rosepetals1984

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 4/27/2023. Quick review for a quick read. This was a re-read for me after several years away from it. “Monster” is the story of 16-year old Steve Harmon. Steve is accused of being an accomplice to a murder. The book is a quick read – in physical form I know it’s about 100 some pages, while the audiobook is a little over 2 and a half hours. I…

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#audiobooks #audiobooks I loved #books read in 2023 #crime #drama #Monster #quick read #read in 2023 #realistic fiction #tough subjects #Walter Dean Myers #Young Adult

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Minor Detail" by Adania Shibli

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 12/11/2023 Initial reaction: 4- 4.5 stars. Thinking on it for a night to decide where I land. Oh, this book hurt. Beautifully written, broken into two parts in terms of the past and present. The description of the novella on Goodreads gives you the overview, but when you’re actually reading the narrative and how it sets up things…it’s a gut punch.…

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#Adania Shibli #audiobook #audiobooks #based on actual events #books read in 2023 #historical #historical fiction #Minor Detail #novella #Palestinian authors #read in 2023 #tough subjects #war

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "The Woman in Me" by Britney Spears

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 10/25/2023. Initial reaction:4.5 stars. So I very much devoured this read considering it was just over 5 and a half hours on audio. Michelle Williams did a good job narrating, as did Britney for the intro. It’s hard not to feel emotional about this story since it covers a lot in a brief time. But it was well done. I’m glad she got to tell her…

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#adult non-fiction #adult nonfiction #audiobooks #autobiography #biography #books read in 2023 #Britney Spears #memoir #Music #nonfiction #read in 2023 #The Woman in Me #tough subjects

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Carrie Soto Is Back" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 9/24/2023 Initial reaction: I enjoyed the journey of this more than I thought I would. Carrie Soto’s journey as a rising star athlete, respective fall, and comeback were realistic, sometimes painfully so. I did have some issues with it, but I’ll expand a little about that in my larger review. But I think this was a strong 4 star read for me. Full…

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#audiobooks #audiobooks i enjoyed #better than I expected #books read in 2023 #Carrie Soto Is Back #characters of color #drama #historical fiction #multi-pov #multi-povs #read in 2023 #sports #Taylor Jenkins Reid #tough subjects

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 5/2/2023. Quick review for a quick read. And I’m finally getting around to reviewing this book after quite some time. I originally read this book back in 2017, which was about 10 years after it was originally written. Now, reading it a second time, it is 2023. Part of me came back to this novel to read it in the measure of recent strings of book…

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#audiobooks #audiobooks i enjoyed #better than I expected #books read in 2023 #contemporary #crime #drama #Jodi Picoult #multi-pov #multi-povs #Nineteen Minutes #read in 2023 #realistic fiction #suspense #tough subjects

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "The Black Queen" by Jumata Emill

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 4/28/2023. Initial reaction: Mehhhhhh. I think at most I can give this 2 stars. There are parts where it tried to reconcile the tension in a way that was clarifying and those parts were fine, but this felt off to me in a way that left me uncomfortable with what it was doing. A lot of traumatic drama here. I don’t know, all. I’ll think about it and…

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#audiobook #audiobooks #books read in 2023 #contemporary #crime #drama #great premise lacking execution #horror #Jumata Emill #multi-pov #multi-povs #mystery #read in 2023 #realistic fiction #The Black Queen #tough subjects #Young Adult

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Happy Place" by Emily Henry

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 4/28/2023. Quick review for a quick read. I have so many thoughts to unpack after finishing “Happy Place”. So upon finishing it, it does feel satisfying for the themes and relationships it showcases and the overarching aim of what it does. The execution of it, though? Not ideal. Admittedly, I had to push through it. Julia Whelan narrates this so…

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#adult fiction #audiobooks #audiobooks i enjoyed #books read in 2023 #contemporary #drama #Emily Henry #Happy Place #read in 2023 #realistic fiction #romance #tough subjects

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Deathwatch" by Robb White

*This review was originally posted/re-reviewed on Goodreads 9/24/2023. Newer review: Initial reaction: Coming shortly. I raised the rating by half a star. Brilliantly told story and a classic cat/mouse survival thriller, though sometimes hampered in the pacing despite a hefty (and admirable) amount of attention to detail. Continue reading Untitled

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#adventure #books read in 2023 #Deathwatch #favorites #read in 2023 #realistic fiction #Robb White #survival #thriller #tough subjects #Young Adult

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

*This review was originally posted on Goodreads 12/12/2023. Initial reaction: Well that was a wild ride. It’s honestly scary how realistic this is in terms of the reactions it has from the author and team supporting June. It speaks to the moment of having a dark humored story pointing out issues in the publishing industry. I’ll think on it a night and give you my thoughts tomorrow, but I’m…

