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pagesplotsandpints's Reviews (2.1k)
Read Completed 3/31/23 | 4 - 4.25 stars
I don't even know how to review this book. It was so interesting and addicting BUT you definitely have to be into it, otherwise it's just going to be super boring.
RABBITS was sort of like Blake Crouch's DARK MATTER / INCURSION meets READY PLAYER ONE. It's a technothriller, that dabbles back and forth between actually incorporating technology and just being mind-bending. The book follows K (who is really never gendered throughout the entire book... it seems a lot of reviewers seem to think K is male but the audiobook narrator is female. Then again, who really knows and it doesn't matter to the story anyway. But I think it's neat that the writing never actually identifies this and doesn't have to). K has a long history with the game Rabbits and in the past few years, has really started to look into it and maybe even play the game. It's hard to say when someone starts playing or not. Rabbits generally consists of following inconsistencies in the world, following connections, and really, going down the rabbit hole to keep following more and more. And that's where my ability to talk about this book ends.
This definitely felt Blake Crouch-y where I just read this, was wholly absorbed in it, and my mind was so curious about everything, but I'm not even sure 100% what happened... I did, but I didn't. Don't ask me to explain this book, because I can't, haha. The book just basically makes you question everything and wonder about reality in every way.
I don't even know what else to say about this... I just couldn't put it down and it was the perfect amount of messing with my head. It was just a *tad* long and once we got deeper down the rabbit hole, I was ready for the pace to pick up a little bit where things were sort of repeated a bit more. Nevertheless, this book totally had my attention and I'm happily surprised I was so swept away.
Recommended if you liked...
Recursion / Dark Matter / Ready Player One / Middlegame
I don't even know how to review this book. It was so interesting and addicting BUT you definitely have to be into it, otherwise it's just going to be super boring.
RABBITS was sort of like Blake Crouch's DARK MATTER / INCURSION meets READY PLAYER ONE. It's a technothriller, that dabbles back and forth between actually incorporating technology and just being mind-bending. The book follows K (who is really never gendered throughout the entire book... it seems a lot of reviewers seem to think K is male but the audiobook narrator is female. Then again, who really knows and it doesn't matter to the story anyway. But I think it's neat that the writing never actually identifies this and doesn't have to). K has a long history with the game Rabbits and in the past few years, has really started to look into it and maybe even play the game. It's hard to say when someone starts playing or not. Rabbits generally consists of following inconsistencies in the world, following connections, and really, going down the rabbit hole to keep following more and more. And that's where my ability to talk about this book ends.
This definitely felt Blake Crouch-y where I just read this, was wholly absorbed in it, and my mind was so curious about everything, but I'm not even sure 100% what happened... I did, but I didn't. Don't ask me to explain this book, because I can't, haha. The book just basically makes you question everything and wonder about reality in every way.
I don't even know what else to say about this... I just couldn't put it down and it was the perfect amount of messing with my head. It was just a *tad* long and once we got deeper down the rabbit hole, I was ready for the pace to pick up a little bit where things were sort of repeated a bit more. Nevertheless, this book totally had my attention and I'm happily surprised I was so swept away.
Recommended if you liked...
Recursion / Dark Matter / Ready Player One / Middlegame
Read Completed 3/29/23 | 3.75 - 4 stars
I picked this up at random since I almost always enjoy a good time travel / parallel universe type story. I really enjoy seeing how authors keep this topic different and fresh!
THE OTHER ME kicks off with Kelly being transported into a new life that's hers... but an alternate reality that changed back when she was a teenager. She is able to recall all the memories of her "real" life and also the memories of this "new" life so she's able to sort of fake her way through, but the new memories also feel real to her, so she still feels all those emotions too. In her new life, she's married to a boy she only barely knew in high school and is back in her hometown in Michigan versus being single and pursuing her dream of being an artist in Chicago.
I like to call books like this "Sci-fi Light". The first 75% of the book is really almost more contemporary, going through the day-to-day with Kelly and figuring out her new life, how this came to be, and what she'll do if she has to stay here. Not to mention, can she get back to her old life? It isn't until later in the book where things start to get a little more technical, but even then, it's not too much science so it's not super science-fiction and getting into all the mumbo jumbo.
