_suvi_'s reviews
138 reviews

The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson

challenging reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

I have mixed feelings about this book, on the other hand the setting and the characers are really unique and vivid, but on the other hand the way the story progresses and how the characters affect each other is kind of confusing and maybe a bit disturbingly surreal. I liked how Anna and Katri seemed to be each others opposites and how the unreliable niceness and cold logic came through the text. I don’t know if it was the translation or Tove’s writing style in this book, but the writing itself seemed awkward and broken up. It might’ve tried to mimic Katri’s character but to me it just seemed amateurish.. and I usually love Tove’s writing. The end also felt really unsatisfying, making the whole book feel even more unsatisfying. Sufficed to say this book was not for me. 

White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

This is the first of Dostoyevsky’s works that I have ever read and I really enjoyed the short story, the love between the two dreamers felt so genuine and full of emotion, and the way the feelings of the main character were reflected in their surroundings. What a sweet tragedy.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

A beautiful and bittersweet story about a family made of broken pieces. Each character presenting beautifully feelings of feelind different, expectations and loneliness. So many feelings I could relate to and understand. But, some of the ways the characters were written broke the emotional impact for me. Some moments did not seem realistic or logical, especially to fit the characters with so much knowledge and history. Like the way Lydia’s parents got together, the way Lydia dies, the way Lydia’s mother’s past affected the family.. I just couldn’t get over it and for that reason the book fell from greatness for me.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment and Child death

All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Sweet and melancholic slice of life and its small but huge moments. Deeply touching and human in feelings of loneliness, love, friendship, addiction and depression, packaged into the beautiful vision of a nighttime city.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape and Addiction

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

Really fluffy but yet very captivating. Though I feel like the main character continued to be built shallow as a puddle and gave very basic YA, at least the vibes were there to distract me from it. Every main character was basically described as hot yet moody. The worldbuilding was much better though, I think also compared to the first book, especially the descriptions of different homes of the characters and the ambience in them. Overall the book had just the right amount of escapism for my needs.

Lirael by Garth Nix

adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Even though I am not the target audience for this book, the story is amazing. I love the setting, the worldbuilding, and the magic system built and expanded by Garth Nix. I liked how the different threads knit together really smoothly, at least in my opinion. While the main characters were often whiny, lacking self-confidence, and ignorant, I feel like it made sense for their characters, being teens that felt like they didn’t belong. The animal companions worked as a refreshing humorous relief and the voice of reason that made it bearable as well.

Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was a perfect spooky read for a Halloween month. The story got me on its grip the whole time, and the way the book switched up between the chapters of house of horros and the story made sure I was tense the whole time. The only problem for me was the ending that seemed to happen so fast and so.. weirdly? Overall it was fun to figure stuff out along with the main character, and I also enjoyed that the main character was no scaredy cat either. The book was really easy to immerse into and follow along until the end.

Recitatif by Toni Morrison

challenging informative reflective fast-paced

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

4.25

Toni Morrison always wows me with her writing, and this short story is no exception. Recitatif does not only raise discussion about race, but also about class, gender, and power. 
The introduction by Zadie Smith was also amazing, highlighting that black or white, Twyla and Roberta are both poor girls, mothers, and defined individuals.

The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was a really tense, yet very interesting read. The author is smart in her way of writing

because in the beginning, I was sure that at least Lauren was just a figment of Ted’s imagination. But the more the story progressed the more I was
convinced that he’s actually Lulu’s kidnapper.

The way the writing instills atmosphere of Ted is just sucking you in, with the unrealiability of his narration, the changing of his surroundings, and the way he and the other characters see the world in different ways. Even though I enjoyed this thriller, there were some parts of it that were so unbelievable that it broke my immersion. And most of the unbelievability came funnily enough fron Dee’s character.

like moving right next to him was already a stretch, but the ability to watch him constantly, how she even found about him etc. Especially the way Lulu died, Dee’s death, even the way Trevor appeared just seemed very haphazard and way too convenient for a book with so much insight and hidden stories

I appreciate that the author did so much research on the topic, but for me personally it just fell a bit from great.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Child abuse, and Kidnapping

The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Another fun read from Holton. Even though I feel like all of the main characters in the trilogy are blending into the same mold of ”dangerous yet naive damsel”, I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters, the plot, and the references were fun, witty, and smart. The building of romance was also good in this book, unlike the last book where it felt pretty rushed. But I enjoyed the trilogy overall and was happy to see it end the way it did.