readingrobin's reviews
2322 reviews

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Had to read this for a reading challenge, so I was a bit out of my comfort zone. I think it's an interesting setup and there are definitely some stand out moments, but with the current climate I think it disheartens me too much to enjoy. Doesn't help when you read to escape only for everyone in the story to have a bad ending. It's important for sure, I can definitely see this being a book club kind of story where everyone has varying opinions, but I just kind of want to leave this one behind me.
Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying

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emotional informative inspiring fast-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

4.0

A powerful, emotional story of a teen trying to feel comfortable in a body that that is constantly being calorie curated by herself and her mother. I liked how Valerie eventually came to her own conclusions that her actions were harming her and her mother was only reinforcing the damaging thoughts about her weight and appearance. It just took a little freedom and distance for her to reflect and to see that she is truly happier when she isn't constantly fretting about eating or how it will affect how people see her.

I don't think I appreciated as much the framing of her mother's constant speculation of her weight as "love." Even when Valerie was being honest and mentioned how she was sick, how her mother was hurting her, the mother only doubled down. Love that hurts is not love, it's control. Do I think the mother had the best intentions? Yes, Victoria made that clear, but it doesn't deny the fact that her "loving" actions and comments have a serious negative effect. I think it's entirely realistic that she doesn't change and it's up to Valerie to figure out a relationship with her that's healthy for the both of them. But I wish there was a bit more nuance to the situation.
The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins

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hopeful lighthearted medium-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

3.0

Definitely the sort of lighter story I needed to read alongside some more dramatic, darker ones. If you love any sort of cheesy Hallmarky type venture then this will be right up your alley. The timeline is a bit wonky, as suddenly months would pass by at the drop of a hat without invoking a good sense of progression. This book relies so much on telling rather than showing, which make a lot of the achievements and character development underwhelming.

We don't see Daisy slowly become more open to Grace, we are told she's behaving better after hard work and meeting new friends. We aren't shown how successful the Apple Festival is, even though that's the main conflict in this book. It's like we're reading a Cliff Notes version of a larger story.


I think Grace's character development was the only thing that felt fairly fleshed out, even though the romance aspect started a bit too late in the story to really become investing. 

It was a cute, charming story. I don't think I would read any others in this series, I think I got my fill with this one, but it'll at least be a comfort in hard times.
Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 38%.
It was a little slow going with this one. There was some immersive, beautiful writing at times, but the story itself didn't captivate me. Once I found out that Sheetal wasn't even technically the one in competition, instead she's meant to inspire the one who is, the whole aspect fell apart to me. It makes our lead character feel so secondary, like she's relegated to the wings of her own story. 
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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

4.0

What an intriguing magic system! I love the card based magic and all the lore behind it. It felt so naturally ingrained in the world and heightened the vibes of the story. I'm not sure if it entirely satisfies on the gothic front, but the mood and tone are decently delivered. 
Hush by Dylan Farrow

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.
Couldn't settle into this one. I didn't really connect with the writing style and I already felt like I knew where the story was going already fifty pages in. Interesting concept but I don't think it did much to set itself apart from others like it. 
The House of Lowther, Vol. 1 by K. Lynn Smith

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emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Been keeping up with this story on Webtoon and I'm so glad to finally have a physical copy of it. It translates very well to a printed format with the layout making the story very easy to follow and track the course of events. 

The art style and color pallet give off a wonderful mood of mystery and oppression that tie in well to the vibes at Lowther house. 

Very much looking forward to seeing the future of Sawyer and Kye!
Dungeon Critters by Sara Goetter, Natalie Riess

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Very cute, very silly, very good for those middle graders obsessed with D&D and adventures stories paired with cute animals. The sense of humor was right up my alley with terrible puns, wacky character shenanigans, and a bit of deadpan humor. 

One thing that really took me out of the third act though is Chirp's abrupt character shift into thinking Juniper was 100% for attacking her father. I know it ends up being an imposter situation, but the loss of trust to this level seems so out of nowhere. Sure, they had spats but there wasn't even any second guessing on Chirp's part. It just made the character a little more aggravating.


I also would have enjoyed having a character sheet like intro to the main characters, as I got confused with a lot of the pronouns at times. 
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

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dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

I  am extremely pleased with my first venture into the Tingleverse. Read this for my queer book club for October and it was quite a good fit. Those of us queer folk with a religious upbringing can easily relate to Rose, as she fights inner and literal demons to remember who she truly is and how she relates to her faith. I'm glad that Tingle managed to show this struggle from both sides of the spectrum
with Rose ultimately distancing herself from religion and Saul finding a way to make his faith his own. It just paints a more realistic picture since everyone's faith journey is different. I'm not particularly religious myself, but satisfied that Chuck tried to include varied experiences.


I have to say, there was a piece of me that was tickled by the idea of demons showing up whenever you have gay thoughts. It just seems so needlessly extra, but that's a lot of faith denominations for you. 

While I had a great time with this book, I will say that there were a couple of plots threads that seem a bit lose or fall off altogether. I was surprised that Isaiah completely disappeared from the story and Rose going into a straight relationship wasn't a big priority of her parents
you know, the ones that sent her to the camp in the first place.
I know once the plot kicks off it's pretty much go go go since that's how Rose's mind works, but there are some areas that could have used more development.

The camp itself is still very mysterious at the end. How did the camp get in league with demons? What really was the ritual of release that Rose found? Who is this Annie that Dr. Smith mentioned while losing his memories because worms? I don't know if Chuck is planning on revisiting Camp Damascus or intentionally left certain things vague, but a tiny smidgen more of answers would have been nice.


Also, loved the autism rep in this books. The stimming, the fixations, the processing of emotions, the feelings of relief when you're around people who understand and accept all the parts of you. The physicality and the sensory aspects of the book were done so well because of that awareness to surroundings and stimuli. 
Fool by Christopher Moore

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 7%.
The term
"bunny cunny"
gave me so much psychic damage that I had to put the book down and not look back. I'm all for lewd jokes and depraved humor, but this is a tad excessive even within the first couple of pages. Bawdiness without wit just makes for a terrible time.