I really enjoyed this book! I liked the writing and the Kelly was a great main character. The other characters all have true human shades of grey and there's no evil villain or superhero. There are decisions made for the wrong reasons and not-the-best humans but there are still good sides as well. Sometimes it's really nice to be reminded of that complexity.
This appears to be the author's only book and was released in 2021, so I don't know if she has anything else in the works, but I would be interested to read more from her! I enjoyed the style and clicked with most of it.
I picked this up at random since I almost always enjoy a good time travel / parallel universe type story. I really enjoy seeing how authors keep this topic different and fresh!
THE OTHER ME kicks off with Kelly being transported into a new life that's hers... but an alternate reality that changed back when she was a teenager. She is able to recall all the memories of her "real" life and also the memories of this "new" life so she's able to sort of fake her way through, but the new memories also feel real to her, so she still feels all those emotions too. In her new life, she's married to a boy she only barely knew in high school and is back in her hometown in Michigan versus being single and pursuing her dream of being an artist in Chicago.
I like to call books like this "Sci-fi Light". The first 75% of the book is really almost more contemporary, going through the day-to-day with Kelly and figuring out her new life, how this came to be, and what she'll do if she has to stay here. Not to mention, can she get back to her old life? It isn't until later in the book where things start to get a little more technical, but even then, it's not too much science so it's not super science-fiction and getting into all the mumbo jumbo.
I really enjoyed this book! I liked the writing and the Kelly was a great main character. The other characters all have true human shades of grey and there's no evil villain or superhero. There are decisions made for the wrong reasons and not-the-best humans but there are still good sides as well. Sometimes it's really nice to be reminded of that complexity.
This appears to be the author's only book and was released in 2021, so I don't know if she has anything else in the works, but I would be interested to read more from her! I enjoyed the style and clicked with most of it.
Read Completed 3/28/23 | 1.5 stars. But rounding down because wow, I hated this.
I became a Lynn Painter fan after reading MR. WRONG NUMBER and then very recently, THE LOVE WAGER. I was totally up for more adult romcom vibes but ACCIDENTALLY AMY was not it. I only finished this book because I've already DNFed way too many books to quit another one and this audiobook was short, but this was so cringe-worthy in so many ways. Spoiler at the end of my rant list.
The book is called "ACCIDENTALLY AMY" and the two have a meet cute in Starbucks when Izzy takes Amy's cup when she fails to retrieve it, then spills it on Blake. There's about one small portion where he actaually thinks her name is Amy (like literally a half a chapter??) and then, that's it. That's the only time in the whole book the mistaken identity comes into play. MR. WRONG NUMBER did this concept WAY better. So why even title it this? It was misleading and this should have either really been used for the plot or not been the title of the book.
The dialogue was horribly unbearable. Izzy was annoying and over-the-top. She's supposed to be "not like the other girls" and not afraid to word vomit all over Blake but she came over as super immature. She kept calling him "Mr. Chest", which if I had had a physical book, I would have literally thrown it across the room. People were annoyed by her over use of "gawwwwd" but I couldn't stand Mr. Chest one more time. The texting was weird and uncomfortable. There are weird jokes and I don't know how Blake fell for this because she was so all over the place and acting like a high schooler.
This was kind of like a forbidden workplace romance and yet almost none of it takes place at work.... I was ready for some glorious tension at work where they flirted but the book immediately took them to hanging out and texting outside of work like, no worries, we're just friends. But Izzy's inner monologue about him is constantly lusting after his body. Okay chill girl, at least pretend to be friends like the book says. There was no tension, no build up, no chemistry.
The characters have zero development or backstory. I know it's a romance -- we don't need a million pages of world-building, but we don't know anything about either of these characters. At all. Blake had a whole fiancé that apparently he didn't love and we hear nothing about her! He can magically work on cars and replace a whole alternator which the average guy cannot do but we hear nothing about how he learned to work on cars and gained this ability. Izzy rents apartments from her grandparents but we learn nothing about them. The grandparents rent to all of her cousins and we learn nothing about THEM either (and it's like a college dorm with these kids, honestly. Playing ridiculous immature games, stealing each other's stuff, walking into each other's apartments but not in a nice "oh we're family" way. Just annoying and intrusive).
