aissatoudiallo's reviews
63 reviews

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.75

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

adventurous dark sad medium-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

4.0

I love Peeta!

Passing by Nella Larsen

dark reflective tense fast-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

4.5

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

Nieuwe vrijdenkers by Rachid Benhammou, Boris van der Ham

informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

Niet wat ik had verwacht.

Hersenschimmen by J. Bernlef

dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.5

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

2.75

This is a difficult one to rate but…

I did not like how the main villain just seemed to be a villain for the sake of being a villain. Richard was jealous yes, but to the point of abusing all his friends? For what? What were his motives? I feel like it would have been a lot stronger if we knew more about what moved Richard.

Besides that the who-did-it was kind od mediocre, as I could guess who had done it. It did make sense, but Oliver taking the fall made less sense. We needed more explanation on his reasons as well. I get his reasons, but more depth was needed.

The constant Shakespearean dialogue was beyond annoying, but that’s just my personal preference. The heavy emphasis on Shakespeare made the plot predictable as well. 

The connection between Oliver and James felt like it was thrown in halfway of the book. There was no foundation for it, I just had to believe that it had been there all along. I would have appreciated the tiniest hints but their homoerotic relationship seems to come out of nowhere. 

Oh, and the characters were not particularly likeable. But despite all my complaining, it was easy to read and the writing style was inoffensive. For a debut novel it’s decent enough.

Death Note, Vol. 1: Boredom by Takeshi Obata, Tsugumi Ohba

adventurous funny mysterious tense 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

4.0

Love Ryuk.

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

reflective 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

3.0

!MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD! Decent read. The amount of pop culture references was just not for me. If I have to read about a TikTok reference it just makes me cringe. Furthermore I did not like how the poor/more ghetto black characters were used as a throwaway plot device to further the relationship of our couple. Also, I was not really buying that they became so obsessed with one another after a drug-induced sex week. I just don’t. 

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

dark inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.5