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raesengele's reviews
313 reviews
Elektra by Jennifer Saint
medium-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
2.0
Greek retellings just are not for me. Until these authors start actually dissecting the stories or telling them as the horror stories that they are for women instead of just straight up retelling the story with nothing new to say, they feel like a waste of time to me. This would have been so much better as a pure psychological horror. I mean Cassandra is a woman who was assaulted by a god and, for rejecting him, was cursed to have the gift of visions but no one to believe her. That's horrific and Saint did barely anything with it. The entire story of these two families stuck in a battle of bloody vengeance is horrific, the family members dead and lost to this belief that it's what the gods want is horrific, but that barely felt touched on. I never fully understood why Elektra chose her father who murdered her own sister then disappeared to go fight a war over her mother who was there the whole time. Like, I understand why intellectually, but I don't understand WHY emotionally. Saint just tells us the story of these three women beat by beat, but never digs deep into the WHY of any of it. Why is Cassandra even included in this story? Because she's supposed there, but she's not allowed to actually DO anything. Everything just IS because that's how the Greeks said it was. But what's the point? Why are we here? Why are we retelling this story? Why are we giving voices to these women if we're not allowing them to even say anything?
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ugh this book is so gooooooooood 🖤🖤🖤
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Writers & Lovers by Lily King
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
lighthearted
fast-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
3.0
Ironically, the road trip part of The Road Trip is less than half of the book. It might even be closer to a third. And since I read this specifically for the road trip aspect, I was more and more disappointed as the book went on.
With that in mind plus the fact that romance seriously isn't my genre, take my emphatic 3 stars with a grain of salt.
It wasn't the worst I've ever read and, despite the fact that I had more than a handful of issues with it (on top of the road trip taking up significantly less space than the sections in the past), I was also intrigued enough to see it through to the end. So, if romance is your genre, you'll most likely get more out of The Road Trip than I did.
With that in mind plus the fact that romance seriously isn't my genre, take my emphatic 3 stars with a grain of salt.
It wasn't the worst I've ever read and, despite the fact that I had more than a handful of issues with it (on top of the road trip taking up significantly less space than the sections in the past), I was also intrigued enough to see it through to the end. So, if romance is your genre, you'll most likely get more out of The Road Trip than I did.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
dark
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It's a LONG read, but well worth it.
Susanna Clarke is amazing when it comes to world building. The way she builds on English folklore and Fae is really intriguing. The only flaw is that, like I said, it is LONG, but truthfully I can't think of much of anything that could be taken out. Everything is so intentionally laid out and built upon. I will say having all three mediums (physical book, audiobook, ebook) helped to make it go by faster since I could keep going no matter what I was doing without lugging around this doorstop of a book.
Susanna Clarke is amazing when it comes to world building. The way she builds on English folklore and Fae is really intriguing. The only flaw is that, like I said, it is LONG, but truthfully I can't think of much of anything that could be taken out. Everything is so intentionally laid out and built upon. I will say having all three mediums (physical book, audiobook, ebook) helped to make it go by faster since I could keep going no matter what I was doing without lugging around this doorstop of a book.
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was a VERY slow start and I almost DNFed, but honestly I'm glad I didn't. This was my first Leigh Bardugo book and while I loved the writing style from the beginning, for some reason the story itself took about half the book for me to get invested. I do think part of it was having to shift my expectations. Like a lot of people, I was expecting this to be a vampire book, so when it turned out to be about essentially a magic/miracles tournament instead I was a little bit disappointed at first. HOWEVER, it did pull me in once the tournament started and everything started to come together. Part of me wished Bardugo had gotten to it sooner, but also I think that build up was necessary because I'm not entirely sure how much I would have enjoyed the romance otherwise. Which by the way, is a slow burn and not in the dragging out the pining kind of way, but rather in the kind of way that is so subtle that by the time they start acknowledging their feelings it almost catches you off guard while also making complete sense. Which, as someone who generally has to be Stockholm syndromed into enjoying straight romances in books, it worked out perfectly.
And in the end...I cried, so it won me over.
Even with the slow start, I'm glad I finished it and am ready to jump into another Leigh Bardugo book.
And in the end...I cried, so it won me over.
Even with the slow start, I'm glad I finished it and am ready to jump into another Leigh Bardugo book.
Let Her Be Evil by Cassandra Jones
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0