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1_more_chapter's reviews
289 reviews
The Gilded Cage by Lynette Noni
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
If you like The Mortal Instruments but didn't like potential incest this book is for you
The Red Palace by June Hur
Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 61%.
dnf at 204 pages
I don't know if it was just a case of wrong book, wrong time but I just could not get into this book. This was such a highly anticipated read for me but felt like I was forcing myself to read it.
We were thrown into this murder investigation so quickly, literally from the first page, that we spent 0 time getting to know the main character and her friends/family or about any of the people involved in the murder. Like, 4 people died, and? I just didn't care about anyone in the book enough to be invested in the plot at all.
It also felt way too easy for this girl to get information, I definitely thought it would be way more of a challenge considering the book is set in 1758 but this girl has people confessing their darkest secrets to her within 2 seconds of a conversation. I don't know how considering she lacks any personality.
I don't know if it was just a case of wrong book, wrong time but I just could not get into this book. This was such a highly anticipated read for me but felt like I was forcing myself to read it.
We were thrown into this murder investigation so quickly, literally from the first page, that we spent 0 time getting to know the main character and her friends/family or about any of the people involved in the murder. Like, 4 people died, and? I just didn't care about anyone in the book enough to be invested in the plot at all.
It also felt way too easy for this girl to get information, I definitely thought it would be way more of a challenge considering the book is set in 1758 but this girl has people confessing their darkest secrets to her within 2 seconds of a conversation. I don't know how considering she lacks any personality.
The Queen of Sorrow by Sarah Beth Durst
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Just didn't care about the characters and wasn't interested in the story. There were some obvious events/characters that I was supposed to care about but didn't because we barely spent any time at the start world-building or introducing the characters.
My final straw was when the author/s spent 5 sentences describing a pine tree only for the character to 'forget' what they are called and call them 'pole trees'.
My final straw was when the author/s spent 5 sentences describing a pine tree only for the character to 'forget' what they are called and call them 'pole trees'.
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I really enjoyed this book, it was a solid YA dystopian and did a good job of critiquing misogyny and religion in our modern day society. Definitely do not read if you don't like gruesome, gory books!
Some of the pacing was a little weird with us jumping months in a single page and I thought the book would have benefitted from the beginning being a little longer to fully flesh out the world, systems and history. But I thought the author did a good job overall and definitely shocked me with some twists and turns. You know it's a good dystopian when you can relate to the experiences of Tierney!
I thought the romance could have been left out as it sort of undermines the message of feminism in the way it was carried out i.e. Tierney wouldn't have survived were it not from the help of men rather than surviving completely on her own due to her actions and abilities and I'm glad Ryker dies so we didn't end with them running away and having either an ambiguous ending or the world continuing on
I appreciated that the ending wasn't ambiguous (*cough cough* The Giver) but still left parts up to the imagination as to how the system gets demolished.
Ending spoilers: I'm not a huge fan of the pregnancy trope but I didn't mind it too much here, I'd probably be more shocked if she wasn't pregnant tbh. Also, I'm so happy that Gertie's scumbag husband-to-be died!
Some of the pacing was a little weird with us jumping months in a single page and I thought the book would have benefitted from the beginning being a little longer to fully flesh out the world, systems and history. But I thought the author did a good job overall and definitely shocked me with some twists and turns. You know it's a good dystopian when you can relate to the experiences of Tierney!
I thought the romance could have been left out as it sort of undermines the message of feminism in the way it was carried out
I appreciated that the ending wasn't ambiguous (*cough cough* The Giver) but still left parts up to the imagination as to how the system gets demolished.
Ending spoilers:
Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I'm so sad that I didn't like this book :(
the characters felt very one-dimensional and flat, with their actions and dialogue feeling like they only happened to further the plot rather than it being something the character would actually say/do. There were so many characters and it was hard to keep track of who was who, especially since none of them had any distinguishing traits.
the main character felt like she didn't have a personality other than she cries a lot and the "romantic" relationships between her and two characters felt underdeveloped, forced and lacked any emotional connection and feeling.
Also, how creepy is it that a guy who doesn't know you tells you he dreams about you telling him stories and asks you to marry him?! Hell no!
the plot was weird and kind of hard to follow. It felt like the author compiled a scrapbook of plot ideas and tried to cram them all into one story, with more development, more time could have been spent on fleshing out the characters rather than introducing more.
Overall, this book felt underdeveloped and messy and should be targeted more towards middle-grade readers rather than young adult
1 star for that absolutely gorgeous cover and one for the fact I managed to finish the book
the characters felt very one-dimensional and flat, with their actions and dialogue feeling like they only happened to further the plot rather than it being something the character would actually say/do. There were so many characters and it was hard to keep track of who was who, especially since none of them had any distinguishing traits.
the main character felt like she didn't have a personality other than she cries a lot and the "romantic" relationships between her and two characters felt underdeveloped, forced and lacked any emotional connection and feeling.
the plot was weird and kind of hard to follow. It felt like the author compiled a scrapbook of plot ideas and tried to cram them all into one story, with more development, more time could have been spent on fleshing out the characters rather than introducing more.
Overall, this book felt underdeveloped and messy and should be targeted more towards middle-grade readers rather than young adult
1 star for that absolutely gorgeous cover and one for the fact I managed to finish the book
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75