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val_theburrowofstories's reviews
353 reviews
Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
- I feel like this book was so unnecessary.
- I mean, what did we learn? That Warner is alive (obviously), he has an unhealthy obsession with her, he is so self-centered, he thinks he knows Adam but whenever any of his soldiers talk he is annoyed and doesn’t care about them.
- I feel like reading her diary is an invasion on her privacy, from the very little privacy she had because all that time he was looking at her through the cameras and now he does that. Besides, he acts like that’s enough to know her lol
- At least this was a quick read but yeah I don’t care, 2 ⭐ (and I think I’m being generous)
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
mysterious
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? Yes
2.5
- The only reason why I’m giving this series another try (I DNF it at some point during the 2nd book years ago) is because I have the physical books, like I literally bought the books and then stopped reading altogether lol and it’s making me sad they’re just there collecting dust without me even trying to finish the trilogy. If I end up disliking this, at least they look pretty lol
- It’s the way most of my notes are judging Juliette lmao if people read what I thought about her I would be in JAIL for the online community of readers.
- I don’t trust Adam and I don’t like this romance he has with her because he doesn’t really know her at all?? and I don’t like Warner and I don’t like how he’s obsessed with her. Like, boys PLEASE, neither of you know her at all, she might be 17yo but I feel like her brain stopped developing at 14yo because she’s been locked up ever since that age, so of course she will find any of you attractive.
- And well, Kenji is okay. Not a big deal in this book but at least I like him a bit more than the other two.
- The only thing I did like and found interesting was at the end when they got to Omega Point and we discover there are more people with different powers.
- I don’t know if it’s the writing, Juliette or the narrator’s voice, but I just found her voice annoying.
- AND YET, I finished this in 2 days, which I think is going to be the best way to finish the rest of the books, in the least amount of days possible.
- So yeah idk, overall I think I’ll give this a 2.5 ⭐ and that’s because I’m feeling sorry for the book. Years ago I gave this 5 stars but I was just starting on my reading journey so I was just like Juliette I guess, I would like anything lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Injury/Injury detail
Child death: She literally killed a kid by accident way before the story starts.
Injury: She injures a soldier and Warner.
Out On a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 29%.
(Tried to read this in June 2024)
- I wanted to love this because everyone else does but I truly could not do it past 30%.
- The book isn’t bad, is just not for me: I’m not that much of a fan of contemporary romance and I do not want to have kids so the accidental pregnancy gave me a bit of anxiety.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Abortion
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
adventurous
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
3.0
Oh good Lord I'm finally free!!! (I'm literally that meme of the guy breaking the handcuffs at sunset). That's it. I am DONE with Leigh Bardugo, I don't want to know anything else from the Grishaverse omfg so average.
I have had enough of popular book series and me forcing myself to finish them even though I'm having a boring time, is not worth it and I won't go into another reading slump this year because of it.
It actually makes me so angry how I expected greatness from this but it was so average. I guess you can't never 100% trust the popular opinion.
I was so excited at the beginning getting to know them all one by one when their names appeared and I was so ready to see their dynamics and I hoped for a found family, but this was so boring… There was no growth, there was no family, at beast there are duos. Each had ONE personality trait and nothing else, they were not especial and they didn’t have any deep.
This “mission” was so long and boring, pointless in the end.
I learnt my lesson trying to force myself to continue with the second book of Shadow and Bone and I ended up despising it and DNF it, so I won’t force myself with Crooked Kingdom.
This is a 3 ⭐, like it was good? but not excellent at all. I finished this for the sake of it, but I could not care less about what happens to these characters. I have zero interest in continuing with the duology, with the Grishaverse, or with anything new Leigh Bardugo writes.
I have had enough of popular book series and me forcing myself to finish them even though I'm having a boring time, is not worth it and I won't go into another reading slump this year because of it.
It actually makes me so angry how I expected greatness from this but it was so average. I guess you can't never 100% trust the popular opinion.
I was so excited at the beginning getting to know them all one by one when their names appeared and I was so ready to see their dynamics and I hoped for a found family, but this was so boring… There was no growth, there was no family, at beast there are duos. Each had ONE personality trait and nothing else, they were not especial and they didn’t have any deep.
This “mission” was so long and boring, pointless in the end.
I learnt my lesson trying to force myself to continue with the second book of Shadow and Bone and I ended up despising it and DNF it, so I won’t force myself with Crooked Kingdom.
This is a 3 ⭐, like it was good? but not excellent at all. I finished this for the sake of it, but I could not care less about what happens to these characters. I have zero interest in continuing with the duology, with the Grishaverse, or with anything new Leigh Bardugo writes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent
- Death / Murder / Blood: There’s a bunch of killings and death.
