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24 reviews
One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall
informative
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
4.0
Title: One of the Good Guys by Araminta Hall
Publication Date- 1/9/24
Publisher- Dreamscape Select
Overall Rating- 4 out of 5 stars
Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so much to Dreamscape Select for giving me an early copy of One of the Good Guys audio for review. I have been so excited to read this since a friend of mine loved it. One of the Good Guys is a literary thriller (more on that in a minute) that is sure to make you want to discuss with others. It exemplifies the “nice guy” phenomena in society that is missed by many. That’s the entire point of this story to show how much this is missed, overlooked, and made excuses for. If you are looking for your next bookclub pick this certainly should be it. This book will likely divide people, though it shouldn’t but it’s likely to provide some rich conversations and thought provoking experiments. You will be torn between morally gray characters and not know what to do with those feelings.
The warning I will give for One of the Good Guys is it’s hardly a thriller and it’s predictable. Now, don’t click off yet let me explain why this isn’t really a bad thing. If you’re coming to this book for a super thrilling experience this is not the book. If you are coming for a thought experiment and a little thrills, you’re in the right place. This is a character study and a conversation about men in society. I feel like that’s the most important part of this review.
I don’t want to say much else because I want you to go in with little expectations. So go read the book, have a good time and if you want to chat with me after you’re welcome to.
Where you can find me. You can find me on goodreads, storygraph, on booktube at Ry Reads and in the description of all of my videos are links for the above places as well as my discord which is the best place to reach me. This will be featured in my monthly wrap up video, look out for that at the end of Jan. 2024.
Publication Date- 1/9/24
Publisher- Dreamscape Select
Overall Rating- 4 out of 5 stars
Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you so much to Dreamscape Select for giving me an early copy of One of the Good Guys audio for review. I have been so excited to read this since a friend of mine loved it. One of the Good Guys is a literary thriller (more on that in a minute) that is sure to make you want to discuss with others. It exemplifies the “nice guy” phenomena in society that is missed by many. That’s the entire point of this story to show how much this is missed, overlooked, and made excuses for. If you are looking for your next bookclub pick this certainly should be it. This book will likely divide people, though it shouldn’t but it’s likely to provide some rich conversations and thought provoking experiments. You will be torn between morally gray characters and not know what to do with those feelings.
The warning I will give for One of the Good Guys is it’s hardly a thriller and it’s predictable. Now, don’t click off yet let me explain why this isn’t really a bad thing. If you’re coming to this book for a super thrilling experience this is not the book. If you are coming for a thought experiment and a little thrills, you’re in the right place. This is a character study and a conversation about men in society. I feel like that’s the most important part of this review.
I don’t want to say much else because I want you to go in with little expectations. So go read the book, have a good time and if you want to chat with me after you’re welcome to.
Where you can find me. You can find me on goodreads, storygraph, on booktube at Ry Reads and in the description of all of my videos are links for the above places as well as my discord which is the best place to reach me. This will be featured in my monthly wrap up video, look out for that at the end of Jan. 2024.
The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
There is some uniqueness in The Fortune Seller. There is a group of young riders at Yale’s equestrian program. They are wealthy, jealous and worried about the future. Going into this, I was actually excited to read something different, I’ve never read anything like the way this is set up. However, it wasn’t dark enough for my tastes and the characters felt somewhat flat according to my expectations of what this story would be.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Title: The Fortune Seller by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
- Publication Date- 2/13/2024
- Publisher- Macmillan Audio
- Overall Rating- see below
Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I am excited to bring you all a review of The Fortune Seller. Before we get started I just wanted to own that I did not finish reading this book at 25 percent in. Let me explain. This is just a simple case of “reader know thyself first.” Instead of giving this book a negative review, I am going to tell you who this book IS for.
I believe the description of the book is rock solid. It sets you up well. This is a coming of age story, about class, growing up, female friendships, destiny, and wealth. The one critique I have of the synopsis is it states that it is a story that is in the back drop of “two mysterious deaths.” Now remember, I stopped reading at 25 percent in. However, to that point no one had died and there was no indication that anyone would. Which in the end could be intriguing. I think this would have worked better for me if there was a dual timeline or some indication that a darker plot was coming.
The feeling I got from the synopsis was that this would be a darker story. And it may be after the point that I stopped. However, there wasn’t enough in it for me to keep going. I think you could like this if you like stories about young female friendships, envy, and in some ways it is an dark academia. I will say that it is an academic setting but there wasn’t anything dark yet….
I feel like writing a review like this is important. In an age of reviewing we don’t often indicate when a book is “bad,” versus when it just isn’t for you and your interest. This book is not bad, it just isn’t for me and my interest. I had hoped there would be more of a thriller aspect or dark side of friendship. Again, owning that I didn’t make it past 25 percent before I realized this wasn’t for me.
