blithesquesttoread's Reviews (480)


3.75 stars!

This review is long overdue, mostly because I was unable to make up my mind about it. To be honest, I am still not sure but I am going to give it a try.

So, I liked the character of Josie a lot. Yes, she had a lot to figure out for herself and she was a drifter but I liked the fact that in the beginning it was shown that she was a no-nonsense girl. And I need to read books about more such characters. The other thing that I liked about this book was how it covered a range of things - starting from discussion about schizophrenia. Now, I have read a few books talking about mental disorders briefly and no doubt even here we had talk about it briefly. But what I liked about it is how the story was connected around it, it didn't feel as if it was a last attempt by the author to talk about something serious and important. Also we had discussions about adverse childhood experience which made the book more sensible and approachable for me.

Now coming to the romance, I hate to admit this but I wasn't a big fan of Brinn and Josie. As much as I liked their character individually, I didn't appreciate them that much when they were together. I don't know how to put this but Brinn was a bit obnoxious for my taste. But apart from that, I did enjoy reading this book!

I was provided with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was so much more exciting than the first book. It was just magnificent to read all the adventures that the party went through while going to find the dragon's liar. And not only that but also the way the characters had to deal with the dragon to take his blood was very amazing. I was especially charmed when the quest to take dragon's blood proved to be fulfilled only when they dealt with or conquered their biggest fears.

I could only say that I loved it and was satisfied to read it. I cannot wait to read the next book!

4.5 stars

It was really nicee. The starting was a little bit slow but as I was reading it further, the novella became altogether intriguing and hard to put down. My favorite character was undoubtedly Theo. He was amazing and I especially liked the fact that he was keen on seeking revenge. I mean it was kind of the only thing that made him endure all the struggles. And this is true for all the characters as well. They had something or the other to inspire them and keep going. It was good to know that fact. And the ending was an incredible one. It was a ending which promised me that I cannot really live without reading the next one. So all in all it was amazing!

Can't wait to start the next one :))

This book was exhilarating and confusing for me. The only thing I was clear about was the journey of self discovery that the main character went through. And the fact that this was the book which made it easy for me to get out of my reading slump. Starting with Allison, I really loved how her character developed throughout the book. While the book did start with a tragedy, I am so happy that the major focus of it wasn't Romance. Honestly, that was a big relief for me because at the end of the day in a lot of romantic comedy it comes down to romance and not self discovery. So many plus points for that!!

So I'll give a brief description - Allison loses her job one day before her 35th birthday because of false rumors. Moreover, her fiance confesses that he's in love with her maid of honor when only a month is left for the wedding. Suddenly her life collapses around her and she doesn't know anything anymore. With the help of her friend Jordan, the self help book aisle at Barnes and Noble and the coffee shop owner, Eric, she's able to find herself again and the illusion that she had of having a perfect life before clears more and more.

Now here's the thing, the book was really good. I absolutely loved how Allison slowly understood herself better and how she didn't lose hope at all. It was all very like Eat Pray Love, with her journeying through different levels of self discovery and understanding. The only problem, not exactly a problem but more like situation, that I had was the sudden surge towards the end. Starting from the trip to Costa Rica, everything was happening very quickly and to be honest, I was really liking the previous slow pace of the book. And there's one more thing - this book made me think a lot. Like a lot, lot. I mean I'll need two times my age to actually have a midlife crisis but it still made me question a lot of things around me. It was quite an experience!

I was provided with an arc by the publisher in exchange for an honest review!

I was provided with an arc in exchange for an honest review. This hasn't affected my review whatsoever.

The first thing that you should know about me is that I am trash for small town romances, even though I don't really live in a small town and most of the times the plot of all small town books somehow look the same to me. But does that discourage me to read them and love them? NO.

