nookandcrannyseattle's reviews
241 reviews

Abarat by Clive Barker

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

3.0

Kittentits by Holly Wilson

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is weird and wonderful, unexpectedly poignant and utterly profane. It definitely won't be for everyone. Especially not in an era of readers that adamantly refuse to engage with or examine anything that makes them uncomfortable. And this will make you uncomfortable if you have any sense of decency. But you might also recognize something in these remarkable characters. I dare you to sit with them until the end.

The blurb should have prepared me for a new level of absurdity, but it didn't. 4 stars because the first half felt more gratuitous and less compelling than the second. 
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

The Painter's Daughters by Emily Howes

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emotional hopeful informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

End of Story by A.J. Finn

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mysterious fast-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

3.25

I love an unreliable narrator. I do not enjoy a manipulative narrator, even (or especially) when I suspect I'm being lied to. Crafting a mystery this way is lazy and inelegant. That said, I didn't guess the ending, so... 🤷
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 53%.
I wanted to like it, but I just hate all the characters. 😭
A Wild and Heavenly Place by Robin Oliveira

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 17%.
I cringed my way through for as long as I could because I wanted to read about early Seattle! But eventually I just couldn't bear the writing anymore. Narrators were fine.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This rating is for the audiobook, specifically! The book itself is outstanding (although the ending was a little disappointing), but the narrator was distractingly bad. I should have quit and switched to print.
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75