angelicardale's reviews
196 reviews

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

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

3.0

oh wow! okay then! ummm definitely check and double check and triple check the trigger warnings before considering picking up this book because this was extremely unpleasant LOL im not sure i enjoyed reading a single second of this book honestly, but i guess because its a horror novel, its kind of Meant to evoke some really repulsive feelings and thoughts, so it was effective in that regard? the writing was extremely shocking but well-written and kept me on my toes. but jesus. i dont know if it was worth it.
Death Note: Black Edition, Vol. 3 by Takeshi Obata, Alexis Kirsch, Tsugumi Ohba

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

SCREAMS ... i love death note so very much. even though i Knowww what happens in this series i am SOOO anxious to continue .. i want the next volume Now (but alas, i am broke)
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

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

5.0

oh mannnn. where do i even start with this book? it's going under a spoiler warning, just in case, but man this book was fantastic. read on if you're curious!
first off, 10/10. this book is brilliant. i dont know how intentional the potential allegories are (whether you interpret this book as a biblical, mental illness, or other form of allegory is clearly up for interpretation) but as a DID system...god this book broke me. there were a lot of things in here that i wasn't expecting to relate to but completely did. the discussion of trauma and the differing of selves the (probably unintentional) interpretation of an inner world as a result, and the emotion that you can clearly feel from the characters are just...otherworldly. i am fascinated and enamored. genuinely breathtaking, from prose to characters to the mystery element thrown in there. i loved this holy shit. i don't know what i was expecting going into this book, but im very glad i read it. okay thanks for coming to my ted talk
The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

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

3.5

technically a solid 3.5 for me, buuut i read this through a combination of the audiobook and the paperback and parts of it definitely seemed to drag through a good portion of it. there was a lot of repetition and ultimately not a lot happening at certain parts, and even the most tense parts of the book are pretty short-lived and ...un-thrilling. that being said, i did actually enjoy this! the pacing was pretty good apart from being slow, and i enjoyed the message, characterization, and themes. i do wish it was a little less vague within the conclusion, but yeah! not bad at all.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

somewhere between a 3.5-4 star read for me, but good!! i liked it enough, henry and alex are really sweet and it was fun to read about the cast of characters. the plot was pretty alright, but i think the characters are obviously the most compelling thing about the story, so good thing the characters are interesting haha. the prose was pretty good too!! one of alex's emails to henry towards the end literally made me tear up so that's something. very enjoyable time. i laughed. i cried. a good time.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

wow okay! i really enjoyed this book, though i did find the final line ... perplexing in a kind of annoying way considering im not intending on continuing lol .. but !! that being said, i did enjoy a lot about this book, particularly the characters. i did find the pacing to be a bit off honestly and really found myself skimming quite a bit, considering so much exposition and lore was just thrown in at awkward intervals without much reason behind a lot of it. that being said, i overall enjoyed the character development and dynamics explored within the book, and the concept is really solid! it also is worth mentioning that i ended up annotating this and it's one of the few reasons i got through the beginning (which is remarkably slow). very mixed feelings, but overall pretty positive!
Persona 5, Vol. 5 by Hisato Murasaki

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

5.0

I LOVE MAKOTO NIIJIMA! that's all thanks!
The Sluts by Dennis Cooper

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
this book is disgusting honestly lol .. exquisite corpse had more tact than a single page of this book did (and that was another one-star book for me). i hate that i had no idea what i was getting myself into. for all the graphic and horrific depictions of pedophilia and csa in this book (that read less like tragedy and more like torture p0rn, tbh), i really really wish it'd been explicitly stated in the blurb, or at the very least, in a content warnings list ANYWHERE in the book. there's not even an author's note. as a writer, i understand to a certain degree, but it's just plain negligent to not warn readers or categorize it in the right genre !!!! this was under general fiction at barnes & noble. it should be considered splatterpunk tbh. anyway screw tiktok for recommending me this book it was awful and not worth finishing imo.
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Persona 5, Vol. 4 by Hisato Murasaki

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

5.0

no thoughts head empty. all there is in my brain is just a single goro akechi who loves to be a pretentious asshole for the sake of being a pretentious asshole (and i love him for it). anyway i love them all actually
Persona 5, Vol. 3 by Hisato Murasaki

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

5.0

i cannot stop reading these omg...loved all the changes to the plot in this one !!!! + the extra content made my heart happy