Ria

Actual rating 4.5 ⭐. My favorite chapters were the ones featuring Freddie and Winter. Laura was alright. This was a very bleak and long read, mostly because I kept pausing and reflecting on it all. Set in WW1, this was a historical fiction that paid homage to the brave soldiers who gave their lives in the war. Part ghost story, a hint of a romance flung in at the end, and a survival story all rolled up into one, I very much enjoyed this.

I managed twenty percent before I dnf'd. It was nice writing with lovely prose but I was thoroughly bored and didn't care for the characters at all. 2.5 ⭐ rounded up to 3.

I tried and managed 20% but it is one of those long, rambling stories that cram everything into each chapter as much as possible. I did enjoy the old woman telling the preacher she'd rather not be preached as she was prone to seizures. :D But otherwise this just wasn't working for me. Interesting, sad, and just bland writing. 3.5 ⭐

Trigger warnings: implied rape, starvation, child abuse, spousal abuse, implied torture, and child abandonment

This is one of those books where it had loads of promise and potential but for me it fell flat. One reason is because characters talked without any quotation marks at all, and I find that very hard to follow. Even single marks ‘like this' is okay, just give me something. I struggled with this and finally called it quits at the halfway point. This just wasn't for me. 3.5 ⭐

Extremely useful for those who bought about half the Harvard Classics at a thrift store and needed both backstory and a comprehensive reading list. I'm very glad this is available on KU, it was very helpful and excellent reading. Short, to the point, and exactly what I needed! 5 ⭐!

It started off strong, but then I rapidly lost interest. The halfway point it felt dragging and slow. And swapped out from character point of view. 3.5 ⭐

After thinking about this book for months and seeing YouTubers Daniel Greens video, I realized that I hated reading this book. Now, I will give credit, that cover is outstanding. Easily the best cover for 2023! But the book itself was reading like a child attempting to mimic humor and while I enjoyed the talking cats, the rest of it fell flat, I couldn't stand Charlie, and the villains were actually? Rather pitiful.

I've had this book in mind since I read it a few months ago. It's an interesting premise and I wish I was a Scalzi fan, however, the characters were flat, one dimension boring villains. Even Charlie's uncle just tells him that he wasn't expecting anything of him. And I can see why.

I don't know that I'm going to pick up anything else by Scalzi. I know he's a beloved writer in the sci-fi genre, and I respect that. But this book was annoying, over the top, and absolutely pitifully lame in terms of villainy.

Apologies to the fans.

Rated: 1.5 ⭐ rounded up to two for the cover.

This started off strong despite the historical inaccuracies and slowly became more and more ridiculous. Though the writing was very good and I did like the characters, the plot itself just wasn't working for me. 3.5 ⭐

For those who love Legends and Lattes, but make it more gay and more cozy with a hint of adventure thrown in. This was an absolute delight and perfect for Valentine's Day. 5 ⭐

This was a lovely illustrated book, reminiscint of Little House on the Prairie. It was slow, thought-provoking and sad at times. A very lovely story of family and friends, struggling during hard times and suffering poverty. I wasn't prepared for the serious air that some of the story took. I'll definitely need a physical copy of this, because it's a very beautiful edition and I'd like to read it again. I can certainly see why everyone adores this lovely classic. 4.5 ⭐

This wasn't quite for me. The writing was good but I just didn't feel connected with the characters. 3.5 ⭐

I gave this my best shot and made it through about 40% before I gave up. The writing was fantastic but I couldn't stand all but the main mc. I don't know what it was but the characters grated on my nerves. I had high hopes but this just wasn't quite to my taste. I'd probably adore this if I was in my teen years. 3.5 ⭐

I must buy a physical copy as this was quite beautiful. 5 ⭐

A bit slow in the middle, but the ending was pretty good! Happily ever after with a solid resolution for the characters. I enjoyed this quite a bit! 4.5 ⭐

This was fun, but the rampant sexism grew really annoying really fast. Fun, and good writing with believable characters. 3 ⭐

My second five star read of the year is a heartwarming feel good collection of stories about five different people who search for things they need and the library being a safe haven for all.

I managed twenty percent of the book before I flung in the towel. It's horribly sexist (unsurprising for the time period and place, but even so, wow is it sexist), it feels a bit condensed at times, and the writing just wasn't to my taste.

Rated: 2.5 ⭐ DNF

A fine children's story that's by one of my old favorite authors growing up. Short, delightful, but also hard hitting at times. I'd pick this up if you wanted realistic potrayals of how the poor were treated and if you like historical fiction.

TW: discrimination, sexism, bullying, off screen starvation, light violence, death of a character, sickness

What a very strange book. I couldn't get into it, despite how short it is, the writing was stilted and rambling at points. Pretty words and phrases but I didn't connect with it whatsoever. This might work for you but it definitely wasn't for me. 2 ⭐

Finished at last! It took me five and a half days to read this, despite it being roughly 400 pages. Mostly because poetry lately is slow reading for me and the first half of the book was mostly poetry.
But at the end, I was flipping through the pages as fast I could and the ending was a happily for now ending. I'm unsure if there's going to be a sequel, I really really hope so.

Review to come!

Rated: 4.5 ⭐ rounded up

TW: blood, murder, mentions of abuse, suggested cheating

I wound up dnf'ing this for now. While the writing was strong I just wasn't connecting with the story. However I did enjoy it so I'll definitely be coming back to this later. 3.5 ⭐ rounded up

I managed about twenty percent and gave up. The writing was good but I just can't with the sister and mother in this book. So frustratingly irritating! I did like Elena and Caius and I might come back to this in the future but for now I'm giving this 3 ⭐.

I picked this up on a whim from kindle unlimited and wasn't disappointed but it just wasn't quite for me. Mainly because spankings aren't my thing and the evil lord in this book was one I wanted to strangle and dump his body somewhere truly disgusting. Good writing and likeable, believable characters and I flew through this in a couple hours. 3.5 ⭐ rounded up.

I tried my best with this book three times but for some reason I just wasn't clicking with it.

It started off strong then about halfway I just couldn't muster myself to finish. I will come back to this later, and hopefully get a physical copy of the book. Technically this is on hold for later. 3.5 ⭐.