rachelmerrie's reviews
373 reviews

Babel by R.F. Kuang

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I think I need a good month to fully process all I’ve read. My initial thought is that it was like reading a university textbook that I actually enjoyed, but it was still a textbook at the end of the day. It was as engaging as it was draining. By the end, I felt as though nothing really happened or changed since the start, but I believe that to be intentional. Although it’s historical fiction, I do believe it to be educational, insightful, and necessary. 
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Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

I don’t typically enjoy books about people finding their way back to each other. I don’t believe in revisiting past relationships, especially from high school or younger, but this book made me believe in what individual growth can bring to a past relationship. 
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See Me by Nicholas Sparks

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

3.0

This went in so many circles that I am truly confused and unsure what the point was. I didn’t hate it, but I also didn’t love it. I felt like I could almost love the characters, but never made it to the finish line. 
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Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

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

2.0

This draaaaged and was very guessable. 
Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

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challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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

5.0

So so so so so necessary.

Hated part of the ending: (VAGUE SPOILER)
Why did she get a slap on the wrist when he would’ve had his whole life taken from him? 
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Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

TJR may be the only author who can keep me engaged even when I could care less about the subject.

If you play sports, this will probably hit you so much deeper than it did me, but I still loved every second of it.
Sorrow & Bliss by Meg Mason

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

2.0

I know this is going to make me sound so stupid, but I think there’s too much of a language gap between England English and US English for me to fully grasp this book. I often felt things were too vague for me to understand or verbiage was non inclusive to those outside of England. 

Additionally, I found the characters to be incredibly boring.
How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this and might even end up buying the physical copy to annotate. There were so many Grace thoughts that I’d love to dissect. I enjoyed the structure. 
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing tense 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

5.0

This is my kind of romcom. Whole characters coming together with real conversations. 
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The first half was very interesting, the second half lost my attention. I think the second half maybe was just as interesting, just dragged on? The concept is so captivating and challenging. Worth the read, tons of TWs. 
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