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gracie

Fantasy feels like home but I like to travel

619 points

0% overlap
Rick Riordanverse
Iconic Series
Level 4
Reading...Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame
My Taste
The Poppy War (The Poppy War, #1)
The Last Lie Told (Finley O’Sullivan, #1)
Before I Let Go (Skyland, #1)
Albrek's Tomb (Adventurers Wanted, #3)
Book Lovers

gracie commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

1h
  • TBR Paralysis

    I just finished reading a fabulous book and now I'm staring at all the books I own and wondering what to read next, if not buy a new one (rip my wallet) and read that. How do y'all manage your TBR paralysis and choose what to read next? I know that if I don't start now, I'll have a hard time starting up again after reading something so good, so I need to pick quickly lol

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  • gracie wrote a review...

    4h
  • Bad Mother
    gracie
    Jun 04, 2025
    2.5
    Enjoyment: 2.5Quality: 2.0Characters: 2.0Plot: 2.5

    2.25 rounded up to 2.5. I struggled to get into it for the first 60% of the book and was reading as fast as possible to get through it. The prose is awkward with poor word choice (i.e., upper ground instead of upper hand) and genre- and age-inappropriate vibes; the characters are a bit flat and immature; and parts of both the romantic and detective plots weren't believable, lacking chemistry and research. I was sure I would end up rating it a 2, but the last 40% of the book picked up enough that I was much more invested, despite the previously mentioned issues persisting. Additionally, the ending was satisfying (though the epilogue felt like an afterthought that didn't need to be there), and I did get a few chuckles out of it. Overall, this book is a decent read. If you have no other thrillers on your TBR, it's not terribly offensive, so you could pick it up if the premise interests you. Otherwise, there are far better books out there that would be worth your time.

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  • Post from the Bad Mother forum

    5h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 79%
    spoilers

    View spoiler

    3
    comments 0
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  • Post from the Bad Mother forum

    7h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 69%
    spoilers

    View spoiler

    2
    comments 0
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  • gracie commented on SoberBookBabe's update

    SoberBookBabe earned a badge

    13h
    Level 3

    Level 3

    250 points

    25
    11
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    gracie commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    7h
  • Physical Bookshelves

    Curious to hear… how do you all sort your physical bookshelves? I used to swear I’d only ever do author last name but as I’ve gotten into reading and collecting more, I now have them in their genres with my favourites more visible and the rest are sorted by “vibes” (like dragons, witches, werewolves etc) and then alphabetically by author. (YA gets sorted into the relevant genres like fantasy YA goes with fantasy instead of separating YA out.) My only hard rule is an author’s books can’t be separated even if they write different genres. An authors books must stay together. The size differences annoy me too so sometimes I separate within the vibes the hardcovers and paperbacks and then do them alphabetically in those sections. Right now, I’m squeezing stuff in where it can fit so it’s not perfectly organized by vibes but we’ll see what happens as I get more space! (I know sharing images on here is a lot of work but if you are up to it, shelfies welcome!)

    11
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  • Post from the Bad Mother forum

    8h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 57%

    This central relational conflict is kind of... weak. This feels like a conversation between a couple of college students at the oldest.

    3
    comments 0
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  • gracie commented on gracie's update

    gracie earned a badge

    10h
    Level 4

    Level 4

    500 points

    21
    21
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    Post from the Bad Mother forum

    8h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 51%
    spoilers

    View spoiler

    3
    comments 0
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  • Post from the Bad Mother forum

    8h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 43%
    spoilers

    View spoiler

    2
    comments 0
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  • Post from the Bad Mother forum

    10h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 18%

    Bruh this kid is 5 1/2 and is speaking like a 3 year old... I'm screaming for mercy right now but I've already mentally committed to muscling through this book.

    2
    comments 0
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  • gracie earned a badge

    10h
    Level 4

    Level 4

    500 points

    21
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    gracie commented on a post

    10h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 8%

    I have a sense I'm going to end up skimming this one unless the plot picks up because the prose is very eh.

    2
    comments 1
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  • gracie commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    10h
  • The struggle of wanting to talk about books... but not actually doing it 😅

    Okay, I LOVE the idea of sharing thoughts on a forum while reading — It sounds perfect. I always have so many reactions while I read — comments, emotions, tiny rants, questions, wild predictions, the occasional breakdown 😮‍💨 — and the thought of posting them, discussing them with other readers, just letting them out?? Dreamy. ✨ But here's the thing: The motivation to organize my thoughts, translate them into words (in English, which isn’t even my first language 💀), and post them?? Absolutely nowhere to be found. It’s not that I don’t want to share — I really do! I want to scream into the void or have someone scream back “I KNOW RIGHT??” — but suddenly it all feels like work 🧠➡️✍️ And my brain’s like “nah, let’s just stare at the wall instead.” (I have made posts before — just lately it takes so much effort that it honestly feels like a job 😵‍💫) Plus, I don’t love the idea of constantly pausing my reading just to post a comment — It pulls me out of the story 🫠 And half the time I lose the vibe I was in just for the sake of writing something down. So yeah. I adore the concept of being super active in reading forums… I’m just not very good at actually doing it. 😂 Anyone else feel this way?? Or is my brain just being dramatic again 🙃📖

    18
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  • Post from the Bad Mother forum

    10h
  • Bad Mother
    Thoughts from 8%

    I have a sense I'm going to end up skimming this one unless the plot picks up because the prose is very eh.

    2
    comments 1
    Reply
  • gracie commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

    16h
  • Devin
    Edited
    Normalizing 3.0 ratings

    As the title suggest, I rate what I call a good book at a 3.0 and wanted to clarify that a 3.0 is a good book in my opinion, an enjoyable book, that does what it does well but doesn't do anything spectacular and might have some minor issues. Wanted to share my rating system here in case anyone was interested in what I consider each level to be rated at overall. Disclaimer I rate on a . 25 system and will round for the half points Overall Score The final rating is based on all the other scores used as well as the overall delivery, character work, and plot ⭐ 1.00-1.75 - Not recommended for most readers, objective issues around writing, editing, pacing etc. ⭐⭐ 2.00-2.75 - May appeal to dedicated fans of the subgenre, usually also has some objective issues ⭐⭐⭐ 3.00-3.75 - Solid read with strengths that outweigh weaknesses, a good read that might have some minor flaws ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.00-4.75 - Excellent book that stands out in the genre, usually also has objectively good writing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.00 - Exceptional work that sets a new standard, good writing, character work, really transcends or redefines the genre By no means do I expect people to rate on the same scale I do, but did want to clarify 3 stars is a good book in my personal opinion. Would love to hear what you think about my scale and how you work out your own personal scale 😊

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