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katyjean81's reviews
1318 reviews

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch

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

3.25

This Will All Be Over Soon: A Memoir by Cecily Strong

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Beautiful memoir of love, loss, grief and hope. 
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.25

Absolutely beautiful story: romance, friendship, family, love, love, neuroatypical folks, feminism, misogyny, independence, autonomy, honesty, family we choose. I'm in love with this quirky, funny story. 
The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-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

3.25

Sweet :) Perfectly typical tortured romance that develops over many many pages 
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

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

4.0

Very interesting. Not at all what i expected as a spin off from The Glass Hotel... And that's a good thing. The Glass Hotel was good, but this book was far more intriguing. 

Time travel gives me the shivers. 
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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

5.0

That. Was fucking WILD. I've never read a book quite like this, and it made me sad I gave up on Dr. Strange and Mr. Norrell. 

Is it about mental illness? Life in a cult? Drug use? Some connection to ancient life which I'm not educated enough to understand? No matter. It's bonkers and I loved it. 

Also, I'm so glad what i thought i knew about this book was a complete misconception. Refreshing. 
The Stand by Stephen King

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

4.5

Grabbed me from the first sentence. I loved it. Tense, thrilling, scary... King just knows exactly how to punch me in the feels. 
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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

4.5

Reminiscent of Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell trilogy in it's enveloping language and historically specific context
The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

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dark 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? Yes

2.75

The farther I get from it, the less I like it. Not believable. 
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

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

5.0

Holy Toledo that was OUTSTANDING! What a read! What a ride! What an American classic!! I laughed, i cried, i stayed up too late. Stunner of a book. 

The literary tie-ins to epics and adventurers and times gone by; the tender sweet love of family; the caps disregard of family; the absolutely remarkable way in which the author switches between the voices of the characters; the surprising (and yet not at all) independence of the single female character; the heart breaking portrayal of the ravages of mental illness; the gut punch of an ending; the humor that catches when you least expect it: every single piece of this is a give start novel. And I'm not a bit surprised
 
Highly recommended to everyone. Simply gorgeous.