Books
This page contains all of my written reviews, they're separated by year and month starting with the most recent review. All the spoiler warnings are taken off so there may be spoilers ahead!
View all my reviewsJune 2025
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly JacksonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Completed June 23
I feel very mixed about this book. I think it would've been 2 stars if the last 1/3 didn't boost it up but I feel mixed about that part as well. It was SO hard to get through the first 200-300 pages and I'm not sure if it was the writing or the characters or the story. It was really hard for me to like Bel too she was just SO unlikeable. Like I totally get that she had a ton of trauma from her mom disappearing but she is just such an angry and bitter person the entire book and it irked me so bad. I truly get it and I empathize with her but it's just so hard to get through a book when all she does is complain that everyone is going to leave and she hates almost everyone in her life. I think after the 280ish mark it got better, but after around 327 it was just all of the stuff that was being used to wrap up the book and that made it better. Like the book sounded so interesting, and it could be so insanely good, but I just can't get over how much I hated Bel at certain points and that was the reason it took me 2 entire months to finish this book. I'm not even sure if this was a 3 star read it feels more like a 2.5. I do appreciate a good plot twist though so I think it does deserve the 3 star rating because my guesses were not correct and I was very shocked at how it played out. Not sure why I got such a burst of energy to read the last 152 pages in 2 days but I did it and I'm glad I'm done!
April 2025
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu KawaguchiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Completed April 12
I should've finished this much sooner but it was so good I'm so happy I read it. It was such a nice book overall too and even though there were sad parts it was a very bittersweet feeling. Made me sad but at the same time my heart feels full with how it ended :')
Northanger Abbey by Jane AustenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Completed April 2
I honestly really enjoyed this but I feel like it needs a reread and I'd rather go at my own pace. I read this in two days using an audiobook while playing flash and idle games so I want to really absorb it when/if I read it again. Overall I enjoyed it though especially compared to the other stories we read.
March 2025
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne: A Highland Story by Ann RadcliffeMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Completed March 25
Didn't grab me all that much. I feel like it was one of my least favorite ones out of the ones read for my class. It might've just not interested me as much, but it kind of just wasn't as interesting to me as the other stories were or overall, I just wasn't too interested in it. It felt kind of all over the place too or maybe I just got lost sometimes? Not sure? I also listened to an audiobook for it since that's been helping with these books lately and I've been enjoying it, so maybe that's why. Overall not too bad and some parts were kinda silly which was nice.
The Castle of Otranto by Horace WalpoleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Completed March 17
I really enjoyed this one! I think it's my new favorite out of the ones I've read for my Romance class and I'd say the story was really solid and it kept me entertained and kept my focus the whole time. I listened to an audio book and sometimes looked at the pages to follow along with my progress. I was kinda disappointed at the ending because why would Manfred do that but I guess they had to get the drama in somewhere. Overall it was really good and a good length time-wise!
The Winter's Tale by William ShakespeareMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Completed March 4
Another one for my Romance class, and this might be my top one so far this semester! I really enjoyed it, and it kept my interest throughout, but maybe I just have an itching for reading Shakespeare or anything more modern after reading so many medieval romances. It kind of reminded me of the story of the Hercules movie with the whole child being abandoned and found plot. Reading it with the text and an audio book, so it was helpful to have the different voices since some of the names confused me. Hopefully this pushes me to go for more Shakespearean novels other than the ones I've already purchased.
February 2025
The Death of King Arthur by Thomas MaloryMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Completed February 24
Read for my Romance class. We had also read the original story with Lancelot in the "Knight of the Cart" but I think I absorbed this one a lot better. Maybe it's because I enjoyed it better after previously reading about Lancelot or my pacing is better since it's no longer the beginning of the semester. Still, I fully tried to read it even though it was kind of long compared to the other readings we've done so far. Kinda disappointed about the ending because how are you going to allow your man to slay basically a thousand knights and then reject him?? And then she died??? Overall, not bad but it's crazy how immature the kings/knights are in all of this and how long it took to resolve things(when it really didn't get resolved they just all basically died to each other or an illness).
January 2025
Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart by Chrétien de TroyesMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Completed January 28
Read this for my Romance class. Meleagant was so annoying I got SO tired of hearing him complain about the fights. I was so glad that he finally died at the end I was so over him. It was interesting the way that the Queen and Lancelot loved each other and also were willing to Romeo & Juliet themselves for each other when their love was forbidden basically. Was still so jetlagged reading this yesterday and started using the robotic reader today so I didn't fully absorb all of the story but it was overall very good! Would love a less obsessed Lancelot to go with my Guinevere.
The Score by Elle KennedyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Completed January 19
I took a big hiatus with this series so maybe I just enjoyed this a lot because it's been so long but overall I really liked it! Seeing Dean's softer side was really nice too and this book was definitely quite the roller coaster but I'm glad I finally jumped back into it. Maybe more of a 3.5 but I rounded up because I love Allie's story and she's the kind of girl I'd strive to be.