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burntotears's reviews
616 reviews
The Broposal by Sonora Reyes
dark
emotional
tense
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
3.0
I had to sit with this for a bit. I think I agree with most of the other reviewers that the Jackie character was just so over-the-top E.V.I.L. that it felt cartoonish at times. It was just hit after hit with her character coming up with more ways to be a horrible person and cause issues for everyone around her. It just felt unrealistic after a while and the fact that the main characters' problems ALL stemmed from her involvement in their lives made it less interesting after a while.
Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This is such a hard one to rate. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the overall setting and just the feel of this was really nice, but on the other, the character and her choices felt so strange. Sometimes she was naive and easy to fool and other times she was a strategist who could out-think generals. Sometimes she hated her capture and sometimes she was in love with him. It didn't make a lot of sense sometimes.
All I know is if she could come up with an idea to out-wit invaders, I think she would have figured out that her friend was using her.
I Think They Love You by Julian Winters
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
Oh stop it, Julian Winters, this was adorable. I'm giddy and kicking my feet with how wonderful this was. There were a lot of amazing and meaningful interactions between Denz and his family/friends. I also think the flashbacks were helpful in establishing their previous relationship rather than just having exposition explain it to us. It makes it more believable as a second chance romance, along with giving context to the current timeline.
I really enjoyed both Denz and Braylon as characters. I'd say the only really unbelievable thing was that he would pick up an accent from only living in London for three or four years. I can understand picking up some wording here and there, but going full British accent along with the food choices and the slang seems a little bit far-fetched. I didn't mind hearing the accent from the narrator (who did an amazing job!)--but that is probably a personal preference from watching a lot of British media. Not everyone might be able to suspend that disbelief.
This was a great read for the end of really long January. I'm glad I picked it on a whim after seeing the great cover!
I really enjoyed both Denz and Braylon as characters. I'd say the only really unbelievable thing was that he would pick up an accent from only living in London for three or four years. I can understand picking up some wording here and there, but going full British accent along with the food choices and the slang seems a little bit far-fetched. I didn't mind hearing the accent from the narrator (who did an amazing job!)--but that is probably a personal preference from watching a lot of British media. Not everyone might be able to suspend that disbelief.
This was a great read for the end of really long January. I'm glad I picked it on a whim after seeing the great cover!
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I think that some of the writing just took me out of the story (and I also didn't care for the way the narrator read it). I almost DNF'd because the beginning few chapters were so repetitive--Edie was mentioned being a felon about 30 times along with the fact that it had been 8 years since they'd left. It's a pretty big plot point, so it was hard to forget and I didn't need to be reminded that many times.
I went and read another book and then came back and finished. This should have been a sort of found family sort of setup, but it never really felt like it. There was plenty of tension between Edie and Angel and a lot of scenes between them, yet I never really believed in their relationship. It felt too contrived for me. I think too much time was spent gathering the crew rather than just seeing how they interacted once it was assembled. It made it difficult to get much of a sense of who they all were and how they worked together.
Edie's blood family scenes were great though. That relationship with Andie and the kids was far more believable than with Angel. I think the book would have benefited from some flashbacks to really flesh out their previous interactions and to show how different they were together now. Without it, it really just seemed like they hated each other.
I went and read another book and then came back and finished. This should have been a sort of found family sort of setup, but it never really felt like it. There was plenty of tension between Edie and Angel and a lot of scenes between them, yet I never really believed in their relationship. It felt too contrived for me. I think too much time was spent gathering the crew rather than just seeing how they interacted once it was assembled. It made it difficult to get much of a sense of who they all were and how they worked together.
Edie's blood family scenes were great though. That relationship with Andie and the kids was far more believable than with Angel. I think the book would have benefited from some flashbacks to really flesh out their previous interactions and to show how different they were together now. Without it, it really just seemed like they hated each other.
Penance by Eliza Clark
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was such a weird thing to read because I am a consumer of true crime podcasts and I can tell from the way this was written that Clark got the inspiration about them from actual podcasts. It definitely shines a light on some of the unsavory characters in the business and makes you wonder about the authors behind the books and what their intentions are.
I would say that as an audiobook, this works really well considering a lot of the mediums referenced are audio based. I probably would've given this five stars if it hadn't dragged on in a lot of places and I don't know if the way it was structured was particularly the best way to do it. It felt like we were rehashing a lot of things by going through each girl's accounts separately rather than just compiling it all together and speaking about each girl in those scenes.
I also wasn't totally sure that the internet culture in this was totally accurate. As someone who did grow up on LiveJournal and tumblr, those two things never actually crossed paths. Tumblr came about around the end of LiveJournal's (and the other clones) popularity. LJ still exists, albeit nothing like how it used to. It felt like Clark was mixing timelines of Millennials and Gen Z and that threw me for a loop. Maybe if you're someone who wasn't a part of these communities growing up it might not cross your mind, but I engaged in all of them so it sticks out a lot to me.
