abbieisreading's reviews
66 reviews

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I’d heard so much hype about this book and I worried it would not live up to expectations but I couldn’t be more wrong. I loved this book. The book really tackled so many issues big and divisive issues. I’ve started to think about those ethical and moral dilemmas in a new way. Even since I’ve finished the book I’ve not stopped thinking about the topics brought up in the book. 

The story itself had me gripped. I found myself struggling to put the book down as I just wanted to see what happened next. When I think something has settled there was always something coming around the corner. It was none stop until I turned the final page. I felt anger at fictional characters and then just wanting to wrap my arms around others and give them a hug. The only thing stopping me from putting the book as five stars is that I just felt there were a few scenes that felt rushed including the ending. But it’s the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m going to look at more next. The added bonus of this book is as a history lover I’ve found something new I’d love to research more. 
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

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

1.5

 I just found I didn’t like any of the characters and it felt like the story didn’t seem to go nowhere. I had really high hopes for this book. I found the premise so interesting, a woman dealing with her sister being a secret undetected serial killer. But the execution made it fall flat. There was nothing I liked about the book. The story was very muted and tame, I found it seemed to just gloss over everything. There was no depth to it. All the characters were unlikeable. Every chapter was tiny which I made it hard for the story to flow for me. It was hard to get it into as it felt stop start. But the small chapters are one of the few reasons I didn’t DNF it. It meant I could put the book down and pick it up numerous times throughout the day whenever I had minute. It was that and the fact the book was short that stopped me from DNFing.