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rachelmerrie's reviews
373 reviews
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Read like a YouTube video explaining cult mentality and MLM joiners. Interesting, but I feel I watch so many of these style videos that I have all the same information stored in my brain.
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This held my attention the entire time. I loved the mindset it put me in as far as thinking about the relatives of serial killers and the trauma that comes from it. So many twists at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Anytime a book talks about religion, I immediately become disinterested. Aside from that, this was very bland and not excitable.
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
funny
lighthearted
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
2.0
I initially gave this 3 stars, but the more I sat with it, the more I realized it’s 2 stars. Here are my messy notes I wrote while reading:
There’s a lot of hating on white men and women not getting access to the same things as men… but then the main female character finding out lack of access has nothing to do with gender. Of course, the author never circled back to that and left it as is to show that men still get more things than women in the work place (but not in this situation??)
Of course she’s SO short and dresses “quirky” and faints and cries over road kill. She’s all of the things.
Her ex is literal trash and that trope needs to die. He fed her meat (she’s vegan) and made her give names to the road kill AND cheated on her. He’s all of the things.
The main male character is SO tall and SO strong and SO smart and cooks and is vegan and drives an F150 because it’s “sustainable” and is athletic. He’s also all of the things.
Her wanting all women in her new office makes me sick.
“I can’t believe I’m having sex with someone with a six pack”
Main female character’s unawareness of main male character liking her is annoying.
“At least you have a shitty family to hold onto” - yes. Because having shitty toxic people around is better than having loving parents who died tragically.
Main female character walks out crying before conversation is done EVERY TIME.
Nothing happened in the middle
So much happened at the end
There’s a lot of hating on white men and women not getting access to the same things as men… but then the main female character finding out lack of access has nothing to do with gender. Of course, the author never circled back to that and left it as is to show that men still get more things than women in the work place (but not in this situation??)
Of course she’s SO short and dresses “quirky” and faints and cries over road kill. She’s all of the things.
Her ex is literal trash and that trope needs to die. He fed her meat (she’s vegan) and made her give names to the road kill AND cheated on her. He’s all of the things.
The main male character is SO tall and SO strong and SO smart and cooks and is vegan and drives an F150 because it’s “sustainable” and is athletic. He’s also all of the things.
Her wanting all women in her new office makes me sick.
“I can’t believe I’m having sex with someone with a six pack”
Main female character’s unawareness of main male character liking her is annoying.
“At least you have a shitty family to hold onto” - yes. Because having shitty toxic people around is better than having loving parents who died tragically.
Main female character walks out crying before conversation is done EVERY TIME.
Nothing happened in the middle
So much happened at the end
This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
So slow and so boring. This quote explains the book perfectly, "So, you're like 13 Going On 30, but it's 40 Going On 16 Going On 40? Something like that?"
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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 did not disappoint. I listened to the audio book and felt the pacing was quick and engaging. I find thrillers to be easily guessable, but not this one. I will say I did guess the ending by about 75%, but not in its entirety and it was a wild guess.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Sexual assault
Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m conflicted. It was obvious where this was going, but I wasn’t too mad at that. The writing was not my favorite, but I could overlook that, as it was written well enough to envision in my mind. I did not appreciate the completely ridiculous “balls deep”-esque comments (so many), or how immediate the attraction was, or the “built on a lie” trope. Overall, it was okay.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I practically had to envision this as the Addams Family for it to have any interest to me. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style or the characters. I found myself not caring and struggling to want to pick it up, even though it’s such a short book.