arttichokedipp's reviews
217 reviews

We Do What We Do in the Dark by Michelle Hart

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dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina by Zoraida Córdova

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

First book of the year, first 5-star of the year.

This is everything. Everything I find wrong with YA, gone. Everything I dislike about fantasy, gone. Everything I dislike about scifi, gone. Only the good parts remain and it is so, SO good.

Particularly, for those who have negative feelings about love triangles, never fear.

I hate love triangles because things would be so easy if they ended in polyamory half the time that it would cut the book in half. This one? THIS ONE DOES. Not only does the girl get with both guys, who are totally cool with that, but they get together as well. The triangle is the strongest shape, as you'll see.

My only complaint is there's a sort of "bury your gays" situation, but I'm hoping based on the epilogue that it's not permanent.

10/10, I'm so glad I stumbled upon their YouTube videos and decided to pick up their book when it came out.

(Edited because I messed up their pronouns. So sorry!)

Content Warnings

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When people said this book was beautiful, and life-changing, and the best book they'd read in years, I rolled my eyes. When I bought it, I figured I'd probably rate it three stars and move on. I mean, how complex can a historical romance novel about a fictional Hollywood star really be?

Turns out, very. This book is not for the faint of heart, but I couldn't put it down. Reading it is one of the most beautiful experiences I've had all year. And I've had a REALLY good year.

You will fall in love with Celia St. James and Harry Cameron. You will want to punch several husbands in the face. You will slowly fall in love with Evelyn Hugo, then suddenly despise her, then develop complicated feelings somewhere in between alongside Monique. This book will make you FEEL things. And it's totally worth it. Five stars, unhesitatingly.

Content Warnings

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

1.0

I rate books 1-star for two reasons
1) I wish I weren’t alive by the end of it or
2) I think the book is genuinely dangerous
To Kill A Kingdom, unfortunately, falls into the latter category. It’s a nice story, and I enjoyed it. Would have liked to see more diverse characters in terms of sexuality and disability, but it was overall a fun spin and I liked the distinction between sirens and merpeople and wished the classism was explored there more. But the way this book glorifies self-harm is dangerous. The protagonist is a masochist and the author does not let you forget it for a single chapter. When she is injured she enjoys it, but worse is that she self-harms in potentially fatal ways for stress relief and then gets that relief. That’s a dangerous message to send, and if I had to pick only one trigger warning for this book it would be that.

Tl;dr if you have any history of depression or self-harm, or if you’re under 16 or so, this book is dangerous for you. Don’t read it.

Content Warnings