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whatellisreadnext's reviews
617 reviews
Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth
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 enjoyed this audio, but like with Ainslie's debut motherthing, the ending wasn't great. I'll just leave it at that. It wasn't for me, which is fine.
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
3.0
I enjoyed my time with The Justice of Kings, but I just didn't feel propelled to read it. I struggled to keep track of the politics, and why the bad guys were being so bad. Saying that, I think I will endeavour to give the second book a chance, just because the magic system was fascinating. 'Justices' uphold the laws of the emperor, and Sir Konrad Vonvalt was fascinating. He just casually scares the truth out of people with his terrifying magic voice and revives the recently dead for a chat... would recommend for lovers of brutal politics heavy fantasy
Cecilia by K-Ming Chang
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
What a load of b*ll*cks... meandering and pointless. Small pockets of great writing, hidden amongst a mess of a narrative. For those curious, my final urine counter came to 40 times in 129 pages... will I ever get this time back?
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
funny
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
This twist got me GOOD. I proper thought I was on to what was happening, but Ayesha shook me so good with that reveal. The story follows Anisa as she embarks on a language school called the centre which is invite only and makes you fluent in any language in just 10 short days. That's as much as I'll say, other than Anisa is morally grey, she makes terrible decisions and says terrible things and I loved her.
The Black Orb by Ewhan Kim
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I'm quite torn, so I've settled in the middle on a 3 star rating. There are as many good things in Black Orb as bad. I started this when I was feeling quite slumpy, and it was so readable. The idea of two metre wide black orbs terrorising Seoul locals and sucking many of them into their shiny black abys, I just couldn't look away. It felt like the start of Chrysalids or Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham, so weird and unexplained. One of my first gripes comes from the main protagonist being a completely awful and homophobic man. I get that the orbs are, I guess, like a metaphor for his despair and horribleness. But I also didn't get it. There was a weird turn in the narrative that went overly sexual and uncomfortable, and I just didn't really care for it in the narrative. The ending was also not great. I feel unsatisfied, but I don't regret reading it. It's a weird one.
BRAT: A Ghost Story by Gabriel Smith
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
Well, this completely jumped out on me and happened to be full of all my favourite tropes. I love a big ass house, a main protagonist struggling with grief, use of mixed media like books or video tapes, realities bleeding into each other, and some dry af humour. I spent my day with the audiobook, and I laughed out loud on several occasions. I don't know if I would have enjoyed this so much if I had read it physically. The audiobook was just next level. It reads very train of thought, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out Gabriel himself was the narrator. He did a bloody fantastic job. Would recommend to all my fellow weirdos 🙌