Scan barcode
michael070's reviews
182 reviews
Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
City of Dragons by Robin Hobb
adventurous
slow-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
Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Something Bad is Going to Happen by Jessie Stephens
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
0.25
29 January 2024
Something Bad is Going to Happen - Jessie Stephens
This book is so bad. It’s emotional vandalism. It relies so hard on the reader feeling connected to Adella but she’s such a flat, uninteresting and uninterested character that she’s just frustrating to read. I’ve never read a book before where the main character doesn’t deserve to be the protagonist of a book. She should barely qualify as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tertiary character, let alone someone who has three hundred and something pages dedicated to her. There’s no character growth, no accountability, no introspection.
Structurally, the book is a mess. Why bother having ‘POV’ chapters if ~80% of them are from one character? Why have the ONLY interesting thing that happened in the book take place from the POV of someone who literally never shows up again in the story? The awkward time jumps back and forth were not well done at all, andmade it super obvious what actually happened to Jake, but because you know what’s going to happen you don’t ever get invested in him as a character. It’s always kinda gross when authors use a characters suicide purely as a ~growth moment~ for the protagonist, and it’s even worse when the protagonist doesn’t grow from it.
The editing was also lacking. At one point in the story Adella mentions being out for a drive or dinner or whatever with Jake on a Sunday night, and then half a page later he says he has to be home early to go to Sunday service the next morning??? Bruh.
Rating: 8/100.
Something Bad is Going to Happen - Jessie Stephens
This book is so bad. It’s emotional vandalism. It relies so hard on the reader feeling connected to Adella but she’s such a flat, uninteresting and uninterested character that she’s just frustrating to read. I’ve never read a book before where the main character doesn’t deserve to be the protagonist of a book. She should barely qualify as a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it tertiary character, let alone someone who has three hundred and something pages dedicated to her. There’s no character growth, no accountability, no introspection.
Structurally, the book is a mess. Why bother having ‘POV’ chapters if ~80% of them are from one character? Why have the ONLY interesting thing that happened in the book take place from the POV of someone who literally never shows up again in the story? The awkward time jumps back and forth were not well done at all, and
The editing was also lacking. At one point in the story Adella mentions being out for a drive or dinner or whatever with Jake on a Sunday night, and then half a page later he says he has to be home early to go to Sunday service the next morning??? Bruh.
Rating: 8/100.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-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
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25