleasure, I can recognize how important it is to talk about this topics in the book's circumstances. 
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

This book surprised me in every single way it could, its story stuck with me in those moments in which I wasn't reading, making me eager to pick it up as soon as possible. After the 5 stars given to "Tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow", Gabrielle proves to be able to write contemporary fiction that touch me deeply, stick with me and make me want to dive into this genre more. In fact, I have never been a lit-fic girly, I have always preferred a high stake fantasy, intriguing mystery or a sweet rom-com to any general fiction novel, but Zevin is making me question many of my beliefs about my book taste by developing plots and creating characters with whom I fall in love and about which I cannot stop reading. 
This novel had me tear up and laugh in the span of few pages and made me feel a wide range of emotions. By the last chapter, I was attached to every single character, from the main ones to the secondary ones and I didn't want to say goodbye to them. This story felt like a warm hug from a dear family member, and I can't wait to read all Zevin's backlist to hopefully feel like this again. 
Gli intrighi del regno by Tahereh Mafi

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked this book more than the first installment, because it read more easily even though the stakes didn't feel as high as before due to the plot twist at the end of the previous novel. Nevertheless, I have to admit that I like Alizeh's POV way more than Kamran's (I often skimmed read his side of the novel because it felt slow and boring). In fact, I loved her and I was intrigued by everything that happened to her in Tulan and with Cyrus, whose story was fascinating to me. On the other hand, I never really cared about what was going on in Ardunia, and I found the chapters set there quite tedious. Despite this, generally speaking, I had  fun while reading this second installment, and I can't wait to get to the third one. In fact, Tahereh Mafi always writes cliff-angered endings that make you eager to pick up the sequels despite of the complaints you might have on the book. 
Stuck with You by Ali Hazelwood

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

4.25

With this novella Ali Hazelwood proved to be the perfect author for when I am in the mood to read a funny romance but with few good spicy scenes, as well as for when I need a palate cleanser between fantasy and mystery novels. In fact, I think that the reason why I didn't particularly enjoy her second novel "Love on the brain" is the fact that, at that time, I wasn't in the mood to read a relatively spicy romance and I would have preferred a sweet, closed-door YA one. While this month I was feeling like reading something witty and short romance to binge read in one night, and "Stuck with you" was exactly that. I didn't even care about the misunderstanding that caused the situation that we started with, since the book was a novella and therefore everything got solved quickly. Nevertheless, what I  love the most about the "Loathe to love you" collection is actually the friendship between the three female main characters and finding little scenes with the trio in each installment. 
Eragon by Christopher Paolini

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

3.25

I have to admit that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would based on its popularity and importance in the fantasy genre. In fact, I cannot deny that this novel is a staple and almost a classic of the genre, and I recognize that some of its tropes have been taken as an example for other fantasy books that came after it and I am sure that it has inspired many authors. Nevertheless, since this book was firstly gifted to me, I had never once felt the urge to start it and therefore, this month, I decided to acquire its audiobook and started listening to it but, on second thought, I am not sure that it was exactly the right move. I indeed have always been very reluctant to listen to fantasy books instead of reading them with my eyes, because I often get distracted with audiobooks and, if I am listening to a mystery o general fiction, I can catch up with what I didn't processed quite easily, whereas with fantasy and sci-fi, missing a few sentences could mean not getting the overall plot. This is exactly what happened to me with "Eragon", but I am determined to pay more attention to the sequels and maybe redeem myself. Nevertheless, the reading experience was enjoyable, and I especially loved the relationship between Eragon and Saphira. 
La maledizione del vero amore by Stephanie Garber

