neni's reviews
386 reviews

Dracul by J.D. Barker, Dacre Stoker

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

4.0

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The dark and gothic mystery vibes were on point, and the narrative and writing styles were quite similar to Bram Stoker's Dracula which helped put me in that headspace, which I believe was the point. The only thing I have to point out is that the story was way longer than necessary, pretty much the first half of the book could have been condensed in about 100 pages, I sometimes found myself struggling to get through it because there were chapters were nothing was happening. The second half, where things started happening and the mysteries started to get solved, was entertaining and gripping, and the ending surprised me in a good way. I think it was well executed overall, just a tad bit too long
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Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Great spooky historical vibes. Edinburgh is the perfect setting for this kind of plot and the fact I visited the city for the first time just this year made the reading experience extra magical. I didn't particularly care about the characters and the plotwist, while entertaining, was quite predictably. However I really enjoyed reading this and the only reason I'm not giving it 4 stars is the ending. Felt rushed and unsatisfying with quite a few unresolved loose ends. I'd still reccomend it for the vibes.
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The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

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challenging dark mysterious slow-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

2.5

I'm normally a fan of over the top, flowery writing, but the ammount of clauses within clauses that Henry James managed to jam pack into every sentence becomes tiring after about 5 pages. I enjoyed some of the story, but the governess was extremely annoying to me and none of the mysteries that are hinted at get solved in a satisfying way. I also don't get why people talk about this as being scary. Minus the vaguely spooky vibes and imagery of the house and the fairly creepy children, there's nothing all that scary in the story. Honestly, I enjoyed the Netflix show based on this much more, I think they managed to elevate the story to a higher level and make it much more entertaining, so if you're undecided, I reccomend just watching the show.
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

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adventurous mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.25

The thing I liked the most about this book was the writing and the imagery. The autumn woods and mysterious sea side town vibes were great, and the writing was quite beautiful and evocative, especially when the author described environments. The character's were okay, I didn't love them, but I didn't hate them, they were a bit cliché in their tropes, but I enjoyed the development of the main character's response to her family trauma, namely in the way she finally recognized her toxic relationship with her mother. Wes was very sweet as a love interest.
I loved Trouble the hound, especially because my own dear dog is of the same breed so I kept picturing her in the book :) 
The pacing was a bit all over the place. The first third of the book felt slow and like nothing was happening, the middle was satisfying in that we finally had some progress in both the plot and the relationship between the main character's, but then the ending, while entertaining, was a bit rushed and left quite a few issues that had been brought up either unresolved or fixed so quickly it didn't feel believable.
I must say as well: the fact that the whole character's main thing was being a huntress and loving it, didn't sit quite well with me as I don't agree with hunting for sport. The descriptions of fox killing as a sport (both the magical/mythical type and the plain normal animal) bothered me.
Overall, this was an okay read, especially vibesy for autumn and with some good romance and pining in the middle but not particularly strong either in plot or character complexity.

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The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed the imagery and the writing style. The fairy tale vibes gone darker were quite well done. I didn't particularly care about the main character but the plot itself followed a path that made sense for a "fairy tale" type story, and these stories normally don't have main characters that are that complex and well developed anyways.
 I really liked how dark the fairy tale retellings were and it was nice to see the main character's relationships with other people develop as he "grew up". The depiction of grief and overall of negative emotions in the eyes of the main character was also fascinating. 
Overall a cool book, a great choice if you're into fairy tales and spooky stuff.
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Gallant by V.E. Schwab

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

A good example of no plot only vibes. The author did a good job with the spooky ambience and flowery descriptions, and it was fun to read this while listening to some classical dark academia playlists. However, the characters weren't particularly complex or engaging, the plot (the little that there was) was vague and cliche, and the ending was quite disappointing in its simplicity. Overall, it was alright, but considering the length of the story, I feel like it could have been done in a way that allowed for a better plot and deeper character development.
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The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien

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

5.0

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Does what it says on the tin! Easy, low stakes coffeeshop au set in a fantasy universe, with wonderful descriptions of cozy goodness, coffee beverages and baked goods. Was comforting to read, and all of the characters are quite endearing. The romance (the little of if that there was) was also quite adorable. I would have liked to see the characters and the world more developed because it honestly seemed like a interesting setting, but I understand that wasn't the point of the story. Reccomend if you need something quick and easy and very wholesome.
Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls by Matt Ruff

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dark emotional funny 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

4.25

 The subject of this book is fascinating. I think the author did a good job of exploring the themes of trauma, abuse, and mental illness (in this case, multiple personality disorder), which are obviously quite dark and heavy, in a respectful but still entertaining way. The scenes weren't unnecessarily graphic and gory, but there was enough description for the character's horror and terror to be transmitted to the reader. I believe it was handled tactfully (no weird fetishization of violence, as is so often seen in these types of novels) and interwoven with a solid (and strangely wholesome) character development, making for an interesting exploration of the human condition. 

There was a nice balance between a mysterious and suspenseful plot that needed to be solved and the slower and more reflective, but no less engaging, personal and relational development of the characters. 
I found the development of the relationships between characters (Andrew and Penny, Andrew and Julie), and in particular among the multiple identities within the main character's mind, to be super interesting, and I ended up feeling very attached to most of the household inhabitants. 

In addition, I'm not sure if this was purposefully done by the author, or was just a byproduct of the particular circumstances around having MPD, but I thought the questions raised around gender and identity were really interesting, particularly in a situation where multiple identities sharing a body make it so that the "biological sex" of "the body" is obviously not relevant at all for the concept of identity. 

I was a tiny bit disappointed at the ending because it wasn't as "closed" as I wanted it to be, but it also didn't feel forced or wrong for the characters themselves, so it is purely a personal taste issue. 
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