flowerbinsh's reviews
199 reviews

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
this story just did not capture me in the way i was hoping for :(
All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

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dark tense slow-paced

4.5

Reading this for the first time while IN the Victorian district of Savannah was the best decision I made. It made for an extremely immersive experience. And it’s so cool that I can picture exactly where (almost) everything took place!!

Berendt did an INCREDIBLE job making a nonfiction book feel just as immersive and engaging as a fiction book of crime. The embellished writing was incredibly hooking from the moment I started reading. I couldn’t put the book down!!!! 
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

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dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

A slasher horror about puppets and dolls???? Literally my fav things in one!! This is one of the best horror novels I’ve read in SUCH a long time <3 My only gripe, really, is how the last page or two is more telling than showing. I wish we saw more of  Louise and Mark’s new relationship, and Poppy’s life after the story. But the family drama, the character development, the characterization in GENERAL was so stunning 
Normal People by Sally Rooney

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

4.25

GOD this so satisfied my craving for a book like Alone With You In The Ether by Olivie Blake. There were only two things I wished:

1) That we saw more of Marianne’s family. 

2) That Lorraine’s character was a little more,,,mom-like. It felt weird to me that Connell called her by her name, and also that she treated him more like an older sister at times. That could be due to the smaller age gap, since she had him so young, but it still put me off a little bit. 
Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 10%.
I was on board with this novel until we got to the section where Jessica is emailing her sister. That’s where the author lost me. The way Jessica’s voice, character, and backstory is written sounds WAY too much of a Black woman stereotype. As this book (as I googled) is written by an older white man, I don’t think he had the place to write this character.

I also felt like this book was going in the same direction as A Head Full of Ghosts, which I didn’t vibe with too much, so that also played a factor into it. 
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

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funny mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

so honest this book went in one ear out the other (or shall i say one eye out the other), but the parts my brain did grasp were so fun and interesting. i think i’ll just need to come back to this novel another time. 
The Pilo Family Circus by Katherine Dunn, Will Elliott

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dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

As someone who is OBSESSED with anything clowns and/or circus, this was SUCH a fun read! I thought the plot of this book was so interesting, and honestly quite unique. The reason I did not give this book 4 stars was due to two reasons. Firstly, a lot of the world-building and lore was either not explained at all and dismissed as being confusing or otherworldly, or it was explained in the briefest of ways. Secondly, which is connected to the first point, the lore that was explained, though, was told exclusively through long dialogue from a single character. I felt like these were lazy cop-outs to not fully understand your own world, as well as not wanting to find creative ways of exposition. The book was still so fun, though! Reminded me of Stephen King's writing. 
Nadja by André Breton

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

3.25

The first third of the book, I was not impressed at all. It felt like what people think of when they think of a Modernist text—dense, rambling, etc. Once Nadja was introduced, however, I was so intrigued by her character that I wanted to keep reading. Being honest, though, I still am not thoroughly impressed with this narrative. If Nadja had been the narrator and protagonist, I think this book would be so much more interesting and engaging. This book did make me realize, though, that I LOVE surrealism, even if I rarely understand what’s happening.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

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adventurous emotional 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

3.5

what a lovely book to read after the stress of finals and classes <33 so heartwarming, and honestly made me a little emotional at the end (which rarely happens for me in books!)