- Injury: At least half of them are injured at some point.
- Gun violence: Jesper is obsessed with guns.
- Kidnapping / Trafficking: Inej as a kid.
- Slavery: Grisha are slaves.
- Death of parent: The way Kaz describes how his father dies is horrible.
Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara
adventurous
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
3.5
I added this book to my TBR last year and I was supposed to start it months ago, but I ended up finally picking it up because of Bridgerton (Cressida saying Penelope and Polin are like Psyche and Eros) and I just knew it was time.
I enjoy Greek Mythology retellings so much and this was not an exception.
I remember reading a bit of the story of Eros and Psyche in that book by Rick Riordan talking about a bunch of different characters from Greek Mythology. But I’m glad I picked up this book that was mainly about this couple because I learn more stuff about their lives (even if it was to the interpretation of the author). It's so interesting to see the differences the authors do in retellings, and yet some major things don't change (like who is married to who, who is child of who, who kills who, who rules what).
It was so interesting to see other characters like Atalanta, Achilles, Patroclus, and especially Clytemnestra, Iphigenia and Agamenon because I just finished the book “Elektra” last month.
I love how Psyche was such a different female character. She was trained, she was prepared, she was ready for a fight with a monster, she literally went to the Underworld for Eros even after learning the truth about the curse. My girl was the hero here.
I just remembered Queen Charlotte (Netflix) saying “I will stand with you between the heavens and the Earth” and that’s so Psyche and Eros coded.
I love how this book made it sound like Persephone was the true ruler of the Underworld. But also made me remember how much of a b*tch Aphrodite and other Goddesses can be. Like, Hecate and Medusa who have “bad reputations” were better women than them.
I enjoyed the dual pov audiobook! I really like his voice but I’m sorry to say her voice was not doing it for me.
Overall, it was a 3.5 ⭐ for my taste. I’m happy for their happy ending <3
I enjoy Greek Mythology retellings so much and this was not an exception.
I remember reading a bit of the story of Eros and Psyche in that book by Rick Riordan talking about a bunch of different characters from Greek Mythology. But I’m glad I picked up this book that was mainly about this couple because I learn more stuff about their lives (even if it was to the interpretation of the author). It's so interesting to see the differences the authors do in retellings, and yet some major things don't change (like who is married to who, who is child of who, who kills who, who rules what).
It was so interesting to see other characters like Atalanta, Achilles, Patroclus, and especially Clytemnestra, Iphigenia and Agamenon because I just finished the book “Elektra” last month.
I love how Psyche was such a different female character. She was trained, she was prepared, she was ready for a fight with a monster, she literally went to the Underworld for Eros even after learning the truth about the curse. My girl was the hero here.
I just remembered Queen Charlotte (Netflix) saying “I will stand with you between the heavens and the Earth” and that’s so Psyche and Eros coded.
I love how this book made it sound like Persephone was the true ruler of the Underworld. But also made me remember how much of a b*tch Aphrodite and other Goddesses can be. Like, Hecate and Medusa who have “bad reputations” were better women than them.
I enjoyed the dual pov audiobook! I really like his voice but I’m sorry to say her voice was not doing it for me.
Overall, it was a 3.5 ⭐ for my taste. I’m happy for their happy ending <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: War
- Sexual content: mention de naked body of Aphrodite, sexual relations of humans, of course Psyche and Eros they have sex.
- Rape: Medusa told Psyche her story.
- War: There’s mention of the Trojan War.
- Death / Death of parent: She loses so many people.
- Blood / Murder: We all know what happened with Iphigenia at the hands of her father.
- Pregnancy: Psyche is pregnant when she does the tasks for Aphrodite.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
I knew I would take my time to read this book but the fact that I was in a reading slump made it worse. Thankfully I was out of it when I finished this so I was able to enjoy it.
This book was SOOO good, it was 4 ⭐ for me.
Despite the story, I find the narrator’s voice soothing and I love how she makes a different voice for each character.
I did not expect the story to go so quickly. I’m used to books where stories usually happen in such a short amount of time but this was maybe 3-4 years? I think if the author would’ve decided to make 1 book for each year of her in the school I would’ve read them too and they would’ve been great.
The first half is Rin basically preparing for school and then getting in and being a very good student to keep her place there. I liked it so much because I was proud of her and it felt like learning history with all the information about the other Poppy Wars.
Maybe she didn’t know completely what she was doing, but I admire her for literally eliminating menstruation and all that shit to be unstoppable. I’ll be needing the formula lol
Once the war started I was so in shock that I could not even cry from the horrors (check trigger warnings!), I wonder what the author has prepared for the next books.
I want to know more about the 13th division, I want to get to know them all because I think she might be spending so much more time with them and well I need to connect to someone to cry when they die lol besides their powers seems interesting.