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

4.0

Personally, I think that this series grew better as it progressed, with the first one being the weakest of the trilogy and this one turning out as the one I enjoyed the most. Nevertheless, against all predictions, I preferred Stephanie Garber’s “Caraval” series. The strength of this books in my opinion is jacks and the bound that develops between him and Evangeline, even though I often found the female protagonist quite irritating. As far as the plot goes, I wasn’t totally invested in it, because I was always waiting for the scenes that regarded the situationship between Eva and the prince of hearts. Despite this, the story moved very quickly and in the last 100 pages te paced quickened even more, with one thing happening after another every chapter. To sum up, I believe this to be an adequate ending for this series, despite some plot twists that weren’t exactly my cup of tea.
A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall

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

4.75

I started this book convinced that I would find a new 5 stars read and, even though by the end of it I didn't get the exact feeling that I usually do when finishing a new favorite book of all time, I enjoyed this novel enormously. In fact, I had never read anything similar to this, due to its format (it is in fact written entirely in mixed medias as letters or diary extracts) but also to its peculiar plot. In addition, I also fell in love with the author's purple prose because it fits perfectly with the protagonists' personalities. Even though my favorite part of the book are the characters and their interactions and correspondences, I was also very intrigued by the plot and curious about how the mystery was going to develop. I was also extremely fascinated by the fantastical world in which the story is set and, even though sometimes I felt confused by some parts of it. Lastly, despite the ending being quite open, I didn't expect this book to have a sequel but, now that I found out that "A letter from the lonesome shore" is coming out in 2025, I can't wait to read it. 
Semplici coincidenze by Jean-François Sénéchal, Jean-François Sénéchal

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

5.0

The best way for me to describe this novel is as a mix between a warm hug and a slap in the face, because it touches difficult themes with a softness that I have found rarely in my experience as a reader. The end of this book totally destroyed me emotionally and I wasn't ready to sob after reading the last page. The fact that the story was narrated by the main character who was imagining to tell his mother (who left him when he was 18) his current life, made everything more touching and sometimes hard to read, due to the fact that the protagonist views the world with the eyes of a "mentally delayed" men who thinks little of himself and thinks that he could earn his mother's love if only he were more intelligent. I also appreciated the talk around accepting help and admitting the need of it without shame. I underlined many sentences, both of quotes that touched me personally and ones that simply were universally true. 
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

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emotional funny hopeful medium-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

5.0

I don't want to exaggerate but I think this book may classify itself as one of my favorite romance books ever and I am pretty sure that it will pop up in my top ten of 2024. I loved everything about this novel, from the characters to the plot and even the third act conflict didn't bother me at all because it was coherent with the main characters' personalities and responsibilities. In addition, I particularly appreciated that none of the relationship's struggles were caused by the miscommunication trope (which I absolutely despise). Nevertheless, I must say that sometimes I had to suspend my disbelief but I didn't even do it on purpose, I just were enjoying the reading experience so much that I didn't even notice that some of the things that were happening were a little bit over the top. Therefore, I can understand those who say that there were s few plot points that weren't very realistic, but, personally, that didn't bother me at all. In fact, felt attached to each character, both main and secondary ones, and often felt represented by Emma's past and fears. On the other hand, Justin literally was the perfect love interest for Emma and I fell in love with him thanks to the little things he does for the people he loves. Last but not least, this book made me eager to read more books with the single parent trope because, even though it isn't exactly featured in this novel, I realized that, for me, men who know how to take care of kids are just superior.
Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

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

3.0

This book was completely different from how I expected it to be. In fact, I wouldn't describe it as a mystery nor a thriller, but as a suspense novel. This is due to the fact that I never felt on the edge of my seat while reading it nor was I ever asking myself how and why those people died in the first place. The question and "mystery" component, in fact, was never about who killed them, but about what happened inside the house they all lived in before they died. Nevertheless, I can't say I regret reading it, but I must admit that listening to it as an audiobook was definitely the perfect way to go for me, and I am really glad I decided to consume it in this format, even though I had to skip some parts that were disturbing for me to listen to (I do indeed recommend to check trigger warnings before diving into this novel). I probably won't get around to the sequel, because I felt quite satisfied by the open ending of this novel.