luise96's reviews
260 reviews

adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I have to say this is probably my least favourite book of the series. However I have to acknowledge that it was probably also the hardest because we already kind of know the outcome of many story lines because of ATLA. I am not sure if giving this burden to a new author was the best choice, but really who am I to judge. The pacing was quite slow. Reading from the POV of Sozin kind of reminded me of A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, where we can see the groundwork of a dictator to come. I LOVED seeing Gyatso, while at the same time I was sad every time I thought about his death. I’m still anticipating a possible second book about Roku‘s life.

I was already seeing Malaya as a future companion or even love interest of Gyatso (what are the rules here for monks btw?). But it was quite clear what would happen as soon as she met Sozin, so the tension was gone for me.

Content Warnings

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

At first I thought it was just snippets of people‘s stories connected to Gilead in some way (as a bit of a fanservice to fans of the show). I didn’t mind that it was not directly linked to the characters of the first book. After some time a clearer story evolved, which I really liked and felt kind of invested in. The narrators did a beautiful job and the author again did a beautiful job in elaborating on this world.

Content Warnings

Donnerstags im Café unter den Kirschbäumen by Michiko Aoyama

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lighthearted fast-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

2.5

I don‘t know what happened. The first book of the Autor was so sweet and whimsical, this book however felt cliché and cringe at times. I felt like it’s just a bunch of stories trying to find deep meaning where there is none. I am willing to accept that this was about me, maybe I read it too quickly or in the wrong mood but I was very disappointed. Maybe it was just a clunky translation. I mainly finished it, because it was a present and I didn’t want to let the gift giver down.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel by Susanna Clarke

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

A good continuation of the first book in terms of pacing. Unfortunately not a lot happened again and I felt like there some weird time jumps, when we just get to know retrospections from the characters about a small but not insignificant event

like for example when Greft proposes to slaughter one of the dragons for its parts

. Some parts felt a bit rushed and and thereby I felt like they didn’t have the impact they should have had

for example the miscarriage, Greft‘s death and even the ending

. Still I love Robin Hobb‘s writing style and the lore of this series so I will definitely keep reading!

PS I love how everybody seems to have the best gaydar now (except Alise lol)

Content Warnings

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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dark funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I am not sure how to feel about this one. I basically listened to this in two days because I was travelling. The first two thirds or so are really amazing, but then it gets kind of weird and I am not sure if that was really necessary. Moreover the book was definitely not subtle in most of its themes, and I am not sure if it really made me think by just so clearly telling me everything. I did enjoy reading from the POV of a unreliable and unlikable narrator.

Content Warnings

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

I listened to this a few years after watching the show. I felt like the pace (especially in the beginning) felt off. A lot of time is spent establishing characters etc. until the real conflicts begins to unfold. However I think the characters is were this book shines the most, all of them felt so real and three dimensional (very different from the show sadly). I was very happy to see (possibly) aro and ace main character in the book that was not reduced to these aspects, although the labels are never explicitly mentioned.

Content Warnings

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I went through this book super fast and didn’t even noticed when I reached the end. Mostly because so little happens in this book, but Robin Hobb again managed to write amazing characters that I already love (and hate) and do some incredible world building. This book is very clearly meant as a set-up for the following books to come. The book is a bit shorter than her other books, so it feels like maybe one book got cut into two or something like that. I am excited about what will come next with the dragons!

I really liked the overarching theme of „disabled“ or just different people (and dragons) and how most see them as unfit to live and should be killed at birth, curious to see what will happen with this theme still.

LOL This closet was made out glass for sure. I was happy to see some more queer representation in this book, after I had to endure some pretty homophobic thoughts from Fitz. But sometimes I just would like to read a fantasy book where homophobia wasn‘t a thing.

Content Warnings

The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

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funny relaxing 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? It's complicated

3.5

Definitely the weakest out of the series (if you even consider it part of the series). It’s nice to delve back into the world and POV of PJ but it just doesn’t feel the same to me. It feels very much like a promotion for the new show, but still has nice themes.

The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

I listened to this after watching the show. It was nice to see the same story but also the differences, especially the game was a very cool idea.

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luise96's reviews 260 reviews

luise96's reviews
260 reviews