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asipofcozy's reviews
206 reviews
Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 1 by Waco Ioka
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
this was a cute start to a series!!! and I love how our main female character doesn't put up with shite and isn't going to bend over backwards.
The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
3.75
That was another surprising book - and in a good way. It was easily addictive and I was absorbed in the story. Was it the most amazing and outstanding thing I have ever read in the thriller world, no but it's YA and I can't expect YA to be perfection or detailed. However, I was easily absorbed in the story and I love a good guessing game. Some twists I caught other's I did not and the ending was quite surprising.
The characters are the typical YA characters with a typical YA sub-romance plot. Not saying this is a bad thing just that it didn't wow me in any way. But the characters were enjoyable and all of them had good starts to their personality. Also, this I believe is Barnes' first series and it reads as such.
So I definitely plan to read the next book.
The characters are the typical YA characters with a typical YA sub-romance plot. Not saying this is a bad thing just that it didn't wow me in any way. But the characters were enjoyable and all of them had good starts to their personality. Also, this I believe is Barnes' first series and it reads as such.
So I definitely plan to read the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was such a cozy, cute, autumn vibes graphic novel that was perfect for the cool fall day. It had everything that I would want in a cozy graphic novel. Especially with the diversity in characters we have a witch with a hear disability, a wolf that's non-binary, and I believe (if I read correct) gay grandmothers! I love graphic novels, and any books with lots of representation, and this graphic novel delivered on that front.
I do feel that the pace of the book was quite fast and the romance was instant (even though I guess the MC's have had crushes on each-other when they were little). We were kinda just thrust into the story and it felt like a continuation of another volume but this is a single volume.
I would have loved a little bit more development on the pacing and characters; however, I understand this is a single graphic novel so the time skips, the plot, and the pacing had to be quite fast. I wouldn't have minded a slightly larger graphic novel that filled some of those plot holes. Also I was quite confused on their aging, were they teenagers? young adults/college students?
However, the art style was beautiful and oh-so cozy. I could live within the autumn colored pages. If only this was a series! I would love so much more of these characters and to see development.
I do feel that the pace of the book was quite fast and the romance was instant (even though I guess the MC's have had crushes on each-other when they were little). We were kinda just thrust into the story and it felt like a continuation of another volume but this is a single volume.
I would have loved a little bit more development on the pacing and characters; however, I understand this is a single graphic novel so the time skips, the plot, and the pacing had to be quite fast. I wouldn't have minded a slightly larger graphic novel that filled some of those plot holes. Also I was quite confused on their aging, were they teenagers? young adults/college students?
However, the art style was beautiful and oh-so cozy. I could live within the autumn colored pages. If only this was a series! I would love so much more of these characters and to see development.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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
Usually hyped books never end well for me, I get my expectations set to high and then when I finally read the book I am disappointed and let down. Happy to say that this did not happen to be one of those times.
I am not going to say this is an out of this world, top fantasy book (like that of Sanderson, Kristoff, Ambercrombie, etc.) as this does fall under the "fantasy romance" genre. I will say that a lot of the elements were well executed. We were given a variety of characters across multiple diverse spectrums from lgbtq+ representation to disability representation (I see you deaf rep, chronic illness rep, and mental health rep). And while, I will agree that these representations could have been explored more on, I am putting hope into the second book.
As for the plot and fantasy element. I do think that since this is heavy on the romance, the plot at times got lost in the background. We were so focused on Violet, her feelings, and her trainings, that it didn't feel like a real plot was happening at all. There were hints of a war going on outside of the academia and I wish there was more explanation and discussion on it, especially when it becomes such a large piece towards the latter half of the book.
For the fantasy element, I think there was good execution in the dragons, the history and education on dragons, and the magical elements. However, once again we need a little bit more explanation on some items which fell to side to make way for the heavy sexual tension and romance. Not saying the romance was bad but it is a spotlight piece in the book when I personally would have loved more fantasy and plot.
Then again I am someone who doesn't care for romance a lot in my fantasy novels I like the focus to be on the story itself. However, the romance was good, granted predictable but good.
I can't wait to get my hands of Iron Flame - I am hoping it will dive deeper into the plot, story, and more of the dragons! Also have a few predictions for the second book already.
I am not going to say this is an out of this world, top fantasy book (like that of Sanderson, Kristoff, Ambercrombie, etc.) as this does fall under the "fantasy romance" genre. I will say that a lot of the elements were well executed. We were given a variety of characters across multiple diverse spectrums from lgbtq+ representation to disability representation (I see you deaf rep, chronic illness rep, and mental health rep). And while, I will agree that these representations could have been explored more on, I am putting hope into the second book.
