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bea_reads_books's reviews
185 reviews
The Last Bloodcarver by Vanessa Le
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Wow okay first of all I listened to this book on audio and I was a little apprehensive when I saw it was eleven hours long because my attention span isn’t great and I struggle with books any longer than nine hours. BUT this book grabbed me right from the jump and did not feel as long as it was at all. I can’t remember the last time I listened to an audiobook this long and didn’t feel like at least the first half was a slog. It wasn’t even particularly action-packed or anything (which I often find exhausting and consequently difficult to enjoy). I think the author’s creative mind and writing style just really worked for me. Additionally, I really thought I had everything figured out. The two major plot twists weren’t that hard to guess (not in a “too obvious” way, but in a “this was set up well so it’s not too hard to follow the clues” way). So here I was thinking it was pretty straightforward and nothing could surprise me, and then the epilogue hit me like a truck 😵💫
The Dos and Donuts of Love by Adiba Jaigirdar
fast-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? Yes
3.75
The Wonders We Seek: Thirty Incredible Muslims Who Helped Shape the World by Aneesa Mumtaz, Saadia Faruqi, Saffa Khan
informative
3.75
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
You've Been Summoned by Lindsey Lamar
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Okay, I was really excited because the premise of this book - being interactive with the reader as the detective - seemed really cool. However I do not personally feel it delivered on that super well. Aside from the part where you fill out a form with your “professional recommendation” for who to arrest, it mostly wasn’t all that interactive. There were notes from another officer to the reader scattered throughout the book, and I get that they were supposed to draw you in, but they were actually pretty confusing. Even the “helpful tips” actually made me doubt my conclusion (which ended up being correct, but I waffled quite a bit because of the odd way the tips were written).
The main character and the principal narrator of the book, Jane, is absolutely insufferable. She’s incredibly paranoid of everyone around her for no good reason, to the point that I was CONSTANTLY frustrated and kept having to set the book aside and come back to it later. I know that having the POV character pick up on odd things/something being off about a situation is a tactic that is used often to set the eerie mood in mystery books, but in this case it felt so incredibly forced almost every time it happened. I wasn’t thinking “ooo spooky I wonder what that’s about”; I was thinking “girl wtf do you mean, that’s not odd at all”.
Additionally, there were certain details of the book that didn’t make any sense even after supposedly getting all the answers. I was hopingJane would turn out to be an unreliable narrator, because a lot of the things she says don’t line up, but even after finding out that that was true, a lot of things STILL don’t make sense. It felt more like the author kept losing track of her timelines than anything else.
Overall, I think this book could’ve used some structural edits, but otherwise was mostly a fun time. To be honest I probably would’ve rated it above 3⭐️ if Jane wasn’t the worst person ever.
The main character and the principal narrator of the book, Jane, is absolutely insufferable. She’s incredibly paranoid of everyone around her for no good reason, to the point that I was CONSTANTLY frustrated and kept having to set the book aside and come back to it later. I know that having the POV character pick up on odd things/something being off about a situation is a tactic that is used often to set the eerie mood in mystery books, but in this case it felt so incredibly forced almost every time it happened. I wasn’t thinking “ooo spooky I wonder what that’s about”; I was thinking “girl wtf do you mean, that’s not odd at all”.
Additionally, there were certain details of the book that didn’t make any sense even after supposedly getting all the answers. I was hoping
Overall, I think this book could’ve used some structural edits, but otherwise was mostly a fun time. To be honest I probably would’ve rated it above 3⭐️ if Jane wasn’t the worst person ever.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad
emotional
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
4.25
This book wasn’t what I was expecting, and I can’t believe this is a debut novel. Huang handles the multiple timelines well enough that I didn’t get confused (which happens often to me). I like how blatantly sexual it is, since a lot of authors seem to sort of tiptoe around the subject of sex if it is not between a man and a woman.