The only two I kinda care about if something happens to them are Kitay (bc that’s maybe her only true friend) and Ramsa (he’s literally just a kid!)
I’m so ready to see how Rin will burn the enemy to the ground 🔥
This book was SOOO good, it was 4 ⭐ for me.
Despite the story, I find the narrator’s voice soothing and I love how she makes a different voice for each character.
I did not expect the story to go so quickly. I’m used to books where stories usually happen in such a short amount of time but this was maybe 3-4 years? I think if the author would’ve decided to make 1 book for each year of her in the school I would’ve read them too and they would’ve been great.
The first half is Rin basically preparing for school and then getting in and being a very good student to keep her place there. I liked it so much because I was proud of her and it felt like learning history with all the information about the other Poppy Wars.
Maybe she didn’t know completely what she was doing, but I admire her for literally eliminating menstruation and all that shit to be unstoppable. I’ll be needing the formula lol
Once the war started I was so in shock that I could not even cry from the horrors (check trigger warnings!), I wonder what the author has prepared for the next books.
I want to know more about the 13th division, I want to get to know them all because I think she might be spending so much more time with them and well I need to connect to someone to cry when they die lol besides their powers seems interesting.
The only two I kinda care about if something happens to them are Kitay (bc that’s maybe her only true friend) and Ramsa (he’s literally just a kid!)
I’m so ready to see how Rin will burn the enemy to the ground 🔥
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Rape, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Infertility
Please be sure to check ALL the trigger warnings by all readers because a lot of things happen and I imagine the next books will be even darker.
- Menstruation / Infertility: She got her first period in the school, and what’s shocking is how she drank something to stop it forever, basically killing that organ.
- Death / Murder / Genocide: because of the war
- War: it’s literally on the title lol, it mostly happens in the second half of the book
- Injury / blood / gore: when they find all those people in the end...
- Animal death: She killed a dog to defend herself
- Rape: Someone she knows was raped and she describes how so many other women too. It's pure horror.
- Addiction / Drug use: They take a drug to be able to connect with the Gods?
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
More than 500 books in my TBR and I bet not even 15 are thriller, but this was one of the few exceptions and I found it available in Libby and felt like giving it a try!
I’m glad to report that it did not disappoint. It was a 3.5 ⭐ for me!
I can see why people could find this boring but I was so intrigued and I understood the character so much that I finished this so quickly, it was entertaining for me.
The husband deserved soooooo much worse than what he got 💀
At least the women ended up thriving and living in peace away from him so I was happy with that ending.
I’m glad to report that it did not disappoint. It was a 3.5 ⭐ for me!
I can see why people could find this boring but I was so intrigued and I understood the character so much that I finished this so quickly, it was entertaining for me.
The husband deserved soooooo much worse than what he got 💀
At least the women ended up thriving and living in peace away from him so I was happy with that ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
- Abortion:
- Pregnancy: We find out about this very early on but
- Blood: Because of the murder, and
- Death / Murder: There’s someone killed in the beginning, and then we discover there’s way more bodies on that backyard.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
dark
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
When I started this book I was in such a horrible reading slump for about 2 months and a half. I finished this and I felt like I was cured from this curse and I feel myself again going from book to book and enjoying them.
I’ve miss reading a GOOD book, a fantasy book that made me forget about everything else and I didn’t want to put down. This is definitely a 4 ⭐ for my taste.
This series has been on my TBR since 2018 and it’s so famous that of course I already know a couple of things that will happen but it didn’t bother me at all, I still enjoyed it a lot.
I was deciding between the normal audiobook or the graphic one, but at the end I chose the one read by just one narrator because I thought it was a better choice as a first time reader of this series and I’m glad I did. I liked her voice.
One funny thing and maybe the most surprising to me is how their names are pronounced. I thought Feyre was read like “faerie” but it’s “Fair-ah” and I thought Rhysand was like “rice-and” but it’s “Riz-sand” lol at least all the other names are pronounced the same way they’re written.
I know everyone hates Tamlin by the end of the trilogy, but at least for this book I allowed myself to like him since he hasn’t done anything wrong yet and I do like him.
Feyre’s sisters were a piece of work in the beginning, but I’m really intrigued to see how their relationship will develop, I hope it improves and they become closer.
I was suspicious of everything and everyone all the time because WHO gives you such comforts after you just killed their friend? But then SJM dropped all the information in one chapter and I got it. But it did make me nervous how Feyre would be suspicious for 5 seconds and then forget about it, but poor girl was just getting out of survival mode and breaking down her walls with all the comfort so I can’t blame her that much.
