ameliabedelia22's reviews
430 reviews

Starter Villain by John Scalzi

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funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I literally laughed out loud at parts. It was over too soon.
Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 48%.
The book is almost entirely character driven. At the 50% mark, a few things had happened, but I don’t think I could call any of it a plot. I can be into this kind of story sometimes, but I’m not in the mood for it right now. Might come back to it eventually. 
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Sweet and funny. Lovable characters. The ending was extremely predictable from the second chapter on, but still pleasantly executed. Perfect if you liked The House in the Cerulean Sea. 
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

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adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This book has the perfect recipe for me: quirky old people doing weird things, likable characters, a lot of food that I want to eat. It isn’t a super eventful book (in that it doesn’t have crazy things happening on every page)—a lot of the action centers around ordinary domestic life, with one or two big things as the driving force; even though the novel is ostensibly about solving a murder (big deal), the actual story is about making a family and finding your way in life. The book isn’t pretentious and probably won’t win prestigious awards, but it’s a delightful read.
The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

The premise is similar to The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (a character cycling through many potential lives), but I liked the execution of this one much more. I like that the story isn’t focused on a protagonist feeling really bad about herself—as far as we can tell, she’s basically happy with her life before the events of the book, and even though she isn’t always content with the relationships in the book, she still is basically hopeful about life (or at least confident that something good exists and that she is capable of having it). 
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

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adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0