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bumblebee's reviews
139 reviews
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Really fun book with some very interesting ideas on what it means to be a hero. Also, love me a children’s book that points out how fucked up it is that adults are letting kids solve these problems. Definitely recommend!
Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare Vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatani
challenging
emotional
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
5.0
Spoiler-free review for the whole series:
This took almost a whole volume to grow on me, but I absolutely loved it. At first I was mostly enjoying the craft of how well this was written and drawn, but the characters didn't quite click for me. Near the end of volume one, however, I found myself suddenly invested and I finished all four volumes in one go. This is a truly a beautiful manga! The series makes amazing use of its medium through its unique visual storytelling. Some of it was a little confusing at first (there are a lot of things shown that aren't literally happening, but rather metaphorical) but it came together beautifully as the story progressed.
This took almost a whole volume to grow on me, but I absolutely loved it. At first I was mostly enjoying the craft of how well this was written and drawn, but the characters didn't quite click for me. Near the end of volume one, however, I found myself suddenly invested and I finished all four volumes in one go. This is a truly a beautiful manga! The series makes amazing use of its medium through its unique visual storytelling. Some of it was a little confusing at first (there are a lot of things shown that aren't literally happening, but rather metaphorical) but it came together beautifully as the story progressed.
Out of Character by Jenna Miller
emotional
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
4.75
Critical Role: The Mighty Nein Origins: Mollymauk Tealeaf by Jody Houser, Taliesin Jaffe, Matthew Mercer, Hunter Severn Bonyun
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Very good comic! The art suits Molly perfectly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Self harm, Violence, and Blood
Self harm in the context of “I need some blood to
perform magic”.
Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens
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
This was a fun read! I enjoyed the audiobook narrators.
The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
This book would have been pretty good it if hadn't been so damn sexist. Not a single female character (named or unnamed) was introduced without mentioning a) the size of her breasts and b) whether or not the narrator would have sex with her. These descriptions were honestly mostly just gross and unnecessary, and betrayed the author's way of viewing women more than anything.
Wizard in Exile by Michael G. Manning
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This book was a pleasant surprise after The Wizard's Crown (which I absolutely hated). I really like this new direction for the series, and it has me hopeful that more good stuff is to come!
This book is still very much about Will, but his son Oliver is definitely central to the story, and very fun to read about. I was a little worried a lot of this would basically be "The Choice of Magic" all over again, with Will now training his son and the cycle kind of repeating with Will stepping into the Arrogan role, but without going into spoilers, I can safely say the book has a really interesting new thing going on for Oliver. I hope he gets an even bigger role in the next book, because I'd really like to see more of him as a point of view character.
While this book as quite a bit of story of its own to tell, it also contained a lot of setup for a larger overarching plot, so I hope the next book(s) in this series can deliver on it (unlike the previous series, which fell apart near the end). I'm excited to see what happens.
This book is still very much about Will, but his son Oliver is definitely central to the story, and very fun to read about. I was a little worried a lot of this would basically be "The Choice of Magic" all over again, with Will now training his son and the cycle kind of repeating with Will stepping into the Arrogan role, but without going into spoilers, I can safely say the book has a really interesting new thing going on for Oliver. I hope he gets an even bigger role in the next book, because I'd really like to see more of him as a point of view character.
While this book as quite a bit of story of its own to tell, it also contained a lot of setup for a larger overarching plot, so I hope the next book(s) in this series can deliver on it (unlike the previous series, which fell apart near the end). I'm excited to see what happens.
The Wizard's Crown by Michael G. Manning
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Really weak end to the series. The bar was on the floor and this book brought a shovel.
90% of this is the main character slowly working to execute a plan that he discusses with literally everyone but is kept hidden from the reader in the laziest manner (“He told them the plan.”) until the very last chapters.
It’s not even an exciting plan.
(Also, please someone tell this fantasy author that “wyrm” and “drake” are not synonyms for “dragon”.)
90% of this is the main character slowly working to execute a plan that he discusses with literally everyone but is kept hidden from the reader in the laziest manner (“He told them the plan.”) until the very last chapters.
It’s not even an exciting plan.
(Also, please someone tell this fantasy author that “wyrm” and “drake” are not synonyms for “dragon”.)