Take a photo of a barcode or cover
pagesplotsandpints's Reviews (2.1k)
Read Completed 11/13/23 | 3.25 stars
This was very much How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with a dash of The Hating Game. I thought it was TOO much like HTLAGITD though, and it even mentioned the movie multiple times. There were also far too many pop culture references for my tastes. It really took me out of the book and it got to be annoying.
The book itself was… fine. It read like a typical romcom — which don’t get me wrong, I usually love the romcom formula — but this just didn’t really do anything new for me. It felt like it was just following in the footsteps of other books and movies and didn’t bring its own stuff into the mix. When it did, it *barely* did and it didn’t really go the distance with the concept, which is ironic considering that’s what the main character also doesn’t do with her job. I wanted to get deeper into the old fashioned, 50s housewife thing and why some things are timeless and turning other concepts on their heads.
I also didn’t feel like the characters stood out at all either. The heroine was typical, the romantic lead was typical. The story just never really broke out at all. I just didn’t really feel like the characters had enough backstory for me to connect over all the other romcoms I’ve read and loved. I wanted to see more connection form the grandmother-granddaughter relationship, more history with both of their families, maybe meeting the guy’s family… It just wasn’t quite enough.
The end was a little too cutesy and too happy and too easy. I just didn’t quite buy the happily ever after.
Cute, fun, but nothing that’s going to stick with me.
This was very much How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days with a dash of The Hating Game. I thought it was TOO much like HTLAGITD though, and it even mentioned the movie multiple times. There were also far too many pop culture references for my tastes. It really took me out of the book and it got to be annoying.
The book itself was… fine. It read like a typical romcom — which don’t get me wrong, I usually love the romcom formula — but this just didn’t really do anything new for me. It felt like it was just following in the footsteps of other books and movies and didn’t bring its own stuff into the mix. When it did, it *barely* did and it didn’t really go the distance with the concept, which is ironic considering that’s what the main character also doesn’t do with her job. I wanted to get deeper into the old fashioned, 50s housewife thing and why some things are timeless and turning other concepts on their heads.
I also didn’t feel like the characters stood out at all either. The heroine was typical, the romantic lead was typical. The story just never really broke out at all. I just didn’t really feel like the characters had enough backstory for me to connect over all the other romcoms I’ve read and loved. I wanted to see more connection form the grandmother-granddaughter relationship, more history with both of their families, maybe meeting the guy’s family… It just wasn’t quite enough.
The end was a little too cutesy and too happy and too easy. I just didn’t quite buy the happily ever after.
Cute, fun, but nothing that’s going to stick with me.
Read Completed 11/11/23 | 2.75 stars
Sadly, this was just a dull read for me. The ending of PARASITE was interesting and really hooked me to start reading this book but I shortly regretted it because they're a decent size and I just lost interest quickly. I was hoping that things would pick up and we'd be getting a lot more world-building but it was a little repetitive and SUCH a second book in a trilogy filler book. This was a bridge to get to the end and it felt unnecessary. I just can't imagine finishing the third book, especially when my only Goodreads friend who made it through all the books in the series said it wasn't as good as the first two. Sad, but leaving it at that.
Sadly, this was just a dull read for me. The ending of PARASITE was interesting and really hooked me to start reading this book but I shortly regretted it because they're a decent size and I just lost interest quickly. I was hoping that things would pick up and we'd be getting a lot more world-building but it was a little repetitive and SUCH a second book in a trilogy filler book. This was a bridge to get to the end and it felt unnecessary. I just can't imagine finishing the third book, especially when my only Goodreads friend who made it through all the books in the series said it wasn't as good as the first two. Sad, but leaving it at that.
Read Completed 11/6/23 | 4 stars
I picked up PARASITE on a whim but with some solid decisions behind it: I'm always craving more sci-fi thrillers (in this case maybe more horror?), I've loved several other Seanan McGuire books (pen name Mira Grant), and I really like Christine Lakin's audiobook narration, so between the three of those, I took a shot on this one when I might not normally have picked it up.
It was... weird? But also really good! The main character, Sal (formerly Sally) has a new life six years after a tragic car accident left her brain dead... until her SymboGen implant saved her life. See, the implant is actually a genetically modified tapeworm which most humans have nowadays that helps maintain health, eliminate allergies, and promote consistent well being. Sal became a sensational abnormality when her implant brought her back from being brain dead, and we pick up her story as a new sickness begins to unfold in her city.