Izzy gets hired at this company and finds out Blake is her boss so they can't be together because of "the rules." And the ONLY conflict at the end of the book is that things are getting restructured and Izzy's getting laid off. Why did they hire her then??? Wouldn't they know they're doing a major overhaul of the company and laying off so many people? So she gets mad that Blake knew and didn't tell her. And of course he didn't know because the document he receives only has employee ID numbers and not names? That's dumb. So that's it. That's the only conflict. Because they have no personalities, I guess.
I just really hated this book. There was so much potential and so much of it didn't make sense... and not in the way a normal romcom doesn't make sense 😅 Mostly, I couldn't stand the dialogue which was the whole book because there IS NO PLOT. It's just the characters texting each other and hanging out on screen. There are zero supporting characters to round out the book and give it depth, either. Izzy talks about the lady who hired her maybe recommending her for all these jobs (that she magically gets offers for because Blake has so much pull *eye roll*) but how would I know because we see her for like 10 seconds twice. Her cousins were annoying and there for a random annoying game and to barge into each other's apartments and that's it. Blake's boss sounded like he was strict but then Blake calls him his friend? And we never really see him either. Neither of these people have friends, parents, siblings, neighbors that they talk to?? Even just for the sake of the book, PLEASE give us more characters.
I also love Shadow and Bone but I weirdly hated how much Izzy named her cat The Darkling. And she mentioned how she goes into the local bookstore to see the new releases every Tuesday and yet all Darkling references were to the TV show and not the books…. If she was a book person, wouldn’t we at least reference the books? I know people may like the show and not the books, but still. It felt like more inconsistencies with no support and more cringe worthy dialogue to go with it.
I'm so disappointed with this read. I don't know how this was so wildly different than MR. WRONG NUMBER and THE LOVE WAGER.
I became a Lynn Painter fan after reading MR. WRONG NUMBER and then very recently, THE LOVE WAGER. I was totally up for more adult romcom vibes but ACCIDENTALLY AMY was not it. I only finished this book because I've already DNFed way too many books to quit another one and this audiobook was short, but this was so cringe-worthy in so many ways. Spoiler at the end of my rant list.
The book is called "ACCIDENTALLY AMY" and the two have a meet cute in Starbucks when Izzy takes Amy's cup when she fails to retrieve it, then spills it on Blake. There's about one small portion where he actaually thinks her name is Amy (like literally a half a chapter??) and then, that's it. That's the only time in the whole book the mistaken identity comes into play. MR. WRONG NUMBER did this concept WAY better. So why even title it this? It was misleading and this should have either really been used for the plot or not been the title of the book.
The dialogue was horribly unbearable. Izzy was annoying and over-the-top. She's supposed to be "not like the other girls" and not afraid to word vomit all over Blake but she came over as super immature. She kept calling him "Mr. Chest", which if I had had a physical book, I would have literally thrown it across the room. People were annoyed by her over use of "gawwwwd" but I couldn't stand Mr. Chest one more time. The texting was weird and uncomfortable. There are weird jokes and I don't know how Blake fell for this because she was so all over the place and acting like a high schooler.
This was kind of like a forbidden workplace romance and yet almost none of it takes place at work.... I was ready for some glorious tension at work where they flirted but the book immediately took them to hanging out and texting outside of work like, no worries, we're just friends. But Izzy's inner monologue about him is constantly lusting after his body. Okay chill girl, at least pretend to be friends like the book says. There was no tension, no build up, no chemistry.
The characters have zero development or backstory. I know it's a romance -- we don't need a million pages of world-building, but we don't know anything about either of these characters. At all. Blake had a whole fiancé that apparently he didn't love and we hear nothing about her! He can magically work on cars and replace a whole alternator which the average guy cannot do but we hear nothing about how he learned to work on cars and gained this ability. Izzy rents apartments from her grandparents but we learn nothing about them. The grandparents rent to all of her cousins and we learn nothing about THEM either (and it's like a college dorm with these kids, honestly. Playing ridiculous immature games, stealing each other's stuff, walking into each other's apartments but not in a nice "oh we're family" way. Just annoying and intrusive).
