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awrittenwood's reviews
258 reviews
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Nah, still not for me. Age gap with your ex's dad, and only 1 "daddy" gets thrown out there...and it's as a joke. Come on, man! Anyway, I can see why people would like it, but it was just meh for me.
...........
I picked it back up because I really do hate dnf'ing books. The curiosity and need to know how it ends always gets to me. At 62%, I can't say I like it, but at least some of the issues I had are a little tamer now. Although, beige flags for the MMC are now deep crimson.
.............
At 30% -
Overall, I just kept getting the ick throughout in the way the author presented female characters.
Not a fan of the negatively around the exotic dancers, or how when a male customer keeps hitting on a female bartender even though she's said no repeatedly, the FMC says, "doesn't hurt to keep trying".
Then, on that same page she goes on to slut shame that bartender, and talks about how FMC is cautious of her around FMC's boyfriend bc she had gone home with married men. Like, yeah, that's not great, but the focus should really be on the man that's cheating.
This one just was not for me, and I'm bummed. 🤷🏽♀️
...........
I picked it back up because I really do hate dnf'ing books. The curiosity and need to know how it ends always gets to me. At 62%, I can't say I like it, but at least some of the issues I had are a little tamer now. Although, beige flags for the MMC are now deep crimson.
.............
At 30% -
Overall, I just kept getting the ick throughout in the way the author presented female characters.
Not a fan of the negatively around the exotic dancers, or how when a male customer keeps hitting on a female bartender even though she's said no repeatedly, the FMC says, "doesn't hurt to keep trying".
Then, on that same page she goes on to slut shame that bartender, and talks about how FMC is cautious of her around FMC's boyfriend bc she had gone home with married men. Like, yeah, that's not great, but the focus should really be on the man that's cheating.
This one just was not for me, and I'm bummed. 🤷🏽♀️
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
emotional
hopeful
tense
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? No
4.5
Ghost by Kat Blackthorne
dark
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
4.0
It's a fun spooky season book that would have benefitted more from a strong editor. Nonetheless, I had a good time reading it.
The Only One Left by Riley Sager
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Mistakes Were Made by Meryl Wilsner
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
4.0
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I get the hype.
This book is a good time. There's a lot to love here - a little romance sub, dragons, brutality, found friendship, betrayal, strength of spirit, and on and so forth. I won't compare this to other high fantasy books that are heralded as the best of the best of the best, because I don't want to diminish a great story that I don't think intended to be another LOTR or Way of Kings type.
It definitely reads YA and could have benefitted from a little more world building and a little less pubescent vibe of how the FMC talks about the MMC to make it feel more mature, but it was still fun for this 33-year-old.
Oddly enough, my favorite thing and my most critical thing are the same: the dragons. I loved Tairn and Andarna and wish we had gotten more about dragons as a whole - a POV or more history or anything about the bond between other riders and their dragons.
Fourth Wing does a pretty decent job of showing us through our FMC that strength can mean so many different things, and it's our actions and how we treat the world around us that makes us worthy.
This book is a good time. There's a lot to love here - a little romance sub, dragons, brutality, found friendship, betrayal, strength of spirit, and on and so forth. I won't compare this to other high fantasy books that are heralded as the best of the best of the best, because I don't want to diminish a great story that I don't think intended to be another LOTR or Way of Kings type.
It definitely reads YA and could have benefitted from a little more world building and a little less pubescent vibe of how the FMC talks about the MMC to make it feel more mature, but it was still fun for this 33-year-old.
Oddly enough, my favorite thing and my most critical thing are the same: the dragons. I loved Tairn and Andarna and wish we had gotten more about dragons as a whole - a POV or more history or anything about the bond between other riders and their dragons.
Fourth Wing does a pretty decent job of showing us through our FMC that strength can mean so many different things, and it's our actions and how we treat the world around us that makes us worthy.
Hollows Grove by Lee Jacquot
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
funny
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.5