#mybookshelf

[annes-room]

I want my reading habits to change with the seasons I want to read classics + horror in the winter, nonfiction in the spring, romance in the summer, and fantasy in the fall <3

[sarahthevampyrslayer]

Authors I Refuse to Support

Starting an “Authors I Refuse To Support” list with links to receipts for why I will not be supporting them. I’ll be adding to this list as need but thought I’d make it public so others can make their own decisions on who to avoid and why.

Most of the videos and posts I’ve linked to explain why I won’t be supporting these authors are stitches and replies to the author’s original posts (and not the original videos or posts themselves) because most of them have either went private or deleted the content after being called out for it.

J. M. Arlen : can’t handle criticism and becomes a misogynistic douche wad when someone doesn’t like his 1 star average rated books. — evidence is literally his entire Twitter feed, but I’m not on Twitter anymore so I’ll just link to the video calling him out. He also is on Reddit and has been for awhile, whining about bad reviews.

Kate Brady : also can’t handle criticism and villainizes readers for expressing dislike and disinterest in her books (after purchasing her books! Wild) — she completely deleted her TT account after being called out.

Jenny Rabe : called people who cuss not intelligent enough to have an expansive vocabulary because they say words like “fuck.” Implying that they’re stupid. — she deleted the original video after receiving, much deserved, backlash.

[sarahthevampyrslayer]

BOOK REVIEW : DO NOT DISTURB BY FREIDA MCFADDEN

Heads up: This review includes spoilers

★★☆☆☆

This is the second book I've read from this author, so I'm not that familiar with her work. But I can conclude that she definitely has a specific style to her writing. I've just realized it's not a style I mesh well with.

The book starts off from Quinn's POV. She just killed her husband and she's trying to figure out what she's going to do next. It starts off pretty compelling and has a good pace for the first few chapters. I could have done without the author's need to remind the reader almost every chapter how handsome or sexy the male characters are; it's said like it's important to the story but it's not important enough to be mentioned a dozen times, by literally every character.

An issue arises when we first switch to Claudia's POV, Quinn's sister. Chapters 16-25 are completely useless and unnecessary. Especially if we're to take the "twist" towards the end seriously. This is supposed to be from Claudia's POV, her inner monologue, and it comes off as if she doesn't know anything about her sister's husband. It comes off as if she loves and cares for her sister. Then in chapter 39, when we come back to Claudia's POV, she's all "that's right I hate my sister, that bitch!" and "I've been the one sleeping with Derek and I loved him!" It is always when we learn that she's the one who stabs Quinn outside the motel BUT that makes no sense because earlier, when we first get Claudia's POV, Claudia acts surprised she found her sister's wedding ring in the side table. Saying something along the lines of "so my sister was here, but where is she?" Like.. that makes no sense. This isn't written from a third person point of view. It's basically Claudia's inner monologue. Why would she ask herself this is she just stabbed her sister and stuffed her in the trunk of her car?

So that big plot hole is why the twist makes no sense. It feels like the author purposely lied to us and then tried to be like "gotcha! you had no idea!" Well, yea we had no idea. The character's own inner monologue didn't allude to her hating her sister, wanting to kill her sister, or sleeping with his sister's husband. It actually went out of the way to imply all these things weren't true. And it's not like she was implying these things to convince other people, most of these thoughts and actions happened when she was alone. 

Also, the entire motel owner and his wife storyline was so pointless. And I clocked the creepy old lady as the killer of the unsolved murder, related to the in (a pointless subplot), the moment she made a big deal about Quinn being at the motel. 

The story was okay at the beginning, it gave off Wattpad vibes with the writing but otherwise the actual plot was an interesting concept. However, the entire first POV from Claudia was a cheap way for the author to pull a "gotcha" moment, that wasn't even a clever one because we were literally just lied to for almost 10 chapters. Purposefully mislead, which would have worked if this wasn't written in the first person.

I don't feel like I completely wasted my time, the book was entertaining enough that I was able to finish it in about 2 days (it's not very long either, so that was helpful). But the switching between POVs, rehashing the same information over and over, without adding much new information. Plus, the author's obsession with the attractiveness of the male characters. It left a lot to be desired. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, and I won't be reading it again.

I'm on goodreads

[sarahthevampyrslayer]

Do You Remember? by Freida McFadden

[ spoilers below ]

I feel like a lot of the psychological thrillers, especially ones that revolve around illness, requires the reader to ignore what it’s realistically like to deal with illness.

After reading the epilogue it really didn’t make sense how Graham was able to hold Tess hostage in her own house or how he was able to continue to receive the drugs, necessary to keep her from regaining her memory, from the psychiatrist. The psychiatrist would have her medical records and would know she was not longer considered terminally ill.

The book never explains how she found Harry, considering she mentions several times that Harry’s basically a ghost online. They never explained how Harry was still able to contact her phone, and why Graham was smart enough to use the “track my phone” feature but not smart enough to use the parental controls that allow him to see her text messages on his phone.

There are some minor plot holes, in my opinion, but I did end up reading the entire book in one night. Took me about 3 hours to get through. It’s was a good read. Suspenseful, I was always wondering “what is she gonna find out about her life today?” So the author did a great job at keeping the reader engaged. I probably won’t be reaching for this again to reread or anything, but I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good psychological thriller.

★★★★☆

[sarahthevampyrslayer]

My Goodreads profile — I plan on sharing more in-depth reviews here on Tumblr as I read my goal of 36 books in 2023.

[lizzielambwriter]

#bookstagram #bookshelfdecor #mybookshelf #amwritingromance #authorsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CkgyuJwrtDwHiOHZ6tqGYS89ATn8zj_LF6NHWc0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[stickybones-jackson]

Mine is "The BFG".

[briebliophile]

In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead

This one has been on my radar for a while. I’ve seen several reviews for it, nearly all praise. Jessica’s ten year college reunion and homecoming is just around the corner. She’s orchestrated every moment of the reunion with her former classmates down to the most minute details certain that they’ll be in awe of her success, her perfect and impressive life. And why would they not; she has an impressive job in New York, she’s filled her passport with exhilarating trips, and has an impressive closet. But once Jessica gets back to North Carolina for her Duquette reunion the facade begins to crumble when the East House Seven, her former clique, is confronted by Eric Shelby, the younger brother of her friend Heather who was killed in Jessica’s bed senior year demanding answers - including the true killer of his sister. It turns out Jessica isn’t the only one who’s been hiding her true self and burying the past all these years. This was absolutely captivating from the very beginning. The twists and pivots were perfectly timed. As someone who grew up in Winston-Salem and currently considers Durham my second home, I couldn’t help but note that Duquette is a mashup of Duke University and Wake Forest University, and presumably Marquette, also borrowing small nods like color ways and football pride from Alabama. I loved the nods that made me nostalgic. The story was a stunning mashup of How to Get Away with Murder meets Gossip Girl meets Clue. And I loved it. I highly recommend this for #whodunnit lovers, mystery lovers, and those wanting a nostalgic and yet unnerving visit back to your college days. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★