Izzy gets hired at this company and finds out Blake is her boss so they can't be together because of "the rules." And the ONLY conflict at the end of the book is that things are getting restructured and Izzy's getting laid off. Why did they hire her then??? Wouldn't they know they're doing a major overhaul of the company and laying off so many people? So she gets mad that Blake knew and didn't tell her. And of course he didn't know because the document he receives only has employee ID numbers and not names? That's dumb. So that's it. That's the only conflict. Because they have no personalities, I guess.
I just really hated this book. There was so much potential and so much of it didn't make sense... and not in the way a normal romcom doesn't make sense 😅 Mostly, I couldn't stand the dialogue which was the whole book because there IS NO PLOT. It's just the characters texting each other and hanging out on screen. There are zero supporting characters to round out the book and give it depth, either. Izzy talks about the lady who hired her maybe recommending her for all these jobs (that she magically gets offers for because Blake has so much pull *eye roll*) but how would I know because we see her for like 10 seconds twice. Her cousins were annoying and there for a random annoying game and to barge into each other's apartments and that's it. Blake's boss sounded like he was strict but then Blake calls him his friend? And we never really see him either. Neither of these people have friends, parents, siblings, neighbors that they talk to?? Even just for the sake of the book, PLEASE give us more characters.
I also love Shadow and Bone but I weirdly hated how much Izzy named her cat The Darkling. And she mentioned how she goes into the local bookstore to see the new releases every Tuesday and yet all Darkling references were to the TV show and not the books…. If she was a book person, wouldn’t we at least reference the books? I know people may like the show and not the books, but still. It felt like more inconsistencies with no support and more cringe worthy dialogue to go with it.
I'm so disappointed with this read. I don't know how this was so wildly different than MR. WRONG NUMBER and THE LOVE WAGER.
Read Completed 3/22/23 | This was so lovely! It did take me a while to warm up to, so I didn't fall head over heels for it like I had hoped, but I was so hooked by the end.
The beginning of the book was 3 stars for me. I was sure I wouldn't fall for this book and I just didn't feel connected to the vibe of the story. I had a hard time getting a grip on the tone... and maybe the pacing? Florence's time in NYC felt important and then we're rushed away to SC due to the death of her father and I just didn't know if the whole book would take place there, if we'd go back to NY... She ended up kissing Ben so randomly and quickly that it was just kind of weird? Then the book really finds its footing later on.
I also took a while to warm up to the setting at home. With the funeral home / seeing ghosts concept, I was expecting a bit *more* quirky.... and yet I ended loving where the book went with that, saying they didn't have to be like the Addams Family just because they ran a funeral home. That it was about love, telling someone's story, and not about being obsessed with death or darkness. I really did like how all that rounded out, but naturally I had some expectations!
And it also took me a while to warm up to Ben. He took a bit to come out of his shell, which is also natural since he's figuring out firstly that he IS a ghost and then exactly what that means to him and to Florence and his life, or lack thereof. Again, once we got further into the book and their relationship started to develop, I was absolutely smitten.
I wish I had connected to the beginning of this book, because by the end, it was something that I really loved and that will stick with me! If I had been able to be absorbed early on, it would have easily been a 5 star read for me. For now, we stick with 4.
The beginning of the book was 3 stars for me. I was sure I wouldn't fall for this book and I just didn't feel connected to the vibe of the story. I had a hard time getting a grip on the tone... and maybe the pacing? Florence's time in NYC felt important and then we're rushed away to SC due to the death of her father and I just didn't know if the whole book would take place there, if we'd go back to NY... She ended up kissing Ben so randomly and quickly that it was just kind of weird? Then the book really finds its footing later on.
I also took a while to warm up to the setting at home. With the funeral home / seeing ghosts concept, I was expecting a bit *more* quirky.... and yet I ended loving where the book went with that, saying they didn't have to be like the Addams Family just because they ran a funeral home. That it was about love, telling someone's story, and not about being obsessed with death or darkness. I really did like how all that rounded out, but naturally I had some expectations!
