apollo0325's reviews
395 reviews

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I hope Maddy and Kenny live a good life together and Wendy finds peace in this world.

Fuck Jules frfr

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

challenging dark 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

5.0

I have so many thoughts and feelings about this book. If you’re reading the reviews to determine if you want to read this book, keep this in mind: think of this book as a character study, not a mystery or a plot-centric book. It’s got a read of a thriller though, especially with how utter delusional and unhinged June is. It’s absolutely fascinating in a “I gotta watch this train wreck and see the resolution” way that reality TV kinda gives. There were a few times I caught myself thinking “I feel bad for June” and then I remember: she did this shit to herself.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

Compared to Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic, I found the Daughter of Doctor Moreau to be lackluster and plain. There really wasn’t enough of the science fiction element for me. The biggest issue I had was the dual POV for the first half of the book where something would happen with Carlota or Montgomery and then it would flip to the second perspective to just reiterate what just happened in the last chapter without adding much to the commentary. It grated on me, and while it stopped being like that by part 3, this book felt like a slog to get through.

Also the tension between Carlota and Montgomery was… 💀 It was not good, which is unfortunate because I think Moreno-Garcia CAN write a pretty good romance as evidenced in GOJAS but this one — which was basically a one sided love boarding into weirdly obsessive — did nothing for me.

Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

adventurous informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

Edit: the longer I sat with this, the more I kept thinking about Emily and Wendell, and I feel like I need to revisit this as I wasn’t in the best frame of mind and I just went through a really awful break up (extra pessimistic). 

It was fine. I didn’t necessarily enjoy it, and I found the romance to be very lackluster as a lot of their scenes together were very same-y (aka Emily being exasperated of/confused by Wendell and Wendell being exasperated of Emily). The scenes with them eventually became very tiresome to listen to.

However, I really enjoyed the faerie lore throughout the book. Younger me would have been obsessed with this series. Me now though, I got pretty bored. The book feels way longer than it needs to be.

Winter by Marissa Meyer

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Congratulations to Winter for being my longest audiobook yet!!!! AND IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!! Rebecca Soler did an amazing job of creating such an awesome audiobook experience, and while the accents were off-putting at first, she really did a great job of bringing the characters to life. Honestly, it’s so impressive that she was able to make me feel like I was listening to a multi-cast narration.

Of course the book itself is still a banger and I love this series very much. Scarlet and Wolf, you will always be my MVPs 💖💖💖

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

1.5

I came into this book shortly after watching the TV show, and after telling some friends about it, one of them was kind enough to lead me his copy (shout out to Derek ayyyy). I already knew this was going to be vastly different from the show, and while I was pretty lukewarm about the show, I’m even more meh about the book.

While the supernatural instances are very tense and well written and paced, the book overall felt like a jumbled mess. It’s a short read in theory, but there were several times while reading that my eyes went cross or I started to doze off. It simply did not grip me. None of the characters were particularly likable because none of them were complex or interesting to learn about. I like a good morally grey and/or flawed character, but when they lack any sort of charisma, I just don’t care about any of them.

I expected that ending, and it really wasn’t as vague as people think it is?

Eleanor definitely offed herself and it’s implied she now is part of whatever is haunting Hill House. Everyone else continues to live their lives without her.

In a way, the ending is bleak, but unfortunately, it had the emotional gut punch of 50SOG.

Skip and Loafer, Vol. 7 by Misaki Takamatsu

emotional 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

YUZU MY DAUGHTER U R SO IMPORTANT TO ME!!!!!!

Also, that confession 🙃

Cress by Marissa Meyer

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wish I could recover from a breakdown as fast as Cinder, but like…. Understandable, bestie!!!!

I literally forgot how much actually happens in this chongus of a book, but Winter is HEFTIER and I’m excited!!

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
Did not finish book. Stopped at 73%.

I tried again and I couldn’t do it. I renewed it once on top of my initial check out through the library and I just don’t see the appeal. I also have to semi-blame me being sick for the last two weeks, which doesn’t help, but I didn’t feel much compulsion to read this anymore.

The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang
Did not finish book.

Noting for myself about the strong anti-semitism with use and mistreatment of goblins that have historically been compared to Jewish people. Information from Haunna on TT (haunflyingsolo).

In the age of JK Rowling’s atrocious behavior (and even before), we as readers need to become more aware of the racist stereotypes used in media, especially in fantasy.