caseythereader's reviews
1744 reviews

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

5.0


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Kissing Girls on Shabbat: A Memoir by Sara Glass

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

3.75


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Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
I just simply cannot buy that these two people who were never in a relationship and haven’t seen or spoken to each other in 13 years would immediately have a tension filled conversation about kissing each other and their sexual habits within five minutes of seeing each other again for the first time. Oh, and they’re also sitting smack in the middle of her mom’s Christmas party. 
Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Thanks to Bramble Romance for the free copy of this book.

 - What a joy CURVY GIRL SUMMER is! I adored Aaliyah and Ahmad, both on the friendship level and the relationship level. They were the best mix of spicy and sweet.
- Danielle Allen doesn’t shy away from what it can be like to be a fat Black woman in how both Aaliyah’s relatives and her dates treat her. But Aaliyah’s belief and confidence in herself never wavers: she knows what she’s worth.
- For me, Aaliyah hung on to “we’re just friends” a little too long, which made the plot spin its wheels in the middle for a bit. But once she and Ahmad do get together, the wait is worth it. 

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The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free copy of this book.

 - THE STARDUST GRAIL was my first Yume Kitasei book and it certainly won’t be my last. I was fascinated by this universe and its history, which was expertly layered into a great heist plot.
- The story brings in elements ranging from artifact repatriation to what makes a creature sentient and human. There’s so much going on, but it’s all held together on the strength of the main band of characters.
- Also, I would die for Auncle. Anything for Auncle. 

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Just Playing House by Farah Heron

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Thanks to Forever for the free copy of this book. 

- Ooh did I love JUST PLAYING HOUSE. It’s the perfect blend of sweet, serious, silly, and just a little spice.
- Farah Heron said she wrote this book to show that sick people and people with high risk of becoming sick are worthy of being loved just as they are, and boy did she knock it out of the park. This book is filled with hard feelings and thorny conversations, but it feels safe and tender the whole way through.
- Marley and Nikhil had such great chemistry, and I loved this version of second chance where they barely had a first chance and were figuring out if they were ready to try it for real.
- Also, love a low key queer romance: Marley is bi and demi. 

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Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.
Avra’s antics are too tedious for me, they slow everything down and are repetitive. He feels like an Alexis Hall side character dropped into OFMD, and those characters are best in small doses. 
Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

Thanks to Simon and Schuster for the free copy of this book.

 - Whew, this is A BOOK. I knew next to nothing about Tendler other than her highly publicized divorce, and now after reading MEN HAVE CALLED HER CRAZY, I feel a deep kinship with her.
- Tendler’s writing is a bit removed, but her prose flows so beautifully it took me awhile to clock it. It’s somehow both clinical and deeply insightful.
- She flips between present day at the hospital and looking back at past relationships. I would have liked a bit of a sharper line drawn between the past men and current mental state, but it is all there.
- PS: There’s virtually no mention of said ex-husband. It plays somewhere between “I signed an NDA” and “you don’t matter enough to include.” Plenty of Petunia though, which made me both laugh and cry.
 

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The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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