heathero621's reviews
575 reviews

The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted sad 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

4.0

This is a historical fiction novel about a bunch of different people that are living in Panama during the building of the Panama Canal. The book doesn't really go into the actual building of the canal, which I thought that there would be more of that, but it was fine. Many of the characters' stories weave together with other ones, which I liked. I found the writing easy to follow and get through. I did have a hard time remembering who some of the characters were and wished that she would have cut the number of them down that she focused on. If there were fewer characters to follow, I would have been able to keep track of everyone a little bit easier.

Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant

informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

This is Grant's sort of memoir about deciding to live in rural Mississippi.  He also talks a lot about Mississippi as a state.  I listened to the book and I liked the narration.  The book taught me a lot about Mississippi that I didn't know, particularly the area that he lived.  The book did not make me want to live there at all.  In fact, it made me certain that I would never want to live there, but visiting would be nice.  I found that there were many times where the book was boring and was dragging.  I think some editing could've helped the book along.  

From Unincorporated Territory åmot by Craig Santos Pérez

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

3.5

This is a poetry book that talks about Perez' home country of Guam and the people, including his family that live there.  The poetry was very accessible, in that it was easy to understand and follow.  I learned a lot about Guam and the native people from there that I did not know about.  The book does use a lot of native language and I read it, but I have no idea if I was saying in correctly in my head.  There are sometimes translations of what is written.  The problem that I had with the novel is that there are side parts to it that are printed in a very light gray.  I don't know if my sight is worse than I thought it was, but many times I wouldn't even see the lighter writing and would skip over it, or I would see it and then have to really concentrate on reading it because the printing was so light.  I understood the purpose, but I wish that it could've been a little darker.  It really frustrated me when I was reading it.  

Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen

challenging dark emotional informative tense fast-paced

4.0

This book is a case study of what could happen if North Korea and the US get involved in a nuclear war.  The answer is not good, haha!  The author has done a lot of research and talked to many people about what would happen if we were in a Nuclear war.  She divides each section into what could happen at a particular time point and continues that way until 25,000 years post the nuclear war (obviously the end chapters skip a lot in time).  This book was billed as the scariest book ever and it is pretty scary to think that this could happen at any time, but I hope it never does.  It definitely makes you think a lot about it during and after you finish it.  

How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.0

Helen is an author that is getting her book adapted for TV and she is part of the writing team.  On the writing team there is a guy named Grant who she went to school with and has a bad history with.  Can they work together and will they fall in love is the big question for this romance novel and I'm sure you can guess what happens.  I had heard a lot of great things about this book, but it really wasn't for me.  It was super spicy and some of that spice was so cringe worthy to me and was more of a turn off than a turn on.  This author is being booked as the talented screen writer for Emily Henry's novel and was promoted as being in the same league, but I think they are not similar and Emily's book are much better.  I listened to the audio for this and it was fine.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

This book is about a young black girl named Pecola, who thinks that her life would be better if she had blue eyes and therefore she wishes for them.  This book has been on my radar for quite some time and I'm glad that I finally read it.  I've only read this and Beloved by Toni and I liked this book a lot more than Beloved.  It is a devastating read and there are some shocking parts in this book that I didn't expect.  It is a sad read.  

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

Daphne is a woman that mysteriously gets these cards with a guy's name and a time on it.  She soon discovers that these cards reveal the name of the person that she will date next and how long they will have together.  Then one day she gets a card with a name, but with no time limit.  Is this the one?  She has to figure that out or decide if she wants to really let these cards decide her love life.  I'm a fan of Rebecca's novels and this one was another one that didn't disappoint.  The book was sweet and comfortable.  All of the characters were nice and just seemed like good people.  It was a quick and easy read.  I felt that it was light, even though there were some heavier themes, but not fluffy.

Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

This is Chef Gabrielle's memoir.  I have mixed feelings about it.  She does talk about how she got to be a chef and some of the experiences, but I feel like the focus of the book is more on her life outside of being a chef.  I was hoping for more food/restaurant content.  The last part of the book, which I felt was a big focus, is how dysfunctional her marriage is.  I only thought the book was so-so.  I've read better chef/food memoirs.  I am interested in her cookbook from her restaurant and have put that on hold.

What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Nina and her boyfriend have been together since high school.  He isn't as great as he seems.  They take a trip together and then she is never heard from again.  The boyfriend, Simon, comes home and he claims that he left her at the house all alone and she was going to get a ride home.  This novel is basically the premise of the true life story of Gabby Petito, but it does veer a lot further from what actually happened in that case.  I enjoyed this book and wanted to keep reading it, to see how this story would play out.  There were no twists and a lot was revealed as the book went along, which I liked for this story.  

100 Ways to Change Your Life: The Science of Leveling Up Health, Happiness, Relationships and Success by Liz Moody

informative reflective fast-paced

3.25

I have been following Liz for some time now and I wanted to pick up this book to see what it was all about.  In it, she has 100 chapters of small items that you can do to help better your life.  Liz claims that all of her stuff is science backed, but many of her sources of information come from functional doctors who I feel do not give the best or most accurate advice.  I follow some science based people (Dr. Andrea Love, for example) that debunk a lot of what Liz promotes by having these people on.  With that said, I had to take a lot of what was in the book with a grain of salt, especially the medical advice.  Some of her experts I looked up and I saw that their accounts had huge red flags right away.  I didn't want to waste my time to look into every study cited, but I'm sure that there are some issues with them.  I do admit that there was a lot of stuff in the book that seemed legit.  A lot of the stuff were things that I already have heard about and knew, so it wasn't new information for me.  I think that if you listen to her podcast or follow her on social media, this book will not add a lot of new information.