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#adult fiction #audiobooks #audiobooks i enjoyed #books read in 2023 #dark humor #drama #favorites #quick read #R.F. Kuang #read in 2023 #realistic fiction #tough subjects #Yellowface

[rosepetals1984]

Continuing ongoing updates - 1/8 to 1/10/24

Hi all, quick update for the blog. It’s taking me a little longer to update everything on the blog. Still dusting off a lot of tags, pages among other things, so it’ll be another couple of days as I continue to iron things out here. I’m also going through my other social media sites (Tumblr, Goodreads, etc.) to make sure that things are synced up. It may be a little bit before everything’s ironed…

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#Blog stuff #Blog Updates #forthcoming updates #General #general update #general updates #maintenance

[rosepetals1984]

Blog Maintenance 1/5/2024 - 1/8/2024

Hi all, Rose here. I’m going to be changing stuff around on the blog with respect to tags, layout, among other things over the next several days, so know that things might look and feel a little wonky over here. I should be able to get things situated by the beginning of next week though. Hopefully update some long needed reviews and bookish content here. See you soon.

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#Blog Updates #General #general updates #maintenance #updates

[rosepetals1984]

My Reading, Reviewing, and Channel Goals for 2024

Cross-posting this video from my newly minted (not really, I’ve been around for a little over a year now) Booktube Channel. These are some of the bookish, review, and channel goals that I have for 2024. I’m planning to reboot the blog shortly, but I wanted to start with this because alongside some of the content I have planned for the channel, I’m going to be posting more book reviews here as…

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#2024 Goodreads Challenge #Booktube #General #Goodreads challenges #reading goals #review goals #video

[rosepetals1984]

Review: The Challenge by Megan Hart

Initial reaction:So I’m aware that this story was written a while back and has had a few cover changes (I actually like the newer cover; it’s really cute.) But oof, this story wasn’t one of the author’s better ones, especially for a short read. I’m probably being very generous giving this 1.5 stars. Hart’s writing is usually rather solid, but the execution of this story was not only all over the…

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#adult fiction #books read in 2023 #contemporary #erotic romance #erotica #glbt #glbtq #Just Another Cover Lover #Megan Hart #novella #pretty cover #quick read #read in 2023 #romance #The Challenge

[rosepetals1984]

Review: The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown

Quick review for a quick read. I’m backtracking a little bit because I originally read this Tor Nightfire novella back in June of 2023. I adored this short, sci-fi horror thriller from the perspective of a Black woman trying to navigate her ship back to Earth with limited resources, a irritated crew, and a mysterious threat looming over them. Jacklyn Albright has plenty of secrets as she’s the –…

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#adult fiction #arc or galley #books read in 2023 #favorites #glbt #glbtq #horror #Ness Brown #NetGalley #novella #pretty cover #quick read #read in 2023 #sci-fi #survival #The Scourge Between Stars #thriller

[rosepetals1984]

Review: "The Last Thing He Told Me" by Laura Dave

Initial reaction: Better than I expected? There were many points where it wasn’t clear where the story would go, for better and not, but I still found myself engaged in this mystery from beginning to end. The ending felt a bit tacked on unfortunately for the set of events, leaving a few more questions than answers. 3.5 stars overall. Full review: “The Last Thing He Told Me” by Laura Dave is the…

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#adult fiction #audiobook #audiobooks #audiobooks i enjoyed #books read in 2023 #contemporary #Laura Dave #mystery #read in 2023 #suspense #The Last Thing He Told Me #thriller

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "Artificial Condition" (Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells

Quick review for a quick read – technically re-read. This is another in the Murderbot series I’ve read multiple times, and revisited in 2023. “Artificial Condition” picks up where the last book left off – with Murderbot being *technically* free. Murderbot’s trying its best to blend in with humans while trying not to be antsy and awkward around them. But Murderbot doesn’t necessarily do a great…

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#adult fiction #all time favorite series #all time favorites #audiobook #audiobooks #audiobooks I loved #books read in 2021 #books read in 2023 #favorites #Martha Wells #novella #novellas #quick read #read in 2021 #read in 2023 #sci-fi

[rosepetals1984]

Retro Review: "All Systems Red" (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells

Quick review for a quick read. All – I’ve been meaning to write a review for this book as many times as I’ve read it. I just finished listening to it on audio in probably what is either my third or fourth read through at this point. I’m marking it now for 2023 as well. How do I profess my love for Murderbot exactly? (*Looks in distance with Murderbot standing rigidly, helmet on, expression…

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#action #adult fiction #All Systems Red #all time favorite series #all time favorites #audiobook #audiobooks #audiobooks I loved #books read in 2021 #books read in 2023 #Martha Wells #Murderbot Diaries 1 #novella #novellas #quick read #read in 2021 #read in 2023 #sci-fi