Now... a tapeworm? Normally, I would not have read a book about a genetically modified tapeworm, but I trusted the process, expected a zombie book and.... kind of got it! It definitely felt zombie inspired but had its own unique twist so we weren't reading the same story over and over again. I don't want to get into spoiler details, but the way the book went, I wasn't sure if I was on board with some of the things that were going on. HOWEVER, it was highly interesting and Mira Grant does an amazing job at leaving the reader wanting more. I needed answers after the book was over so I had to immediately start the next one!
No matter how I felt about tapeworms, this was quite an interesting story. There was some good horror action, lots of plot to support it, and some great characters to get to know. I really liked following Sal as the main character and all of the supporting characters really came to life, which makes so much difference!
There's a lot to explore here still so I'm really interested in continuing the rest of the series!
I picked up PARASITE on a whim but with some solid decisions behind it: I'm always craving more sci-fi thrillers (in this case maybe more horror?), I've loved several other Seanan McGuire books (pen name Mira Grant), and I really like Christine Lakin's audiobook narration, so between the three of those, I took a shot on this one when I might not normally have picked it up.
It was... weird? But also really good! The main character, Sal (formerly Sally) has a new life six years after a tragic car accident left her brain dead... until her SymboGen implant saved her life. See, the implant is actually a genetically modified tapeworm which most humans have nowadays that helps maintain health, eliminate allergies, and promote consistent well being. Sal became a sensational abnormality when her implant brought her back from being brain dead, and we pick up her story as a new sickness begins to unfold in her city.
Now... a tapeworm? Normally, I would not have read a book about a genetically modified tapeworm, but I trusted the process, expected a zombie book and.... kind of got it! It definitely felt zombie inspired but had its own unique twist so we weren't reading the same story over and over again. I don't want to get into spoiler details, but the way the book went, I wasn't sure if I was on board with some of the things that were going on. HOWEVER, it was highly interesting and Mira Grant does an amazing job at leaving the reader wanting more. I needed answers after the book was over so I had to immediately start the next one!
No matter how I felt about tapeworms, this was quite an interesting story. There was some good horror action, lots of plot to support it, and some great characters to get to know. I really liked following Sal as the main character and all of the supporting characters really came to life, which makes so much difference!
There's a lot to explore here still so I'm really interested in continuing the rest of the series!
Read Completed 11/5/23 | 3.25 stars
Someone's review of this book called it a fantasy/sci-fi and compared it to Black Mirror and Dark (both Netflix shows), both of which I LOVED, so even if this wasn't a "me" book, I was going to try it based on that alone. I wouldn't say Black Mirror, but I definitely get the Dark connection and that's what kept me going! (Also, if you like dark sci-fi, you should definitely watch both of those shows.)
This was a very pretty book. The writing felt like it was intended to evoke emotions, was very lyrical and lovely, and that's not always my style. I didn't really care about it here and I felt like more emphasis was put on the writing than the plot. I suppose you could say that about most character-driven books, but there WAS an important plot here and I just didn't feel like it came through enough, like too much of it was pushed aside to focus on atmosphere and vibe alone. This book has a HIGH rating, so clearly it's working, but I was here for the plot and I think it fell a little bit flat.
The story is about multiple generations of women in the Farrow family who suffer from a sickness and/or curse. It's weird because the tone of the book makes me WANT to call this fantasy or magical realism because of its ethereal feel, but really, it's sci-fi (though if you want to split hairs, the SFF fantasy umbrella is all the same, sure).
So here is where I had the issue... I had some problems with the rules of this gift/curse/sickness. The author needs to make me forget that not all limitations need to be explained, because most times in these stories, no one knows why these things happen and who made it happen so we don't know why the rules are what they are, but there were some very specific things like...They could only travel back and forth three times, the used a necklace to set the date, you can't travel to a time where you already existed, etc. Why three times? Who discovered that for the first time? How far does this go back and who passed along this story? Why don't we get to hear about the grandmother's adventures, because clearly she had to have had some? And the great-grandmother? Or do they not have stories because their memories of their previous life have been erased? If the memories get erased, how do you know you've even traveled in the first place? Surely someone would remember the CONCEPT if not what happened in another time because you have your memories in that time... Where did the necklace come from? Who invented it? If we're already going back to the early 1900s, how long has this necklace been around to help pick the year of travel? How did it come into the family? How did it get discovered that you can't travel to a time where you already existed? What's up with the door? There was just SO much more to talk about and no one did.
Like I said, the book was pretty but it just felt too full of holes. I also didn't like getting religion involved and having a whole evil preacher thing happening. It really took away from the book for me -- now granted, that's a personal preference but it was just too dramatic and it annoyed me.
