psliz's reviews
94 reviews

The Disasters by M.K. England

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

3.25

as a debut novel, it wasn't bad, kinda run of the mill, everything kinda average but felt the characters were 2D and the plot and relationships between the characters were underdeveloped. dare i say a bit too ambitious for a first book that nothing truly remarkable happened, every aspect of it wasn't in depth enough, spread too thin, too many shallow holes rather than a few good deep ones. as a sci-fi lover, i'm left disappointed and feeling like there could ve been more.. kinda fumbled
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The Woman Who Read too Much by Bahíyyih Nakhjavání

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challenging reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

despite being about 19th century persia, this book is still relevant to 21st century america, especially right now. while it took me a bit to find my footing, i think this book does an excellent job of illustrating life as a woman in a world ruled by men and the measures taken to fight back. now that i’m more familiar with the style and narrative, i wouldn’t mind rereading this book to fully appreciate it!
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Reality Check by Kirpa Singh

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emotional hopeful reflective tense 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

4.5

this reminded me of john green’s turtles all the way down (which i gave a full 5 stars). i loved being able to read about a character’s journey with a diagnosis that’s underrepresented in books. the characters are complex yet supportive and loving and the writing has you feeling delusions/hallucinations firsthand. plus a dash of romance doesn’t hurt, especially since it doesn’t take away or derail the main focus of the story.  
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The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

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funny lighthearted fast-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

2.75

it was a book i read. a nice palette cleanser with some funny moments and cute romance scenes. not a bad book to start the year with... because it’ll only go up from here (hopefully).
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A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

amazing world building but wish we were given small bits of it throughout the book rather than large chunks that threw off the flow of the book and the ending felt a bit rushed. as this was a debut, i hope the second book has better writing and a more evenly paced, better developed plot. the enemies part is well explored and i can only hope the lovers part actually feels earned/has chemistry in the second book. good first book, really hope the second one can make up what this one lacked. 
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Tears in the Water by Margherita Scialla

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-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

2.75

make this 3 povs (alex, tate, and xiuying) and add about 50 more pages to give us more showing than telling, and change up the writing style and it could've easily been a 5 star read. but it was super disappointing because it had the potential to be such an amazing book, but it felt short on the technical part of writing a story, 
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The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

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

2.5

i feel misled with the synopsis because it's more influencer-reality-tv-show beef versus actual space stuff. i couldn't connect to anything/anyone. i also wasn't a fan of the MMC or the romance, to insta-lovey for my taste. just disappointed... but at least it was a quick 2-day read.
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There Will Come a Darkness by Katy Rose Pool

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.75

it was an interesting premise and a promising debut, but i think it was a bit too ambitious for everything that it didn’t quite stick the landing. i would’ve picked up the second book but i don’t want the thought of the age difference to linger in the back of my mind every time that romance is on page. plus, with only being interested in 2 of the 5 povs, i don’t think i’d enjoy the second book. 
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In a Jam by Kate Canterbary

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

2.25

absolutely no need for any contemporary romance book to be 454 pages long, let alone a book like this with no direction/plot and esp when neither character experiences any growth for said 454 pages. chop 100 pages off this book and actually add a storyline and maybe it'll be good... actually no because both characters are insufferable in their own unique ways.
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Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova

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adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.75

although i predicted some plot points, i really loved this book and renata's journey! excited to pick up the second book and see what's next for our incendiary (esp after that ending)
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