2 Stars | Read With Kennie

Hamlet but Everything is Different

Was this book a good Hamlet retelling? Not particularly. I could see some benefit to students reading it, but only if they are told about the worst changes. But was it a good book on its own? Also not really. It's not the worst book ever, but unless you're on a quest to read every Hamlet retelling out there, I don't think it's worth it.

Kendall Carroll

Aug 284 min read

No, It's Not That Movie

If the general writing quality had been better, I wouldn't have minded a lot of the other issues as much. But because I was so far removed from the story, I was more critical of the whole than I would be otherwise. I genuinely don't know if there's a massive quality difference between this book and "The One" or if listening to it covered it up, but I was really disappointed. I think I have to let this be the last Marrs book for me.

Kendall Carroll

Jul 84 min read

A Horror, SciFi, Satirical RomCom Not Not About Dating Corpses

While this book and concept had a lot of promise, the execution killed its momentum before it really got a chance.

Kendall Carroll

Apr 135 min read

This Book is NOT Called "Atomic Noodle"

You're not going to believe me, but I did like the story beats of this book. It certainly made me want to try biang biang noodles. But I was overall unimpressed with the writing and the implementations of the central allegory.

Kendall Carroll

Mar 304 min read

A Failed Feminist Murder Mystery

I really enjoyed this book at the start. The writing — taking place in 1960s California — felt atmospheric and retro in a way I was really into. And the plot is fascinating, because this is an angle that's pretty unique. Around the halfway mark, it was clear that this was leaning more literary mystery than mystery thriller (the latter being the intended genre), and things got so much worse from there. It was slow, unclear, repetitive, and ultimately unimaginative.

Kendall Carroll

Mar 246 min read

The Lamest Bounty Hunter Ever

This book was weird. If I hadn't won it in a Giveaway, I probably wouldn't have finished it. The writing wasn't anything impressive, the topic was strange, and the mystery was underwhelming.

Kendall Carroll

Oct 8, 20253 min read

A Post 9/11 Nightmare (In Multiple Ways)

I had read Worst Case Scenario by this author last year, and I really liked it. I saw that Newman's debut novel was available from the library and figured it would be a quick, tense, and safe read while I'm in a little bit of a slump. Unfortunately, this one did not match up to the quality of the other one. For the most part, the actual experience reading it was just fine. But the glaring plot issues and the weak characters made this book a less-than-stellar experience.

Kendall Carroll

May 21, 20254 min read