zarap's reviews
524 reviews

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

5.0

Exquisite.

Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

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adventurous mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.25

Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

2.25

I thought up to the 65% mark that I might really love this book, but it just didn't bring things together for me.

I didn't find the characters to be very well developed, and I never really felt the two main characters' love for each other, despite it supposedly being strong enough to last thousands of years. I was enjoying slowly figuring out who was who, but then it felt like it just...ended. I don't mind an ambiguous ending, but this one was neither ambiguous/open-ended enough nor conclusive enough.

I'm interested in what the author does in the future, but this one wasn't it. Also, I'm in the "not a Romance and not a full-on Fantasy" camp, but the way it was marketed isn't Huang's fault.

Content Warnings

Family Meal by Bryan Washington

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challenging emotional reflective medium-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

3.5

Content Warnings