amrabad's reviews
414 reviews

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw, Richard Kadrey

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 16%.
The gore was gratuitous. The magic seems neat, just can’t get past the gore. Maybe I’ll come back to it some day. 
Barbarian Alien by Ruby Dixon

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funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Stockholm Syndrome goes hard with this one. 

Look, I didn’t go into this for a high quality experience. I just finished An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and needed something light and silly. I found the FMC annoying and the beginning of this couple's relationship is concerning. But it was, in general, amusing enough to keep going. 

Overall, I got what I came for and I can’t say I hated it. I need to keep reading until I get to Kira’s story. 
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

 I think everyone in the US should read this book. Especially our current leaders 👀

This is a heavy read so I recommend something fun and silly after.
A Love Most Fatal by Kath Richards

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funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Do I like mafia romances? Not usually, no. Did I eat this up like the tasty snack that it is? Sure did.

This is a mafia romcom, heavy on the romcom [complimentary]. She is a mob boss and he is a middle school math teacher. This was god damn delightful. I was actually giggling and kicking my feet. And when I say giggling, I mean out loud. De. Light. Ful.

If this is the mob, I’m pro mob. 
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood

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funny lighthearted fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

 
Seriously, what addictive substance does she put in her books? Bride was delicious and I thought it was because of the fantasy elements *cough*
scenting
*cough*. But it turns out she writes that level of tastiness all the time?? 

This was my second Ali Hazelwood book and I really enjoyed myself. I binged through it quickly because I simply could not stop. I really have a strong appreciation for how she writes men. They are basically obsessed with FMC, which we love. Yeah there’s lust, but they want to understand how her brain works, want to spend time with her, want to make her happy in other aspects of her life, and really want to care for her. Who doesn’t want that?

On top of that, her books are funny. I actually laughed out loud a few times while reading this. I also really liked that the couples dynamic and how they interacted with each other was not the same old same old. They felt like unique characters instead of the main couple of any other romcom. 

And thank god for a blonde MMC. I need a blondie every now and then (yes my husband is blonde and yes he is my ideal type).
Mort by Terry Pratchett

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

 This was my first Terry Pratchett book and Mort felt like a great entry point to Discworld. This was so funny I actually highlighted and wrote right in the book, which I have never done before. It has something I can only describe as self awareness. It was exactly my sense of humor. I also found the characters very endearing and the story was a lot of fun.

The ending felt somewhat abrupt and the lack of chapters threw me off, but those are my only complaints.
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Violet is arguably my least favorite FMC ever and Xaden has the personality of a sexy cardboard cutout. But the side characters. I love the side characters. They’re the only reason I’ve made it this far into the series. That and fomo.
 
Even with Violet and Xaden constantly talking about how much they love each other, I still don’t believe they’re actually in love. In lust, sure. But I don’t buy that they’re in love. This series would be so much better without either of them.

Overall, the pacing seemed weird and the writing is ok. It does seem by book 3 we should have a better understanding of their gods and how that impacts their culture and/or magic. Maybe some people do, but I still don’t understand it. There were a bunch of smaller things that happened that seemed like they should be really important, then we didn’t hear anything else about them. The concept of this book is so good, but because its primary focus is on the romance instead of the fantasy aspects, it just doesn’t hit for me.

I am disappointed with the amount of spoilers I saw prior to reading this. I wasn’t seeking them out, but there they were. And I started it only two weeks after release. I think I would have had more enjoyment with some of the plot points if I hadn’t had those spoilers.
Pride and Prejudice by George Stade, Jane Austen

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funny lighthearted slow-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? It's complicated

4.5

This was my first full read of Pride and Prejudice. I never made it very far when it was assigned for school and wanted to finally give it its time. 

I completely get why people love this book and why it’s considered a classic. It was also nice to find out that even though I’m 200 years past release date, there were still a few things I did not get spoiled. While I do struggle with that style of English writing, I still found the story quite enjoyable. I love how she developed her characters and made me either really love them or be very annoyed with them. The pacing lagged a little for me around the second quarter of the book, but I otherwise have no complaints.

Now to watch the 1995 and 2005 adaptations. 
Lights Out by Navessa Allen

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

2.5

Ya know, I can confidently say this just wasn’t for me. I had some issues with the relationship dynamics, especially Aly’s relationship with herself. She gaslit herself multiple times and made weird decisions in critical moments. And Josh’s name is Josh, which is, you know, not great. Fred was obviously perfect in every way.

The humor was there, the banter was solid, the smut was smutty. I just struggled with some of the emotional aspects. I totally get why people like this. I loved Butcher & Blackbird and Scythe & Sparrow so I thought this would land for me and it just didn’t.

The audio was fantastically done. We need more duet style narrations for books.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I can confidently say this is my favorite book ever.