atlas_shruggs's reviews
239 reviews

The Titan's Bride Vol. 4 by ITKZ

emotional funny fast-paced

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

5.0

The Titan's Bride Vol. 3 by ITKZ

emotional funny fast-paced

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

5.0

The Titan's Bride Vol. 2 by ITKZ

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

4.0

Lucian: Dialogues of the Dead. Dialogues of the Sea-Gods. Dialogues of the Gods. Dialogues of the Courtesans. (Loeb Classical Library No. 431) by Lucian of Samosata

3.0

Okay I can admit, Lucian is very very funny and honestly very fun to read. The text isn't too heavy or unapproachable, although you do have to have some background knowledge of ancient Greek myth to be able to fully appreciate it. Am I smart enough to be able to fully appreciate it? No, probably not, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and it managed to make me even angrier at Rick Riordan for making Poseidon so goddamn likeable when he is such a fucking douche.

Spy x Family, Vol. 8 by Tatsuya Endo

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was so great. I think this volume might actually be my favourite so far. I never thought the one volume with Frankie on the cover would be so good but here we are. I was giggling right at the first page at Anya's reactions to the cruise ship and then it just kept getting better. Loid trying way too hard to relax and have fun and Anya trying to distract him so Yor can work. 
Yor's storyline was so sweet and so badass as well. I really liked seeing her on her own and seeing more of her work and her inner conflict with her situation. Plus Loid and Anya are so cute on their own, Anya's absolute chaos combines so well with his cool and collected personality.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is such a perfect final book of the series (even though it's not really the final anymore). Right at the first page the tension is already building with Percy basically celebrating his final few days alive, knowing he probably doesn't have much left and what he does have left will be really difficult. Sure the first chapter is pretty lighthearted with a wonderful Blackjack appearance but the second chapter immediately goes dark and it doesn't get light again until the very end. The stakes are higher than ever and you really feel like all your favourite characters are in danger. 
It was so fast paced it was almost hard for me to distinguish between scenes and chapters, I did also read it very fast. Out of everything the scene with Percy standing over Annabeth is my favourite. They have so many amazing scenes together in this book, it's like a love letter to their relationship.
I really feel like this book wraps up all the characters stories so well, even though it isn't really the end of their stories but we didn't really know that at the time. It also sets up the Heroes of Olympus sooo well it makes me wish I had time to reread the first few books and finish the series. 

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 I remember reading this when I was 14, the first time I read the PJO series, and I remember absolutely hating it. Okay, maybe hate is a strong word, but when I was reading this book for the first time I actually put it down for a while and debated just not finishing the series. Apparently 14 year old me was bored. And 14 year old me was a fucking idiot. I think this might actually be my favourite of the entire series so far. The tension is palpable, you can tell that it's the penultimate book in the series just from how final everything feels, every second feels important, every sentence and every page makes you realize that time is running out and there is only one book left in the series. I absolutely loved all the references to mythology in here, the story of the Labyrinth, Ariadne, Theseus, Daedalus and Icarus is so interesting and I loved seeing Rick's interpretation of it. I love that Tyson was such a big part of this was well, I love him so much and his relationship with Percy is just so goddamn cute, and how protective he is of Annabeth. I think my least favourite thing is the sort of love-triangle with Percy, Rachel and Annabeth but it also feels very realistic. Percy and Annabeth were definitely not in a place to be together, especially not Annabeth, and being with Rachel does give Percy some sense of normalcy even though she is so connected to the gods world. This book is also fully not middle-grade anymore, absolutely traumatizing. 10/10, I want to hit 14 year old me over the head. 

Stelpur sem ljúga by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

 Shiiit hvað þessi var góð, ég át hljóðbókina upp eins og hún væri nammi. Ég hafði mun meiri áhuga á persónum þessarar bókar en fyrri bókarinnar, mér fannst sérstaklega gaman að fylgja fyrstu persónu frásögninni, hún bæti svo miklu við söguna og fékk mig án djóks til að taka andköf. Ég kann líka að meta hvernig Eva Björg fer að því að fjalla um íslenska glæpi og hvernig allt og allir eru tengdir langt aftur í tíman. Ég fann einnig að mér fór að þykja vænt um Elmu og Sævar, þau vina vel saman og mynda gott teymi. Sævar er líka bara rosalega fyndinn. 

Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.0

Now, I cannot say I went into this book with expectations of quality writing or plot. In fact I expected very little, considering how much I disliked the first few chapters of "The Duke and I" when I tried to read that. However it appears the Bridgerton brainrot is real and I find myself unable to give this book any less than 4 stars as I enjoyed myself thoroughly. Sure I did not particularly like this version of Colin, he is quick to anger and honestly a bit mean. My love for him in the show seems to overshadow this though and I feel that he does get better as the book goes on. I did absolutely love how they made Colin a writer and how he and Penelope worked together. He feels more fleshed out in the book than he does in the show, especially with the books focus on his lack of direction.
My biggest disappointment is the mirror scene, I blame the internet.
Also Penelope is a doll and could do so much better than Colin.

Marrið í stiganum by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir

dark mysterious 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

Þetta er það sem ég býst við þegar fólk lofar íslenskar glæpasögur. Persónurnar voru skemmtilegar og vel skrifaðar og ég skemmti mér vel við að fylgja Elmu og rannsókn hennar. Það fór samt í taugarnar á mér að Sævar væri farinn að daðra við Elmu þegar hann var ennþá í sambandi, persónulega er ég orðinn rosalega þreyttur á því að sjá framhjáhald eða eitthvað nálægt því í íslenskum bókmenntum.
Mér fannst Eva Björg einnig nota Ísland rosalega vel sem sögusvið. Sagan snéri svo mikið um smábæjar leyndarmál og orðspor sem mér fannst vera rosalega vel gert. Það fór einnig í taugarnar á mér hve óviljugur Hörður var til að rannsaka bæjarbúa almennilega en það var raunsætt svo ég get ekki kvartað. Endir sögunnar var örlítið fyrirsjáanlegur en ég skemmti mér þrátt fyrir það og hlakka til að halda áfram að lesa um Elmu.