You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
rhi_xo's reviews
125 reviews
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
Madeline Miller might be the greatest writer living… I knew that this book was going to rip me apart but that still didn’t lessen the pain when it happened lmao Madeline just has such a way of making every sentence riddled with meaning & emotion. absolutely every word seems to be chosen with such care. Madeline, if you’re reading this, I say this with love: you better write that fuckin hades & persephone book NOW😭😭
Brute: Poems by Emily Skaja
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
had this collection for years but for some reason it took me forever to actually read it. I also find it hard to rate poetry collections but this one honestly inspired me a lot even though I’m not much of a poet myself. pretty much every poem was a punch to the gut, I loved it lmao. really excited to reread this & really dissect it
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
I’m very happy that I finally read this book after hearing so many great things about it & about R.F. Kuang in general. like everyone says, this is a very dark book about war so definitely be prepared before going in. knowing that this is based on the Sino-Japan conflict & specifically the Nanking Massacre makes it a painfully real & important read. the rage that Rin feels will literally bring tears to your eyes. will definitely continue this series & read more from Kuang in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Rape, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Tigana: Anniversary Edition by Guy Gavriel Kay
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
I don’t even know what to say in this review because so much happened in this book & I’m still trying to process it lol this book has so many twists & turns & I just couldn’t put it down. as someone who is also trying to write epic fantasy, I got so much inspiration from this. the story was just so well done & I can’t wait to read more from this writer!!
The Pecan Children by Quinn Connor
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
this book had some really cool ideas & the path the story took actually surprised me a lot. but I definitely feel like I have a lot of unanswered questions after finishing it which I don’t love. I liked that it was a folktale inspired story, but there were times where I felt that the pacing was off or I just didn’t really understand how everything tied together. knowing that this was written by 2 writers kind of explains why it felt disjointed at certain points. all in all there was a lot of potential, but it just didn’t hit how I wanted it to.
Persuasion by Jane Austen
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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? No
5.0
classic jane austen man. I loved this one more than I thought I would. there were all the best parts of a jane austen book: yearning, sarcasm, gossip, & a confession of love from the male love interest that had me giggling & kicking my feet. you’re a real one, jane🫡
Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I was pretty disappointed with how this book turned out :/ I don't think the jumping around to characters outside of the main family & Savannah really helped the narrative. I honestly would have preferred to have the whole book from Savannah's perspective because only the last chapter in her perspective was actually interesting to me. I was initially going to give this 3 stars, but the reveal of what happened to the mother was so silly to me that I deducted a star lol overall there were moments that were touching, but it wasn't enough for me to rate it higher than 2 :/
Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
this was my first novel by Oates & I was excited because I love her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," but this book was a huge disappointment. I was intrigued at first by the structure & writing style. It kind of read as like flashbacks that kept getting expanding every chapter, but then it just felt very repetitive and confusing. also Hannah is so incredibly unlikable I just couldn't bring myself to care about her life -- I don't want to be in her racist, passive aggressive mind for 400+ pages! anyway... not a great first novel to read by her... :/
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
this book was gifted to me & after hearing about it for years now I finally decided to read it. I went in with very low expectations & I unfortunately was proved right. this book made me so annoyed, feyre is one of the worst fmcs I’ve ever read, & I was just not interested in the romance of this book. I could rant for hours about how much I hate dark fae romance books. the only reason this book gets one star is that there were a few moments where the premise/fantasy details were kinda okay. otherwise this is just “beauty & the beast” but bad lol
Atonement by Ian McEwan
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this story did not turn out how I thought! I had an idea of how the story would go but it ended up taking a totally different, darker route. the ending actually had me shook, I had to reread it to make sure I had it right lol now I HAVE to watch the movie