venusinlove's reviews
330 reviews

I Hear the Sunspot: Four Seasons Volume 1 by Yuki Fumino

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medium-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

5.0

I'd say out of the series this one is my favourite right now.
I loved that Kohei rejected Ena - that to me is respectful even though he couldn't share more ab his relationship. Also he is not obliged to help a woman who he met for the first time in like 10 years, they are basically a whole new person.
До сърцето и обратно by Габриела Янкулова

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

сладка книжка с някои теми, които успяха да ме докоснат. смятам, че трябва да има повече small creators в България, които да публикуват своите книги.

единственото, с което съм много "huh?!" е метафората с войната. не смятам, че е много добре да казваш, че предпочиташ война, колкото и да е само на думи. все пак "думай!" е там с причина и смятам, че думите си имат своя сила. затова да "предпочиташ" война дори и на текст ми е surreal.
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

the first half hit well - the grief and sorrow but also the grotesqueness of it all. i mean, I did like the book but sadly I cannot comment more than that. i think I will leave it with my own thoughts and feelings and maybe come back another day to finish this review.

i think I liked it a lot because it reminded me of Dracula (and I LOOOVED Dracula). it had some good reflective moments where we have to accept people as they are, their individuality is very important, ofc, ofc. one more thing I did enjoy is how queerness was put into the book as the most normal thing (as it should be, imo :)).
I Hear the Sunspot: Limit, Vol. 1 by Yuki Fumino

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved the previous two ones better but this one was good as well. However, i did not enjoy them two not communicating enought throught their problems but i get that this will get resolved probably so let's go to the next volume.
I Hear the Sunspot by Yuki Fumino

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hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

i don't want to give it 5* just yet because this is the first volume and I was to see if something could make me feel more giddy inside. the manga is really sweet and it has my heart softening up. i love the representation of disability plus queerness. it's very sweet and soft as well. perfect!

also yes, I teared up, fuck off.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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

2.75

it sucks how much this book does not live up to the hype it gets. i was so ready to like it but sadly it really is that boring and slow.

i'll start with the fact that even if I do own the book as a physical copy I really enjoy listening to the audiobooks (except they are not read well and the narrator is whispering). that being said, this narrator was very annoying and obnoxious and was speaking in such a bitchy tone that it took all of my energy to not get too heated about it. whatever. now to the book itself - I read Hamnet right before this one and I cannot not compare the plot, characters and overall vibe of both books, it is not possible. this one was very dull, very gloomy and static. it had so little story outside of that house that I think that was the main reason I found it slow - everything was pretty much the same, nothing was happening, as if the world is stuck. there were a few plot holes and we know I'm not too fond of those. it was basically running in circles and at one point it got very boring, sorry.

also! i hated the way noemi flirted with francis, felt very YA lit for the teen girlies and it's not for me. also the arrogance of virgil... girl. i get why you would make him a villain but I feel like there were better ways. idk. 

the ending was freaking confusing, did not like that at all. literally nothing made sense? L book.
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

A book that very much reminded me of the writing style of Circe by Madeline Miller. 

I was on the fence about starting this one since I thought the language might be a little old and I would not get into it as I do not enjoy Shakespeare very much, but it was beautifully written. The storytelling was amazing, and with that one book, I think I can make my historical novel liking a concrete one. I love a good historical moment being rewritten, put into words from another person's perspective, giving the story a slight modern touch. it's always an interesting and mesmerizing point of view.

The past where
Hamnet dies
hit me the most as
a sister myself, as i cannot bear the mere thought of having to live a life without my brother next to me. It feels like we are as close as Hamnet in the book was with his sister, Judith.The way he gave up his life for her to live broke my freaking heart. i would do the same.
There were so many emotions put into the writing of this book, i feel it. From a mother's point of view, from a sister's as well. It was an eye-opening book and it might be one of my favourites from this year's reads.

One more part that i very much appreciated was the one about
Hamnet's whole passing and the way his mother experienced her grief. It was so raw and genuinely prolonged (in a good way) that i can't express how well-timed it is.
To me, grief should not be portrayed as something that comes only for a moment and then goes away really fast so i think the way O'Farrell has written about it is just so good and real.

edit:

I've started a different book now and it's so dull compared to this one so I'm bumping up my rating to 5*.
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

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

3.75

whoever said that this book is very reminiscent of The Secret History  - I will sue. 

the whole reason I took this book upon reading was because I read that comment and ran with it. it has nothing to do with Donna Tartt's book (and i'm pissed about it). It reminded me more of Where The Crawdads Sing - with the lake and everything <spoler>(also the missing child, woods and parents stuff, cabin, too...). I'm so tired of this narrative and i sometimes blame myself for starting yet another book about cabins in the woods, i don't know what i even expected with this one. jeez.

it was not a bad one, really. too long, yes, but it was readable after the few tens of chapters because the storylines and characters were so diverse and overwhelming it actually took me several days to gather up the mental strength to finish it (in one day too, huh). 

over on Reddit, I saw many people being annoyed at the plot holes and characters overall, which I do get, but one thing I do not agree with is attacking Alice! she's the main victim here from the beginning of the story! poor girl had to deal with
her detached shoe sole of a husband, her sister sleeping with him (to which I'd say, ARE YOU INSANE?!), having another child after losing her son; she's literally on the verge.
I don't blame her for
drinking away her problems and having constant visions of Bear (also not being there for Barbara, although that is also tragic, poor little girl... she deserved a better mom).
n the story, I think Alice and Barbara deserved so much more. I'd add that other characters also deserved better, but I do not remember their names, only their stories, so sorry about that but you cannot add like 30+ people and expect the reader to remember them all. or you should, i do not know.

now the ending wasn't at all as satisfying or as shocking as i'd liked it to be and the hype was all a bit too much (looking at other reviewers who said it was oh so worth it. no.) i mean i liked that
Barbara managed to run away from her family
but the Bear part? I wish
it was something more dark, y'know? like it was his grandfather or something. from the beginning you get the thought that he was killed and now drowned and it's kind of disappointing.
i liked that it was like a puzzle, though. i know i complained about the many characters but they also built the picture and were very intertwined which i found cool.

fuck most if not all men in this book, though. also rich people. excluding Bear, i wish
he was still alive and happy and exploring the woods freely.
Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 2 by Sui Ishida

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

4.75

let's go, vol. 2!!!

i'm giving it a 5*(4.75* because I do not think of the manga that highly yet, its time will come) solely based on the mask. it's so freaking cool!! loving this series so far!
Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 1 by Sui Ishida

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

4.75

reading this because a friend from work lent me the whole series(!).

I tried watching the anime and couldn't get into it but the manga is so goodddddddd. I'm enjoying it a lot. hopefully the next volumes are even better! 

so far this one is a good introduction to the series and I'm excited to read more.