I guess this one is more vibes when I was here for plot so it didn't work for me as it has for a lot of other people. I'm glad I tried it because with comparisons like that, I would going to be curious. It actually reminded me more of Emily Henry's YA books The Love That Split the Worldand A Million Junes, so I'll leave you with that.
Someone's review of this book called it a fantasy/sci-fi and compared it to Black Mirror and Dark (both Netflix shows), both of which I LOVED, so even if this wasn't a "me" book, I was going to try it based on that alone. I wouldn't say Black Mirror, but I definitely get the Dark connection and that's what kept me going! (Also, if you like dark sci-fi, you should definitely watch both of those shows.)
This was a very pretty book. The writing felt like it was intended to evoke emotions, was very lyrical and lovely, and that's not always my style. I didn't really care about it here and I felt like more emphasis was put on the writing than the plot. I suppose you could say that about most character-driven books, but there WAS an important plot here and I just didn't feel like it came through enough, like too much of it was pushed aside to focus on atmosphere and vibe alone. This book has a HIGH rating, so clearly it's working, but I was here for the plot and I think it fell a little bit flat.
The story is about multiple generations of women in the Farrow family who suffer from a sickness and/or curse. It's weird because the tone of the book makes me WANT to call this fantasy or magical realism because of its ethereal feel, but really, it's sci-fi (though if you want to split hairs, the SFF fantasy umbrella is all the same, sure).
So here is where I had the issue... I had some problems with the rules of this gift/curse/sickness. The author needs to make me forget that not all limitations need to be explained, because most times in these stories, no one knows why these things happen and who made it happen so we don't know why the rules are what they are, but there were some very specific things like...
Like I said, the book was pretty but it just felt too full of holes. I also didn't like getting religion involved and having a whole evil preacher thing happening. It really took away from the book for me -- now granted, that's a personal preference but it was just too dramatic and it annoyed me.
I guess this one is more vibes when I was here for plot so it didn't work for me as it has for a lot of other people. I'm glad I tried it because with comparisons like that, I would going to be curious. It actually reminded me more of Emily Henry's YA books The Love That Split the Worldand A Million Junes, so I'll leave you with that.
Read Completed 11/3/23 | 3.5 - 3.75 stars, but rounded down because it took me a while to get into it
I picked this one up because my sister read it (hi again) which is always worth a try! This was interesting right off the bat with the main character and narrator being a self-proclaimed sociopath. It was quite the hook to see how she navigated several relationships and how her history with Thalia shaped her present day.
It did take me a while to get into this until it really started getting twisty. Jane (the main character) alternated between present and past, but in both timelines, she is very obsessed with Thalia and the obsession was just a little too much at times. This had a very YOU meets Ruth Ware's THE IT GIRL vibe, following in a Joe Goldberg fashion with the level of obsession, but while I still didn't totally love the writing in YOU, the feel of this one just felt a little underdeveloped... It just ended up feeling repetitive for the first half of the book until things got a little more interesting.
I saw the second half and the twisty twist coming but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy it! It was maybe a tad predictable but got a little wild and made the first half worth it. There were even a couple other surprises that helped develop the characters and gave everything a bit more depth.
I didn't love the writing in this book so I'm not sure I'd pick up another from this author, but it was still a fairly solid read, especially if the first half doesn't bother you (or you enjoyed it). I know she has a bunch of other books but I'm not interested in the YA ones and I'm not sure I'd gravitate towards cozy mystery, as much as I used to all those years ago.
I picked this one up because my sister read it (hi again) which is always worth a try! This was interesting right off the bat with the main character and narrator being a self-proclaimed sociopath. It was quite the hook to see how she navigated several relationships and how her history with Thalia shaped her present day.
It did take me a while to get into this until it really started getting twisty. Jane (the main character) alternated between present and past, but in both timelines, she is very obsessed with Thalia and the obsession was just a little too much at times. This had a very YOU meets Ruth Ware's THE IT GIRL vibe, following in a Joe Goldberg fashion with the level of obsession, but while I still didn't totally love the writing in YOU, the feel of this one just felt a little underdeveloped... It just ended up feeling repetitive for the first half of the book until things got a little more interesting.
I saw the second half and the twisty twist coming but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy it! It was maybe a tad predictable but got a little wild and made the first half worth it. There were even a couple other surprises that helped develop the characters and gave everything a bit more depth.
I didn't love the writing in this book so I'm not sure I'd pick up another from this author, but it was still a fairly solid read, especially if the first half doesn't bother you (or you enjoyed it). I know she has a bunch of other books but I'm not interested in the YA ones and I'm not sure I'd gravitate towards cozy mystery, as much as I used to all those years ago.
