thisbookishcat's reviews
595 reviews

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming, Kimberly Lemming

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.25

This was stupid. This was fun. This made me laugh out loud and share silly quotes with friends and my husband. This was a great read. I also enjoyed it much more than I liked the previous book - I really loved Brie's spunk.

Read this if you want something that doesn't take itself too seriously. 

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

3.5

I don't know what I'd expected since I haven't actually heard anything about this and haven't watched the show, but I'd been expecting more. More action. More suspense. More drama. More. Don't get me wrong, everything going on in the novel is very unsettling and I understand now the severity of the similarities people are making between it and the current climate in the USA, but it was a bit lacking to me. I do, however, appreciate that this is supposed to be a telling of the experience of a (potential) survivor, so I can also excuse the lack of "more" to a certain degree as someone who wants to tell their tale without getting into the more unsavoury details.

All-in-all, I'm glad I finally read it. 

Spells by Aprilynne Pike

adventurous medium-paced

3.5

 Justice for my guy 

Tamani! I call bullshit on a gal chosing David over a guy like Tamani. I'm sorry, but this guy has DEVOTED his life to protecting you on your mission. Ungrateful.

And now I just want to power through the rest of the books but I have so many more on the go and coming in at the moment, it'll be a bit. Grrrr. 

Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer

emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

I thought this novel did a really good job at conveying (without being too graphic for youth) how tense this period of time was, especially for the English royals. It also tastefully grazed over some of the more unsavoury events, such as the collection and burning of peoples due to religious differences, at this time in history.

All-in-all, a good, quick read if you like history, especially of royals. 

The Ice Princess by Camilla Läckberg

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

 This took me on so many twists and turns and made all of my theories turn in on themselves! I definitely will continue on with this series because it feels so real and 

I need to know that the sonuvabitch Lucas gets the shit beat out of him at some point.

  If you like Swedish crime novels I'd recommend it. 

Their Muted Howls by C.X. Young

adventurous tense fast-paced

3.0

I hate myself for wishing I had the next book so I could dive into it immediately because God dmanit the ending! Why am I so invested? And why am I actually starting to like some of these characters?! Someone help (by giving me the next book). UGH.

The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World by Steve Brusatte

adventurous informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

I love dinosaurs - I literally cosplayed as Dr. Ellie Sattler to go to Comic Con last year, so for me this was going to be an easy win. I love how Dr. Brusatte nerds out about all of the people who have contibuted their time and expertise to the better understanding of these different time periods, and how accessible he makes this book. Yes, there's some complicated terms, but he never makes it feel like he's talking down to the reader when explaining these things but is instead bursting with enthusiasm to share what this means for our understanding of the time of dinosaurs and the evolutions that have taken place. Honestly, this was such a fun read!

Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

I liked that this one had more of a straight forward story following the lives and conflicts of multiple characters. It makes you feel like you're a part of their circle, and makes this more dynamic. They're all growing in me quite a bit at this point. I also appreciate that the approach of the detectives is not to put someone behind bars, but to give closure; for some reason this is a more satisfying outcome

Once Upon A Curse: 17 Dark Faerie Tales by Yasmine Galenorn

medium-paced

3.0

Some of the stories I really enjoyed and maybe I'll check out the other works from the authors, and other stories really would have benefited from having another 10-20 pages added to them to flush out the details a bit better.

This was my first anthology that was (urban) fantasy-based and call me old-fashioned but I like my fantasy to have some meat on its bones. The lack of details in most of these stories made them fall quite flat or made the wins seem too easy.

Overall, decent introduction to a lot of new authors, but this book could easily have been double its length and I would have enjoyed many of the stories more. 

Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie

mysterious medium-paced

3.25

I didn't love this one as much as her others this far. I agree with what a lot of others have mentioned about how the banter feels off and how it is suddenly full of a lot of language that is nowadays not acceptable - I'm not sure if previous works of hers I've read have just been edited to not include those or if this is really her first time trying them out, but it was quite jarring.

For the story itself, it was okay, but I didn't enjoy any of the characters so this one was a bit of a miss for me.