artmuseam's reviews
204 reviews

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

i wish i could take this book and enclose it into my heart forever because of how much i loved it. not only did this give me so much insight about chinese history that i wish i learned more about in school, but it also amplified my love for books praising friendship, sisterhood, and motherhood. i’m a little bit sad that i will no longer be deeply involved in the life of yunxian :( truly unforgettable and remarkable. 5/5 stars <3

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

truly heart shattering and emotional. this book knew exactly how to set fire to my emotions because at the end of the book i could barely read the damn words through my tears. the narration threw me off at first, just because it felt almost satirical, but i got used to it by part 2, and i seriously fell in love with all the main characters. it was so intimate to where i thought i was a part of the family and the town, and i especially loved the emphasis on how powerful words and stories are. this book killed me—in the best way possible. 4.5/5 stars <3

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Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

what a magical ending to this beautifully written duology. after that insane cliffhanger left behind from the first book, i was very glad that this one wrapped up a conclusion through an insane emotional rollercoaster. the plot twists had me hooked from the start and seeing a new romance between the characters actually made me enjoy this book even more. i felt like the ending was a little bit underwhelming since it did feel rushed, especially since the pacing of the book earlier had been perfect. regardless, i absolutely loved this book and i am genuinely so sad that we will not be getting more of elspeth and ravyn any time soon :( definitely definitely recommend!! 4/5 stars

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The Fragile Threads of Power by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

currently at a loss for words right now after that ending. i genuinely believe ve schwab is one of the greatest writers of this entire universe and her books will never fail to leave me utterly speechless and yearning for more whenever i finish them! okay, first i will admit that the beginning was a bit slow and it took me a while to adjust having the new characters in the picture since i wanted to gatekeep the returners and always get a bit annoyed when new people take the spotlight (weird habit of mine, i know). BUT once things started kicking off, especially after 1/3 of the book, i was hooked. my love for the shades of magic world exponentially increased during this read and i found myself literally holding my breath in the last parts of the book. trust me, this book is something you do not want to miss!! time to distract myself with other books while i wait for the sequel to come out :,) 4.5/5 stars <3

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One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

OHHH my goodness…that ending left me speechless!! holy shit i’m actually surprised at how good this book turned out to be! the beginning was kind of slow for some reason and left me a bit bored at times, but once i got past around page 100 i became deeply invested in this story. this romantasy is a bit interesting in that the main character, elspeth, is almost a villain herself because of the “nightmare” that lives within her, and it was interesting to see this play out throughout the book. i actually really liked her dark side for some reason; it made her kinda badass even though she can’t really help it. the plot itself moved very quickly and i really enjoyed the action and romance. i honestly can’t wait to start the second book because that cliffhanger!! left me appalled!! 4.5/5 stars

Content Warnings

1984 by George Orwell

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

haunting and heartbreaking..this book captivated me from the start with the insanely creepy details of this society and how it functions. while it was a bit slow at times, i still found it to be very interesting and i almost wish it was a little bit longer on certain parts. this book is definitely not a light read and honestly made me feel very sad at the end. 4/5 stars

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Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

what the actual fuck just happened? i’m at a loss for words from that ending.

if i have to be honest, i don’t know if i truly enjoyed this book or not. there were so many times where this book made me want to throw it at the wall, and so many times where i kept asking myself why i was reading this book. the action, the fast-paced plot, and the overall politics of this world kept me invested enough to struggle putting the book down, but the narration and constant back and forth between violet and xaden was what annoyed me so much. violet slowly became insufferable for me from her constant stubbornness and lack of genuinely likable traits. if anything, i honestly wish the narration was from a different character, like rhiannon or even imogen. violet just seems like this annoying, unstable and horny teenager who can’t get her shit together.

this book also left a LOT of unanswered questions, which i’m assuming will be (hopefully) answered in book 3. the mini plot twists that eventually led to the biggest one were all done very well and i liked that this book read as a bit of a cinematic piece, where the action pivoted to carry the plot forward in an engaging way that mimicked a film—if the narration style didn’t sound so immature.

perhaps i’ll let these thoughts marinate for a bit, at least until the shock of the ending wears off. i can’t confidently say if i’ll read the third book or not. i have a love/hate relationship with this series…

3.75/5 stars

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Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

a heartbreaking piece of fiction that tackles with grief during the plague. i did not expect to cry so many times throughout this book, and yet the writing seemed to know exactly how to get the waterworks going :,) as someone who isn’t really a fan of shakespeare (not that i have anything against him—just not interested enough) i thought this book did great in pulling someone like me into a fictional twist of shakespeare’s life before his rise to fame and the pov from his wife. i genuinely loved agnes as a character and following her story truly put me through some highs and lows. i may need to cleanse my broken soul after finishing this story—the sadness is too much for me to bear. 4/5 stars

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Vengeful by V.E. Schwab

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

what can i say? ve schwab has done it again. if i have to be honest, the second book was somehow even more enthralling and twisted than the first one. i loved the new characters we were introduced to and the way that both new and remaining characters were intertwined was so well done! the fast-paced action and constant suspense made it so difficult for me to put down this book. i can’t get enough of this!! 5/5 stars <3

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The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

3.75

when i came across this book at my university’s bookstore, i had some high expectations and was really excited to read this book. now that i think about it, i would say i have some mixed feelings. the book started off very exciting, but once it got to the middle, i wasn’t exactly sure if it was worth reading due to the lack of action. the ending wrapped it up pretty well and i guess the next book continues with what actually happens in space, so maybe i’ll read that out of curiosity. i did find the main character somewhat lovable but i wasn’t entirely on board with how she chose to be so compliant and reserved in times where it was better to be resistant and brave. this frustrated me, but i also did need to take in the historical context at that time. i wasn’t a fan of the tense change in that last chapter—especially since first person present tense is my least favorite…but other than that, this book was exciting, inspirational, and fun to read. i still enjoyed the science jargon and the intense moments of liftoff at various parts :) 3.75/5 stars

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artmuseam's reviews 204 reviews

artmuseam's reviews
204 reviews