alisarae's reviews
1578 reviews

The Firelight Apprentice by Bree Paulsen

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

A cute story with cute art. I loved the color palette. The world was so interesting and had a lot of potential to be built out more, but the story is brief and stays pretty surface-level. With that approach, I appreciated the larger panels and minimal use of dialogue. 

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

A perfect cozy winter story. The whole thing feels special and magical. I liked the riff on Mary and Jesus; but in this story a baby comes to bring peace between humans and nature. 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous 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? No

4.0

I liked how the story flows and takes you along with it for the ride. I can't say it is earth shattering or terribly original (Lunar Chronicles and Hunger Games come to mind), but it is entertaining and the writing is good. I'll continue the series!

The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-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

A very average het romance. I was cracking up at the obvious Gilmore Girls rip-offs. But there was a lot of repetitive internal dialogue where the characters were doubting the same two things over and over. If you cut that stuff out the book would literally be half as long. I can't believe the print book is 350 pages as it is--it must have huge margins lol. I was also kind of expecting it to be a closed door romance since that would fit better with my idea of a cozy vibe, but it definitely is not. 

Three Japanese Short Stories by Kafū Nagai, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Koji Uno

challenging reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

Three short stories from the early 20th century: Nagai's Behind the Prison, Uno's Closet LLB and Akutagawa’s General Kim (also published in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories).

I found Behind the Prison to be the most thought-provoking because I went down a wikipedia rabbit hole to learn about yellow peril and the Russian-Japanese war. The story itself is hardly a story and more of a description of two environments: the lush and peaceful garden on the narrator's father's estate, and the brutal and pitiful slums just outside its walls. The narrator, an expat who recently returned home, no longer fully identifies with his Japanese culture (reverse culture shock is rough, lemme tell ya!), and is posing his experience of the cultural values of the west (arts, beauty, and individual determination) against the values of his country (technology & education for war's sake, brutality, and classism) using the garden vs the prison slums as a metaphor. I thought it was interesting that, a century on, the American west values the very things that the narrator lamented in his own country.

The other two stories were less compelling to me. Closet LLB is a comedy about a self-aggrandizing loser, and General Kim is a brief account from when Japan invaded Korea in 1523.

Gilgamesh: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell

adventurous challenging medium-paced

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

Even though the story is about the two strongest guys in all the land, in the end the story reveals how fleeting and fragile life is... I liked it overall and I am glad I finally got to read it.

Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu by Junji Ito

funny lighthearted medium-paced

3.0

I’ve read some of Junji Ito’s other works, so it was cute to read this light story instead of a horror. Though he tried to make the cats horror monsters in the beginning, he failed. 

The Great Adventure Catholic Bible by Peter Williamson

challenging hopeful reflective slow-paced

I did it! I read the whole Bible in a year (welll technically, Father Mike read it to me on his podcast). I haven't read the whole thing straight through like that since I was a teenager. It is more interesting now that I am adult with the knowledge of literature, interpretation, critical analysis, sociology etc, that I have built up over the decades. I also always appreciated Fr Mike's commentary and the way he points out references to other parts of the Bible, linking it all together and reminding us of what we have already read. This was also my first year reading the deuterocanonicals and the expanded version of Esther - better late than never! 

Mother Without a Mask: A Westerner's story of her Arab family by Patricia Holton

adventurous informative inspiring slow-paced

4.0

Wallahi, the Emirates really was like this. Reading this book made me nostalgic for the UAE, and a bit regretful that I didn't make more of an effort to meld into that place. I want to bring the Emirati's hospitality, grace, and immunity to being rushed with me into the new year.

Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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

5.0

This book was perfect! I loved the Belvedere siblings: Rafi has such a big heart, Birdie is truly laugh out loud funny, and Liz painfully reminded me of myself (cue the millennial cue) lol. The setting (hollywood matron mom's quirky/swanky renovated inn in upstate New York) was lush and cozy and of course I wanted to be there too. And the drama level was just right, with plenty of character growth along the way.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Death of parent