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182 reviews

The Story Of Us by Zarin Madiyha

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hopeful slow-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

2.75

Good Food, Bad Diet: The Habits You Need to Ditch Diet Culture, Lose Weight, and Fix Your Relationship with Food Forever by Abby Langer

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challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This is one of the first non-fiction books that I have read for self-enjoyment and not because school told me to, and the very first one about eating and diet culture that I dived into. In fact, I have always been very scared of starting books about this topic due to my personal history with eds, but this one didn't trigger me at all, indeed it helped me recognize how many of my intrusive thoughts about food are actually caused by diet culture. In fact, in this book I found suggestions to heal my relationship with food instead of notions about how many calories or grams of food I should eat every day. The author's purpose is clearly making the reader able to be comfortable around food, to have a balanced life style and a healthy body (and therefore not necessarily a skinny one). 
Charting Stars by Micheline Ryckman

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

3.0

 This book was not what I expected at all, firstly because I believed it to be the first book in a series of interconnected standalones set in the same world, whereas it is the first installment in a proper fantasy series and therefore the ending of this novel is open and to know how the story is going to end I will need to read the sequel or sequels, but I probably could have expected it due to the fact that it has a little more than 200 pages. Nevertheless, I am not sure that I was intrigued enough to continue with the series, in fact, even though I didn't dislike my time reading this novel, I never felt attached to the story nor any of the characters and I often found myself wishing to finish it as soon as possible to move on to something else. I know this may sound harsh, but I want to be completely honest and, in my personal opinion, this book didn't have that spark that usually makes me eager to keep reading. Despite this, a three stars rating does not mean that the book has something wrong per se, but simply that it wasn't my cup of tea. 
Powerful by Lauren Roberts

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

3.5

I really enjoyed coming back into the Powerful world, and I think that reading this novella right before starting Reckless was the perfect idea to refresh my mind about what happened in the first installment. I was also very happy to read about Adena's life while Paedyn was participating in the trials. In fact, I really loved Adena's character in the previous novel, and I always wandered how she survived the slums without her best friend providing food for her, and now I can see who helped her. Nevertheless, it really takes me a while to fall in love with a story and its characters, and therefore it's very rare that I give more than 3.5 stars to a novella or short story. The fact that I already knew how this book would end also effected my rating, because I never felt curious to know how the plot would develop.  
Eat Your Heart Out Vol. 1 by Terry Blas, Matty Newton

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.0

This heartwarming graphic novel is the perfect cozy read for those who feel like they don't belong anywhere and who would like to just move away to New York and start everything from scratch. In addition, I find that graphic novels are the perfect palate cleanser between more challenging read, and this one in particular felt like a breath of fresh air after reading many fantasies and mysteries. 
The cast of characters is very diverse and I think that everyone would feel represented by at least one of the protagonists. I already see how the found family trope will reach its peak in the next volumes. In addition, the ending had me quite surprised and I can't wait for volume two to come out to find out how the plot will develop from there.  
The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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

4.5

The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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

4.75

Even though I preferred the first installment, it's with this second volume that I really fell in love with the cast of characters (Jameson in particular) and started to feel attached to them as they were real. In fact, even though I preferred the plot and development of the previous novel, the ending of this book had me so intrigued that I couldn't wait to know how the trilogy ended and therefore started the last book right away. I can't say much without spoiling the first installment, but I can say that I didn't expect the turn that this trilogy would take on the mystery end as much as I would have never predicted who Avery would end up with between the two brothers of the love triangle. 
Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

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emotional hopeful reflective 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

5.0

This book took me totally by surprise, and I would have never expected to give it 5 stars since I bought it on a whim while I was in Oxford because it costed only 5 pounds. I decided to start it this month because the cover gave me the perfect summer vibes, but went into it blindly and without reading the synopsis on the back. The only thing I knew was that it was an adult romance with the second chance trope but also with a child involved (it's not exactly surprise pregnancy but something quite similar). What I didn't expect from this novel was to fall in love with the characters and start rooting for them despite of their many faults and past mistakes. The daughter in particular was the best kid I have ever read about and I loved the way she brought her parents together many times without knowing it. In addition, I loved the description of Tanzania and its landscapes as well as the "friends' wedding" trope. Last but not least, I found that this book touched a lot of important and deep topics in depth but with a very sensitive touch. In fact, it made me feel the widest range of emotions, and I found myself laughing out loud, giggling and then crying within a few pages. 
Five Survive by Holly Jackson

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

4.0

I had quite a strange experience reading this book, because on one hand I never wanted to put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next, on the other I felt really irritated by the characters, the one I couldn't stand at all in particular was Oliver, and therefore I couldn't focus on the plot as much as I would have liked to because of them. In fact, it seemed to me that they tried to do everything other than what could have actually saved them. I also believe that the novel could have been way shorter, even though its length didn't bother me as much as I expected because I found it compulsively readable nevertheless. Some plot twists had me shocked, while others were predictable, but overall I was content with the ending, despite it being quite unrealistic.  
E non vissero per sempre felici e contenti by Stephanie Garber

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adventurous lighthearted medium-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? Yes

4.0

Reading this book felt like riding a rollercoaster. In the beginning I felt a little confused because I didn't remember much about the first installment, but I have to say that this sequel does a great job at reminding details and plot points from the first novel. Nevertheless, I had a difficult time getting into the book, but by the 100 page mark, I finally felt invested in what was going on. I learned to love the characters that I didn't feel particularly attached to in the first installment, even though the naivety of the main character, Evangeline, often got to my nerves. Then,  around 70 pages away from the end, everything started to go down and I couldn't stop reading. I wasn't even planning to finish the last half of the book in one night, but I literally couldn't go to sleep without knowing how it ended. And the cliff hanger at the end hit me way more than the one in the first novel, and therefore I cannot wait for the last book to get to me so I can get to it immediately.