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jaina8851's reviews
532 reviews
Jade Shards by Fonda Lee
adventurous
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? No
4.75
Absolutely obsessed with this. This prequel was everything I hoped it would be and more. Such a delight to revisit the earlier lives of these beloved characters, and an extra special treat to hear the author's commentary about how she came up with these back stories. 10/10, no notes.
Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1 by Chris Claremont
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was literally my first ever experience consuming any X-Men content of any medium. I'm enjoying getting to know the characters. The pages are so much more word dense than I'm used to with more modern comics/graphic novels. I'm appreciating the little asides that tell me about prior references to things since I haven't read anything else Marvel (yet? 😂).
Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee
adventurous
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? No
4.5
This story had a slow build to get started for me but the payoff was just so fantastic. Fonda Lee is becoming one of my "read everything" authors. Once the action kicked up, I was totally engrossed and I just adored the ending. Looking forward to reading her new book next year!
Marvel Masterworks: The Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 4 by Chris Claremont
adventurous
fast-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
4.75
Aaaah this was the best one yet. Things are getting tense!
Other-Wordly: Words Both Strange and Lovely from Around the World (Book Lover Gifts, Illustrated Untranslatable Word Book) by Yee-Lum Mak
informative
lighthearted
reflective
4.75
What a little delight! I'd like to own this book for my shelf so I can refer back to it. The illustrations were lovely and I loved the way the words were grouped together by concept.
Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes That Dot Our Planet by Geo Rutherford
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I've been an avid follower of Spooky Lake Month since 2020 and this book was a delight. It was fun to revisit lakes that I have come to know well, in addition to lakes that I either don't remember learning about or ones that are new to me. The illustrations are beautiful, and while some of the descriptions might be a little dark or gruesome for younger audiences, I think on the whole, this is a really stellar and informative book for all ages. 10/10 spookies!
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book didn't really land for me. It definitely wasn't what I expected. I breezed through it in a single sitting and while there were funny quotable moments, it just felt like it was trying a little too hard.
Frontier by Grace Curtis
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
In one of those moments of reading serendipity that always take me by surprise when they happen, I read this book at around the same time that I read NK Jemisin's novella Emergency Skin. Both of them are stories about "what if post-climate apocalyptic earth, and some humans are trying to get back to the planet for Reasons." I found the 38 page novella to be so much more clear and compelling about the world it was building than this full length novel.
I liked the vignette storytelling style at the beginning of the book, where our main character goes by different epithets based on the people she is interacting with, but it got a little bit tiresome and never really gelled into a complete picture. I felt like the overarching society, religion, and power structure is still muddled to me even after finishing the book.
I liked the vignette storytelling style at the beginning of the book, where our main character goes by different epithets based on the people she is interacting with, but it got a little bit tiresome and never really gelled into a complete picture. I felt like the overarching society, religion, and power structure is still muddled to me even after finishing the book.
The Jade Setter of Janloon by Fonda Lee
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.75
The Green Bone Saga was my hands down favorite read of 2024 and it is such a delight to be returning to that world with the prequels to close out the year. I was a little bit hesitant to read this one over Jade Shards, because it seemed pitched as a separate story in the same world rather than specifically about the characters I know and love, but it came up first in my Libby holds and I am *so* glad that it did. This story was excellent, a compact story that brushes all of the parts of Janloon that made the trilogy so captivating. When I end up re-reading this series in a few years, I will certainly be including this prequel as part of the re-read. I hope that Fonda Lee goes on to more successful series in the future, but I will eagerly devour any story she ever puts forth in this one.
A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
lighthearted
relaxing
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
3.75
Cute and lighthearted story. I found it difficult to keep the characters straight at the beginning of the book. I'm not sure if having multiple narrators would have helped, since the POV in each chapter was never super strong and all three sisters were basically in all of the scenes, but listening to it made it harder for me to keep track of which problem or personality trait went with which sister. I found some of the third act challenges to be a little bit far fetched, but the cozy neat solution was heartwarming and nice. Fluffy romance continues to not really be my genre, but I enjoyed reading this one.