First of all, I really liked the setting of the book. I can't begin to geek over how beautiful Timber Falls sounded and the fact that I really want to read all the books in this series. The side characters managed to be intriguing for me because I haven't read the previous books and they constantly urged me to know more about them. Secondly, I appreciated the character development I could see in Starla, Sawyer and even Charlie. Yes, I have heard of the instances where partners don't leave each other because of so and so reasons but honestly if I couldn't keep up with the character of Charlie. Thirdly, I really appreciated how the topics of Divorce, Pregnancy and MS were dealt. And last but not the least, the romance part itself was really good.

I know there are people in this universe who believe that they are the center of everything and despite their wrongdoings, nothing will happen to them but this guy was insufferable. Even after the fact that Starla clearly told him that there was no chance of them getting back together and the fact that he was caught by her in the process of cheating on her, he still had the audacity to pester her about her moving back with him. Does his character improve? Well he did realize his 'mistakes' and was ready to do anything to make Starla forgive him and since it isn't a fantasy novel, I am okay with this development. He was kinda sufferable in the end so I guess it's alright.

As for Starla's character and Sawyer's character, I liked how they functioned. Starla is a fellow bookworm (bonus points) and to put the expression nicely, she is upright and really good. Same goes for Sawyer.

Now I don't know if its just me but I couldn't overlook the statements Starla's parents made to her about how she should go back to Charlie and the fact that he will take her (at least two times I guess). And even when it was clearly displayed how Starla kind of announced to everyone that she's officially no longer her wife and everything, I would have liked I directly statement or something to this particular comment. That's something that kind of bothered me. And another thing was some conservative thoughts here and there which I know were necessary to show that they were conservative but sometimes I just wanted to go in there and punch the townsfolks. No hard feelings.

I guess that's it. The rest of the things were just so beautiful that I finished this book... which is a big thing considering it was the first book that I could read and finish after the reading slump hit me. Ugh, those ugly days when I couldn't read :((

*Setting: 5/5 stars
*Plot: 4.5/5 stars
*Characters: 4/5 stars
*Writing style: 4/5 stars
*Overall: 4.5 stars

This review is long overdue.

Fairytale is a modern adaptation of the old classic - Cinderella. This was definitely the very reason I picked up this novel and, well, to put it... it was too similar to the plot we see in Cinderella.

Camille's parents are "the perfect couple". The books starts with describing how they met (Christophe and Joy), how they instantly knew they were made for each other, it was an easy romance and they knew they would end up together. Christophe always knew he wanted to get into winery business and Joy being a business intellectual, they decided to move to Napa Valley in order to build their own vineyard and a chateau to have their own peaceful living. Camille inherits her mother's intellect and starts at a young age to look into the business matters. Soon after Camille's graduation, Joy dies of breast cancer and it is up to Camille to take care of the estate and her father's distress.

Up till this time the story was going okay. I mean the setting seemed too idyllic but it was alright. The story progresses with us meeting the sophisticated French lady who apparently has shifted to Napa Valley out of the blue. She is going around throwing lavish parties and it is during one such party that she meets Christophe. Now, the thing is this whole plot scenario was just too much. The lady wanted to apparently 'fish for a man who would take care of her expenses' and that's why she came to Napa Valley. First of all, to find a partner I don't know why she would come to a literally secluded area where it would be apparent that mostly families live?? Second of all, it was kind of stupid of her to go around throwing parties, I mean you got money why are you wasting it just to lure men in?? And third of all, this scenario seems really regressive to me...

Now the point here is that she was after this particular rich and handsome friend of Christophe whose wife died of breast cancer just like Joy a few years before her. That guy instantly seemed to know that she was after his money and he even warned Christophe to stay away and alert of her. Now the plot seemed to progress in a way that he somehow ends up having a fling with her and they have repetitive such flings and somehow he ends up proposing her. Did I mention it was kind of just 6 months after Joy died? Well, moving on... we have the same plot lines that we see in Cinderella... somehow Christophe and Camille become distant, the lady (I forgot her name lol) makes a ton of changes in the house, Camille feels sad and burdened etc.

