_suvi_'s reviews
138 reviews

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-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? It's complicated

3.5

Another great concept stunted by the execution. Who knew a magically gifted main characters quest to find the long forgotten evil would be so tidious. After every big plot shift the main character makes a crucial mistake and spends the remaining chapters trying to fix it. And for a character that’s supposedly so amazing at everything, things never work out for him. I’m all for challenges to build character but at one point I just read the book just for it to end, which is never good. Near the end, the book definitely got a bit better so at least it was easy landing out of the book. 

I feel like the book would also been much more enjoyable if the main character wasn’t so cringy. I know he’s a teen boy, but not only is he just ”not smarter than average, but brilliant” in his own words, he saves a woman from a creep and the woman is swooning at him? He tells a joke about an annoying dude and everyone claps?? The way his character was written just gave me the ick.

The book was not a total failure though, the magic system was really interesting, the world building great and the writing good. The quest to find the Chandrian was something that really interested me. I’m dissapointed that the book ended up being such a drag to read, ar least for me.

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

adventurous mysterious reflective fast-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

For such an interesting premise, there were definite strong and weak points in the book

+ the magic system and lore was really well fletched out and really interesting
+ Iona’s character growth was  really interesting
+ I liked the ending
+ I enjoyed the rhymes that set and foreshadowed the books plot

- the mc and the love interest are so basic and so is their angsty love !! I’m tired of these dark haired chiseled cheekbone broody men and women characters that are in constant panic mode
- the plot was extremely predictable from the start, which made the characters seem dumb or lacking critical thinking skills. 
- I needed more. More descriptions of the world around them, the people, the mood of the environment. Though the writing style in itself it pretty detailed, it is focused on eye, hair, and clothe color majority of the time.

Overall, it was an okay read but I feel like I know exactly what’s gonna happen in the next book, so why waste my time reading it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Skellig by David Almond

dark hopeful reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

Wonderful piece of children’s literature. I really enjoy when children’s literature is philosophical and filled with little wisdoms and a lot of magic. This book is no different, though the super fast pacing made it go by in a bit of a blur. 

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

For me, this book was so close to greatness only to end up as kinda lukewarm. The premise is beautiful; I love gothic tales, ghosts, and romance. I just feel like the book needed to be way more descriptive. I feel like it smoothed over so many details and feelings that could’ve made the book so much better (for me). Also, the basic YA characterization was not my favorite, but I guess it fits the victorian times to have a clueless and flustered young woman as a main character. I gave the book 4 stars  because part of the plot twist took me by surprise and I wanted to reread the book from the pov of knowing the ending. 

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous mysterious slow-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

3.75

I was a bit thrown because I thought this book was going to be a fantasy-based encyclopaedia, but insteaf it was a research journal that was really not at all like a research journal. I struggled with blending the genre of research journal and traditonal narrative voice, because not only did it take away from some of the believability but it also removed a lot of stakes from the plot when you knew the reader survived far enough to write in the journal (for months).

What I really liked in the book was the rich fantasy world of the fae with their peculiar culture, habits, lore, and fairytale gifts. I also liked how dark the story got at times, though it was hard to sense any real danger. I also love a strong, capable main character that can handle an array of terrifying or mindaltering situations. Emily’s stubborn, hermit-like, and hyper-academic character was a joy, and so were the majority of the other characters in the book. I also loved the made up world of academia around the faes. 

The romance

for me felt lacking. I felt like there was no buildup or context for the actions between the characters and overall their pairing lacked a lot of chemistry. I enjoyed the character of Wendell more and more as the book progressed but the relationship between him and Emily needed to be stronger (which will propably happen in later books).

Overall, I enjoyed Emily’s and Wendell’s freezing adventures in the Nordic Arctic Circle, though either through the journal as a storytelling device or Emily’s hyper-academic look, it was hard to immerse to the story fully even when given vivid detail. The lore and interactions with fae were really interesting, which makes me want to read further how the story progresses and what kind of faeries will they meet next.

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was such a joy to read. I really liked the variety of characters, their personalities, and their chemistry. The main  characters’s quirks were fun at first but became quite repetitive towards the end. Also the constant second-guessing and self-pity became a bit annoying as the book progressed. Overall, I feel like the beginning of the book was much stronger than the end of it, but I enjoyed the small-scale quest a lot (not all fantasy has to be about saving the world). The book had such strong and wonderful scenes, making me hold my breath or laugh with the characters. 

Paholaisen sota by Kustaa H.J. Vilkuna

dark informative medium-paced

3.5

Venäjän väkivaltainen miehitys ja Kustaa (Vasili) Lillbäckin tarina kietoutuvat yhteen mielenkiintoiseksi ja hyvin raa'an yksityiskohtaiseksi tarinaksi Ison Vihan ajasta. Monipuolinen kurkistus varhaismodernin ajan Suomeen ja sen kulttuuriin.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

I am not the biggest fan of YA but I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It definitely feels like the Hunger Games, but for a new era. My favorite part of the book is its strong characters and the tying of the Chinese culture and mythology to the fantasy-scifi world. The mecha fights are of course amazing and so is the poly rep. Especially refreshing to me is the hardcore female empowerment in an age and culture where it was either you as a killer or to be killed (or tortured, or both). 

My one dislike about this book is that the plot advanced way too fast for the reader to build a comprehensive connection with the world or with some of its relationships. The book definitely needed to be longer for the character relationships to mature and make more sense (i.e. the big sister, Yizha as a character and his relationships). 

The world building being lacking was understandable with the incoming twist but I still wanted way more describing. 

 

Overall I definitely want to read the story further and can't wait to see the cool mecha fights on the big screen in the future. 

PET by Akwaeke Emezi

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

I head this book being described as a modern classic and wow they were right. The lovely utopia of the US in this book is described in so many subtle and less subtle details I was mesmerized and maybe a little choked up too. All the characters were so vivid and amazing! Especially Pet, who was so terrifying yet so sweet. The many messages of the book like ”do not forget” and ”always believe the victims” are so important, and the book delievers the messages with such colorful, sweet, and terrible ways. 

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I just love Sarah Addison Allen’s style of writing. Last time I read her was in high school and this book felt like a warm welcome back hug. The plot is pretty simple and kinda too ya for my taste, but I love the characters and all the little magic they can do. The descriptions of the food, the yard raining blossoms, the halloween party… so beautiful and so magical, like always.