angstifies's reviews
108 reviews

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

enjoyed this way more than i expected! 

this book is very dark and twisted, and the characters are so complex it was always so hard to understand everything they did or said.

and i personally love when a book makes me THINK, and develop theories on why the characters in the story are acting the way that they are and stuff like that, i literally could not stop writing my thoughts on the margins of the book. loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicide, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Classism

Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-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? Yes

4.5

very slow book, especially at the beginning, but i enjoyed it anyway. Robin Hobb’s characters are so wonderfully written and the dynamics we got to see in this third book were even better crafted than in the previous installments. i absolutely loved the “quest” element that was very dominant in the story, and i found the ending flawless. i will absolutely be reading the other RotE books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction and Pregnancy

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

adventurous challenging sad 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

4.75

reading this book feels like reading a really messed up diary written by my poor boy Fitz who’s slowly realizing how shitty everyone actually treats him and he should, in fact, stop being so nice and helpful all the time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, and War

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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

a lot of messy shit happened in this book but the thing that threw me off the most is, with no doubt, ianthe and gideon being friends. still can’t fathom it.

i love this series so much and this book was such an incredible addiction; i loved the new setting, the newly introduced characters, and how the story is progressing. now i will not know peace until i own a copy of book 4.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Cursing, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Abandonment

The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri

adventurous dark emotional medium-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

4.5

this was such a fantastic sequel, one minor issue i had with book 1 was that i did not care for some of the narrators (Ashok, Vikram…) and their part of the story, but in this book that was not the case at all. 

i found the stories even better than the previous book and i adore how much more focus there was on both the magical side of this world and on Malini and Bhumika’s political schemes. 
loved it, can’t wait for the last book!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide and Torture

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

this whole series is absolutely brilliant. no idea how the author managed to plan all of THIS but consider me impressed. 
i saw someone descrive this book as “an acid trip written in second person” and i can’t help but agree, loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Cannibalism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

adventurous challenging tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

i have a personal dislike for fantasy books written in first person narration but this book is absolutely the sole exception. i’ve heard tons of praise for Robin Hobb’s writing and man were they right, her characters are brilliant i loved reading about them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

adventurous dark medium-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

4.25

oh i adored everything about this world. the nature-magic, the city states, the religions, and the yaksa are all such interesting concepts and so well crafted. 

Priya, Malini and Bhumika’s characters really left an impact on me, they’re such excellently written characters with very interesting journeys. i will absolutely be reading book 2 and from where things left off i already know i’m gonna love it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, and Pregnancy

Minor: Child abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i had the time of my life reading this book, sometimes things got a little confusing but i had an absolute BLAST. 
the writing is the absolute best thing ever, Gideon’s narration was so funny and definitely my favorite thing here, i never wanted to put the book down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse

Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

adventurous emotional sad medium-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

4.5

very much satisfied with the ending. i’m gonna miss this series so much.

this book had it’s weaker moments, i really think it could’ve been much shorter and the pacing wasn’t that great. 

some POVs (especially at the beginning) were kinda boring. it felt off how i had to read about Aedion’s whiny complains and Chaol and Yrene’s shitty idea to meet his parents while the POVs revolving around Dorian/Manon & Aelin/Fenrys and the “looking for Aelin” team were just so much better? 

the reunions, the reveals and the action/battles were absolutely the best parts of that book, i had so much fun there. and i have almost zero complains about the ending, i loved these characters so much and i would absolutely read more of this world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Grief, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Slavery, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Slavery and Suicidal thoughts