Kelly's Updates en-US Sun, 20 Apr 2025 18:35:14 -0700 60 Kelly's Updates 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9332596773 Sun, 20 Apr 2025 18:35:14 -0700 <![CDATA[Kelly is currently reading 'The Bazaar of Bad Dreams']]> /review/show/7504978936 The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King Kelly is currently reading The Bazaar of Bad Dreams by Stephen King
]]> Review1252183938 Fri, 11 Apr 2025 06:45:50 -0700 <![CDATA[Kelly added 'Pride and Prejudice']]> /review/show/1252183938 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Kelly gave 5 stars to Pride and Prejudice (Paperback) by Jane Austen
I've seen Pride & Prejudice countless times over the years, and I've read the novel twice prior. However, the last time I read P&P was 16 years ago. I had a much greater appreciation for Austen's satire this time around, as well as for her ability to create such realistic and comedic characters.
]]> Rating840197101 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:25:20 -0700 <![CDATA[Kelly liked a review]]> /
Kelly liked Shawn's review of Canticle (Forgotten Realms: The Cleric Quintet, #1):
Canticle by R.A. Salvatore
]]> Rating840197068 Tue, 25 Mar 2025 14:25:14 -0700 <![CDATA[Kelly liked a readstatus]]> /
Kelly liked Shawn’s status update
Shawn Shawn has read Spice & Wolf, Vol. 02
]]> ReadStatus9160064117 Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:53:38 -0800 <![CDATA[Kelly is currently reading 'Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation']]> /review/show/7384899804 Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss Kelly is currently reading Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
]]> Review7334710929 Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:16:52 -0800 <![CDATA[Kelly added 'Cyanide and Sensibility']]> /review/show/7334710929 Cyanide and Sensibility by Katie Oliver Kelly gave 3 stars to Cyanide and Sensibility (A Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery) by Katie Oliver
This was a quick, predictable cozy mystery centered around a poisoned cupcake in a small college town where everybody knows everybody. I did enjoy the predictability to an extent because it's one of the first times I've ever been able to solve a murder mystery which was a fun experience, and the story itself was engaging enough. I wouldn't say it was the most memorable mystery I've ever read, and the pacing was a bit disjointed, particularly toward the end, but I did appreciate the cozy, Christmastime atmosphere and the nods to Jane Austen and other literary icons throughout the novel. ]]> Review7325968936 Sun, 16 Feb 2025 07:22:24 -0800 <![CDATA[Kelly added 'The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me']]> /review/show/7325968936 The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me by Roald Dahl Kelly gave 4 stars to The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me (Paperback) by Roald Dahl
I generally prefer Roald Dahl's longer books, but this quick read was adorable. Billy is so disappointed when the candy shop The Grubber closes but is curious when his favorite shop turns into a ladderless window cleaning service, run by an extraordinary giraffe, pelican, and monkey. Acting as their manager, Billy & the animal crew befriend a duke whose home has windows that have not been cleaned in over forty years. Thievery ensues, followed by some quick thinking, and a very cute happy ending. ]]> Review7271196479 Sat, 15 Feb 2025 14:01:34 -0800 <![CDATA[Kelly added 'Someone Else's Shoes']]> /review/show/7271196479 Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes Kelly gave 3 stars to Someone Else's Shoes (Hardcover) by Jojo Moyes
This was a cute read about two women from polar opposite worlds who accidentally swap gym bags, thereby switching shoes. Both Sam and Nisha find their lives change the moment they are forced to wear the other's shoes, and things won't return to any semblance of normal until they manage to find each other.

I like Jojo Moyes. She has a casual writing style that is easy to enjoy, and this story was lighthearted, though not the most memorable. I had mixed feelings on the characters, especially on Nisha, but the plot was interesting enough for me to want to continue reading. ]]> Review7175826042 Tue, 28 Jan 2025 16:33:54 -0800 <![CDATA[Kelly added 'In the Woods']]> /review/show/7175826042 In the Woods by Tana French Kelly gave 3 stars to In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1) by Tana French
This was a tough one, and probably not the best choice to start January off with. While I enjoy crime novels, this was less thriller or cozy mystery and way more of a literary fiction crime novel. There are many novels I read for their beautiful writing-crime novels would not fall into that category for me, so there were several points in which I found this story to be a slog.

As for the plot itself, it was interesting enough. Adam "Rob" Ryan is a detective in Dublin who, as a child, was the only one of his trio of friends to escape a disappearance in the neighborhood woods. Yet Ryan has no memory of what actually happened to himself or to his friends, and the friends have remained missing for over twenty years. When Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox get a call to investigate the murder of a 12-year-old girl in those same woods, the memory gates swing open slightly. The investigation process was interesting enough, and overall, I didn't mind the characters, though Ryan was increasingly unlikable, as he is supposed to be. He definitely suffers from arrested development, and seems to have stopped maturing at the age in which his friends disappeared, and as the plot progresses, this becomes a major problem for his character.

I did feel that some of the "twists" were incredibly obvious and had seemed likely since the beginning of the book.

I've read many reviewers who felt the ending was unsatisfying. I overall didn't mind how the novel ends-more of my issue was with French's very slow, overly poetic writing style which, again, would not bother me, had the novel been a different genre. French is a talented storyteller and I'm tempted to pick up another book by her someday, but I think that attempt will be a long time from now. ]]> Rating808234934 Sun, 05 Jan 2025 06:35:02 -0800 <![CDATA[Kelly liked a userchallenge]]> / ]]>