And it also took me a while to warm up to Ben. He took a bit to come out of his shell, which is also natural since he's figuring out firstly that he IS a ghost and then exactly what that means to him and to Florence and his life, or lack thereof. Again, once we got further into the book and their relationship started to develop, I was absolutely smitten.
I wish I had connected to the beginning of this book, because by the end, it was something that I really loved and that will stick with me! If I had been able to be absorbed early on, it would have easily been a 5 star read for me. For now, we stick with 4.
Read Completed 3/22/23 | 4.25 stars
Very, very cute.
I really enjoyed MR. WRONG NUMBER so this was immediately on my list after finishing that book. This book is a companion, carrying on with the brother of Olivia, main character from MR. WRONG NUMBER.
I'm so happy for more dual POVs. I really enjoyed Jack's side of the story and actually liked it more than Hallie, but only marginally. Both characters were a lot of fun and full of personality with some amazing banter.
I suspended a little disbelief for the plot that they'd really make a wager who would find a significant other and settle down first, but I didn't really care because I was just enjoying the story. I loved that they immediately became friends (after a hook-up and reconnecting on a dating app) and that we got to see the angsty wanting to be more than friends throughout the book. Throw in some favorite tropes like fake dating and only one bed and you have me hooked!
I also really appreciated that there wasn't really a third act break-up. There's a reason why the two butt heads towards the end but Lynn Painter did a great job so that it doesn't feel like a break-up and it's not too overly annoying if they aren't communicating well.
I'm definitely hooked on Lynn Painter's adult romances!
Very, very cute.
I really enjoyed MR. WRONG NUMBER so this was immediately on my list after finishing that book. This book is a companion, carrying on with the brother of Olivia, main character from MR. WRONG NUMBER.
I'm so happy for more dual POVs. I really enjoyed Jack's side of the story and actually liked it more than Hallie, but only marginally. Both characters were a lot of fun and full of personality with some amazing banter.
I suspended a little disbelief for the plot that they'd really make a wager who would find a significant other and settle down first, but I didn't really care because I was just enjoying the story. I loved that they immediately became friends (after a hook-up and reconnecting on a dating app) and that we got to see the angsty wanting to be more than friends throughout the book. Throw in some favorite tropes like fake dating and only one bed and you have me hooked!
I also really appreciated that there wasn't really a third act break-up. There's a reason why the two butt heads towards the end but Lynn Painter did a great job so that it doesn't feel like a break-up and it's not too overly annoying if they aren't communicating well.
I'm definitely hooked on Lynn Painter's adult romances!
Read Completed 3/19/23 | I really enjoyed the first book in this series but this one didn't really do it for me. I just wasn't connected to the seemingly unattached story and Joe's new time travel mission. I was hoping we'd get to know Amy more, that she would join him in a new quest, that we'd see more of Alexia because I liked her and the potential romance... it just didn't turn out like I thought. The author doesn't write to my expectations, but I was hoping to see some things we built on in the first book -- I guess mostly character-wise -- and it just wasn't enough connection for me.
Another ending with another little piece to nudge me to keep reading the series. Will I though? At this point, probably not. Maybe I'll come back to it someday if I'm in the mood for an easy time travel read, but it's just not doing it for me right now.
Another ending with another little piece to nudge me to keep reading the series. Will I though? At this point, probably not. Maybe I'll come back to it someday if I'm in the mood for an easy time travel read, but it's just not doing it for me right now.
Read Completed 3/16/23 | 3.75 stars
This was very enjoyable! I picked this up totally on a whim, while looking for audiobooks narrated by some of my favorites and I saved this one for Ray Porter. After reading it, I'm really not sure why Ray Porter was the pick here since this book takes place in London and everyone is British... The narration is in Ray Porter's natural American accent and he does the accents for the other characters, minus most of his family. I don't get it, there's no reason why any American accent should be in this book, but I still enjoyed it despite my confusion. I was waiting for some sort of twist, if that came into play somehow, but nope. Just a weird choice.
