nerdyprettythings's reviews
495 reviews

I think “it was okay” is sort of the consensus among reviews I’ve seen of this one and I have to agree. I got the ebook years ago and then checked out the audio this week - I actually think the audio is great and added a lot to it. They made up for lack of the magazine look with some sound effects and narrator changes. But the book itself was just okay. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think it was as scary or as funny/odd as it was going for.

I’ve seen some reviews that disliked the quick descent into violence and less than realistic plot, and while I see where they’re coming from… I don’t care. I really really enjoyed this book. I’ve seen a lot of people pitch it as “scratch your Yellowjackets itch” and it absolutely is the right vibes for that. 
Mostly high schoolers and some management are left to tend to an amusement park during a massive hurricane that leaves them stranded in the park with water as far as the eye can see. It keeps raining for a month, so rescue efforts de-prioritize a place corporate leaders say seems under control. Panic strikes when the power goes down in the shelter, and when everyone emerges from shelter, they split into groups, mostly defined by what they did in the park before. The story is told through interviews with the survivors. The only thing I was really missing was some follow up for the second half of interviews with the early people, a couple of the tribes had no one speak in the second half. If you love Yellowjackets or nonfiction like Closed for Storm, I highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this! It’s a series of memoir-style essays from a comedian who had a similar upbringing as me - safe home, great parents… and constantly worrying about your eternal soul. His notes about having to talk politics with his family these days hit home real hard. But there’s also a bit about going on a date with Satan so we’re not doing regular memoir here, it’s comedy bits and essays as well. I picked this up from @netgalley, thank you!

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you my girl Ruth Ware is in her flop era. Not everything is bad - Imogen Church is back as the audiobook narrator and she’s fantastic. There are a few scenes that are really fun and inventive I thought, and it’s a very fast-paced thriller if that’s what you’re in the mood for. That said, this book pretends it’s a mystery for 60% of the book, but it is *not*. The MC basically speaks to one other character, so guess whodunnit?! The first 60% should have been 40% tops. And the ending… my girl! Ruth! No!! She used to be unafraid to give us less-than-happy endings and now this HEA trope bs? No! No ma’am! 

I enjoyed this so much. If you've followed me for a while, you know I can be a grump and when it comes to YA often give a "maybe if you like YA"-style review, but I really liked this! Our MC is new in town, she's been through a real big trauma (check the CWs for sure), and I just wanted everything for her. She falls in with a group of kids she doesn't always enjoy being around, but she likes it better than being at home at at first. She falls real hard and there's coming out discourse (but mostly internal, and in a way I think fits perfectly in YA stories especially). All this to say - I was going to read it anyway for Hayley, but this was good!!

My only real quibble is that it feels like the publisher forced this to end with a happily ever after. It's not a traditional romance, and WHY IS THAT NOT OKAY?? The HEA ending is very abrupt, and I really wish this had ended when the MC stands up for herself and ends the relationship.

Gahhhh I loved this so much. The writing was beautiful and challenging. The way the banter builds in the letters had me falling for these characters as they did for each other. I’ve always loved books made of letters and this is peak peak top of the genre. I also love time travel and that element really worked for me as well. It’s almost shocking that it’s taken me so long to read this, but what a joy to get into it for the first time. 

The show and books are both so far off the rails, and yet… I just keep submitting my library holds and reading these. They’re so quick, and I do still enjoy the style Kepnes uses - the books basically make fun of Joe as he continues to think he’s amazing and then fail at everything (other than getting away with murder). I enjoyed the side characters in this one more than I have any of them since book one. I also liked the direction of the story in this much more than I did the latest season of the show. 
This book focused on Joe getting into a writing fellowship, and if you’re looking for a book with a similar (but non-stalker-Joe) plot, I highly recommend The Writing Retreat. 

I've read so many vampire books lately that I feel like I could write a dissertation about how the trope is used! 😂
In Woman, Eating, vampirism means a life of loneliness for our MC. Lyd has been taught to intentionally lose friends and distance herself from humans. She has been told she's unworthy of good food, she absolutely has an eating disorder, and her mom believes their condition is a curse passed down from colonizers in their lineage. Lyd’s vampirism disconnects her from her father’s humanity and his Japanese heritage. This is very much a new adult story, and Lyd is out on her own for the first time. It’s very weird, which I love, and I think does a great job of capturing how lost the MC feels.