Read Completed 11/2/23 | There's never really much to say about Stephanie Plum books anymore. They're always fun to read but nothing really ever happens. I wish there was more going on personally in these books to keep some sort of other plot moving besides just solving an unconnected crime each book. There's BARELY something to maybe move Stephanie's life forward in this one... I guess we'll see in the next book.
Read Completed 10/31/23 | Oof, this was... stupid. The whole book felt pretty underdeveloped and what could have been interesting and twisty felt very debut and amateur. The characters were bare bones and had some backstory but it wasn't enough to get to know them or care about them. The plot took a while to get going and the ending was just wild chaos. It was not enjoyable to read for most of the book and the ending was too over the top to be believable at all.
Read Completed 10/30/23 | 2.75 stars
This book definitely has an audience but it was not me. It was far darker than I expected but not dark like your average popcorn thriller. I’m not even sure I’d call this a thriller. Teddy was investigating her sister’s cold case and there are some suspenseful moments, but mostly, this is grief and a lot of. Again, has its audience, but I’m not it. Also, I’m not going to go through them all but LOTS of triggers in the book including *multiple* animal deaths, drug use/addiction, suicide, and probably tons more. Please look into this further if need be.
The blurb for this book was very buzz worthy:
“A twisty, sexy debut exploring the dark side of true crime fandom and the blurry lines of female friendship, perfect for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Gillian Flynn, My Favorite Murder, and Fleabag
Conspiracy theories from Reddit seduce a disaster-prone woman into an obsession with solving her older sister’s cold-case disappearance”
Firstly, this book was NOT sexy. I didn’t need it to be (or really want it to be tbh). There was a decent amount of sex but it wasn’t sexy. It was messy, mostly angry, lonely, and desperate. None of it was glamorous or glorified. The “blurry lines of female friendship” was also misleading in many ways. I won’t get too into that because I don’t want to get into spoilers but it made me anticipate a different relationship between the two main characters.
Teddy was a hard character to follow. She has a lot of grief to deal with throughout this book but even still… the blurb calls her “disaster-prone” but that makes it sound like things are happening to her. She has had tragic family events but now she’s also on her own downward spiral, and that’s a lot of the book. It’s a bunch investigation into Angie’s disappearance but this doesn’t read like many popular thrillers and readers should be aware of that tone before starting. The investigation is often times uncomfortable and pushing boundaries. Teddy is at the point in her life when she’s losing herself the most and it’s so hard to watch her go down this path, make so many bad decisions, and still want to root for her to have this happy ending by the time the book concludes. It’s so uncomfortable to watch sometimes and I just didn’t know how I wanted her story in this book to end. I thought the ending was a little weird but also made some sense.
I didn’t really like the writing style and I know it’s just not my taste, but I still had a lot of other things I didn’t care for. Spoiler for the ending…We never even actually find out concretely what happened to Angie. Everyone assumes she actually died but there is no villain speech, there is no happy ending. It’s realistic, sure, but as a story, unsatisfying. Then again, from the overall tone of the book, also fitting. I kind of felt like the amount of grief was gratuitous? There was just SO much going on. Angie’s continued disappearance, the father’s suicide, the dog with cancer, a side character who overdosed (actually, more than one), and just even more death and downward spiral. Again, I guess that’s just the theme/vibe here, but this was advertised as a “page turning mystery” so I was just looking for more of that feeling of being riveted, finding clue after clue on Reddit going down the proverbial Rabbit Hole… I didn’t really feel like it gripped me like that. It’s definitely more crime than mystery/thriller…
I was also expecting more of a twisty friendship. There is a twist in there somewhere but some of what I was expecting upfront was behind the scenes and didn’t hit like I wanted it to. From the start, we know there’s something more going on with Mickey but we find little pieces as the story goes on.
I don’t want to rate a book lower just because I didn’t like it when that’s what it was supposed to be, but I’m not picking on it and just rating it low because of what it is — I actually put some points back for this reason. I just don’t feel like rating it higher shows my true feelings about it either. I’m really torn about it. It wasn’t a horrible hook but it was compelling in its own right. There are definitely people who will click with this and I can see it getting some really good buzz, and it will also have the opposite effect on many people. I guess I’ll leave my feelings in the middle.
This book definitely has an audience but it was not me. It was far darker than I expected but not dark like your average popcorn thriller. I’m not even sure I’d call this a thriller. Teddy was investigating her sister’s cold case and there are some suspenseful moments, but mostly, this is grief and a lot of. Again, has its audience, but I’m not it. Also, I’m not going to go through them all but LOTS of triggers in the book including *multiple* animal deaths, drug use/addiction, suicide, and probably tons more. Please look into this further if need be.