Now, Christophe used to travel a lot for his business trips and after Joy died, this came to a standstill. But Camille had persuaded him to continue with the trips. It is in such a sudden manner that he dies. He kept everything in Camille's name and this is where the plot becomes more sinister and the lady and her two sons try to coerce money out of her. Things get so bad that they are ready to murder her by any means. And well, I want to describe the plot more but I guess it can potentially be a spoiler so I'll stop.

The writing style was good, no doubt about it. It was written in the same format how Fairytales are actually written. The fact that it was a modern adaptation of Cinderella could be seen clearly from the way story progressed. It's just that it somehow was regressive in the sense I had to question whether this actually happened or not. No doubt such cases aren't uncommon but I expected to have a plot twist in such a manner that we see a different approach to this particular story. I liked how Camille's romance was not the focal point of the whole story but at the same time who she ends up saying she loves him was kind of cliched. VERY. But leaving that aside, there were only a handful of characters I actually liked - The grandmother, Joy, Christophe's friend (we don't see a lot of him but he was a good character) and Camille as well although I hoped she would have taken more of an action.

Lastly, it isn't like the book was full of old stereotypes, there were certain key points that I really liked such as characters like Joy. We see that there were two types of relationships that were depicted - one where marriage was the answer and one where companionship was. And as I said earlier, romance wasn't the key point and honestly it would have been better if it wasn't present at all. It was fairly easy to guess how the plot would progress and end and that was a major meh point for me. So I would just say that liking this book is very subjective I guess, it is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. But of course, you can give it a try.

*NOTE* I read this book just before a major reading slump hit me or it was during the slump? I don't remember. That could be one of the reasons why the review sounds so critical.

Trigger Warnings: Death, Plane Crash, mention of poisoning leading to death, arson, brief scene of sexual assault, ill-treatment of people, misogynistic characters.

After reading this book I can only say that - 'can I read it again.. from scratch? '

It's like the best book everrrrr!!!!!!! I mean I just love it and I recommend it to every single nerd out there!

(3.5 stars)
What's the book about?

This story is primarily about Charlie and Olivia. Charlie is a transfer student to the Georgia O'Keeffe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics. She used to be a basketball player in her previous college but in this new college, she is trying to find herself and get a hold on herself. But unexpectedly, the college is trying to form a basketball team, more specifically Olivia. The team begins to form ways in order to convince Charlie to join the team and from there the story progresses.

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I'll say that this is my first 'successful' attempt to finish a graphic novel (I guess because I certainly don't remember the last one I read).

I sure did enjoy reading it. There's a variety of characters presented to us who are definitely interesting. The whole concept of sports and being a part of the team was quite good. And the graphics were super amazing!
I might be biased while giving it the rating I gave because honestly a) I am not that much of a fan of graphic novels considering that I have just started reading them; and b) Because for me, the story was not all that happening.

I seriously need to read more comics and graphic novels to get a hang of them.
But to be honest, I seriously looved the graphics! They were super amazing!

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Ohhhhhh.... Are you kidding me??? I'm going to spend the next few hours (which I can sooo not) thinking how this book was a wonderful piece of cake. I really have to clear out my thoughts first of all.

Okay, seeing that I am ready (surprising how this happens in seconds), initially, I wasn't interested . I mean it's very rare that I read a blurb before starting a novel, and it's even rare that I remember it. So I wasn't sure whether I was going to like it or not. But boy, I was curious.

I liked the way this book is written, the first thing, apart from the cover. Though at first I couldn't see the point because it was actually pointless cause I felt that the main character was only whining the whole time but then it actually got pretty interesting. I know it's impossible to remember word to word conversation, but it still went amazingly well! And I guess that was the point about this book, you know? To be able to relate to the characters

It all made sense at the end. The fact that Maisie Martin finally got to the point where she could cherish herself, the fact that the she stopped running away and the fact well everything went right (well, not everything but I'm not going to say everything right?)

So yes, I actually loved this book at the end!!!!!!!

(don't take this seriously, it's me ranting after just finishing a book and ignore any typos, you see my keypad doesn't support me always)

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