There is some uniqueness in The Fortune Seller. There is a group of young riders at Yale’s equestrian program. They are wealthy, jealous and worried about the future. Going into this, I was actually excited to read something different, I’ve never read anything like the way this is set up. However, it wasn’t dark enough for my tastes and the characters felt somewhat flat according to my expectations of what this story would be.
If female friendships, coming of age and worry about the future and destiny is your cup of tea you certainly should give this one a try. I hope this review helped set your expectations.
Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Title: Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona
- Publication Date- Jan. 30th
- Publisher- Harper Perennial
- Overall Rating- New Favorite
Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I honestly don’t know where to begin. This was unexpected. I went into this expecting to get a nostalgic story that’s a love letter to 90’s horror films. I got that, and so much more. This is also a love letter to anxiety and fear. Reading this review, it’s not something you can truly understand what I’m talking about until you read the book. I have never felt so seen and understood in a book before to the point I reached out to the author to say thank you which I have never done before. Not everyone will connect with this the same way I did because your life experiences are different from mine. There were so many things that I couldn’t believe I was reading because I thought only I deeply felt or had that experience. Jokes on me.
Writing a review for a book that hit me so deeply is challenging because I don’t know what to say other than wow. You can expect a lot of nods to 90’s horror movies, a slow burn character driven experience, commentary on single motherhood and poverty, anxiety and panic, being afraid but stepping up anyway, young love and toxic friendships/ relationships, all of these things were done so well I could go on and on and on. I did a reading vlog of this on my booktube channel at Ry Reads and even in that vlog I was unable to really review this without just saying holy s..t.
This book takes place in the 90’s and you feel that at every turn. There is a landline phone, a radio that gets unplugged (you can’t just turn off your bluetooth music) they order pizza and dance, the kids that are being babysat can’t call their mom, she doesn't have a cell phone and can’t be reached/ found. A lot of these elements added to the horror/thriller aspects.
Someone Emily Ruth Verona spilled my deepest fears out on a page and created a cathartic read. I still don’t know how this was accomplished. I hope you will give it a try.
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
Did not finish book. Stopped at 60%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 60%.
Title: The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
Publication Date- Jan. 23rd
Publisher- Atria Books
Overall Rating- DNF at 60 percent
Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: I did not finish this book and stopped reading at 60 percent.
Review: Unfortunately this didn’t work for me. The entire book is told in mixed media format which I typically love. At first, I had a hard time figuring out what was going on and who was who. As I read more, that was less of a problem and the story became more clear. Around the 50 percent mark I started to not want to pick the book up any more. This could be a case of bad timing for me. I found the story slow but usually that is something I love with mystery novels. For some reason I just wasn’t enjoying it any more and didn’t feel that I needed to get all the answers and finish the novel. That being said, I would say if you’ve like this author before (this was my first by her) then you may enjoy this. I would like to read more mixed media in the future, that element was mostly fun.
The characters are likable and at times morally gray. The overall story and plot points are interesting. I did appreciate that the author dives into the aspects of journalism that may or may not be ethical. I liked reading and thinking about those elements. Even though I chose to not finish the book, I think others should give it a try. Especially if you like mixed media, slow burn mysteries, cult stories and journalism. Even writing those elements out makes me feel excited, I wish I could pinpoint more of why this didn’t work for me.
Publication Date- Jan. 23rd
Publisher- Atria Books
Overall Rating- DNF at 60 percent
Review: Review copy given to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer: I did not finish this book and stopped reading at 60 percent.
Review: Unfortunately this didn’t work for me. The entire book is told in mixed media format which I typically love. At first, I had a hard time figuring out what was going on and who was who. As I read more, that was less of a problem and the story became more clear. Around the 50 percent mark I started to not want to pick the book up any more. This could be a case of bad timing for me. I found the story slow but usually that is something I love with mystery novels. For some reason I just wasn’t enjoying it any more and didn’t feel that I needed to get all the answers and finish the novel. That being said, I would say if you’ve like this author before (this was my first by her) then you may enjoy this. I would like to read more mixed media in the future, that element was mostly fun.
The characters are likable and at times morally gray. The overall story and plot points are interesting. I did appreciate that the author dives into the aspects of journalism that may or may not be ethical. I liked reading and thinking about those elements. Even though I chose to not finish the book, I think others should give it a try. Especially if you like mixed media, slow burn mysteries, cult stories and journalism. Even writing those elements out makes me feel excited, I wish I could pinpoint more of why this didn’t work for me.