I can actually understand Amarantha’s hatred for humans (justified ngl), but it’s funny to me how she treats faeries and specially the Spring Court and Tamlin that way just because he would not f*ck her 💀 so she has Rhysand literally known as his wh*re lmao
Once again, the tiny little female human saving the world, what I did not expect was for her toactually DIE and then have the 7 High Lords bringing her back to life as a High Fae!? like that was crazy. But my girl deserved it after everything she did for these people.
I’ve miss reading a GOOD book, a fantasy book that made me forget about everything else and I didn’t want to put down. This is definitely a 4 ⭐ for my taste.
This series has been on my TBR since 2018 and it’s so famous that of course I already know a couple of things that will happen but it didn’t bother me at all, I still enjoyed it a lot.
I was deciding between the normal audiobook or the graphic one, but at the end I chose the one read by just one narrator because I thought it was a better choice as a first time reader of this series and I’m glad I did. I liked her voice.
One funny thing and maybe the most surprising to me is how their names are pronounced. I thought Feyre was read like “faerie” but it’s “Fair-ah” and I thought Rhysand was like “rice-and” but it’s “Riz-sand” lol at least all the other names are pronounced the same way they’re written.
I know everyone hates Tamlin by the end of the trilogy, but at least for this book I allowed myself to like him since he hasn’t done anything wrong yet and I do like him.
Feyre’s sisters were a piece of work in the beginning, but I’m really intrigued to see how their relationship will develop, I hope it improves and they become closer.
I was suspicious of everything and everyone all the time because WHO gives you such comforts after you just killed their friend? But then SJM dropped all the information in one chapter and I got it. But it did make me nervous how Feyre would be suspicious for 5 seconds and then forget about it, but poor girl was just getting out of survival mode and breaking down her walls with all the comfort so I can’t blame her that much.
I can actually understand Amarantha’s hatred for humans (justified ngl), but it’s funny to me how she treats faeries and specially the Spring Court and Tamlin that way just because he would not f*ck her 💀 so she has Rhysand literally known as his wh*re lmao
Once again, the tiny little female human saving the world, what I did not expect was for her to
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
- Death: Some people die here.
- Blood / Gore: There’s a faerie that loses his wings and I pictured it so horribly.
- Animal death: A big wolf and mention of another animals killed for their survival.
- Injury / Torture: By the end of it mostly.
- Sexual content: It’s a SJM book.
House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 37%.
(Tried to read this in May 2024)
- I got to 37% of the book, until chapter 12, and it was all an INTRODUCTION. If the book was part of a series then I would get it, but this is an stand alone and just now she’s about to meet the supposed romance interest?
- I’m not so sure there is going to be any romance at all.
- I was expecting vampires and I got people with a weird fetish for blood.
- Nothing was happening, the book was not giving at all, so I’m not giving one more minute of my time lol I truly don’t care about this.
Elektra by Jennifer Saint
dark
emotional
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
2.0
Listening to this audiobook was a little confusing because I could not recognize who was speaking from who’s pov, it would’ve helped if they said the name of the character at the beginning. Other than that, I liked the three narrators!
I always like to read greek mythology book to remember the stories and see them from different povs. Here we got the pov of Clytemnestra, Elektra and Cassandra.
I have to admit that I do not understand why the book is called Elektra when it had 3 women describing their experiences before, during and after the the Trojan War, besides she is the one I liked the least from the 3 women…
Helen can go to the deepest hell by the way 😭 (at least the one in this book) next to her brother in law Agamemnon!
This book was basically telling the story we already know but from the pov of these 3 characters, but sadly there was nothing new, fantastic, original, or really entertaining.
I almost DNF this after Part 1 to be honest, but I kept going just because it’s Greek Mythology. And I mean, it was okay?? So 2 ⭐ in my opinion.
I always like to read greek mythology book to remember the stories and see them from different povs. Here we got the pov of Clytemnestra, Elektra and Cassandra.
I have to admit that I do not understand why the book is called Elektra when it had 3 women describing their experiences before, during and after the the Trojan War, besides she is the one I liked the least from the 3 women…
Helen can go to the deepest hell by the way 😭 (at least the one in this book) next to her brother in law Agamemnon!
This book was basically telling the story we already know but from the pov of these 3 characters, but sadly there was nothing new, fantastic, original, or really entertaining.
I almost DNF this after Part 1 to be honest, but I kept going just because it’s Greek Mythology. And I mean, it was okay?? So 2 ⭐ in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Murder, and War
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Slavery
- Child death / Murder: Agamemnon kills his oldest daughter before the war starts.
- War / Slavery / Death: There’s descriptions of what’s going on in the Trojan War.
- Rape / Sexual assault / Sexual violence: Because this is ALWAYS present in Greek mythology…