stories_of_the_soul27's reviews
265 reviews

Wren Martin Ruins It All by Amanda DeWitt

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It’s because of books like these exist which is why I still pick up a YA book even though I am 26 years old. I LOVED this book and its set of characters SO MUCH! It was fun, crazy, full of teenage second hand embarrassment moments, thoughtful, giggles and laughter, best friends and long time and new crushes. You know when I love a YA book to its bits? When it shows the protagonist and its main side characters as real flawed teenagers who make mistakes but own and learn from them, with stories about how sometimes at a young age, one privileged and middle class teen can feel like The Atlas. It was about learning to move on from the difficult moments in life, with knowing that life will throw a curveball again but somehow we will learn to get up. Books are like these are a comfort! 
Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson

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

4.0

I had picked up this book on a whim. I wasn’t expecting much and it surprised me. I like mystery and a historical setting and combining them both did work the charm for me. Since it’s a long series, it made sense for the protagonists to have their characters build up and the way it was done left no complaints for me. As for the mystery, it was well written. There were good number of dead bodies, a nice build up of suspense, the pacing was well balanced throughout the story and the atmosphere of the climax was intense. Overall a very enjoyable read and I will definitely be continuing the series. 
Sorry for the Inconvenience: A Memoir by Farah Naz Rishi

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emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

Farah Naaz Rishi is an ordinary girl. She is a girl just like us. She is a girl who had dreams of becoming a writer since an early age, who had a family who loved her, but who also were a source of constant pain to her. She had parents who wanted the best for her and gave her all the materialistic comfort she needed to have a stable life but said parents didn’t support her dreams. She had a difficult relationship with her mother. Her brother was her one of the comfort person but she lost him too soon, and she had a father, with whom she could talk about a lot of things, except her dreams . She’s also a girl who wanted to find love and found it in the form of her best friend who has stuck by her through her most difficult and most joyful phases of her life and seeing her and Stephen’s love and friendship blossom has really been a balm to the otherwise depressing moments of her life. She is just like us who dreamed and she, just like us, might haven’t achieved momentous wins in her life yet but she is living each day, through loss, grief, trauma and she has also found the love of her life and friends and cousins and sisters from different mothers who have been a comfort through it all. She is just like us.
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The Road Through the Wall by Shirley Jackson

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dark reflective slow-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

4.75

The reason I liked this book, even though the most common criticisms go is that the pacing is slow and nothing really happens, is because it reaffirmed my conviction that children are the scariest little shits on this planet. 
I truly believe that children and teenagers could be the meanest people ever and they become mean because of the adults in their life, who impose on them their bigoted values and the children’s brain distort them to the worst possible level. 
This book showed exactly that. Through so many incidents and dialogues, Jackson showed the mentality and behaviour of the kids and the adults. How snob they were, how little love there was among the neighbours and the families alike, how the upbringing differed for the boys and the girls. To me plenty happened throughout the book - the number of times I was sick of the response of the kids and the adults to certain situations. The characterisation was done really well. The horror of the ending won’t really hit home had Jackson didn’t put effort into building the characters so thoroughly! 
We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

THIS WAS AN EPIC MESS!

I didn’t like anyone except Taylor in this story. Teenagers behaving in their classic teenager way by not understanding what MARRIAGE is and saying that they will go ahead with it even though their parents are against it! Their reason to get married now is they will get married later so why not NOW? I mean what?! Marriage means work, compromise, understanding and honesty. None of which could be seen in their relationship during wedding preparations and apartment hunting. And they still wanted to get married. *eye roll* 
And what was with Belly knowing that some part of her will always love Conrad but still she was going to marry Jeremiah. 
At the end, everything conveniently came to a conclusion. The brothers maintained a good relationship and it was Jeremiah letting them go which actually led to Belly & Conrad ending up together. Love triangles with such convenient endings irk me. 

Anyway, Lola Tung and Christopher Briney’s voice was the saving grace for me. I could just whoosh through the story. 
The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji

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mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

This one had a predictable plot and while it was written cleverly yet the clues were easy to pick up. But nevertheless it was a thrilling and easy read and I read it in two sittings. Overall a pretty decent read. 
Funny Story by Emily Henry

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emotional lighthearted relaxing 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? No

3.5

Usually when I read an Emily Henry story, it starts with me feeling ‘meh’ in the beginning but slowly it builds up and I fall in love with the characters and their journey. In ‘Funny Story’ the opposite happened. I liked Daphne and Miles right from the start. But gradually all that fizzled out and I could see them only as the ‘issues’ they have with their parents being major baboons. And I get it, that sometimes all we are is what have not managed to get in life. And I felt somehow that was what Daphne’s personality was - being left out. Abandonment is not an uncommon theme in romance genre. Still I will say that I liked how Emily Henry built the story around it. There are parts of the book I loved a lot. The friendships, the side characters, the whole thing of not getting absorbed into a relationship and trying to be ‘I’ amidst a ‘We’ thing. Emily Henry always has something new to offer. I just don’t know why I couldn’t connect to these characters this time. And no one feels more sad about it than me. 
Orienting: An Indian in Japan by Pallavi Aiyar

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informative lighthearted reflective slow-paced

5.0

Pallavi Aiyar might just become my favourite author from now. Oh the way she has written this book! It is so coherent and full of so many information that I am bursting with knowledge. Let’s get two things out of the way. She has acknowledged her privilege background and so her experience of living in Japan is based on her living in better conditions and she also compares the country of her birth against the country she is currently living in and she has written this in the most honest way a journalist can write something. Japan is a country I have long been interested in. My interest in Japanese culture has started from anime and then I went on to read a lot of Japanese fiction, which has allowed me to gain insights into Japanese culture, but nothing Pallavi Aiyer has written hand me prepared to know Japan in this way. Having lived in various countries and being a Journalist, she knows best on how to read a country and its culture. She has picked up the essence of Japanese culture & the raw materials that makes this country. The book has a lot of info dumping sure but if you read it with patience, you will be gaining so much insights and be able to retain knowledge in the most easy way. Her book is coherent and structured. She might have wanted to say a lot more but she has touched on the most important topics that will appeal to a wider audience. My favourite has been the Indian-Japanese ties of the past of which I was totally unaware of. Aiyer has balanced the good & the bad of Japan and intelligently drew comparisons with India in some areas to throw light on customs we can adapt to grow ourselves not just as a nation but as human beings also. 

Pallavi Aiyer has made me realise that there is so much to know about any country and her books are a perfect way to start with. 
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is my first time reading something like this and yes I enjoyed it. Co-dependency to the point of breakdown and mental health issues leading to obscene and WILD consequences is what this book delivered. 

However I believed that the book could have been a tad bit more long and let the relationship between them cook a bit more so that the horrific events would have a bit more of an impact. 
The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School by Sonora Reyes

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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? No

4.75

How can a book be simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time??? This was a book about characters living in fear because of their sexuality and race while struggling with mental health and betrayals, characters who fear they are sinners and might get thrown out of home for being who they are, for them betrayal came from parents who are supposed to protect them, characters who had to grow up and be adult at an age when they are supposed to be carefree. This was a story about growth, finding one’s place in this world, what it means to be queer and latina, about a group of loyal friends, strong sibling bonds, two extremely sweet queer relationships, gay panic & the battle with faith and sin. 

Read this book and tell me that YA is not an IMPORTANT genre!