librosconcafe's reviews
247 reviews

Cultivating the Mind of Love: The Practice of Looking Deeply in the Mahayana Buddhist Tradition by Thích Nhất Hạnh

hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

4.25

Another very helpful book. I feel like his writing usually goes back to the basics of mindfulness. So I didn’t feel like it was always focused on the topic of love throughout. But that’s probably the point too. That we have to be fully present and aware to love well. Either way, his writings bring me peace. 

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

This book is full of action and keeps you reading from chapter to chapter without stopping. I also like how the author writes everything from the same perspective instead of jumping around. The occasional letters throughout also provide mysteriousness to the plot. 
I would’ve liked some things to have been cleared up in the end, but it was still a really good book. I hope to read much more from this author! 

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter
Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.

This book has really good reviews and I’m sure it is a good read for a lot of people. However, I couldn’t go on longer with this writing format. It reminds me of reading a screenplay. The characters switch every few sentences and it’s hard for me to follow along with it. 

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell

emotional tense 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? Yes

3.5

It had been awhile since I read The Family Upstairs, so sometimes I was a little confused. It was also hard at times jumping from character to character and back and forth from different time periods. 
Like others have said, I don’t know how “necessary” a sequel was, but still Lisa Jewell does a good job in creating her characters. So it was still interesting enough to keep me engaged and reading more. 

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

An exciting read that keeps you going from chapter to chapter without stopping. 

The Darkness Within Ourselves by Jessica Huntley

dark tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

This was a fun read and had a very unique storyline! I’ll have to read more in the series from this author.

I Pick You by Creston Mapes

challenging dark tense fast-paced

3.5

It was a decent read overall. The author’s works are usually a little longer, but I was okay with the length of the book. The plot was interesting enough to keep you engaged. I didn’t find that I absolutely loved it though. Still, a good read nonetheless. 

I Found You by Lisa Jewell

dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

It’s a pretty fast psychological thriller to read through. The chapters are short as you would expect by reading other similar works by the author. 
I liked it more the further I got into it. I also liked the mysteriousness of “Frank” since he lost most of his memory. 
In the end there was also a totally different outcome than I was expecting, so that made me enjoy it more. It was one of my favorite Lisa Jewell books that I have read. 

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

A fascinating read! I’ve been learning more about topics of psychology such as the flow state, so I was very engaged and interested throughout. A lot of what the author says makes sense and I have learned a lot from this book. 

Subject Zero by M.A. Phipps

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thought it was a good conclusion to the series. You discover more about the characters and some things are resolved that you wondered about for a while. I really liked the whole series!