I would say that as an audiobook, this works really well considering a lot of the mediums referenced are audio based. I probably would've given this five stars if it hadn't dragged on in a lot of places and I don't know if the way it was structured was particularly the best way to do it. It felt like we were rehashing a lot of things by going through each girl's accounts separately rather than just compiling it all together and speaking about each girl in those scenes.
I also wasn't totally sure that the internet culture in this was totally accurate. As someone who did grow up on LiveJournal and tumblr, those two things never actually crossed paths. Tumblr came about around the end of LiveJournal's (and the other clones) popularity. LJ still exists, albeit nothing like how it used to. It felt like Clark was mixing timelines of Millennials and Gen Z and that threw me for a loop. Maybe if you're someone who wasn't a part of these communities growing up it might not cross your mind, but I engaged in all of them so it sticks out a lot to me.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
4.0
This is a little hard for me to pin down because there were points in the story where I thought about DNFing. Zelu was a good main character, but I had trouble connecting with her family because they were always so negative toward her and any decisions she made. It's possible this is a cultural thing that I just can't connect with, because if my family was constantly telling me I'm a disappointment, I wouldn't want to talk to them anymore. That made it hard for me to understand why Zelu still had so much love for her family even though they hardly ever supported her.
I'm also more inclined to read scifi/fantasy over general lit-fic, so I found the scifi aspect of the novel more interesting than the lit-fic parts. Some of the lit-fic parts really dragged on to the point where I couldn't understand where the scenes were meant to be going or how they were actually furthering the plot along.
Because of the ending, though, (which I absolutely loved) it makes the whole thing a little more interesting. I might re-read this at some point knowing what I know now and see if I enjoy certain parts a bit more.
I'm also more inclined to read scifi/fantasy over general lit-fic, so I found the scifi aspect of the novel more interesting than the lit-fic parts. Some of the lit-fic parts really dragged on to the point where I couldn't understand where the scenes were meant to be going or how they were actually furthering the plot along.
Because of the ending, though, (which I absolutely loved) it makes the whole thing a little more interesting. I might re-read this at some point knowing what I know now and see if I enjoy certain parts a bit more.
Phantom and Rook by Aelina Isaacs
2.5
It's too bloody long. There's so much superfluous description in this that it gets exhausting. This definitely feels like a fanfiction where they just didn't know when to stop writing or where to edit things down. For fanfic it makes sense, but for a book it's just way too much.
The characters are nice, but it feels like they are all just carbon copies of one another--everyone is edgy and hipster rather than people having their own thing going on. And while Arlo isn't a bad character, he's also a HUGE Gary Stu who seems to be good at everything and everyone's lives revolve around him. Everyone is in love with him at one point or another and everyone is only worried about him.
I skimmed through the last of this because it just wouldn't stop going.
The characters are nice, but it feels like they are all just carbon copies of one another--everyone is edgy and hipster rather than people having their own thing going on. And while Arlo isn't a bad character, he's also a HUGE Gary Stu who seems to be good at everything and everyone's lives revolve around him. Everyone is in love with him at one point or another and everyone is only worried about him.
I skimmed through the last of this because it just wouldn't stop going.
Single Player by Tara Tai
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.0
I probably would have given this five stars if it wasn't for the over the top shoehorning of references. I'm a gamer and I feel like I'm in on the joke through the whole thing, but there is a certain amount of references you're allowed before it turns cringy. Even those of us who have spent a good chunk of their free time gaming don't think and reference every life event as a game-related obstacle.
Aside from that cheesiness, I really enjoyed this. It felt real to the landscape of gaming culture (especially for women and women-presenting people). The two MCs were interesting and realistic and as always, Natalie Naudus is a great narrator and made both of them feel distinct.
Aside from that cheesiness, I really enjoyed this. It felt real to the landscape of gaming culture (especially for women and women-presenting people). The two MCs were interesting and realistic and as always, Natalie Naudus is a great narrator and made both of them feel distinct.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 45%.
I read half of this and I don't think finishing it is going to get me any more interested. While the whimsical nature feels nice, everything just seems stretched thin to the point where it's not connected enough to make me care.
A Circle of Stars by Craig Montgomery
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Well something that doesn't generally happen for me did with this one -- I enjoyed the plot and universe around this more than the romance. Casper isn't the worst MC ever, but sometimes he feels like a void that is missing more to him. I liked Helix and it felt like his growth was tangible while Casper's felt whispy a lot of the time.
The romance was just... weird. There wasn't any time spent getting to know one another, it was all just instantaneous and didn't feel realistic. There was never any tension between them so it just made it feel flimsy to me. Kinda on the fence on whether I wanna see what happens in the next one. None of the characters aside from Helix really grabbed at me.
The romance was just... weird. There wasn't any time spent getting to know one another, it was all just instantaneous and didn't feel realistic. There was never any tension between them so it just made it feel flimsy to me. Kinda on the fence on whether I wanna see what happens in the next one. None of the characters aside from Helix really grabbed at me.