safsaf118's reviews
264 reviews

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

Worth all the hype. I loved the storytelling - the jumping between times and characters effortlessly while all weaving their stories together. Genuinely a masterpiece. AND HOW IT ALL CAME TOGETHER IN THE END. I genuinely think about this book all the time. “I stood looking over my damaged home and tried to forget the sweetness of life on earth.”
The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews

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adventurous emotional funny 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

3.75

I love when you’re reading a Miriam Toews book because she always has similar themes and she executes them so perfectly. Mental illness, wacky family dynamics and a road trip are always at the scene of the crime! Honestly this one was touching and funny but it didn’t hit as hard as her other books that I’ve enjoyed.
A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

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adventurous dark tense fast-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

4.0

Helene deserved better. You know what I’m actually mad. I had to put down my kindle multiple times because I was just so flabbergasted at Sabaa Tahir’s audacity. Imagine reading four books in a series — all while finding two of the main characters to be the most annoying people on earth — because you were genuinely interested and invested in one character’s story. That was me with Helene, she was basically the only one I liked and I looked forward to reading her chapters.
So why was everything and everyone taken away from her???? Huh??? Why couldn’t she keep one good thing. I hate this. Oh, but Laia and Elias get their happy little ending those annoying piglets. ugh.
Snowblind by Ragnar Jónasson

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adventurous dark 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

The writing was actually horrible, I’m assuming because of the translation - but that’s me giving them the benefit of the doubt. The story was interesting enough and kept me guessing but was missing the stressfulness I was promised. And the “twists” were laughable. Just a no from me.
A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

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adventurous challenging fast-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

Helene is incredible as usual, everyone else is just background noise. It is so hard to keep track of all the character’s names and the tribes and everything I genuinely am just vibing and hoping that I’ll understand. But I think this might be my favorite one in the series so far?
Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

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

3.0

I wanted to enjoy this more than I did. Although it was very sweet and touching, it just failed to move me. This might be something I appreciate more as a reread. 
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

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emotional funny lighthearted 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? It's complicated

3.75

Okay I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I thought the story was pretty cute and such a fun concept. It honestly got really dark at some points and I liked how we got to delve into some of that backstory/trauma. I don’t know why but I found the whole breakup plot childish, and the stalking aspect was also really weird? It just felt oddly disjointed. But for the most part this was quite endearing. 
Some Shall Break by Ellie Marney

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dark mysterious 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

DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS? I am not normally a fan of sequels but I have wanted more ever since I first read None Shall Break. The entire concept and characters and their backstories are just delicious. This was hard to put down. I was on the edge of my seat and am entirely obsessed with the implications of what happened in this book...dare I hope for a third book? 
Sankofa by Chibundu Onuzo

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

3.0

Interesting, strange, a bit weird. For some reason, I was under the impression that Anne would be in college, not a grown woman so it threw me off a bit. It kind of felt like we spent a lot of time just reading about how she lounged about her hotel room and thought about her ex-husband and worried about her daughter. The glimpses into her father's journal was super interesting, and I loved the concept but I felt like there was something missing. 
Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown

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  • 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

4.0

Brianna, why are you the way that you are? I'm not a judgemental person (lol) but she really needs to stop having children, it's incredibly irresponsible. There was a lot going on here, and I enjoyed watching the tensions rise and bubble to the surface (and occasionally explode). The negative energy was a lot from Elizabeth and I found her chapters really hard to read. Ginger was also so bitter for no reason. I really loved Tabitha and felt like she was the only character who was really complex - we can see how hard she's trying to build a loving family on her own terms but how it keeps backfiring. The letters from the prospective adoptive families in between chapters were so touching.