sharknato's reviews
902 reviews

The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill

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

4.75

This was really fun! The characters were silly and the plot was adventurous! Dr. Siri is quite the entertainment. 
Only for the Holidays by Abiola Bello

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

2666 by Roberto Bolaño

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.75

‼️TW‼️

If you’re cool reading about the brutal rape and murder of hundreds of women, this book may be for you. If not, skip it. Part 4: The Part About the Crimes is over 14 hours long (the longest section by a large margin) and discusses the femicides and shoddy police work on each of the cases. Included in this section is an incessant barrage of sexist jokes. 

Outside of Part 4, there are still no likable characters, overly sexualized and shallow female characters, and numerous open ended stories. 

Literary fiction is not my typical genre, and though (most) of this book was well written (and translated), it was definitely not for me. 

Things I heard 4 quadrillion times: And then and then and also and also and also. Anally and vaginally raped. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Key by Jennifer Anne Davis

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

2.0

HAHA NO WAY THE BOOK ENDED LIKE THAT. I literally laughed out loud multiple times reading this book, and I promise you, they weren’t supposed to be funny moments.

Comically bad. I’m so sorry. 

Oh god, and how could I forget. The names are so weird, they don’t flow well at all. I feel like I’m eating rocks trying to pronounce them. Then all the animals are named like Snowflake and Nighttime. I can’t. 
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad 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? Yes

5.0

Witchcraft. This book is addicting and Rebecca Yarros made a deal with a crossroads demon. 
I hate
Dain so much.
This fucker lied about the specifics of
his signet
, and never asked permission. He’s a snake. 
Icefall - Audio Library Edition by Matthew J. Kirby

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-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

4.75

I really enjoyed this story! An excellent middle grade book with characters I’d love to read about again. 
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

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

3.25

Vampires
. Really?!
Finale by Stephanie Garber

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adventurous challenging 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

Alright, the writing was less jarring in this book. I think the magic system and characters had the best fleshing out in the book. More things made sense and followed a pattern. 

I’m pleased with the ending and now have 13 hours to read OUaBH for bookclub, which includes my sleeping hours. Please send prayers my way.
Legendary by Stephanie Garber

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adventurous challenging 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

3.25

Give me a sec. I have A LOT of thoughts…

A dangerous recurring thought while reading this book was, “is YA not for me anymore?" The writing style gave me a bit of whiplash, swapping between flowery descriptive sentences and modern language with little to no descriptive words at all. I often got pulled out of the story due to the writing.

The two games of Caraval that we’ve seen both seem targeted specifically for the Dragna sisters. I don't think either game could have feasibly been won by anyone else. 

The romance was all over the place. Show me how
Tella became Jacks’s "one true love,”
that literally came out of nowhere. Plus, it seems like it was only a plot device to
get out of the deadly kiss.
SMH. 

Which brings me to my next point: show don't tell. Most of this story was simply told to us. I didn't feel as immersed in the story as I wanted to be. I didn't feel as strongly about the romance subplots as I longed to be.

I'm finishing this series because I own the trilogy and I need to read OUaBH by Saturday afternoon for bookclub, and I don't want that book to spoil Finale. Believe it or not, I did enjoy this book and perhaps that's why I'm so frustrated with it.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

This is a beautifully written story creating the most realistic dystopian world. It’s also a bit of a trip reading this in 2025.