alimoo511's reviews
1054 reviews

North Is the Night by Emily Rath

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-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? Yes

3.5

Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

I love how each passing story we are being more and more disillusioned with the world but also growing more attached to the guts of it all. I truly found myself panicking sometimes despite my real-world desire for New Haven to eat dirt. Also, I can confirm that a hole to hell is there.

I loved the kinda flip Alex and Darlington have, where Alex is becoming more enamored with aspects of her life, finding Haven in a place that also brought pain.

While Darlington is the one kinda haunted now, struggling with the desire to remain the same, but also understanding he has a role he must mimick despite the seeming futility of it. How he is now the outsider clinging to a hero he can not afford to fully confront his feelings for.

The found family that is developing too is just gorgeous.

And just I never really felt much magic to the wealthier end of Connecticut.

Growing up, it only really felt magical in the sense that they keep up the maintenance of their cities and towns and not worry about taxes and food.

I also hated them because it made outsiders falsely believe we are all just a bunch of wealthy generational Legacies taking advantage of our state's high taxes to make a nirvana of elitism. When we are really struggling to just keep our state alive as this like mini scale of US where tiny little blips of counties reap all the benefits while the true beauty and history of the state falls further into disrepair.

This book shows that, but I also feel the tiniest slivers of love toward it now. Like Leigh is doing a really good job balancing her dark academic story with the reality and struggle of trying to save my state from the recklessness of the wealthy.

I did think the writing felt a little bit weaker than Ninth House but I also felt like it was in part of Alex no longer desiring to be an imitation of how she imagined she should be as a Yale Student and more like realizing none of this, magical or not, is very different than her life up till now

Bread Alone by Judith R. Hendricks

emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-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

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Kill Joy by Holly Jackson

funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

4.0

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

This is a story that encapsulates beautifully what C.S. Lewis meant by “one day you will be old enough to read fairytales again.” 

The writing in this story has drawn me in so entirely I was consumed by the beginning, I truly believed the chemistry every character had with one another and it feels like forever since I experienced deeply personal connections such as these in a story. I felt a part of me heal reading every conversation. 

It has also been so long since I have seen such an entirely whimsical fantastical world. I never even noticed how much I longed for those nostalgic middle grade fantasies I would read as a kid until I picked this up and realized I missed authors just inserting random mythical creatures as they were. 

I rate this five stars, and I wish to reread it already but I already accept that this isn’t something for everyone, there are elements I think many would fine cringey or off putting and the story really is simplistic all things considered. 

This story does have its flaws I will give it that but this was just so much what I wanted and needed I cannot imagine rating this lower because of those flaws. 

I missed Fairytales.

Foxglove by Adalyn Grace

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

I Will Mend You by Gigi Styx

dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

I Will Break You by Gigi Styx

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

Hang The Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur

funny inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-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 had never... felt so disappointed in a third act break up.

Fun fact you do not need a broken heart to be worthy of a happily ever after.

You do not need to struggle to deserve peace.