As for the plot and fantasy element. I do think that since this is heavy on the romance, the plot at times got lost in the background. We were so focused on Violet, her feelings, and her trainings, that it didn't feel like a real plot was happening at all. There were hints of a war going on outside of the academia and I wish there was more explanation and discussion on it, especially when it becomes such a large piece towards the latter half of the book.
For the fantasy element, I think there was good execution in the dragons, the history and education on dragons, and the magical elements. However, once again we need a little bit more explanation on some items which fell to side to make way for the heavy sexual tension and romance. Not saying the romance was bad but it is a spotlight piece in the book when I personally would have loved more fantasy and plot.
Then again I am someone who doesn't care for romance a lot in my fantasy novels I like the focus to be on the story itself. However, the romance was good, granted predictable but good.
I can't wait to get my hands of Iron Flame - I am hoping it will dive deeper into the plot, story, and more of the dragons! Also have a few predictions for the second book already.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Death of parent and War
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
If you are someone who is new or has a basic understanding of habit forming then I definitely would recommend this book to you. If you are someone who struggles with making goals and creating habits, I would also recommend Atomic Habits to you.
Atomic Habits does an amazing job at breaking down habits and giving you instructions on how to start small and think about creating habits in your daily life. It gives great tips on how to consciously think about habits and how to put your mind to accomplishing the habits you set.
That being said, I do agree with many of the other reviews in the sense that this book is not ground breaking nor does James reform the wheel on creating habits. He just gives a better understanding on habits than most books out there. He also uses a lot of fitness and health culture examples, which I understand since 1)easy to write about and 2)statistically the highest habit/goal set every single year, but still it get's annoying and quite repetitive. Finally besides a few tips there really isn't anything that we all have not heard before - start small, build on your habits, and don't expect changes overnight.
All in all it was still good and I still found a few things I didn't think to try in my own habit building.
Atomic Habits does an amazing job at breaking down habits and giving you instructions on how to start small and think about creating habits in your daily life. It gives great tips on how to consciously think about habits and how to put your mind to accomplishing the habits you set.
That being said, I do agree with many of the other reviews in the sense that this book is not ground breaking nor does James reform the wheel on creating habits. He just gives a better understanding on habits than most books out there. He also uses a lot of fitness and health culture examples, which I understand since 1)easy to write about and 2)statistically the highest habit/goal set every single year, but still it get's annoying and quite repetitive. Finally besides a few tips there really isn't anything that we all have not heard before - start small, build on your habits, and don't expect changes overnight.
All in all it was still good and I still found a few things I didn't think to try in my own habit building.
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 16 by Aya Shouoto
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Finally made it to the end of this series. Honestly, if I was to give the entire series a rating it would be a 2.75-3 star. I kept going thinking it would get better and it never did.
In my review of the last volume I said that 6+ could be eliminated just because of their uselessness to the story line and boring side stories that really didn't do anything. I still stand by that. While this series is labeled as "shojo" it really didn't have the characteristics. There weren't many "funny" moments and the romance was rushed and not fully developed.
Even the ending left me with more questions than answers and in general the ending was just not what I hoped for.
In my review of the last volume I said that 6+ could be eliminated just because of their uselessness to the story line and boring side stories that really didn't do anything. I still stand by that. While this series is labeled as "shojo" it really didn't have the characteristics. There weren't many "funny" moments and the romance was rushed and not fully developed.
Even the ending left me with more questions than answers and in general the ending was just not what I hoped for.
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 15 by Aya Shouoto
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 14 by Aya Shouoto
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This far in and with only two volumes left, I have no choice but to finish the series. This volume was quite quick but I feel like I have lost so much interest in this story. Also there are so many confusing pieces, and Aoi is feeling like a completely different character than what we started with - granted there is a reason for it but it's just jarring and feels out of place.
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 13 by Aya Shouoto
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I mean at least the volume was interesting, and that ending definitely was a twist.
The Demon Prince of Momochi House, Vol. 12 by Aya Shouoto
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I feel like by this point I am just here to finish this series and check off my manga list. The first 10 pages wrapped up the last volume, the last 10 pages were what progressed the plot, the 100+ pages in between had absolutely NOTHING to do with the main plot, or really anything. Just a random story that wasted an entire volume. I do feel like this series could have been at least 6 volumes or so shorter. Not many volumes actually contributed fully to the story and the side stories tend to be quite boring.