anollylollymolly's reviews
26 reviews

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

adventurous 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? It's complicated

4.0

One word: TYSON. 💕

This was a fun adventure. I don’t know if it quite lived up to the first one, but I had fun reading it. I hear the stakes get higher as the series goes on- I’m excited to continue!

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West by Blaine Harden

dark informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Eye-opening. I can’t say I “enjoyed” reading this, but I’m glad to have a better understanding of the harrowing conditions people experience in North Korea. It’s difficult to imagine how any can survive such conditions at all- physically and psychologically. 

Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

medium-paced

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

2.0

I wasn’t a big fan of this book. If Fall of Ruin and Wrath was just a romance book, it would have been okay, but JLA tried to incorporate a confusing plot with way too many characters and nothing really felt fleshed out. There was no impact and I found that I didn’t really care about what happened to the characters in the end. I won’t be continuing this series. 

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

adventurous emotional funny 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

3.5

To give this book 3.5 ⭐️s is probably doing it a disservice, but I watched Bridgerton first. The show follows the general plot of The Duke and I well enough, of course there are some things in the show that never happened in the book (and vice versa). Had I read the book first, I probably would have rated it higher. 

I still enjoyed reading this though, and I think I will continue with the series. I expect that I’ll like reading the next few more because they have yet to be adapted in the show. 

I loved reading the second epilogue. It was sweet seeing how far Daphne and Simon’s relationship had come. 

House of Shadows by Darcy Coates

adventurous mysterious relaxing 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

3.0

If Darcy Coates writes it, I’m going to read it. I fell in love with her writing about a year ago when I read From Below, and have read several of her other books since. Paranormal horror is my favorite horror sub-genre and she always writes it at a perfect pace with just enough detail. 

I enjoyed House of Shadows, and am excited to pick up House of Secrets sometime soon. The only reason I didn’t rate this higher is because I don’t particularly love her execution when it comes to romance. However, it was a quick and cozy read- Darcy Coates never really disappoints. 

Powerless by Lauren Roberts

adventurous 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

3.0

In Powerless, we follow two characters: Paedyn and Kai. Paedyn has grown up in the slums of Ilya and has a deadly secret. In a kingdom of Elites, she’s Ordinary. Kai, on the other hand, is a prince of Ilya and is said to be one of the most powerful Elites in the kingdom due to his unique ability. Content to live her life in the shadows, sneaking around the slums and stealing to survive, Paedyn needs to avoid attracting attention. However, she becomes a spectacle when she and Kai cross paths, and she’s thrust into a deadly game of survival. 

I really liked the premise of this book and I liked the characters. However, I didn’t like the execution in how the characters interact in the story. Paedyn and Kai are ridiculously flirty with each other right of the bat which I found unbelievable. I didn’t like how her relationship evolved with Kai and Kitt, Kai’s brother. It felt forced.

Aside from that, the writing could have used polishing. I noticed almost immediately that the author’s writing is repetitive; she often repeats phrases in threes. For example, she’ll start three sentences in a row with the same word/phrase. It happened so frequently that it became annoying. 

That being said, Powerless is a fun read. I recommend it if you’re into reading flirty, high-stakes, fantasy romances. Because this is the author’s debut novel, I have hope that she’ll grow as a writer as she continues with the series. 

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.5

A really great story!

I went into this book with no expectations and no clue what it was about. The world building was a bit confusing for me, which is the only reason I didn’t rate this 5 stars.

I loved the characters.

And I thought it was so clever how the three characters were the same person, just at different stages in her life.

This is a book that I will absolutely read again. It’s about people that are treated like tools and an arrogant society that is sure it’s the best one the world has ever seen (what’s there to learn from dead civilizations- they died for a reason). At least that’s how it struck me. 

Do a Powerbomb by Daniel Warren Johnson

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad 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? No

5.0

Oh. My. God. 

I don’t read comic books, but after this I may do so more often! What a beautiful story. 

Superficially, the art is amazing. I love the character designs, the vibrant colors, and all the detail that was put in. Incredible. 

The story blew me away. I didn’t think a pro-wrestling comic would have me ugly crying for a half hour, but here I am. Sure, this comic is about pro-wrestling, but it’s more about family, grief, and coming to terms with the inevitable. It’s heartbreaking in a bitter-sweet kind of way. 

I will be rereading this one and recommending it to everyone I know. You don’t need to be interested in wrestling to love this story. 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

Perfectly paced! Such a fun adventure. Only getting started with this series and I want to learn more about Greek mythology. 

To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

challenging dark funny reflective slow-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

3.0

Moniquill Blackgoose created a really interesting world in To Shape A Dragon’s Breath. It’s clear that a lot of thought went into the world building. There was a lot of detail regarding the subjects Anequs studied at school- namely skiltakraft, and the customs and political structures of Vastergot and Masquapaug. I found myself reflecting on my own culture and how it compared to that of those represented in the book. For that reason, I appreciated this book. It dealt with a lot of social and political issues but felt informative, not preachy. 

I really enjoyed the cast of characters in this book (Sander is my favorite).

I only marked this as ⭐️⭐️⭐️ because I went into this book expecting it to be more plot-driven. I realize now, looking back on it, that it felt slow because so much of the plot was character-focused. It felt like a lot of the “conflict” was brought about in the dialogue- everything was plainly laid out rather than being implied by characters’ actions. For example, it was clear to me why

Anequs was bullied in her first Dragon Husbandry class when someone tripped her- she was an unwelcome outsider in the eyes of her classmates because she’s a nackie, a woman, etc.

It didn’t need to be explained. On the other hand, many other topics felt over explained to me. There was some action near the end of the book, but I would have liked to see more.