The blurb for this book was very buzz worthy:
“A twisty, sexy debut exploring the dark side of true crime fandom and the blurry lines of female friendship, perfect for fans of Ottessa Moshfegh, Gillian Flynn, My Favorite Murder, and Fleabag
Conspiracy theories from Reddit seduce a disaster-prone woman into an obsession with solving her older sister’s cold-case disappearance”
Firstly, this book was NOT sexy. I didn’t need it to be (or really want it to be tbh). There was a decent amount of sex but it wasn’t sexy. It was messy, mostly angry, lonely, and desperate. None of it was glamorous or glorified. The “blurry lines of female friendship” was also misleading in many ways. I won’t get too into that because I don’t want to get into spoilers but it made me anticipate a different relationship between the two main characters.
Teddy was a hard character to follow. She has a lot of grief to deal with throughout this book but even still… the blurb calls her “disaster-prone” but that makes it sound like things are happening to her. She has had tragic family events but now she’s also on her own downward spiral, and that’s a lot of the book. It’s a bunch investigation into Angie’s disappearance but this doesn’t read like many popular thrillers and readers should be aware of that tone before starting. The investigation is often times uncomfortable and pushing boundaries. Teddy is at the point in her life when she’s losing herself the most and it’s so hard to watch her go down this path, make so many bad decisions, and still want to root for her to have this happy ending by the time the book concludes. It’s so uncomfortable to watch sometimes and I just didn’t know how I wanted her story in this book to end. I thought the ending was a little weird but also made some sense.
I didn’t really like the writing style and I know it’s just not my taste, but I still had a lot of other things I didn’t care for. Spoiler for the ending…
I was also expecting more of a twisty friendship. There is a twist in there somewhere but some of what I was expecting upfront was behind the scenes and didn’t hit like I wanted it to. From the start, we know there’s something more going on with Mickey but we find little pieces as the story goes on.
I don’t want to rate a book lower just because I didn’t like it when that’s what it was supposed to be, but I’m not picking on it and just rating it low because of what it is — I actually put some points back for this reason. I just don’t feel like rating it higher shows my true feelings about it either. I’m really torn about it. It wasn’t a horrible hook but it was compelling in its own right. There are definitely people who will click with this and I can see it getting some really good buzz, and it will also have the opposite effect on many people. I guess I’ll leave my feelings in the middle.
Read Completed 10/28/23 | 3.5 stars
This was a solid thriller with some intrigue, a group of "popular moms", and a fun Halloween vibe. The story was a good, domestic thriller with some underlying motives to uncover down the road. There were a few nice decoys and tricks to make the reader look in another direction and I fell for it for sure!
The ending was a little over-the-top in some ways and a little bit of a let down in others. The reviews for this one were a little mixed so I was unsure where I'd fall, but if I can rate a thriller 3.5 stars, I think it's a good read! It's about what I expect from most thrillers -- a like, not a love -- and this one definitely followed that vibe. It was very entertaining, I was able to connect with the characters, and my mind was allowed to wander and wonder.
I chose this one because of its Halloween theme and it was a little added bonus to read in the end of October!
This was a solid thriller with some intrigue, a group of "popular moms", and a fun Halloween vibe. The story was a good, domestic thriller with some underlying motives to uncover down the road. There were a few nice decoys and tricks to make the reader look in another direction and I fell for it for sure!
The ending was a little over-the-top in some ways and a little bit of a let down in others. The reviews for this one were a little mixed so I was unsure where I'd fall, but if I can rate a thriller 3.5 stars, I think it's a good read! It's about what I expect from most thrillers -- a like, not a love -- and this one definitely followed that vibe. It was very entertaining, I was able to connect with the characters, and my mind was allowed to wander and wonder.
I chose this one because of its Halloween theme and it was a little added bonus to read in the end of October!
Read Completed 10/27/23 | 3.75 stars
SAFE was an interesting read! I wasn't sure what to expect and this had some good little twists. The book seems straight-forward at first and then we find out there's more to everyone's story after missing girl Jenny returns from being missing/kidnapped after over a decade.
I don't want to say too much about it because there are some good little surprises that the reader should find out for themselves, but there was plenty to keep discovering as the book went along. I really liked finding out more about the families and our main character.
SAFE was an interesting read! I wasn't sure what to expect and this had some good little twists. The book seems straight-forward at first and then we find out there's more to everyone's story after missing girl Jenny returns from being missing/kidnapped after over a decade.
I don't want to say too much about it because there are some good little surprises that the reader should find out for themselves, but there was plenty to keep discovering as the book went along. I really liked finding out more about the families and our main character.