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ditten's reviews
605 reviews
De sårede og de faldne by Alice Winn
dark
emotional
reflective
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
5.0
3rd read, November '24: Danish audiobook. Great narrator, lovely translation. Not so great about the missing ending but that's being fixed.
GOD, I love this book. I cried just as much as on my previous reads. It's so beautiful and so heartbreaking, and I already want to reread it because I miss Gaunt and Elly.
GOD, I love this book. I cried just as much as on my previous reads. It's so beautiful and so heartbreaking, and I already want to reread it because I miss Gaunt and Elly.
“Gaunt was woven into everything he read, saw, wrote, did, dreamt. Every poem had been written about him, every song composed for him, and Ellwood could not scrape his mind clear of him no matter how he tried.” - this is so beautiful, and it's also how I feel about this book and these boys.
“My dust would hear her and beat, / Had I lain for a century dead” - Tennyson
One Wrong Turn by C.M. Ewan
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Great thriller that fully creeped me out and convinced me to never pick anyone up at the side of the road. Twists I didn't see coming, and overall an anxious, but good read.
You, Me, Her by Sue Watson
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Fairly predictable thriller including the last twist but I still had a great time listening to it and it did its job distracting me from rl. Great narrator too
The Mercenary's Guide to Mishaps and Romance by Alice Winters
funny
lighthearted
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
I started the audiobook about 10 secs after I got my greedy little hands on it because I've been so excited for this book!
I thought it was absolutely hilarious, as this entire series always is, and I really liked Tavish and Ellis.
Poor Ellis, being literally the only normal one in this crazy group, it was so funny to see it all through his eyes, and a lot of his awkardness was way tok relatable lol.
Tavish was so funny, and laid my doubt about whether he could carry a book to rest fairly quickly. I did wonder if a plot line about his father got dropped in the final edit though, but maybe future books are already planned.
The group scenes were amazing, and I loved Leland getting POV chapters though maaaaybe the Fence is a little overdone by now. But whenever I think that, I just imagine this is how every character but Leland must feel lol.
I also liked seeing Micah and Everly again and I'm curious about whether they were brought back so they could get their own books too.
If you're doing the audiobook, make sure to listen all the way to the end, including credits for a couple of fun extras!
I thought it was absolutely hilarious, as this entire series always is, and I really liked Tavish and Ellis.
Poor Ellis, being literally the only normal one in this crazy group, it was so funny to see it all through his eyes, and a lot of his awkardness was way tok relatable lol.
Tavish was so funny, and laid my doubt about whether he could carry a book to rest fairly quickly. I did wonder if a plot line about his father got dropped in the final edit though, but maybe future books are already planned.
The group scenes were amazing, and I loved Leland getting POV chapters though maaaaybe the Fence is a little overdone by now. But whenever I think that, I just imagine this is how every character but Leland must feel lol.
I also liked seeing Micah and Everly again and I'm curious about whether they were brought back so they could get their own books too.
If you're doing the audiobook, make sure to listen all the way to the end, including credits for a couple of fun extras!
Comfort Me, Daddy by Misha Horne
dark
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
3.5
This duet is going on my "getting Dommed into better mental health: the secret therapists don't want you to know" list
The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Go girl, give us nothing. I hope the movie is better.
His House Husband by Bea Bellamore
lighthearted
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? No
3.0
This was fine. Erotica. Feminization. Best friends to lovers.
Alf by Bruno Vogel
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Turns out, episotolary elements in war novels I've read in 2024 are what'll be my undoing. Oh, how they get to me 😭
This short book about Felix and Alf, two German teens in love at the beginning of WWI is a remarkable little read.
The boys meet at school, become friends, and fall in love. After enjoying a short time of innocent, youthful happiness together, Felix accidentally stumbles on a pamphlet detailing how homosexuality is a crime, and it rocks him to his core. To protect Alf from the knowledge that they're both sexual criminals, he distances himself from Alf who's devastated and in his despair enlists.
Originally published in Germany in 1929 (and then banned by Hitler and the Nazis a few years later), Alf is explicitly queer, and explicitly critical of the war, patriotism, religion, the criminalization of homosexuality, and hypocrisy in all areas of German society. Alf uses the ordinary lives of its teen protagonists to call out the double standards and willful ignorance of societal institutions like school and family, and as the introduction states, the book can be read as a call for "an outright gesture of rebellion against an entire society in need of fundamental moral, cultural and political change."
To have this book be published in 1929 feels like an incredible feat: bold, necessary, and ahead of its time. To have it still be universally relevant today feels achingly sad and humbling.
This short book about Felix and Alf, two German teens in love at the beginning of WWI is a remarkable little read.
The boys meet at school, become friends, and fall in love. After enjoying a short time of innocent, youthful happiness together, Felix accidentally stumbles on a pamphlet detailing how homosexuality is a crime, and it rocks him to his core. To protect Alf from the knowledge that they're both sexual criminals, he distances himself from Alf who's devastated and in his despair enlists.
Originally published in Germany in 1929 (and then banned by Hitler and the Nazis a few years later), Alf is explicitly queer, and explicitly critical of the war, patriotism, religion, the criminalization of homosexuality, and hypocrisy in all areas of German society. Alf uses the ordinary lives of its teen protagonists to call out the double standards and willful ignorance of societal institutions like school and family, and as the introduction states, the book can be read as a call for "an outright gesture of rebellion against an entire society in need of fundamental moral, cultural and political change."
To have this book be published in 1929 feels like an incredible feat: bold, necessary, and ahead of its time. To have it still be universally relevant today feels achingly sad and humbling.
Opal by Maggie Stiefvater
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Adam and Ronan through the eyes of Opal aka orphan girl in the months after The Raven King
The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
emotional
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
The characters in this series have been 5/5, I love them!! The plot's more like 3.5-4 for me though lol.
I liked a lot about this final book, but I felt like it ended in a strange way, and the addition of Henry felt kind of weird.
Overall, I've found some amazing new characters to love ❤️
I liked a lot about this final book, but I felt like it ended in a strange way, and the addition of Henry felt kind of weird.
Overall, I've found some amazing new characters to love ❤️