Anyway... I did enjoy the book, but it wasn't quite what I anticipated. This ends up being a series and book one really explains how Joe discovers he can time travel and the usual things that come along with this -- figuring it out, guess and check work, meeting with someone scientific in their life to help out, etc. This added an extra layer of mystery since Joe was looking for his sister who was kidnapped/vanished/disappeared.
I pretty much figured out what happened to the sister very early on, so when Joe caught on, it wasn't quite the book-altering moment that it was supposed to be, but it was fun and I hope to see more of those connections in future books! It was a fun first book, I liked the characters, and I definitely would like to read more.
This was very enjoyable! I picked this up totally on a whim, while looking for audiobooks narrated by some of my favorites and I saved this one for Ray Porter. After reading it, I'm really not sure why Ray Porter was the pick here since this book takes place in London and everyone is British... The narration is in Ray Porter's natural American accent and he does the accents for the other characters, minus most of his family. I don't get it, there's no reason why any American accent should be in this book, but I still enjoyed it despite my confusion. I was waiting for some sort of twist, if that came into play somehow, but nope. Just a weird choice.
Anyway... I did enjoy the book, but it wasn't quite what I anticipated. This ends up being a series and book one really explains how Joe discovers he can time travel and the usual things that come along with this -- figuring it out, guess and check work, meeting with someone scientific in their life to help out, etc. This added an extra layer of mystery since Joe was looking for his sister who was kidnapped/vanished/disappeared.
I pretty much figured out what happened to the sister very early on, so when Joe caught on, it wasn't quite the book-altering moment that it was supposed to be, but it was fun and I hope to see more of those connections in future books! It was a fun first book, I liked the characters, and I definitely would like to read more.
Read Completed 3/15/23 | This was just okay. I don't remember much from THE KIND WORTH KILLING but enough to make the connections. The story was good but the writing didn't really do it for me. The book just felt very surface level overall, Lily's involvement was unnecessary and risky. The characters were fine, the audiobook narrators were boring.... It was a very quick read but really didn't feel worth it to rehash all of this plot again. There is a new story line with new characters but they didn't have enough depth and backstory for me to really care. It was also a little too similar to the first book and I would have rather had a true sequel, focusing more on Lily and Henry to keep developing their stories. I'm glad I read it but I wouldn't rush to recommend it to others.
Read Completed 3/14/23 | ARC received from Macmillan & audiobook review copy approved by Macmillan via Netgalley
I received RED QUEEN for review and was excited to read it based on its ratings and rave reviews. This book was originally published in Spain and this is the first time it's been published in the US. It might not have been something I would have picked up right now, but I was excited to read it and switch up my thriller selections! I can definitely see the comparisons to Lisbeth Salander/The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and I could also recommend this to fans of Lars Kepler.
I didn't end up loving this one, but ultimately, I just didn't connect with it like I had hoped. I know I can enjoy books with this vibe, but I think it took me too long to get into it. Once I did, I started to enjoy the story a bit more but I just never quite ended up loving it. I also think things just took a little too long to come together, although the ending did have me interested in continuing on in the series, possibly. I finally got invested in the characters and it made me curious about what other stories they had.
I received RED QUEEN for review and was excited to read it based on its ratings and rave reviews. This book was originally published in Spain and this is the first time it's been published in the US. It might not have been something I would have picked up right now, but I was excited to read it and switch up my thriller selections! I can definitely see the comparisons to Lisbeth Salander/The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and I could also recommend this to fans of Lars Kepler.
I didn't end up loving this one, but ultimately, I just didn't connect with it like I had hoped. I know I can enjoy books with this vibe, but I think it took me too long to get into it. Once I did, I started to enjoy the story a bit more but I just never quite ended up loving it. I also think things just took a little too long to come together, although the ending did have me interested in continuing on in the series, possibly. I finally got invested in the characters and it made me curious about what other stories they had.
Read Completed 3/13/23 | I was hoping for a little more ending that than, but I'm happy I read the series. There was still a lot left to explore and I think I personally would have enjoyed the series if it were a bit more plot-driven than character-driven. This was more the story of the characters and we didn't dive too much into all of the details behind Wayward Pines and the hows and the whys of it all. Still enjoyable though!